It doesn’t get any simpler than this…Parmesan Crisps made with cheese. That’s it. I like a blend of parmesan and asiago because the asiago makes the final product a nice combination of crispy and chewy. Parmesan on its own makes a more delicate, brittle crisp.

These are great as a snack, on top of caesar salad, or in place of bread on French Onion Soup!

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Quick Parmesan Crisps

Eat as a snack or put on top of caesar salad in place of croutons.

Course Snack

Keyword keto, low carb

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
• 1/4 cup Asiago cheese grated, or use 1/4 cup more parmesan

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Place small mounds of cheese on parchment-lined baking sheets OR place cheese in mini muffin pans, about 1/2 full.
• Bake in oven until melted and slightly browned.

You might also like: Low Carb Caesar Salad Dressing

Super simple Low Carb Caesar Salad Dressing. I like to use my immersion blender for easy cleanup but a regular blender or food processor works great too. Obviously, this is a salad dressing recipe, but be creative and use this as a sauce for chicken (toss chicken in the dressing and bake), or as a dip for veggies or pizza crust 🙂

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Caesar Dressing

Course Salad, sauce

Keyword keto, low carb

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 whole lemon juiced
• 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Anchovy paste
• 1 pinch Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

• Combine the dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender and process or blend until smooth.

You might also like: Simple Low Carb Noodles and Parmesan Crisps and Crazy Keto Pizza Crust

I love sheet pan meals. Meat, veggies and fat all cooking together in one pan. Easy assembly. Easy cleanup. The juices from the chicken in this Sheet Pan Hemp Seed Chicken and Veggies, flavours the cauliflower and broccoli!

It’s a great weeknight meal that you can easily put together and let bake while you wind down from your busy day.

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Sheet Pan Hemp Seed Chicken and Veggies

Course Main Course

Keyword keto, low carb

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 head broccoli raw (cut into pieces (not too small))
• 1/2 medium head cauliflower cut into pieces (not too small)
• 2 tbsp olive oil for veggies
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper for veggies
• 4 chicken thighs boneless
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise with olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese shredded
• 1/4 tsp salt and pepper each
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds shelled

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Toss broccoli and cauliflower with olive oil and salt and pepper.
• Place on parchment-lined baking sheet and set aside.
• Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
• Mix together in a bowl, the mayo and seasonings, but not the hemp seed.
• Place chicken thighs individually into the mayo mix and coat all sides. If the mixture is too thick to coat the chicken, add a tsp of olive oil and stir well before coating the chicken.
• Coat each piece with hemp seeds and place on the baking sheet among the veggies.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is done.

Notes

Net carbs per serving: 9.7 grams

You might also like: Keto Thai Lemongrass Chicken

In my opinion, this Keto Creme Brulee is tied with the Quick and Easy Hollandaise Sauce for the best use of egg yolks that are left over once you make Low Carb Meringue.

If you own an Instant Pot, it’s the easiest way to get a consistently silky and delicious creme brulee. It only takes about 5 minutes to put together and then 9 minutes in the Instant Pot!! I like the powdered Swerve sweetener for the custard because it dissolves very easily in the egg yolks. If you can’t find powdered (confectioners) Swerve, or you prefer a different sweetener, just run the granulated sweetener through a blender or food processor until it becomes a powder. For the top, I prefer the Lakanto golden sweetener with monk fruit because it caramelizes a little better than the white granulated sweetener but use whatever you have. It doesn’t ‘burn’ quite like regular sugar but once it cools it still leaves a nice crunchy top.

What’s an Instant Pot?

If you don’t own an Instant Pot, I’m so very sorry… they are wonderful.

It’s a digital Pressure Cooker, that can also be used as a slow cooker or rice/vegetable steamer, or it can be used to saute or reheat foods. You can even hard boil eggs in here, and they peel like a DREAM. Every single time!

