As a child, I wouldn’t always understand everyone’s obsession with nut rolls during certain holidays (Christmas and Easter, for example). Where I come from, a walnut roll is a traditional dessert, and it usually contains raisins, which I’ve never really liked. What’s more, it would often come dry and kind of chewy. I actually liked it only on rare occasions when someone baked a roll, rich with nutty filling and without all those nasty raisins.
As I grew older, I discovered poppy-seed and cheese-tarragon rolls. Oh, how yummy these could be! Now, after a certain period of living a keto/low-carb lifestyle, I’ve started missing these specific treats, especially during holidays. Religious or not, in this part of Europe everyone is either baking or buying these around Easter and Christmas (or just pretty much most of the time in rural areas). And how nice they smell!
So, what else to do but adapt the original nut roll recipe to become keto diet-friendly? For starters, I’ve prepared walnut, hazelnut, and coconut rolls. The recipe that follows contains only walnuts, but you can always use any other nuts.
Related: What nuts to choose on Keto?
I’ll sure try making the poppy-seed and cheese-tarragon rolls in the future, that’s how much I like how the walnut recipe turned out. And, of course, a macadamia roll that should become a keto “best-seller” roll in no time.
The recipe is not the most simple one out there, mostly because the dough is not simple to roll out and kept together before placing in the baking pan. But when done, and especially the next day, all the possible dough frustration is long forgotten, and “I want more!” is all that’s left.
I definitely suggest you try going nuts with this one!
Recipe
Keto Nut Roll
Ingredients
Dough
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1.7 oz butter - unsalted, softened
- 3.5 oz almond flour - I used Sukrin
- 2.5 oz finely ground almonds
- 6 tablespoon erythritol
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 0.9 oz psyllium husks
Walnut filling
- 10.5 oz walnuts
- 6 tablespoon erythritol
- 0.5 cup water
- 1 fl. oz rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon stevia extract
- 1 large egg white
Topping
- 1 large egg yolk
Instructions
DOUGH
- Using a stand mixer, mix together all the wet ingredients: Eggs, softened butter, and creamed cheese.
- Next, start mixing in the dry ingredients, one by one. Make sure everything is well incorporated before adding psyllium husks at the very end.
- In the end, the dough should be willing to knead and not too sticky.
- Let the dough rest in a fridge for an hour.
WALNUT FILLING
- Separate the egg white from the yolk. Beat the egg white with half of the erythritol until stiff peaks form.
- Ground the walnuts in a food processor, but not too finely.
- Mix the ground walnuts with the rest of the erythritol.
- Bring the water to boil. Mix in lemon juice, rum, and vanilla extract.
- While the water mixture is still hot, pour it over the ground walnuts and mix well with a rubber spatula.
- Using a spatula, fold the egg white into the walnut mixture.
MAKING THE ACTUAL ROLL
- Preheat the oven to 360 °F.
- Here comes the tricky part. When the dough has been sitting in the fridge for an hour, take it out and prepare it for rolling out. Prepare a large baking dish (or two smaller ones, approximately 11 x 3 inch).
- I split the dough into halves; It seems easier to form two smaller nut rolls.
- Prepare two sheets of parchment paper, wide enough to fit the baking dishes (approx. 11 x 3 inch).
- For each of the dough pieces, prepare two sheets of transparent kitchen nonstick foil. Line the first sheet on the parchment paper, place the dough on it, and cover it with the other sheet of foil. Note: I did this because I didn’t own a silicone roller at the time. And the dough does stick to the wooden one as well as to the parchment paper!
- Roll out the dough, placed in between the foil sheets. Make it kind of square and as wide as the baking dish.
- Take the upper foil off, and flip the rolled out dough onto prepared parchment paper. Now pull the other sheet of foil off.
- Spread half of the filling, covering ⅘ of the rolled out dough. Don’t press down too hard, for the dough might stick to the parchment paper.
- Lifting up the parchment paper, start making a roll (kind of like making maki sushi.
- When done, lift the nut roll together with the parchment paper, and place it into the baking pan. Be careful, as the roll may break quite easily.
- Repeat with the other half of the dough and the rest of the filling.
- Bake for 40 - 45 minutes altogether. After 20 minutes, take the rolls out and gently cover them with egg yolk. Return them to the oven.
- When done baking, leave the rolls inside the oven to cool down. The texture and the taste will be best the next day, so prepare in advance. Enjoy!
- If you wish, use any other type of nuts instead of walnuts. You can see three different rolls in this picture, some with double amount of filling to suit the taste of a family member.
