Last updated on April 23rd, 2018 at 06:00 am
I’ve been experimenting with psyllium husk for the past couple of weeks and I’m so impressed with it! If you don’t know what it is, it’s a form of fiber made from the husks of the Plantago plant’s seeds and it’s most commonly known and used as a laxative. However, it’s become quite popular in low carb baking and cooking as it acts exactly the way gluten does, as glue.
If you’ve ever tried baking with gluten-free flours, starch-free flours to be exact, you’ll notice that baked goods don’t always hold together and can fall apart easily. By adding psyllium to the batter, it acts as glue and makes the starch free flours stick together. Psyllium husk powder can also be used to thicken sauces, gravy or soups, but it does have a gelatinous feeling to it. When baking with it, most recipes will call for eggs or egg whites and/or hot water. The hot water helps the psyllium activate and activates its ‘glue’ properties.
I heard about psyllium a while back and slowly have been experimenting with it, but not very much as it’s pretty hard and expensive to get in Japan. When I first created this recipe, I had originally added flax seed meal to the batter, but it tasted horrible. My boyfriend thought it tasted like tofu! So I decided to skip on the flax, and made him taste again and he didn’t know it wasn’t wheat buns! These buns were so fluffy that we couldn’t tell they were low carb and gluten-free! I will definitely be experimenting with it more and making more baked goods with it because it’s just awesome! We all know it can be quite challenging to find gluten-free baked goods recipes that are also low carb, so this psyllium husk is definitely a life-savour!
I decided to make these buns for our Christmas dinner this year and they were a huge success! They go really well with different types of food, slabs of butter and are the perfect dinner rolls. They are also great for sandwiches or as toasts! For this recipe, I used refined coconut oil, but make sure you use coconut oil that doesn’t taste like coconut or else it will have a huge coconut taste! It usually says ‘refined’ or ‘expeller pressed’ on the jars for those that don’t have a coconut taste!
Keto Psyllium Buns
Delicious low carb buns that taste just like multigrain bread!
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp boiling water
Dry Ingredients
- 100 g blanched almond flour
- 2 tbsp psyllium husk powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
- 2 tsp sunflower seeds
- 1 tsp black chia seeds
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Wet Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp refined coconut oil melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients with a whisk. In a separate bowls, mix the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula.
- Slowly pour in the boiling water and continue mixing. The dough will be quite thick and expand a little as it absorbs the water. Separate the dough into 5 and form 5 balls with your hands (the batter is pretty sticky). Place the balls over parchment paper on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes. Take out and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*You cannot substitute the psyllium husk powder.
**Make sure to use REFINED coconut oil and not the normal extra-virgin kind.
***If you double the recipe, you may need to add 1-2 tbsp of hot water to the batter.
****All of our ovens are different, so if you find yours to be too moist, just add 5 more minutes in the oven, or cook them at 190C/375F instead for 30 minutes.
Katie says
I LOVE this recipe. I have made counless buns using this recipe. My favorite version is making it into cinnamon raisin buns just take out some of the savoury spices and add in cinnamon, raisins a bit of stevia for sweetness! Today I got adventurous and made a loaf!! Doubled it as as ( little extra seeds for the crust), baked for 45 minutes in a silicon loaf pan! It turned out amazing! Thank you for this recipe:)
Momolini says
The best keto bun recipe I have come across so far! Easy to make, although doubted the outcome during the process of making them, but well worth it in the end. Great with burgers and when we have a craving for bread whilst on keto diet. No eggy or coconut after taste which other keto breads tend to have. In fact, I’m making them tonight even when we aren’t on the keto diet!
Carol Little says
These were very good. It was my first try with one of the psyllium husk bread recipes. I had to restrain my husband from having more than one.
Amanda says
These are wonderful! The only thing I changed was to use olive oil in place of the coconut because all I buy is unrefined coconut oil. I don’t have a scale, so i did a measurement conversion search on Google and found that 100gs of almond flour is approximate to 1/2 cup. I tried it and they came out just perfect! Thanks so much! I haven’t had such a delicious roll since I went gluten free 5 years ago! I’m going to try adding 1 or 2 teaspoons of honey next time. Thanks again!
Jodie says
What is the best way to store these??
Mira says
Hi Jodie, I store them in the fridge or freeze them.
Jen says
Sorry, I meant to say mine came out scones-like / tea biscuit -like, not shortbread-like! 😀
Jen says
Thanks for the recipe!
