These Keto Leftover Cranberry Sauce Crumb Bars are super easy to make and are the perfect way to use up any of the leftover keto cranberry sauce from the holidays. Simple ingredients (you probably have everything you need in your pantry and your fridge!), these leftover cranberry sauce bars make for an easy keto holiday dessert recipe!
Keto Cranberry Crumb Bars
I think that leftover cranberry sauce is something that we all end up with after a holiday meal. As much as I love sugar-free cranberry sauce, there is only so much that is needed alongside your holiday meal.
So, after starring at a container filled with leftover sugar-free cranberry sauce, I decided to see if I could come up with an easy keto holiday dessert recipe that would be loved by all!
Slightly tangy yet sweet, these Keto Leftover Cranberry Sauce Crumb bars are one of the easiest recipes on my blog (except for maybe my Easy Homemade Keto Cream of Mushroom Soup Recipe, 3-Ingredient Dairy-Free Keto Crackers, Easy Keto Lemon Fudge as well as this Peanut Butter Fudge)
A crunchy sweet cinnamon base topped with slightly tart sugar-free cranberry sauce followed by a sprinkling of another layer of crunchy crumble topping...absolute heaven!
Why this recipe works
I made this recipe several times with minor adjustments along the way to create the most delicious keto cranberry bars!
- Thicker base - I added additional almond flour and nuts to create a sturdier and thicker base that could absorb some of the liquid from the cranberry sauce without losing its crunch
- Added an egg - Some of the pictures in this post show my bars without any egg. These bars tasted great but the crumb texture sank into the cranberry sauce. By adding an egg yolk to the cranberry sauce, the cranberry sauce became for stable/ The egg white was added to the crumb topping which made it more crisp.
If you want want to keep these keto cranberry crumb bars eggless, you can easily omit the egg. I promise you, they will taste just as good but maybe won't look exactly the same!
Ingredients
Most of the ingredients for these keto cranberry crumb bars are probably already in your pantry and fridge!
- Almond flour - You can use either super-fine almond flour or simply make your own almond meal by using almond slices or nuts and placing them in the food processor until they almonds are broken down into a flour-like consistency.
- Sweetener - Any type of sweetener will work in this recipe. Just remember that all keto sweeteners are different tasting and have varying levels of sweetness so you may need to add or reduce the amount called for in this recipe.
- Walnuts - Walnuts are not only very healthy, and filled with good-for-you fats but also help to add some crunch to the bars.
- Butter - I used unsalted butter but you can use salted butter and omit any additional salt. Also, make sure that your butter is nice and cold before adding it to the food processor.
- Egg - The egg yolk gives the cranberry sauce some texture and the egg white helps the crumb topping a extra crunch.
- Cinnamon - Cinnamon compliments these Keto Leftover Cranberry Crumb bars perfectly! I highly suggest adding it but if you do not have any, feel free to omit the cinnamon.
- Salt - Salt is always added to help bring out the flavours of any recipe
- Sugar-free cranberry sauce - Make sure that you taste your cranberry sauce and add additional sweetness to suit your taste. I actually like a more tangy cranberry sauce so I do not add any sweetener to my keto cranberry orange sauce.
*See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
These Keto Leftover Cranberry Sauce Crumb Bars come together very easily!
Add the almond flour, walnuts, cinnamon and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Top with the cold butter.
Pulse about 10-15 times until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
Remove 1 ½ cups of the mixture and set it aside. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of a parchment-lined 8 x 8-inch baking pan.
Bake the crust for 15 minutes and then remove it from the oven
Add the egg yolk to the leftover cranberry sauce and stir to incorporate. Spread the sauce over the bars. Add the egg white to the crumb topping and sprinkle over the cranberry layer.
Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 35-45 minutes or until the top begins to brown.
Remove and allow to cool fully before removing the keto leftover cranberry sauce crumb bars from the baking dish and cutting into 16 squares
Hint: Make sure that you taste the cranberry sauce and add any additional sweetness to suit your taste.
Substitutions
This easy keto holiday dessert recipe can be slightly modified depending on which ingredients you have in your fridge or pantry.
- Leftover Cranberry Sauce - use any type of sugar-free jam or this amazing Easy Keto Blueberry Pie Filling instead.
- Egg - You can use a flax egg instead and divide it evenly between the leftover cranberry sauce and the crumb topping
- Walnuts - use chopped pecans, chopped almonds or sliced almonds. You can also eliminate the nuts altogether but you will not get as much crunch.
