Microwave Easy Killer Keto Hot Chocolate

keto hot chocolate

 

RECIPE NOTES

I tried so many hot chocolate recipes when I got on keto, and I hate to say it but most of them were chalky, lacked flavor, had bad ingredients, or wanted me to set up a double broiler. NOT TODAY MY FRIENDS. The hot chocolate is creamy and full of flavor. And we’re making it in the microwave! Although you can certainly make it stovetop if you’re wanting to make a big batch. This is a pretty forgiving recipe if you get the measurements slightly off.

Most of the premade hot chocolates I’ve found don’t really work for me. They use sugar alcohols which tend to give me an upset stomach or have weird aftertastes. Or just flat-out add brown rice(seriously why). Small shoutout to Primal Kitchen Collagen Fuel Chocolate Coconut for being the best hot chocolate premade mix if you want one. The ingredients are clean and it’s the one I drank for a long time before I figured this recipe out. The packets are great for a gift basket or on the go. But even that one tastes a bit off from your traditional silky high-quality hot chocolate because of the collagen.

For the #unsweetketochallenge I actually drink this pretty frequently with no sweetener at all. It took a little getting used to, but I think the cream and saltreally tempers the bitterness. 

INGREDIENTS

  • Unsweetened Baker’s Chocolate – The biggest thing to look for is that it’s unsweetened. You can generally find this in the baking aisle at the grocery store.
  • Sweetener – Monk Fruit Drops are my goto sweetener for this recipe and most hot drinks. They’re low carb but not hard on your stomach like sugar alcohols can be. I actually weaned myself off of sweetener by using fewer drops over time and now I don’t even need sweetener to enjoy the hot chocolate.
  • Heavy Cream – Get what you can afford. But if you can, get a heavy cream that is JUST cream and doesn’t have thickeners. Organic, grassfed, grass-finished, and humane are also nice-to-haves. Still, even the cheapest cream is better than eating carby junk!
  • Butter – Get what you can afford. Organic, grassfed, grass-finished, and humane are nice-to-haves. Absolutely do NOT get butter substitutes made from unhealthy vegetable oils. The butter prevents the chocolate from seizing and burning while adding some depth to the flavor.

EQUIPMENT

  • Microwave – Really, any microwave where you can see through the door will be good enough. But if you need a new one, The Toshiba Microwave+AirFryer+Convection Oven will save you a lot of counter space.
  • Coffee Mug – Make sure it’s a microwave-safe mug. I really like owning a good set of stoneware mugs because they’re nonstick and very temperature resistant. So you can use them in the oven and they’re safe in the dishwasher. They’re cups that last. Glass mugs are another great alternative, and as a bonus they make for a really nice presentation. However, most glass mugs are not oven-safe.
  • Spoon – Just a regular metal spoon. Don’t put plastic spoons into hot liquid. Don’t microwave metal.

PAIR WITH

Optional Add-Ins

  • A shake of Pumpkin Spice will give you a nice fall spice flavor.
  • Want a peppermint hot chocolate? The easiest way is to use Food Grade Peppermint Oil. You could also probably use Peppermint Leaf Powder, which also avoids any potential bad oils. You could also use a bar of Peppermint Choczero instead of the unsweet baker’s chocolate, although it can somewhat affect the boiling/texture. You can use Peppermint Extract when you add the water, but the alcohol adds an unpleasant aftertaste since it doesn’t really cook off. 
  • Chili Powder – Add just a dash to get a kick of heat.

Microwave Easy Killer Keto Hot Chocolate

  • Reminder: Don’t leave the spoon in the cup, metal doesn’t go in the microwave!
  1. Place the chocolate and butter into a mug. Microwave 30 seconds.
  2. Stir the chocolate and butter until it’s fully mixed and smooth.
  3. Add the heavy cream. Stir a bit and wipe your spoon on the side of the mug but it won’t mix together yet.
  4. Make sure you can see into the microwave. You’re going to microwave the cream until you see it boil up almost to the top of the cup and stop it. Usually about 1 minute.
  5. Stir about 30 seconds. You’ll notice the chocolate is now blending much more easily with the cream. Pressing the spoon against the side of the cup can help mix it better.
  6. Boil the cream almost to the top of the cup again.
  7. Stir until you get a smooth consistency (about 30sec – 1 min) with the chocolate and cream. 
  8. Add water to fill the cup up the rest of the way.
  9. Microwave 1 minute. 
  10. Enjoy!

