These keto pop tarts are such a treat! They are made up of a light yet buttery and flaky low carb pastry dough and filled with an easy raspberry jam. Want to indulge? Top them with a sugar free icing and sprinkle with freeze-dried raspberries!
Regular readers of this blog know that I spent a year in the US as an exchange student when I was a teenager. It was there in Walterboro, South Carolina, that I first came across pop tarts. I thought they were just the coolest thing! Well, it was time to revisit those memories and come up with a sugar free pop tarts recipe.
Jump to:
What are sugar free pop tarts?
I'm glad you asked. Essentially, they are gluten free low carb pastries filled with a sugar free jam filling that you bake in the oven until golden. The dough is buttery and flaky in all the best ways.
Low carb pop tarts are brushed with an egg wash to make them nice and shiny on top. And if you want, you can also add sugar free icing!
We like to eat them as a breakfast treat on the weekend, but they also work so well as an afternoon treat or dessert with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of sugar free ice cream.
And did I mention they are just 4.6g net carbs per portion?
Ingredients
- Almond flour and coconut flour: The two most popular gluten free keto flours that work exceedingly well in combination. I use what we (here in the UK) call ground almonds. This is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. If you're using extra fine almond flour, you may need to use 1 tablespoon less or increase the amount of butter used.
- Cream cheese and butter: I always use full fat cream cheese.
- Powdered sweetener: I like monk fruit sweetener blends. You can also use pure erythritol or xylitol.
- Egg: You'll need 2 eggs - one for the dough and one for an egg wash.
- Vanilla extract and salt: Make sure the extract is sugar free.
- Raspberries: These can be frozen or fresh.
- Xanthan gum: This is essential to make the jam thicken. You can also use 1 teaspoon ground chia seeds.
My recipe is nicely sweet but not overly so. I really try to keep the sweeteners in my recipes to just enough to be tasty but not sickeningly sweet as I just don’t think you need cups of sugars in everything.
There is no sweetener in the filling as I find raspberries sweet enough but feel free to add a touch if you like. I just added a little to the pastry and of course there’s the optional icing which adds extra sweetness too if you like.
How to make keto pop tarts
Pastry
Place the dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine.
Add 1 egg, butter, cream cheese and vanilla and pulse until a sticky batter. Don’t over-mix.
Scoop the low carb pastry dough into a mixing bowl and shape to form a ball. Wrap the ball in clingfilm or tin foil and place in the freezer for 10 - 15 minutes until chilled. This stops it being sticky and makes it easy to roll.
Note - you can use this pastry recipe as a pie crust!
Raspberry filling
Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the raspberries in a non-stick pan. Heat over medium until soft, stirring a couple of times to prevent sticking, and squash the raspberries with the back of a spatula. This takes about 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat, add the xanthan gum and stir to combine. Allow the raspberry jam to fully cool and thicken. This will stop the pastry being soggy.
While the jam thickes, prepare the keto pastry dough! Cut the dough in two. Take one piece and roll between two sheets of greaseproof paper.
Now, fold over the edges and re-roll. This will give you more of a rectangle shape.
Cut the edges off and cut into 4 rectangles. Repeat with the remaining ball. Use any leftovers to form the last two rectangles.
Depending on how thin you roll it you should get 10 rectangles.
Place the rectangles on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush half with beaten egg wash.
Split the filling into 5 and add to the centre of the non egg-washed rectangles. Spread slightly with the back of a spoon leaving about 1cm all the way around. You will need approximately 1 tablespoon of filling per pop tart.
Add the egg washed rectangle to the base with the filling and place in the freezer again for 10 minutes. This stops the dough sticking and breaking when you seal with a fork.
Press to seal the edges with a fork and add 2 - 3 fork marks to the top. This will let out any steam and stop them exploding. Don’t go all the way through the pastry, just the top rectangle in depth. And voila, your keto pop tarts are ready for the oven!
Cook for 15 - 17 minutes or until golden. After baking, you can brush the tarts with a little melted butter for extra taste, especially if you're not icing them. Allow to cool.
Optional sugar free icing
Mix the icing in a bowl with a teaspoon until smooth. Add the water (or almond milk / lemon juice for a zingy lemon icing) a few drops at a time until to your desired thickness - approximately 1 tablespoon.
Ice the keto pop tarts using the back of a spoon and allow to cool to set. Sprinkle with freeze dried raspberry powder or sugar free sprinkles.
Tip: If the icing sets hard before you ice the, simply add a few drops of water to help it loosen up again. Add the water a little at a time when making your icing until the thickness is to your liking.
Recipe variations for low carb keto pastry
There are so many options to jazz up the filling for these easy sugar free pastries!
- strawberry pop tarts: Use my sugar free strawberry jam.
- brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts: Mix granulated sugar free sweetener and cinnamon with melted butter.
- blueberry pop tarts: Use my low carb blueberry jam.
- cream cheese: add a dollop of cream cheese under the jam filling.
- lemon curd pop tarts: Use my sugar free lemon curd.
- extra thick keto pastries: On top of the jam filling, add 2 fresh raspberries (or chopped strawberries / blueberries if you're making one of the other flavours). This will help bulge out the filling. Note that in this case, it's not possible to heat the tarts in the toaster.
Storage
Low carb pop tarts are best stored in the fridge - for up to 3 days. Alternatively, freeze them for up to 3 months. I recommend that you freeze them without the icing and add it after thawing.
