One of the biggest hurdles people mention when they talk about their struggles adapting to keto is finding substitutes for their favorite foods, such as bread, potato, pasta, and sugar.
If you’re considering starting a keto diet or at the beginning of your journey, it can help to find a list of great keto alternatives to some of the staple carbs you might find hard to part with.
One question we often hear is how to substitute bread, but what about bread crumbs?
Breadcrumbs add depth and texture to many foods, such as fish, breaded mushrooms, meatloaf, and fried chicken.
So how can you still enjoy these much-loved foods without sacrificing and losing the part that gives them flavor and crunch?
So, as breadcrumbs are strictly off the table on a keto diet, what can you use instead?
This guide will broaden your recipes and spice up your dinner plans by showing you some excellent foods you can use instead of breadcrumbs on a keto diet.
#1 Almond Flour
Almond flour is one of the most commonly used ingredients that people following a keto diet use instead of standard flour.
It can be purchased in most stores and isn’t too expensive than other keto-friendly products. You could even make it yourself if you have a blender and enough time.
You can use almond flour instead of anything you would typically use breadcrumbs for, bringing texture and flavor to any dish.
Two tablespoons of almond flour contain 5g of carbs and 5g of fat, so it fits perfectly into a keto diet.
- Contains 1 - 3lb bag of Blue Diamond Almond Flour
- Great in recipes and baking
- Supports Keto and Paleo Lifestyles
- Finely sifted and made with high quality blanched almo
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#2 Pork Rind/Crackling
Pork rind makes an excellent substitute for breadcrumbs on many dishes, and the best part is it contains no carbs and plenty of fat—the ideal keto combo.
Crackling perfectly compliments any meat dish, bringing a salty crunch to any dish. It’s even a great snack to eat by itself.
You can purchase these from the store or make them yourself by drying pork rind, seasoning, and roasting. Once cool, these can be crushed in a blender with other flavor enhancers.
Check the ingredients if purchasing from the store, as some products may contain sugar or preservatives.
Check out the best pork crumble products to use pork rind in your recipes.
- ✔️ NO CARBS! For those of you following a ketogenic diet, paleo diet, bariatric diet, gluten-free, diabetic diet, or just watching your carbs, you’ll now be able to enjoy your favorite foods again without the guilt! Each serving of our Pork King Good Pork Rind Crumbs has absolutely no carbs!
- ✔️ SIMPLE & DELICIOUS RECIPES! We’ve taken our insanely delicious Pork King Good Pork Rinds and chicharrones and grinded them down into crumbs to be used in place of bread crumbs in your favorite recipes! Try them out to make chicken fingers, fish sticks, eggplant parmigiana, meatballs, and even in place of flour for pizza crusts, garlic bread, and even pancakes! The options are limitless! Visit us online for free recipes.
- ✔️ CONVENIENT! If you’ve tried crunching up pork rinds before in your low carb recipes, you know that it’s pretty time consuming and tedious, albeit delicious. We at Pork King Good have been grinding up pork rinds for our own personal ketogenic use for quite some time, until deciding to offer this convenient option to the masses! Each of our 12 oz packages contain 4 whole cups worth of Pork Rind Crumbs and the jar shape makes for easy scooping and measuring!
- ✔️ WHY PORK RINDS? First and foremost, they’re Pork-King good! (See what we did there?!) We’ve developed the most insanely delicious pork rinds out there...Light, salty, crunchy melt-in-your-mouth whisps of deliciousness...need we say more? Pork King Good pork rinds are not just any old snack food. They’re the ultimate, naturally low-carb, quintessentially keto snack food! Each serving contains: - 0 grams of carbs - 0 grams of sugar - Only 90 calori
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#3 Flaxseed/Linseed
Aside from being an excellent alternative to breadcrumbs, flaxseeds are incredibly nutritious and high in healthy fats, making them perfectly coherent with a keto diet. They are also high in omega 3.
Two tablespoons of flaxseed will also provide up to 25% of your daily fiber.
People often substitute breadcrumbs with linseed to mimic food items such as the coating on fried chicken; the golden color gives the illusion of the breaded chicken they’re familiar with.