Nutrition
MORE KETO BAKING RECIPES TO TRY!
If you love this low-carb keto recipe, I recommend you also try:
Jax says
I cant wait to make this. I'm greek and walnut deserts are a big deal in my culture. This is the first recipe Ive ever seen for something walnut that is low carb and close to the things I grew up eating and havent had in the years since I've been keto. I see you say it can be made as a coconut roll. I love coconut too! How would I do that? just replace the walnuts called for with unsweetened shredded coconut?
Luka says
Thank you for your comment and for your interest in our keto nut roll recipe! We're thrilled to hear that it brings back fond memories of traditional Greek walnut desserts for you.
As for making a coconut version of the nut roll, you can certainly give it a try! You can replace the walnuts with an equal amount of unsweetened shredded coconut, and adjust the sweetness level to your preference by adding more or less sweetener. You may also need to adjust the amount of butter to ensure the filling holds together properly.
We recommend experimenting with the recipe to find the perfect ratio of ingredients for your taste. If you have any questions or need any assistance while making the recipe, please don't hesitate to reach out. We're here to help make your keto baking experience as enjoyable as possible.
Thanks again for your comment, and happy baking!
Patricia says
Hi I use to make a nut roll years ago but instead of rolling the dough like you did after I rolled it out I cut it into triangles and then added nut mixture and then rolled it. Could this dough be used like that. Thank you love your recipes
Tisa says
I think this is absolutely doable. Still need to have some patience rolling it, though, as it breaks a lot.
Tanja says
I wish I could post a picture here! It turned out marvelous!!! Thank you!
Tisa says
Hi, Tanja! Awesome, so happy for you.
You can always tag MySweetKeto on FB if you use it so we can see the pic, or send it to us via [email protected].
Bests!
FrankieSue Newell says
Like this recipe, but the carbs are not listed. How many are there?
Tisa says
Oops, looks like the nutritional info got lost in the editing process. Thanks to you, it is there now.
So, one piece (if you cut the roll(s) to 24 pieces) comes out to have 2 NET carbs.
Bests!
Edward C Gensler says
Your web site sucks. It is impossible to print a usable recipe that is not blotted out by adverts and uses 20 pages of paper printed on both sides.
Tisa says
Dear Edward. I understand you are dissatisfied with the fact that with all the FREE content you get on our site, expecting nothing back from you, one cannot get an add-free printable. That's because we need income to survive. Adds on the site and small donation printables (coming soon) enable us to keep delivering you free recipes online.
Nataliya A Kruglov says
Hi there! I'm trying to make this roll and have a very urgent question. If you didn't have stevia extract, how would you substitute it with erythritol? Since that's all I have on hand. Thank you so much for your help!
Tisa says
Hi!
Don't worry, leave out the stevia and maybe use a Tbsp of extra erythritol. Or, try the fill as you're making it and only add extra erythritol to taste.
All the best!
Natalie says
Tried the recipe but the dough once added everything is not dough-y at all... more like a thick cream... what did I do wrong?
Tisa says
You probably did nothing wrong. The keto dough doesn't resemble the ordinary one. Yours was probably a bit on the moisty side. Could add some dry ingredients, maybe. How did the whole thing turn out?
Beth says
I made a similar nut roll based on my husbands heritage from Hungary. I'm trying a poppy seed version for him. I enjoy raisins but too high carbs :(. I'm trying SF dried cranberries and a drizzle of chocolate glaze. Happy holidays!
Tisa says
Hi, Beth!
SF dried cranberries are such a great idea!
Happy holidays to you, too!
Erin says
Will definitely try this as I was used to making potica before Keto. I would say that some xanthan gum will help with the elasticity that gluten gives. Also to anyone reading this. Nut roll dough no matter gluten free or not is always delicate. Never fear the cracks, the beauty is inside beyond the cracks.
Tisa says
Thank you, Erin. Your advice is much appreciated!
Ellen says
What size baking pans did you use?
Tisa says
Hi, Ellen!
I used two 11 x 3-inch baking pans.
Thanks for pointing out that this information was missing.
Robyn says
This sounds delicious! While not something my Mom ever made in our French Irish Canadian household growing up, it is something I will definitely try. And it’s keto, bonus! Thanks so much for all of your amazing recipes!
My Sweet Keto says
Wow, now that sounds like an interestingly delicious household!
Yeah, I think nut rolls are more eastern Europe thingy. Something grandmothers bake in wintertime, especially holidays. Time-consuming but delicious!
Tawny says
Hi!!
