These Keto Cheese Puffs with Sweet Black Pepper Bacon are low-carb cheesy bites of deliciousness (and zero net carbs!). Made special with sweet black pepper bacon for a small burst of sweet smoky heat in your mouth! Perfect for the holiday gathering appetizer trays that you and your keto friends will love!
I am participating in a blogger challenge using Mahón-Menorca Cheese. I was provided with three types of cheese to work with in creating recipes for this challenge. All opinions are my own.
Making Keto Friendly Appetizers for the Holidays
Appetizers are an important part of my holiday eating. Therefore, I wanted to create an appetizer that was keto friendly so that I could have a special treat along with everyone else during the holiday party time. I am also a huge fan of cheese, so it was inevitable that I put the sweet black pepper bacon and cheese together!
I fell in love with Sweet Black Pepper Bacon back when Dunkin Donuts came out with it in a sandwich. Back then I was not a Keto dieter so when I tried that sandwich I became infatuated with it! While I don't eat that sandwich anymore (do they even make it?), I can eat the bacon! I knew I would have to make the bacon and do a Keto friendly version of it.
Cheese and Bacon - two foods you will love as a Keto dieter!
I was liberal with the cheese in this recipe and used the Mahón-Menorca SEMI-CURED 2-5 months for these puffs. The description of the cheese as having a slight buttery taste with flavors reminiscent to dried fruit and hazelnuts sounded like it would blend well with what I was looking for in my recipe. I also went heavy on the bacon.
Sweet Black Pepper Bacon Cheese Puffs are easy to make!
To bind these puffs together I used super fine almond flour along with eggs. I added a touch of brown sugar Swerve to the recipe to give it another hint of sweetness. I just stirred all the ingredients together at once and scooped them out by the tablespoon (I used my tablespoon sized cookie scoop) and baked in the oven 12-15 minutes.
The Keto Cheese Puffs turned out incredibly delicious! The texture was perfect. It reminded me slightly of a biscuit with a spicy sweet touch. The puffs kept their shape while baking and browned nicely. When I broke one in half, you could see the bacon and cheesiness inside. Absolutely perfection on my tongue and to my senses!
What else can you use Keto Cheese Puffs with Sweet Black Pepper Bacon for? Perfect appetizer but you can do so many other things with this recipe!
- Use these as slider buns! I think this would be a great slider bun for a breakfast sandwich with egg and cheese, bacon optional.
- Use these as a vessel to add more fat to your keto diet by eating warm spread with butter.
- Enjoy as an afternoon snack and spread with a little sugar-free jam to enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or tea.
- Make croutons! Cut into smaller pieces and bake in the oven to dry them out a little more for crispy croutons for your salad.
Keto Cheese Puffs with Sweet Black Pepper Bacon are great finger food appetizers for yourself and your guests. They also serve up nicely in your festive bowls! I hope you will love these as much as I did!
More about Mahón-Menorca Cheese
Mahón-Menorca Cheese is made only in Spain and made of menorcan cow’s milk, which can be pasteurized or raw, and exclusively matured on the island of Menorca. It is a very versatile cheese that lends well to baking, cooking, or just plain eating! It also would make a great addition to any cheese board for the holidays.
Visit Mahón-Menorca Cheese on their Social Media Channels! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Mahón-Menorca Cheese can be purchased nationwide at Whole Foods, and at other fine retailers such as Fairway Markets, Harris Teeter, Saveway, Kroger, Murray’s, Central Markets, Costco, Gourmet Garage, West Side Markets, Zabar’s, Central and Town & Country Markets in Seattle and at the best specialty stores all over the country
📖 Recipe
Keto Cheese Puffs with Sweet Black Pepper Bacon
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Ingredients
For the Sweet Black Pepper Bacon
- 6 slices Thick Cut Bacon
- 1 tablespoon Swerve Brown Sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
For the Cheese Puffs
- ¾ cup Almond Flour
- 2 large eggs
- 3 oz Mahón-Menorca SEMI-CURED cheese grated
- 1 tablespoon Swerve Brown Sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Make the Sweet Black Pepper Bacon
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lie bacon out on baking rack with a cookie sheet beneath it to catch the fat.
- Sprinkle bacon evenly with Swerve Brown Sugar and Coarsely Ground Black Pepper.
- Bake in oven until bacon is slightly crispy.
- Once bacon is cooled, chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Make the Keto Cheese Puffs
- Place the almond flour, Swerve Brown Sugar, Eggs, Cheese, baking powder, and bacon in mixing bowl.
- Stir to combine.
- Place 1 tablespoon of dough on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I use a small cookie scoop that equals about a tablespoon. You should get 16 cheese puffs.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until puffs have started to turn golden brown and are no longer wet on top.
- Serve immediately.
- If storing puffs, store in airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week.
Tara says
I have made these a bunch of times…my kids love it! Thanks for the recipe!
Shelby says
So happy to hear this! Thanks for stopping by and letting me know!