I have reactive hypoglykemia and diabetes, and after being mostly without bread for years, I decided to try keto-baking! This seemed the most promising recipe. 🙂
Because of my adventurous nature and the contents of my cupboard I did some chances to the recipe, albeit being a first timer. I used normal almond flour (in Finland the non- blanched kind is more common), and only white sesame seeds as I didn’t have black ones, and toasted them slightly with the sunflower seeds. I used sugarfree oat milk instead of water, and rapeseed oil instead of coconut oil. They turned out fine! A bit dense perhaps, and, as someone else said, shortbread-like, but the taste was good and I had no problem with the consistency. My version might benefit from a bit more baking powder, more liquid and perhaps soking the psyllium for a moment before baking, in order to better mimic glutein.
Wery nice recipies here, I’ll try something sweet next, when I get myself some sweeteners!
suzanne says
Hello! Would coconut flour work in the place of almond flour? We have multiple nut allergies in the family. Thanks!
Mira says
No sorry, you would need to change the liquid and egg ratio for the coconut to work.
Elizabeth says
Typically, if you are substituting coconut flour, only use about 1/3 of the amount as it’s very dry, absorbs a lot of liquid!
Nancy says
These are seriously the best keto buns I’ve EVER made. Wow, who knew bread made with psyllium would taste like the REAL thing. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Hélène Nicole says
This is so useful and delicious!
Hélène Nicole says
Great!
Liz says
Water isn’t listed in the ingredients, is it needed?
Mira says
Hi Liz, it’s the first ingredient listed. 4 tbsp of boilin water are needed.
Susan Rajan says
I tried these today and it came out very well!
Debbie says
I would love to make these a second time but a bigger size, so maybe 3 bigger sized buns instead of the 5 smaller sized ones. I loved them but will leave out garlic this time so i can have pb and sf jam…how much longer cooking time would I need approx??. Thanks for a great recipe!
Mira says
I would start with 10 more minutes and poke them with a chopstick inside to see if they’re still raw. Add more time as needed.
katie says
Thanks for sharing!!! Could I use pink salt replace Himalayan salt? Thanks
Mira says
Pink salt is Himalayan salt. You can use any type of salt you want.
Melissa says
Hello from Singaporep! I used now foods psyllium husk as I didn’t read the part about using psyllium husk powder and they turned out perfect fine! I also replaced the coconut oil with butter! Got four buns instead of five and I wish I could share the pics with you! My sunflower seeds turned green inside the bun though! Buns were kept frozen and left to come to room temperature before heating up lightly in the microwave. They are light, fluffy, almost like pancakes!
Thank you!
Mira says
Hi! Yes, whenever you bake with sunflower seeds or flour, the baked goods tend to turn green sometimes! Perfectly normal haha. Perfect for halloween though!
Christine says
I had some expiring egg whites to use up so this recipe was perfect. I don’t have a scale so I tried 1 cup of almond flour but it resulted in more of a muffin batter than a dough. I added coconut flour until it firmed up (about 1/4 cup). I replaced half of the coconut oil with butter and used 1 tbsp chia seeds since I didn’t have any sesame seeds. But I will definitely get some other seeds for next time. Thank you!
Tracy says
These didn’t work, I’m so sad. The batter was not thick and I got flat dense biscuits. I re-read the recipe and realized I had psyllium husk – not powder – maybe that was the culprit?
Mira says
Yes, that may have been the culprit. You’re the first person I hear of that these didn’t work. You really need the powder to absorb all of the liquid so you can form balls.
NC says
There is 4 tablespoons of hot water listed at the top of this recipe but the video shows only putting in 1 tablespoon of hot water, could be the reason.
Mira says
In the video I put 4, I just skipped adding every table spoon scene for time purposes. That glass bowl in the beginning full of water were the 4 tbsp of water that I added one at a time.
Jacqueline Nieuwenhuis says
I used husks and only added 1 table spoon of hot water, worked perfectly as well! Great recipe!
Jenn says
Thank you for this great recipe! I have made any and all kinds of low carb rolls, bagels, breads in my search for a decent alternative and this one was one of the best! I used Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning since I’m pretty sure all of the sesame seeds are covered in there, lol, and doubled the amounts. I froze the rolls right away and pulled a few out this morning to toast up for breakfast and they toasted up SO WELL! They had a nice little crust on them, chewy center and the coconut oil gives them a buttery texture as well. These were NOT EGGY and I loved that 🙂 I used the NOW brand psyllium husk powder and gave them an extra grind before using them. The rolls were not purple going into the oven, but they did come out that way – it doesn’t bother me though and they taste amazing. Great job!
Megan says
Any feedback as to how it would go with flax eggs, as I’m vegan?
Mira says
Hi sorry! I haven’t tried making it with flax eggs so I couldn’t tell you if it works!