Keto Perfectly Peachy Keen Peach Cobbler (No Sweetener)

Recipe Notes

A warm, crispy pumpkin-spiced topping sits on top of delicious gooey fruit filling, bringing comforting southern flavors together in this low-carb dish.

This peach cobbler has a bit of a twist to lower the carbs– zucchini! But wait, hear me out. When mixed with the peaches and spice and then baked it actually tastes like apples! It provides a bit of a crunch and makes the cobbler go much further. 

Ingredients

Peaches – Fresh peaches are the best if you can get them and take the time to slice and squish them. Frozen peaches are next best, just microwave them til they’re soft so you can squish them. For this recipe, the frozen version being a little mushy doesn’t matter. Canned/vacuum sealed plastic bowl peaches will do if you must but are often less healthy due to the packaging process. However, it’s great if you don’t have freezer space or fresh available. Try to get a type without sugar added, sugar will add to the carb count A LOT. Your best bet is to get canned peaches in 100% juice and then rinse the juices off. Even the fruit juices can double or even triple the carbs in a can!

You may be used to large chunks of peach in your cobbler but it’s pureed and distributed throughout this cobbler to give the most impact for the least amount of carbs.

Zucchini – For this recipe, you want the widest possible green zucchini. The skinnier ones tend to have less flesh and are harder to work with for this recipe. If you feel like 2 cups of zucchini takes too much of the peachy impact out of your cobbler you can cut it down to 1 cup to bring out the flavor. However, it will make the cobbler less filling–you’ll get less per carb.

Sweetener – Sweetness is really a personal thing, and the further you are in the keto journey the less you tend to need. I prefer not to use any additional sweetener because the peaches and lemon juice can bring a lot to the dish. But if you need this dish sweeter or more gooey a granular sweetener mixed into the filling would work. You could also sprinkle some on the topping before baking. I would suggest Lakanto Golden for a brown sugar caramel note. Lakanto’s fruity aftertaste won’t matter in this recipe. Erythritol desserts do tend to taste better after sitting in the fridge overnight, so you may want to wait if you use Lakanto Golden and serve it the next day. If you’re completely avoiding sugar alcohol you could also go with adding a few monk fruit drops into the filling– it won’t really make the filling gooier but you’ll be way less likely to get an upset stomach. You can also just try making it without sweetener and just sprinkle some on after you bake it, then stir. Cobbler is usually kind of a “messy” dessert anyway so you won’t lose too much flavor this way.

Equipment

  • 2 Cup Glass Pyrex Measuring Cup
  • Glass Pie dish – In general a shallow container with a wide top allows it to be gooey at the bottom and crispy up top. If you don’t have one any pan of similar size will do.
  • Rubber Spatula  – You can’t really take the rubber out of a rubber spatula, but this at least has a steel handle to reduce it. It’s also gorgeous.
  • Vegetable Peeler – make peeling the zucchini easy and fast. This is an all-metal peeler so no plastic here.
  • Large Mixing Bowl – For mixing the topping. I like these because they come with lids.
  • Microwave – To melt the butter. If you don’t have one you can just melt it in the oven or on the stove.

Pair With

  • BBQ – Peach cobbler is a traditional southern dessert that goes great after a big BBQ meal. Just make sure you’re using a keto BBQ sauce. My favorite for taste is the GHughes Smokehouse Sugar Free Hickory BBQ Sauce. It’s the most southern-style sauce I’ve found, however it is sweetened with sucralose which is my least favorite keto sweetener health-wise. The Primal Kitchen series of BBQ isn’t quite as tasty but the ingredients are fully paleo. Primal kitchen has quite a few BBQ sauces now too with their other BBQ Pack. Try making an easy BBQ bowl by getting cauliflower mash, putting shredded pork or brisket, keto BBQ sauce, and cheese on top. Then treat yourself to this for dessert with some iced keto sweet tea and you’ll be having a real southern feast. 
  • Vanilla Ice Cream My favorite keto brand is Rebel Ice Cream. Place a scoop on top of fresh out of the oven peach cobbler and you’ll have a to-die-for dessert. Just keep in mind this ice cream does contain sweetener so if you’re currently avoiding sweetener you should skip it.

