If you have a sweet tooth, it can be hard to stick to a diet—especially when you’re looking forward to dessert but trying to count calories. The keto diet is popular because it doesn’t restrict calories but instead focuses on cutting down on carbohydrates and protein to maximize weight loss. That still leaves many options for indulgent desserts—you just need to think outside of the box.
The Keto Diet and Common Dessert Ingredients
A surprising number of common dessert ingredients are welcome on the keto diet. However, there are a few you need to avoid.
- Butter– Most fats are fair game on the keto diet.
- Oils– Similar to butter, oils are fine for the keto diet, and some like olive oil and MCT oil can have additional health benefits.
- Flour– This is the big one you should avoid, as keto recommends minimizing carbs to no more than 10 percent of your calorie intake.
- Sugar– Standard sugars are one of the carbs that can throw off the keto diet. Low-calorie alternatives like monk fruit work well in most dessert recipes.
- Fruit– While some fruits like bananas and apples are high in carbs, berries are a popular and healthy dessert option for the keto diet.
- Nuts– Packed with healthy oils, many nuts, including hazelnuts and almonds, are a healthy option for those looking for a sweet fix while cutting carbs. Just be careful not to overdo it, as these nuts do contain some carbs.
10 Indulgent Keto Dessert Recipes
1. Cheesecake Fat Bombs
These rich frozen desserts are easy to make, with only five ingredients. You’ll need cream cheese, butter or coconut oil, heavy cream as the base, the keto-friendly sweetener of your choice, and some vanilla for flavor.
Just beat all the ingredients together until smooth, form them into balls, and freeze them until they’re solid. The cold and creamy texture is a perfect choice for a sweet treat that will fill you up quickly, and you can roll them in chocolate chips for some added texture.
2. Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Sure, many of the commercial chocolate-coated fruits are full of sugar and fat, but these classic treats are easy to make at home. Just melt down some keto chocolate bars with MCT oil for an added ketosis boost and dip the strawberries in them.
Let them chill until they form a hard shell—now you have a treat combining chocolate and fruit flavors without the added carbs.
3. Chocolate Mousse
This simple and creamy dessert is like a chocolate pudding without the additives in the pudding cups of your childhood. You’ll need cream cheese, heavy cream, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, 1/4 cup of a zero-calorie sweetener of your choice, and a pinch of salt.
Just blend the cream cheese until smooth, add the cream and vanilla, and add in the rest of the ingredients and beat until everything is thoroughly mixed. It can be served immediately or chilled for later.
4. Keto Brown Butter Pralines
These pralines offer a keto-friendly twist on a classic southern dessert using chopped pecans, butter, heavy cream, a keto-friendly sweetener, sea salt, and a secret ingredient—xanthan gum. This stabilizer, which you can find in most baking sections, is a useful addition to keto recipes.
After browning the butter and stirring in the heavy cream, sweetener, and xanthan gum, add the pecans and stir, then chill them until they firm up. The mixture should be thick enough to spoon onto a baking sheet and bake.
5. Peanut Butter Balls
Based on one of the most popular dessert combos, these recipes couldn’t be simpler. Just make balls out of the peanut butter of your choice—both chunky and smooth will work—and dip them in melted chocolate from a keto-friendly chocolate bar.
Once chilled, nothing more is involved—you should have a natural chocolate shell surrounding peanut butter goodness.
6. Keto Brownies
With almost none of the carbs and all of the fudge flavor, these brownies are the perfect choice for those missing their chocolate fix.
Almond flour replaces normal flour and combines with cocoa powder, a keto sweetener (the recipe recommends erythritol), baking powder, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and a small portion of dark chocolate. You can also add some instant coffee powder for a java twist.
After melting the butter and chocolate, it’s just a matter of mixing in the dry ingredients and baking for 20 minutes until you have perfect keto brownies.
7. Keto Fudge
This recipe is for classic chocolate fudge, but it can be adapted into other flavors with the same base. There are only five ingredients—1 cup of solid coconut oil, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, 1/4 cup of powdered erythritol, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt. That’s right—it’s not only keto-friendly—it’s vegan.
Just beat the coconut oil and sweetener together until smooth, then add the other ingredients and refrigerate until it’s solid. You can sprinkle it with sea salt at the end for an added savory touch.
8. Keto Chocolate Mug Cake
This simple single-serving dessert recipe calls for butter, almond flour, cocoa powder, a single egg, baking powder, a low-calorie sweetener like Swerve, keto-friendly chocolate chips or chunks from a keto chocolate bar, and a pinch of salt.
Microwave the butter, then add all the other ingredients, stir them, then microwave for up to a minute until the cake is set but still has a rich and fudgy center. Top with whipped cream if you like, and you have dessert in only minutes.
9. Keto Ice Cream
Most ice creams are rich and delicious but far from keto-friendly. This easy recipe for vanilla ice cream will settle those cravings.
You’ll need coconut milk, heavy cream, a keto-friendly substitute for confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.
After chilling the coconut milk for at least three hours, whip it until it’s creamy. Beat the heavy cream with the sweetener and vanilla until whipped, then fold the two mixes together and place them into a pan. Chill them until frozen solid, and you have simple keto-friendly ice cream that can be jazzed up with your favorite mix-ins.
10. Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies are one of the classic dessert favorites, and this alternative will have you amazed at how you don’t miss the carbs. You’ll need butter or coconut oil, a granular low-calorie sweetener, eggs, vanilla extract, almond flour, baking soda, salt, and keto-friendly chocolate chips.
Blend the softened butter with the eggs and vanilla, and then add the flour, baking soda, and salt. After folding in the chocolate chips, spoon them out and bake for 10 minutes until you have rich, classic cookies.
Dessert on Keto? No Problem
Regardless of your taste in desserts, there’s a recipe on the keto diet that will work for you. These recipes are just the beginning, and most are not time-consuming. Keep these ingredients handy for when you need a sweet fix, and transitioning to keto will be easy.