Laurie says
I have made these with eggs and vegan version using flax eggs as a replacement. I use 2 flax eggs to replace the egg and egg whites. The rolls turn out a bit more dense but that is the only difference I notice. Delicious recipe either way!
Lisa says
HI there I have made these a couple of times and they are easy and yummy! I do have a question though – mine are more of a tea biscuit texture and the ones in your pic look more like traditional bread. I used gluten free oat flour instead of almond flour could this be why?
Thanks!
Lisa
Mira says
I think that could be why since oats are less fatty than almonds. I haven’t tried with oats though because they’re too high in carbs, So I can’t be certain. But you should try the almond version! It’s yummy 🙂
Suhina says
Hi Mira. Thank you for the post. I’m wondering if anyone has made extra and frozen these buns to consume during those hectic weekdays?
Mira says
I’ve done it. I slice them first and freeze. Microwave them a few seconds and toast them.
Christina says
I live in Ecuador and cannot find almond flour, any suggestions on substitutions?
Mira says
Any other type of nut flour will work.
September Day says
You can make your own almond flour at home. Either get blanched almonds and grind up or soak almonds in hot water for a few minutes and remove skins allow to dry overnight then grind up
Susan says
I am really looking forward to trying these but I am allergic to almonds. I need to sub Brianna Thomas’s baking mix, or use oat flour. Hoping my tries are edible. Thank you for creating & sharing this recipe!
Mira says
Are you allergic to all nuts or just almonds, because any other nut flours will work. You could also try sunflower flour.
Lori says
Has anyone substituted the eggs with flax eggs, for allergy reasons, and been successful?
ann g says
These buns tasted awesome after they cooled. I used Now brand psyllium husk powder and they turned lavender in color. I’m not sure why.
Mira says
That’s actually really interesting! Most brands of psyllium turn purple (nothing to worry about), but the NOW brand is known for NOT turning purple, which is why I recommend using that one. So I’m also wondering why your buns turned purple!! So weird! Maybe it was affected by another brand of the other ingredients you used…
Rosemary Anderson says
Jay Robb Psyllium Husk powder does NOT turn your bread purple. I’ve used NOW brand and they did turn color. Doesn’t affect the taste at all, just the aesthetics of it all. I’ve been making these for quite some time and they always turn out wonderful and I freeze them and then take a couple out for dinner and put in my toaster oven for about 10 min. Perfect!
Diane N. says
I made these with the following modifications, and they are fantastic!
Additional 100 grams almond flour (get a food scale-well worth it with LCHA/Keto flour measures)
Total of 2 T. Chia seeds
Total of 2 T. white sesame seeds
FOR HONEY WHEAT FLAVOR – 2 drops Ez-Sweetz OR 2 t. granular sweetener (so good)
Subbed coconut oil for Light Extra Virginia olive oil
1 additional egg white
1 T. additional psyllium husk powder (b)ought mine at Target
**Omitted garlic
Bake at 375F for 35 minutes. Enjoy!
Mira says
Sounds delicious! I’ll have to make some your way too!
Marie Lalor says
So, I LOVE these, but I’m wondering where all the fat comes from? 20g?
Mira says
Almond flour has 51g and coconut oil has 42g, plus a few grams for the other ingredients making it 20g per bun.
Yen says
Just wondering what difference it would make in the recipe if i used the unrefined coconut oil instead of the refined? Would the recipe not work? Any way to substitute it with anything else?
Thanks
Mira says
Hi, the only difference is that it’s going to taste like coconut, whereas refined coconut oil doesn’t have any flavours.
Linda Anderson says
I was wondering if I could use Olive Oil instead of coconut oil?
Mira says
You can use any type of oil you wish, it will just have an aftertaste 🙂
September Day says
I wonder if bacon grease would work. Might give a nice flavor
Mira says
It’s the same. Just will taste like coconut if you use unrefined coconut oil.
Jan McGivern Lewis says
1. Do the seeds serve any purpose other than flavor? I do have chia, but not the others. What about garlic powder?
The reason I’m asking is I think they’d be awesome for meat and cheese sandwiches or hamburgers, but for a peanut butter sandwich the garlic or seeds might not be the best flavor combo. 😉
Mira says
Hi,
Nope they are not needed. Just in there for flavour.
Jan McGivern Lewis says
Thank you for the quick answer! I will try them both ways!😊
Susan says
Hi Mira. Just tried the buns and the recipe is so simple! I didn’t have any seeds or ACV, and had to run the psyllium husk thru my nutribullet to make the powder, and they still came out fab! Just scoffed one straight out of the oven with melted butter and a slab of mature cheddar, absolutely yum!! Many thanks for the recipe!
Mira says
Great!! I’m happy they turned out delicious 🙂 Thanks for commenting!!