Keto Peachy Keen Cobbler (No Sweetener)

For the filling

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 Cup of Peaches or 1 Can of Peaches (15 oz / 425g) 
  • 1.5 cups prepped zucchini (about 1-2 large green zucchini)
  • 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
  • Optional: Sweetener (see ingredient notes)

For the topping/crust

  • 2 Cups Almond Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice 
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 6 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs
  • Optional: Sweetener sprinkled on top (see ingredient notes)
  1. Start with the filling. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the glass pie dish in the microwave.
  2. Rinse the zucchini, then peel the skin off into a plate. Zucchini is soft so you can even just use a butter knife for the next parts. Chop off the ends of the zucchini to remove the hard parts. Next, use a spoon to scoop out all of the seeds onto the plate. You can throw the skin, ends, and seeds into your yard/garden to compost. Rinse your plate.
  3. You should have scooped out zucchini now. Flip it over and you can easily cut vertically and then horizontally to dice the zucchini into small cubes, about 1/4th inch x 1/4th inch. Think of desserts where you’ve had small apple chunks, it’s like that size. Add the diced zucchini to the measuring cup, you need about 2 cups of this diced zucchini. If there’s extra you can put it in a bag and throw it in the freezer for next time.
  4. If you’re using canned peaches– remove the lid and pour them into a strainer. Rinse them with cold water to remove all the high-carb juice. 
  5. If using fresh or frozen peaches you’ll need to cut up the peaches and then puree them. You can do this in a blender, squishing it by hand, putting it into a ziploc bag and squshing it, or putting it into a bowl and mashing it with a fork. You should have 1 cup of peach puree when you’re done. Pour this into the pie dish on top of the zucchini. 
  6. Add the heavy cream, lemon juice, vanilla extract, pumpkin spice, and salt to the pie dish for the filling. Stir it all up.
  7. Turn on the oven to 350F so it can preheat while you make the topping.
  8. In a separate large mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, coconut flour, pumpkin spice, and baking powder.
  9. Put the 6 tablespoons of butter into the glass measuring cup and then microwave it until it’s fully melted. (about 30 seconds – 1 minute)
  10. Pour the butter on top of the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl.
  11. Measure out your heavy cream into the measuring cup and then add it to the mixing bowl.
  12. Add the vanilla extract. Stir until well combined.
  13. Lastly, add the eggs. Adding these last prevents the eggs from cooking from the heated butter. Stir until well combined, you will have a “sticky cookie dough” type texture. The topping mix is now complete.
  14. You’ll be adding “dollops” of the topping mix to the top of the filling. This helps give it texture and creates air pockets to give extra crispiness. To do this take a big scoop of the mix onto the rubber spatula and then use a spoon to just tear off a tiny bit of dough and let it drop onto the top of the filling. Repeat making these dollops or “little chunks of dough” until you’ve used up all the topping mix. Try not to have them be flat, it’s the “tearing” that gives it the crumbly texture.
  15. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the entire topping is golden brown. You may want to set a timer for 25 minutes and then keep an eye on it so you can find out how long it takes for YOUR oven.

Keto Microwave Cheesecake Bars

Recipe Notes

This is an easy recipe you can whip up very quickly, but it does need to set in the fridge for about 3hrs+ in order to set properly. All you need is a microwave and a fridge so it makes it a great meal for the students out there living in dorms. The great news is you don’t even have to add additional sweetener! You don’t want to eat the whole thing at once, I make these in my 3-Cup Pyrex containers so I can easily just pop a lid on and save some for later.

Ingredients

  • Sweetener — If you’d like to add sweetener, you could use 1 tablespoon of erythritol when you’re mixing the cheeses together. However, even for someone used to sweeteners, I think the strawberries and lemon juice in this recipe offer a lot of sweetness.
  • You can also use fresh strawberries and simply slice them and put them on top, laid out flat. Or dice them and microwave them for 1 minute and then spread them on top of the cheesecake similarly to the frozen. Microwaving the strawberries will allow you to spread them more evenly and it will taste a little sweeter instead of tart.

