Low-Carb Italian Melt Bread Pockets

The inspiration for these Low Carb and Keto Italian Stuffed Bread Bites came from Martina. She was out on a dinner date with Nikos at her local Italian restaurant.

‘Ping’ went my Whatsapp went…
OMG I want to eat these…
Can you create a low-carb version?
Up for the challenge, I set to work…

…and here you have them. My Italian Stuffed Bread Bites. Made from a super easy fathead dough and stuffed with a delicious marinara, cream cheese and basil filling. They’re so good!

These Keto Italian Stuffed Bread Bites are great for lunch, a quick and easy low-carb snack or to take on a picnic.

I love them hot, fresh from the oven, but you can totally eat them cold if you prefer.

Nut-free Alternatives:

Instead of ²/₃ cup almond flour use 4 heaped tbsp (48 g/ 1.7 oz) of coconut flour + 56 g/ 2 oz cream cheese) or 56 g/ 2 oz flax meal and 56 g/ 2 oz cream cheese. If using coconut flour brush the tops with a small amount of butter, ghee or coconut oil before baking.
PIC9

Step-by-step

1. Make the Low-Carb Marinara Sauce by following this simple recipe. Chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes whilst you make the dough and then drain off any surplus juice.

   

2. Mix the marinara sauce with the mascarpone cheese.

   

3. Preheat the oven to 180 °C/ 355 °F (fan assisted), or 200 °C/ 400 °F (conventional). Place the mozzarella and cream cheese in a heatproof bowl. Warm in the microwave on high for 60 seconds.

4. Stir with a spatula and then heat for a further 30 seconds. Add the almond flour and egg and mix well to combine. You may need to get your hands involved and do a little kneading here.

   

5. Chill the dough for 10 minutes before splitting into 5 and rolling into balls. Roll 1 ball of dough between two sheets of greaseproof paper, or 1 sheet and a silicone matt.

6. Place roughly 2 tbsp of marinara cream cheese sauce in the middle, leaving about 2.5 cm/ 1" of dough round the edges. Top with 1 tsp of shredded cheese and optional extra basil.

   

7. Fold the tough and ensure it’s sealed. Repeat for the other 4 balls of dough.

   

8. Place the bread bites in individual non stick mini loaf tins (I used 8 x 15 x 5 cm/ 3 x 6 x 2") lined with greaseproof (this helps to keep their shape).
   If you don’t have mini loaf tins you can just place on a greaseproof lined baking tray with space around them but the dough will spread a little whilst it cooks so you will have more of a mini pocket look. Still tastes super good though!

   

9. Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden on top.

   

10. Tastes the best when served fresh but can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

    

Recipe

Low-Carb Italian Melt Bread Pockets

★★★★★4.9 (11 ratings)

These keto Italian Stuffed Bread Bites are great for lunch, a quick and easy low-carb snack or a fun party ...

Hands on

15m

Overall

45m

Servings

5

5 g

Net carbs

15.1 g

Protein

24.9 g

Fat

302

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings15 servings20 servings

US + metricMetricUS

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Ingredients makes 5 bread bites

• Dough:
• 1 ¹/₂ cups shredded low moisture mozzarella (170 g/ 6 oz)
• ³/₄ + 2 tbsp cup almond flour (80 g/ 2.8 oz)
• 2 tbsp full-fat cream cheese (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• Filling:
• ¹/₂ cup sugar-free marinara sauce (120 ml/ 4 fl oz)- you can make your own Low-Carb Marinara Sauce
• 2 tbsp mascarpone or full-fat cream cheese (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
• ¹/₄ cup shredded mozzarella or grated Italian cheese of choice (28 g/ 1 oz)
• Optional: 4 large basil leaves, torn

Instructions

1. Make the Low-Carb Marinara Sauce by following this simple recipe. Chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes whilst you make the dough and then drain off any surplus juice.

2. Mix the marinara sauce with the mascarpone cheese.

3. Preheat the oven to 180 °C/ 355 °F (fan assisted), or 200 °C/ 400 °F (conventional). Place the mozzarella and cream cheese in a heatproof bowl. Warm in the microwave on high for 60 seconds.

4. Stir with a spatula and then heat for a further 30 seconds. Add the almond flour and egg and mix well to combine. You may need to get your hands involved and do a little kneading here.

5. Chill the dough for 10 minutes before splitting into 5 and rolling into balls. Roll 1 ball of dough between two sheets of greaseproof paper, or 1 sheet and a silicone matt.

6. Place roughly 2 tbsp of marinara cream cheese sauce in the middle, leaving about 2.5 cm/ 1" of dough round the edges. Top with 1 tsp of shredded cheese and optional extra basil.

7. Fold the tough and ensure it’s sealed. Repeat for the other 4 balls of dough.

8. Place the bread bites in individual non stick mini loaf tins (I used 8 x 15 x 5 cm/ 3 x 6 x 2") lined with greaseproof (this helps to keep their shape).
   If you don’t have mini loaf tins you can just place on a greaseproof lined baking tray with space around them but the dough will spread a little whilst it cooks so you will have more of a mini pocket look. Still tastes super good though!

9. Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden on top.

10. Tastes the best when served fresh but can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Nutrition per serving, 1 piece

Carbs 7%Protein 20%Fat 73% of calories

Net carbs

5 g

Total carbs

7 g

Fiber

1.9 g

Sugars

2.6 g

Protein

15.1 g

Fat

24.9 g

Saturated fat

8.5 g

Calories

302 kcal

Sodium

348 mg · 15.1% RDA

Magnesium

57 mg · 14.3% RDA

Potassium

233 mg · 11.6% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per 1 piece	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Mozzarella cheese (low moisture, for pizza)	1.9 g	8.1 g	6.7 g	100
Almond flour (blanched ground almonds, almond meal)	1.4 g	3.4 g	8.4 g	94
Cream cheese, soft (full-fat)	0.2 g	0.4 g	1.7 g	15
Egg, whole, fresh, raw (free-range or organic eggs)	0.1 g	1.3 g	1 g	14
Marinara sauce	1.1 g	0.3 g	3.9 g	41
Mascarpone cheese	0.1 g	0.3 g	2.1 g	21
Mozzarella cheese (low moisture, for pizza)	0.3 g	1.3 g	1.1 g	17
Total	5 g	15.1 g	24.9 g	302

Serving size 1 piece

• Gluten free
• Nut free
• Pork free
• Avocado free
• Coconut free
• Fish free
• Shellfish free
• Beef free
• Pescatarian
• Vegetarian