- Ground organic flaxseed with great nutty taste
- 3 gram of dietary fiber per serving; 98 Milligrams of Lignans per serving
- Rich in Omega 3 (ALA) fatty acids
- 98 Milligrams of Lignans per serving
- Contains one 24 oz pack of Spectrum Essentials Organic Ground Premium Flaxs
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#5 Panko
I always think panko breadcrumbs are a bit of a loophole in the keto diet because they are technically still a carb; however, they only contain 14 grams of carbs in a quarter of a cup, which goes a long way when you’re using it to coat something.
The downside to panko on keto is that it’s deficient in fat, and because it’s so light, it doesn’t absorb much of the oil or butter during the cooking process either; however, this can be added after.
- PLAIN PANKO BREAD CRUMBS: Add a toasty, crispy, satisfying crunch to your culinary creations
- DELICIOUS FOOD: Tasty, crunchy panko bread crumbs with a delightful crispness
- VERSATILE: Medium-ground texture for use in any recipe
- PANTRY STAPLE: Bread crumbs for stuffing, breading and binding
- GREAT FOR RECIPES: Use these panko bread crumbs for fried chicken or crunchy cassero
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#6 Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is great for coating many food products on a keto diet. Like almond flour, you can buy this in most stores in either flour form or desiccated flakes.
Coconut is high fat and packed with minerals and vitamins, making it great for keto dieters. Two tablespoons contain around 6g of carbs and 4g of fat. It’s also extremely high in fiber.
Another reason coconut makes a great alternative to breadcrumbs on keto is that it brings an excellent flavor. Once toasted or fried, it turns almost nutty. It’s great for ketone production as it generates medium-chain triglycerides. Learn more about MCT here.
- ✔️ Fresh & Flavorful Organic Flour – Gently milled from some of the world’s freshest organic coconuts, our coconut flour is the perfect flour substitute for white or grain flours. Unbleached and unrefined, it adds a mildly sweet, rich flavor to your favorite recipes and makes a great cake flour alternative.
- ✔️ Perfect For Gluten Free and Keto Baking – A versatile grain-free keto flour you can add to sweet or savory recipes–from gluten free bread, keto bread, gluten free cookies and beyond. Substitute 1 cup of wheat flour or 1 cup of all-purpose flour for ¼ cup of Coconut Flour organic + 1 egg (or egg substitute).
- ✔️ Low-Fat, Fiber-Rich Flour – A naturally rich source of fiber, this organic gluten free flour is also low in both sodium and fat. Whether you’re keto, paleo or somewhere in between, this delicate, silky nut flour is perfect for all your low keto snacks and keto desserts.
- ✔️ Certified Vegan & Paleo Plant-Based Flour – This organic gluten free flour is certified vegan, keto and paleo, making it a super-useful baking and cooking ingredient for a variety of different eating habits and dietary lifestyles. Use it for all your coconut flour keto recipes.
- ✔️ Certified USDA Organic and Premium Quality – Harvested from fresh, 100% organic coconuts grown and harvested on the sun-soaked fields of the Philippines, our coconut flour for baking is finely sifted, and of the highest quality. Plus, it’s Certified USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, and Kosh
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#7 Parmesan
One thing everyone loves about the keto diet is that you can add a bit of cheese to almost anything—great news for cheese addicts.
But did you realize you could also use parmesan as an alternative to breadcrumbs?
Not only can it create a great crust and replicate breaded items, but it also seasons the food because it’s naturally salty.
Parmesan is also high in fat, making it ideal for keto.
You can add parmesan to butter to make a coating for almost any meat or sprinkle the cheese on the dishes before baking or roasting.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Milk from cows not treated with rBST
- Refrigerate after Opening
- 8oz/227g per bottle
- Made in the United Sta
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In Summary
If you were feeling deterred by the keto diet as you were unsure how to live without breaded food products, now you have a great list of ingredients that mean you can get creative in the kitchen and still enjoy the foods without breaking ketosis.
You can even combine some of these ingredients; for example, adding parmesan to panko can reduce the carb quantity while adding a great salty flavor.