Equipment

Keto Microwave Cheesecake Bars

Crust:

  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 6 Tablespoons Almond Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

Cheesecake:

  • 8 Tablespoons Ricotta Cheese
  • 4 Tablespoons Cream Cheese
  • 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
  • 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 Large Egg
  • ~10 Strawberries

Directions:

  1. I use the 3-cup Pyrex rectangular glass containers(7.25” wide x 5.5” deep x 1.75” high).
  2. Microwave the butter for 45seconds or until it’s melted.
  3. Add the almond flour and pumpkin pie spice and stir with a spoon.
  4. Use the back of the spoon to flatten out the mixture into the bottom of the container.
  5. In a separate bowl (or use a glass measuring cup so it’s easier to pour) microwave the cream cheese for about 30 seconds to soften it.
  6. Add the ricotta, heavy cream, lemon juice, vanilla extract and stir.
  7. Add the egg and stir. Try to get the mixture as smooth as possible. You can press the cheeses against the side of the bowl to break them down further.
  8. Pour the mixture on top of the crust.
  9. Microwave for 3 minutes. The center of the cheesecake will probably still be runny, that’s OK.
  10. While that’s microwaving wash the bowl you mixed the cheeses in and place the frozen strawberries in the bowl.
  11. Take out the cheesecake and microwave the strawberries for 2 minutes.
  12. While the strawberries are still hot you should be able to easily chop and smash them in the bowl using just the spoon to turn it into a sort of jam-like consistency.
  13. Pour the strawberries on top of the cheesecake and try to even out the layer with the back of the spoon.
  14. Cover the container with a lid and put in the refrigerator to chill and set. The cheesecake must cool completely for the texture to be correct. (About 3 hrs)
  15. Enjoy. Makes 2 servings to split or save for later.

IMAGE RECIPE

  1. I use the 3-cup Pyrex rectangular glass containers(7.25” wide x 5.5” deep x 1.75” high).
  2. Microwave the butter for 45seconds or until it’s melted.
  3. Add the almond flour and pumpkin pie spice and stir with a spoon.
  4. Use the back of the spoon to flatten out the mixture into the bottom of the container.

5. In a separate bowl(or use a glass measuring cup so it’s easier to pour) microwave the cream cheese for about 30 seconds to soften it.

6. Add the ricotta, heavy cream, lemon juice, and stir.

7. Add the egg and stir. Try to get the mixture as smooth as possible. You can press the cheeses against the side of the bowl to break them down further.

8. Pour the mixture on top of the crust.

9. Microwave for 3 minutes. The center of the cheesecake will probably still be runny, that’s OK.

10. While that’s microwaving wash the bowl you mixed the cheeses in and place the frozen strawberries in the bowl/measuring cup.

11. Take out the cheesecake and microwave the strawberries for 2 minutes.

12. While the strawberries are still hot you should be able to easily chop and smash them in the bowl using just the spoon to turn it into a sort of jam-like consistency.

13. Pour the strawberries on top of the cheesecake and try to even out the layer with the back of the spoon.

 

14. Cover the container with a lid and put in the refrigerator to chill and set. The cheesecake must cool completely for the texture to be correct. (About 3 hrs)

15. Enjoy! Serves 2, or save half for later.

Microwave Keto Strawberry Egg Loaf

This recipe tastes like a bread pudding and you may notice some jiggle in the middle still. Be careful to let the food sit in the microwave for a minute afterward–I’ve had this recipe explode on me when I moved it because of the air pockets. 

If you’re used to sweeteners you can certainly add a little of your choice to this recipe (before you add the strawberries). A tablespoon of erythritol would probably do for most folks. Or 15 Monkfruit Drops.

Why No Sweetener? #UnsweetKetoChallenge

Even keto sweeteners can have negative effects. Many of them cause an upset stomach, and they can still spike insulin thanks to the sympathetic nervous system. In 2019 I tested going without any kind of keto sweetener except berries or tea for a month–and was surprised to lose the most weight I had ever lost in a month, my skin cleared up, my energy was up, my inflammation was down, and I could think more clearly. 