In the beginning, I didn’t love mine as much as everyone else seems to. However, once I discovered which kinds of recipes that I like best in the Instant Pot, that all changed. I’m not a fan of roasts or large cuts of meat cooked in the Instant Pot because I really like crisp ‘crust’ on roasts, which you don’t get from a pressure cooker (even when you sear it first). I love soups, stews, sauces, egg dishes and desserts in my Instant Pot. I also love that you can cook meat from frozen, unlike in a slow cooker. You’ll find directions for oven baking of this fantastic dessert in the recipe below.

This dessert is so delicious. It tastes like the original, made with white sugar with only 2.5 grams of net carbs instead of 15 grams.

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Keto Creme Brulee

The Instant Pot makes this super easy but you can bake it in the oven too.

Course Dessert

Keyword Low Carb

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 9 minutes minutes

Total Time 14 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 363kcal

Ingredients

• 2 cup Heavy whipping cream 38% M.F.
• 6 large egg yolk
• 5 tbsp Swerve Sweetener confectioners (plus a little more for the topping)
• 1 tbsp Vanilla extract pure (or use another flavour like orange, lemon, maple)

Instructions

• In a mixing bowl combine heavy whipping cream, yolks, 3 tablespoons sweetener and vanilla.
• Whisk together until well combined
• Pour mixture into 6 small ramekins
• Cover each ramekin individually with aluminum foil
• Add one cup of water to the bottom of the inner pot
• Place silicon steamer on top
• Carefully place three ramekins into the steamer
• Place the remaining three ramekins on top of the bottom three slightly offsetting them so that the bottom ones will support the top ones.
• Close lid and make sure valve is set to seal
• Cook on high pressure for 9 minutes.
• Let rest for 15 minutes
• Release steam and open lid
• Let cool and refrigerate for at least a few hours ( it’s best served cold).
• Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Keto sweetener on top of each creme brûlée. I get the best results with Lakanto Golden Sweetener with Monk Fruit.
• Using a hand torch, burn the sugar until it darkens. Make sure to do this in a well-ventilated area and be careful as you are working with an open flame.

Notes

If you don't have an Instant Pot, place the ramekins in a baking dish and add boiling water until it reaches 3/4 way up the ramekins. Place in a 325 degree over and bake for about 40 minutes. The custard should be just set but still a bit jiggly.

Net carbs per serving: 2.5 grams (after accounting for sugar alcohols)

*This is an updated post. The original post was February 27, 2019.

When I started eating low carb, I really missed pasta and rice. Like REALLY missed them. Some of you may know the story that I tell of the early days when I was craving pasta and mistook a bowl of elastic bands on my desk for a bowl or ramen noodles!

Pasta and rice are such versatile foods that allow for quick and easy weeknight meals that the whole family loves. Not to mention the fact that when you make your favourite pasta sauce, you need something to put it on!

Shirataki Konjac Pasta

Zoodles Come From a Can

I tried all the usual substitutes that were suggested: spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles (or Zoodles as they’re called, and they taste nothing like the canned noodles in tomato sauce that I enjoyed as a kid), cauliflower rice…I even tried making noodles from other root vegetables like celery root and parsnips. They were ok-tasting but definitely not a good substitute for pasta or rice in my opinion. Then I tried shirataki noodles.

Shirataki…Isn’t That a Mushroom?

No, you’re thinking of SHITAKE.

‘Shiritaki’ means ‘white waterfall’ which refers to the appearance. They are made from the Konjac yam and consist mostly of water-soluble fibre making the net carbohydrate content of 1g or less per serving (remember to subtract the fibre amount from the total carbohydrate amount to get the NET CARBS They have virtually no taste of their own but easily take on the flavour of the sauce or liquid you add to them. You might see them labeled as Konjac noodles or Konjac rice.