Is the temp supposed to be 360, or was that a slip of the fingers?
My Sweet Keto says
Hi, that is 360F -> 180C.
Robyn Larson says
Thank you so much for this. Both my grandmother and Mom tight me how to make the original nut roll (potica). After they passed, I have made every year until I went KETO. Now I can start again. My suggestion to you is, try, strawberry cream cheese, raspberry cream cheese, blueberry, lemon, and chocolate. All are really great, especially for those who don't all like the nuts. Have fun.
My Sweet Keto says
Hi, Robyn!
I'm so happy if you're going to find this recipe useful on your keto journey. Admittedly, it is one of the more "effortful" recipes on the site, especially when it comes to rolling the all gluten-free dough whose main desire is to fall apart. 😉 But when it comes out of the oven, I completely forget about the previous efforts and frustrations.
And thank you for the suggestions! These all sound delicious and worth a try!
All the best!
Marina says
I love it, taste so good!!!!
My Sweet Keto says
Awesome, Marina! 😀
Bee says
Could Pecans be substituted for the walnuts. Allergic to walnuts!
My Sweet Keto says
Of course! Happy Halloween! 😉
Frank says
Thank you for solving a big problem - making a keto wallnut roll.
We ahve a problem making the dough. It appears to be too soft and we cannot knead it.
Is there something we can add to it to harden it some?
My Sweet Keto says
Hi, Frank.
Thank you for the question. I hear you, this dough is very delicate to make and keep it together while making the roll, and I think that you've got to be a big walnut roll lover to have the patience for it! 😉 I certainly am, so I manage to make it every now and then despite the challenge. I do notice that sometimes even a slight change in the amount of dry or wet ingredients makes the dough more difficult to make. I suggest using a tiny bit less butter or/and adding more almond flour if it is too soft to knead. Hope this helps.
Good luck! 🙂
Frank says
Thank you for your reply.
Before receiving your reply, we put the dough in the fridge and after an hour it was still too soft and sticky. We left the dough in the fridge overnight. In the morning it was much harder and usable. It is a fragile dough.
We did have to make some changes though. We used a packet of cream cheese (250gm), a packet of almond meal (150gm) - not almond flour and not finely ground almonds. These amounts may have made a difference. But in the future, with your suggestion, we know what to do.
We also placed the dough on baking paper to roll it out. It had to be done very carefully oiling the roller. Then we had to use the baking paper to lift the dough end and fold slowly until it was completely rolled. We had to lift the complete roll by the baking paper, otherwise it would have broken.
Now that it has completed baking, it looks beautiful - better than any other roll we baked.
Is there a special reason for leaving the roll in the oven to cool? Is the door left closed?
Thanks
My Sweet Keto says
Dear Frank. I am happy it worked out well for you. Slight adjustments are sometimes necessary if only because various brands of supposedly the same ingredients have different properties. As for leaving the roll in the oven, it is not a necessary step. I found it OK to let some more cooking go on after baking. But since everybody's oven cools in a different tempo, I'd say, I should probably edit that step.
Frank says
Thank you so much for your help.
Just one minor other point. When the roll finished baking, it has a large crack along the top about 10 cm long and 5mm wide. I do not see this on your photos.
I notice that there is some baking powder in the recipe, could it be that the dough wants to rise some but due to the lack of elasticity it just cracks?
This last bit of help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
My Sweet Keto says
I agree with you. On the other hand, I see cracks as something that tells me the baked good is not an industrial, technically perfect product. I know that a lot of professional bakers will disagree. But cracky baked goods remind me of childhood. Mine sometimes crack as well. Might be due to differences in temperature that makes the roll rise too quickly at some point but not always. And I'd rather have gluten-free than crack-free nut roll. 🙂
jules says
wow..... ahah. this thing is madness, i will try soon ,
thanks a lot for your website in general. I'm in keto since aug. 2016 for medical reason (but i'm on fire since keto) and some days, i need an evil sweet keto dessert. your website is very useful for that, so thanks for real.
and today i see that we can convert the recipies in metric format ???? great, i didn't notice before !
My Sweet Keto says
Thanks, Jules! I'm glad you've found the recipes useful and helpful. 🙂
Wish you all the best!
Nici says
The recipe reads fantastic, I'll definitely give it a try.
One information is missing though (or I'm just too stupid to read...): How much water do you need for the filling?
Love the website btw!!
My Sweet Keto says
Oops! Thank you so much!
It was obviously my mistake, no stupidity detected on your end. 😉
Hope your roll turns out delicious! 🙂