Although I don’t think I’ll ever completely cut out keto sweetener desserts I almost never have them now. Desserts like this keep me on track and are satisfying now that I’m used to no sweetener. 

Microwave Keto Strawberry Egg Loaf

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Butter

2 tablespoons Cream Cheese

2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

1 Egg

5 or so frozen strawberries

1.) Put the butter and cream cheese in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds to soften it.

2.) Add the heavy cream and stir the ingredients. It won’t be completely smooth.

3.) Add the egg and stir until it’s an even consistency, it probably still won’t be completely smooth.

4.) Add the strawberries, spread them out.

5.) Microwave 2 minutes. Let sit in the microwave 1 minute, then enjoy!

Keto Strawberry Cereal aka “Stuff in Milk”

Even keto sweeteners can have negative effects. Many of them cause an upset stomach, and they can still spike insulin thanks to the sympathetic nervous system. In 2019 I tested going without any kind of keto sweetener except berries or tea for a month–and was surprised to lose the most weight I had ever lost in a month, my skin cleared up, my energy was up, my inflammation was down, and I could think more clearly. 

Although I don’t think I’ll ever completely cut out keto sweetener desserts I almost never have them now. “Desserts” like this keep me on track and are satisfying now that I’m used to no sweetener. 

Although this is a far cry from my old days of Captain Crunch, I find this cereal to be quite similar to corn flakes with berries.

For a sweeter version that is similar to Special K’s chocolate cereal, you can do something like Choczero’s Chocolate Chips instead of Strawberries. You could also sprinkle about a tablespoon of erythritol over the cereal to make it more similar to frosted flakes, although I personally find the aftertaste fairly strong from doing this. 

Keto Strawberry Cereal aka “Stuff in Milk”

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1 tablespoon almond butter

5 or so frozen strawberries

Almond milk, as much as you like for your cereal

1.) Put the frozen strawberries in a bowl, microwave for 1 min. Microwave longer if needed to get them defrosted enough to eat. I like mine still a little cold.

2.) Stir up the strawberries and slice them with a spoon so they’re smaller. This will give you more bites of cereal with strawberries. 

3.) Add the almond slices. Then add the almond butter. Then add the coconut flakes. Add about half the amount of almond milk you’re going to want and stir the ingredients to bring it all together. Then add the rest of the almond milk as you like.

Keto Paleo Unsweetened Microwave Almond Butter Cookie

This is a great way to hit that warm cookie craving. Once the recipe cools it produces a crumbly cookie texture. And this recipe is mostly about the texture if you’re not doing sweeteners. 

Notes:
This recipe bubbles up a lot, so use a bowl instead of a mug to give it room. This is particularly delicious with a chocolate tea, I really like the Stash Chocolate Hazelnut or the Numi Chocolate Puerh. You can also have it with unsweetened almond milk for that cookies and milk vibe.

If you’re still enjoying keto sweeteners you can add a tablespoon of erythritol (or coconut sugar if paleo) when you add the almond butter. You can also sprinkle in keto friendly chocolate chips (like Lily’s or Choczero) after you microwave it to make a chocolate chip cookie. (Not before, they’ll melt and probably even burn.)

KetoAim Unsweetened Microwave Almond Butter Cookie 

  • 3 tablespoons almond butter (make sure ingredients are only almonds)
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon butter or Ghee for Paleo
  1. Put the butter into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds or until the butter is completely melted.
  2. Add the almond butter to the bowl and stir until well mixed.
  3. Separate the egg white and egg yolk, put the yolk into a microwave-safe bowl. I also suggest removing the chalaza(The little white attachments to the yolk) from the yolk to improve the texture. You can carefully pinch them off but you should hold the yolk above your bowl because it might break. If you can’t remove them it’s not a huge deal but it does taste better without.
  4. Use your spoon to scrap down the sides of the bowl and push the “batter” down into the bowl as much as possible.
  5. Microwave for about 1 minute. You’re looking for it to bubble nearly to the top of the bowl. Once you stop the microwave it will continue to rise slightly so don’t let it get quite to the top. Let it cool for a minute or two and as it cools it will form a crumbly texture.
  6. Enjoy!