Benefits and Things to Be Aware Of

Shirataki pasta can help balance blood sugar, keep you satiated and lower cholesterol. However, because there is so much fibre, some people experience mild gas, bloating or loose stools. Simply start with smaller portions and gradually increase. In addition, it may affect the absorption of certain medications so be sure to take medications at least 1 hour before or 4 hours after eating shirataki.

How to Use Shirataki

Shirataki noodles are usually sold in liquid in pouches and come in various shapes including spaghetti, angel hair, linguine and rice-shaped. Don’t be put off by the initial smell when you open the package. THEY DO NOT TASTE LIKE THAT (some people describe it as a fishy smell). Simply follow the instructions on the package: they usually need to be rinsed and that takes care of the smell.

Some people suggest placing the shirataki in boiling water for a couple of minutes but I don’t usually find that to be necessary.  I like to heat it in a dry frying pan (no oil) for a few minutes and then I just add it to whatever sauce or soup I’m making, or use the rice-shaped variety for stir fry. The dry frying technique improves the texture a bit, so it’s less chewy. The texture is a bit different from regular wheat pasta but I found it easy to get used to and was so happy to have a non-vegetable-tasting noodle replacement that I didn’t care that it wasn’t exactly like the pasta I’d grown up with!!

My Favourite Brands

I’ve tried 5 different brands and like them all:

 .  .               

Miracle Noodle is probably my least favourite. The texture isn’t quite as nice as the others but it will do in a pinch.

This is another pasta alternative that I really like. It’s made from edamame (soy) and is very similar to wheat-based pasta in terms of texture and cooking requirements. It has more carbs than shirataki but it’s only 6 grams of net carbs per serving. Not all of this brand’s pasta is low carb so be sure to read the labels and look for the edamame and/or mung bean pasta.

Where to Buy

Many grocery stores now sell at least one of these brands either in the health food section or with the other gluten-free items. Most health food stores also sell these products. I buy mine at Bulk Barn (when they have their discount coupons) or online at Well.ca. As an affiliate for Well.ca I receive a small commission if you choose to purchase anything from them through my links, which I greatly appreciate!

Well.ca has great selection and prices, and shipping is fast and free if you spend $35 or more. Many of the specialty ingredients that I use in my keto/low carb cooking can be expensive so I’m always looking for more economical ways to purchase these products.

Recently I was wanting some rice pudding (I know…might seem strange…I think I saw a picture of it in a recipe book and I kept imagining the lovely aroma of warm cinnamon, and then I noticed that I had shirataki rice and BOOM!…this happened)

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Low Carb Rice Pudding

When you're craving some comfort food, try this low carb rice pudding made with konjac rice. 

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword Low Carb

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 499kcal

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup Konjac rice type
• 2 cup Heavy cream or substitute half with milk of your choice
• 1/4 cup Swerve or Monk Fruit Sweetener
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract pure
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg ground
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp Butter salted

Instructions

• Rinse the konjac rice in a strainer with cold water for 2 minutes.
• Combine konjac rice with 1 1/2 cup heavy cream, sweetener, salt, vanilla and spices in a medium sized saucepan.
• Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until thickened.
• Beat the egg and stir it in with the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream.
• Continue cooking while stirring for 2 more minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in butter.
• Divide the rice into 4 serving bowls. Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!

Notes

The carbs in this recipe come mostly from sugar alcohols which are not entirely absorbed by your body.

Net Carb per Serving (minus the fibre and sugar alcohols): 4g

Check out my post where I share my Fettuccini Alfredo recipe, made with NuPasta fettuccini. SO YUMMY and quick to prepare!

Low Carb Fettuccini Alfredo

I’ll continue to add more shirataki recipes as I try them, but they’re so versatile and easy to use, you don’t need a recipe. Sometimes, I just warm them up and add butter, salt and pepper, and a bit of grated parmesan. Super easy and delicious.

Give shirataki or edamame pasta a try and let me know what recipes you use it in!

This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase anything from Well.ca through any of my links, I receive a small commission which I greatly appreciate.