These leftover cranberry sauce bars are already gluten-free and sugar-free. If you would like to make it plant-based, vegan and dairy-free, simply use palm shortening instead of the butter.
Variations
Since I love this easy keto holiday dessert recipe so much, I plan on trying these variations next. If you get to trying them before I do, send me a comment and let me know how they turned out!
- Chocolate - sprinkle sugar-free white or dark chocolate chips over the cranberry sauce
- Peanut Butter - Drizzle some peanut butter over the bars after they have cooled for a "peanut butter and jam" version
- Cream Cheese - add some cream cheese to the cranberry sauce for a "cheesecake" crumb bar.
See this Keto Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars for a different take or these Keto Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Equipment
You will notice that the baking time varies quite a bit and this is due to the type of equipment you chose. These keto cranberry bars can be made in a silicon, metal, ceramic or glass bakeware. Easy type of bakeware will take varying amounts of time to heat and therefore, will increase or decrease the baking time.
I am in LOVE with this USA 8-inch square baking pan and it took about 40 minutes for the top of my bars to brown. Also, if you use a 9-inch pan, the bars will be thinner and may need less baking time.
Storage
You can store these leftover cranberry sauce bars at room temperature for about 3 days in an airtight container or in the fridge for 5-7 days.
These bars should freeze well; however, do not thaw them using the microwave as the cranberry sauce will liquify too quickly. Instead, place them in the fridge overnight to allow them to thaw.
Top tip
If you choose to use allulose as your sweetener, watch your bars carefully as allulose will brown much more quickly than any other type of keto sweetener.
Can I use a bag of leftover cranberries instead?
I would not use raw cranberries in this recipe as the cranberries need to be cooked first.
Should you wash cranberries before using them?
Yes. Quickly give the raw cranberries a rinse before using.
Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
No. Coconut flour is much too absorbent to be substituted in this recipe for almond flour.
Can I make these keto cranberry bars dairy-free?
Yes. Simply replace the butter with palm shortening or a plant-based butter. I do not think coconut oil will work for the crumb topping so I do not suggest coconut oil
Can I make these keto bars plant-based and Vegan?
Yes. Use palm shortening instead of butter and make sure that your sugar-free cranberry sauce does not contain any animal gelatin.
Keto Leftover Cranberry Sauce Crumb Bars
These Keto Leftover Cranberry Sauce Crumb Bars are super easy to make and are the perfect way to use up any of the leftover keto cranberry sauce from the holidays. Simple ingredients (you probably have everything you need in your pantry and your fridge!), these leftover cranberry sauce bars make for an easy keto holiday dessert recipe!
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 squares 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup walnuts (or other nut or seed)
- ⅓ cup sweetener
- 6 tbsp butter, unsalted and cut into 1 tablespoon blocks
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 egg (divided into an egg white and an egg yolk)
- 1-1 ½ cup sugar-free cranberry sauce
Instructions
- Taste the cranberry sauce and decide if it needs additional sweetener (this is purely optional). If so, stir in additional sweetener to suit your tastes. Set the cranberry sauce to the side.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment (create a sling for easier removal)
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond flour, sweetener, walnuts, cinnamon and salt. Add the cold butter pieces on the top of the dry ingredients. Pulse until the walnuts have broken down (about 10-15 pulses) or until the butter has broken down and the mixture looks like sand.
- Remove 1 ½ cup of the mixture and set it to the side. Take remaining mixture from food processor and press it firmly to the bottom of the baking pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- While crust is baking, stir the egg yolk into the cranberry sauce and the remaining egg white into the 1 ½ cup reserved crumb. Set the crumb mixture in the fridge.
- Once crust has baked, remove from oven and spread the cranberry sauce over the crust and then sprinkle the remaining cold almond/walnut crumb topping over the cranberry sauce.
- Place the dish on the middle rack and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top begins to brown. Allow to cool fully before slicing into 16 bars.
Notes
- if you use allulose as the main sweetener, the bars will brown much faster so make sure you check the cranberry bars at the 30 and 35 minute mark.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: America, Fall, Holidays
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 170
- Sugar: 0.7
- Fat: 11.9
- Carbohydrates: 3.7
- Fiber: 1.1
- Protein: 3.6
Cat
I am glad you found my recipe as well!
Annie
I happened to stumble upon this reicpe after googling "leftover cranberry sauce recipe" and I am so happy I did! These were easy and turned out great! Thanks for helping use up my cranberry sauce!