Heat your pop tarts in the microwave or crisp them up in the oven (180C / 350F for 5 minutes). I don't recommend heating them in the toaster.
More sweet keto breakfast recipes
We all love this easy keto cinnamon bread!
This recipe for keto blueberry scones gets great reviews.
Moist, delicious Keto strawberry muffins!
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
★ STAY IN TOUCH on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM for more great food and join my NEWSLETTER for the latest updates and a FREE EBOOK.★
Recipe
Keto Pop Tarts - Sugar Free, Gluten Free
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
PASTRY
- 1.5 cup almond flour 150g
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour 16g
- 2 tablespoon cream cheese 30g
- ¼ cup powdered sweetener 40g
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon butter ghee or coconut oil, slightly soft + a little extra to brush after cooking (30g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- tiny pinch of salt
- 1 egg - for egg wash (optional)
FILLING
- 1 cup frozen raspberries 160g
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- optional up to 1 tablespoon powdered sweetener
Optional ICING
- ½ cup powdered sweetener 80g
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.
- Place the dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine.
- Add 1 egg, butter, cream cheese and vanilla and pulse until a sticky batter. Don’t over-mix.
- Shape the dough to form a ball. Wrap in clingfilm or tin foil and place in the freezer for 10 - 15 minutes until chilled. This stops it being sticky and makes it easy to roll.
- Meanwhile make the filling. Place the raspberries in a non-stick pan. Heat on medium until soft, stirring a couple of times to prevent sticking, and squash the raspberries with the back of a spatula. About 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the xanthan gum and stir to combine. Allow to fully cool.
- Cut the dough in two. Take one piece and roll between two sheets of greaseproof paper. Fold over the edges and re-roll. This will give you more of a rectangle shape.
- Cut the edges off and cut into 4 rectangles. Repeat with the remaining ball. Use any leftovers to form the last two rectangles. Depending on how thin you roll it you should get 10 rectangles.
- Place the rectangles on a greaseproof lined baking tray. Brush half with beaten egg wash.
- Split the filling into 5 and add to the centre of the non egg-washed rectangles. Spread slightly with the back of a spoon leaving about 1cm all the way around. Approx 1 tablespoon of filling per pop tart.
- Add the egg washed rectangle to the base with the filling and place in the freezer again for 10 minutes. This stops the dough sticking and breaking when you seal with a fork.
- Press to seal the edges with a fork and add 2 - 3 fork marks to the top. This will let out any steam and stop them exploding. Don’t go all the way through the pastry, just the top rectangle in depth.
- Cook for 15 - 17 minutes or until golden. Option to brush with a little melted butter. Allow to cool.
- Mix the icing in a bowl with a teaspoon until smooth. Add the water a few drops at a time until to your desired thickness, approximately 1 tbsp. Ice the pop tarts using the back of a spoon and allow to cool to set. Option to sprinkle with freeze dried raspberry powder or sugar free sprinkles.
Video
Notes
- use low carb blueberry jam
- use sugar free strawberry jam
- place additional fresh berries over the jam to make the pop tarts thicker (don't toast if you're choosing this option)
- stir together granulated sweetener and cinnamon with melted butter for a cinnamon "sugar" filling
- fill with sugar free nutella
- add a dollop of cream cheese under the jam filling
Kathleen
These are really great I've been making them repeatedly, you kind of need to measure them to make sure the top pieces line up, and it's difficult to move the dough pieces with a spatula, cooling them in the freezer for a couple of minutes helps. It's so hard to make these look pretty. Hopefully I will get better at this.
Katrin Nürnberger
Above and all, it's all about the taste! Really happy that you enjoy the pop tarts.
Andra
Did it!! Strawberry keto pop tarts... Yummy Had some trouble with the being extremely sticky though cooling trick but eventually decided to use some protein backing flour instead of ol all purpose flour to avoid any sticking to the backing paper and was very easy to roll and prepare... Thank you very much for your recipe .
Tracey
Massive hit, thank you!!!!!
Linda Smith
Made these pop tarts yesterday and filled with keto blueberry jam using the recipe in the link... they're delicious... will definitely make them again!
Faith
Can’t wait to make this!! Oh my looks so so yummy!
Nicole
Best pop tarts recipe. Thank you for your recipes.
Nicole
Super good.
Kim
Hi, how many drops of liquid Monkfruit should I use instead of the powdered sweetener in the pastry, filling & icing? I don't like to use the powdered/granulated type of sweeteners. Thanks!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Kim, you need to check what the conversion to sugar is for your monk fruit sweetener and then calculate how much you'd need to use. It normally states that on the packet. For stevia it's 4-5 drops per 1 teaspoon of sugar. Is it the same with liquid monk fruit?
Keith
Can this be made without the cream cheese and xanthan gum?
Katrin Nürnberger
You would need to replace the cream cheese with something else to vet the same wet/dry ratio or your dough may be too hard. Maybe sour cream could work, or even yoghurt. As for the xanthan gum, it gives a stronger dough consistency and makes it easier to handle. The recipe would work without, but the end result will be more fragile, especially when hot.
Sheila
I have not tried the recipe yet but by the ingredients I am certain they will be a hit. Unfrosted strawberry Pop tarts are my weakness and seeing this recipe gives me hope that I can again enjoy what was once a favor treat.