The BEST Keto Strawberry Cream Bars - Under 100 calories each!

These are the absolute BEST Keto Strawberry Cream Bars! By simply combining the crunch of a gluten-free almond shortbread crust with a perfectly creamy and sweet strawberry layer, this keto summer dessert is sooooo good!!!  Only taking 1 bowl to make and under 100 calories per bar, these easy sugar-free creamy strawberry bars are the perfect healthy keto dessert recipe.

Easy Keto Summer Dessert

I LOVE strawberry season!

I mean, let's face it, I can't think of anything better than a fresh-picked strawberry.

When we were kids, my sisters and I would go with my Mum to pick strawberries.

She would pick for the family and my sisters and I would pick for the farmer.  We got paid $4 for every half flat we picked.

Although some could argue that at that pay rate, we were virtually child labour, I disagree as the number of strawberries that went into my belly was well worth the minimum wages we made!

Recently, my local farmer's market had flats of strawberries for sale. 

I am somewhat hesitant buying strawberries in large quantities as it seems like recently, most strawberries don't have the same flavour I remember when I use to pick them as a kid.

But after being able to smell the strawberries from several feet away, I decided to take the plunge and buy half a flat. And am I ever glad I did!

Deliciously sweet, each and every strawberry was filled with the sweetest taste that I had not tasted in years. Having an abundance of delicious strawberries, I knew some type of strawberry recipe creation would be in order.

This gluten-free strawberry cream bar recipe is not only delicious but is definitely a super easy keto summer dessert!

Why this is the BEST Keto Strawberry Cream Cheese Dessert

• they are gluten-free and sugar-free
• they only require 1 dish to clean
• they only took a handful of minutes to prepare
• they can easily be cut into any size and can be packed for lunch
• they require only a handful of ingredients
• if the most novice keto or gluten-free baker can make these
• THEY TASTE AMAZING!!

Easy Sugar-Free Creamy Strawberry Bar Ingredients

This recipe has 2 parts: an almond shortbread crust and a keto strawberry cream. Both of these components are made using a food processor. To keep things simple, you don't have to clean the food processor bowl in between. I wanted these keto strawberry cream bars to come together quickly and easily so I have kept the ingredients really simple.

For the Keto Almond Shortbread Crust:

Almond flour - I use super-fine almond flour that I buy from Thrive Market. I have also found Blue Diamond almond flour at Sam's Club and Costco. You can make your own almond flour by simply grinding down almonds. For many keto dessert recipes, making your own almond flour won't work but in this recipe, it absolutely will.

Nuts - To add an extra level of crunchiness to the keto almond shortbread crust, you are going to add some type of nuts that are going to be somewhat broken down in the food processor. You can use anything from whole almonds to walnuts or pecans. I recently used Lupini Flakes and they worked wonderfully as well.

Butter - You will need 1 stick of butter (which is equal to 4 oz or 113 grams). I used unsalted butter and then added a pinch of salt. You can use salted butter if you choose. Keep your butter cold and dice it before adding it to the food processor. You will then hit the "pulse" button about 15 times or until the mixture looks like gravel.

Sweetener - For this recipe, you can use any type of sweetener that you have in your pantry. Since I wanted a little extra "crunch", I used Lakanto Classic which is an erythritol-based sweetener that does crystallize as it cools. However, feel free to use monk fruit, stevia, or allulose.

For the Creamy Strawberry

Cream Cheese - I used full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese for this recipe but I think you could get away with reduced-fat if you wanted. This is one recipe where you do NOT need to have your cream cheese (or your eggs!) at room temperature since everything is going into the food processor and will be quickly blended without the need of softening the ingredients.

Eggs - You will need two large eggs. I always buy Happy Eggs as the chickens are pasture-raised which means they can roam around freely.

Almond Flour - We are adding only ½ cup to the strawberry mixture. The almond flour will give the strawberry cream topping some structure but since only a small amount is utilized, the texture remains ultra-creamy!

Strawberries - Wash and hull the strawberries. You will need about 1 pint of strawberries which is equal to about 2 cups.

Sweetener - Once again, any sweetener can be used. I kept things simple and used Lakanto Classic since it is what I used in the crust.

Optional - Strawberry Extract - If your strawberries are not super flavourful, you can always add about ¼ teaspoon of strawberry extract. This is completely optional but for those of you who LOVE the strawberry flavour, I suggest you add the extract.

Keto Strawberry Cream Bars

There are so many different types of keto and sugar-free sweeteners on the market today. For this easy keto summer dessert, you can use any type of sweetener.

Here is a list of my favourite sugar substitutes for all my keto desserts.

Lakanto :

• TASTES JUST LIKE SUGAR: Contains zero net carbs, zero calories, and is zero-glycemic. Perfect for cookies, coffee, desserts, and other sweet, sugar-free treats.
• 1:1 SUGAR REPLACEMENT: Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener matches the sweetness of sugar, helping you fill your kitchen with a healthy cup-for-cup alternative to ordinary baking and cooking ingredients.
• LIFESTYLE FRIENDLY: Works with ketogenic, diabetic, candida, paleo, vegan, low-carb, low-sugar, non-GMO, and all-natural diets.
• 3 SYLES - CLASSIC, GOLDEN & POWDERED: Golden Lakanto is a brown sugar substitute, Classic White is a white sugar substitute, and Classic Powder is a powdered sugar substitute.
• INGREDIENTS: The perfect mix of monk fruit extract and erythritol

Whole Earth:

• TASTES JUST LIKE SUGAR - Zero Sugar and Zero Calories
• NON-GMO CERTIFIED AS WELL AS NO PRESERVATIVES: Does not contain any artificial fillers, maltodextrin, and no artificial flavouring
• LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX: It will not raise blood sugar like regular sugar and is therefore good for ketogenic as well as diabetic diets.
• GLUTEN-FREE
• INGREDIENTS: Erythritol, Stevia Leaf Extract, Monk Fruit Extract

Allulose

• TASTES LIKE SUGAR: Allulose is slightly less sweet than regular sugar so for every 1 cup of sugar, you will need 1 ⅓ cup of allulose
• CALORIE FREE SWEETENER: has a mild clean sweetness, no bitterness, and no aftertaste. 
• IT IS A RARE SUGAR:  naturally found in figs, raisins, and kiwi. 
• FREE FROM FILLERS AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURS:  it is Non-GMO Project Verified, Keto Certified, Gluten-Free, Vegan, and Kosher.
• INGREDIENTS: Allulose

*If you want to know more about sweeteners and how to use them in a keto diet, check out my Guide to Keto Sweeteners

Making the Keto Almond Flour Crust?

This is really easy. It only takes a food processor and about 5 minutes of time to make the almond flour crust.

Steps for making the almond flour crust:

• Combine all the ingredients except for the butter and pulse until nuts (or seeds) have broken down into chunks
• Add in diced cold butter and pulse about 10 - 15 times or until the mixture resembles coarse sand

this recipe

• Press the mixture into a parchment or aluminum lined 8 x 8 baking dish - make sure that there is some overhang to help lift the bars out of the baking dish once they have cooled.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until the crust just begins to brown.

While your crust is baking, you can start making the keto strawberry cream layer. Don't bother washing out the food processor bowl as you don't need to in order to make the strawberry cream.

Making the Gluten-free Strawberry Cream Layer

• In the same bowl of the food processor, add in all the ingredients - don't worry if they are still cold as this will not affect the recipe!
• Turn the food processor on and process until the strawberries are fully broken down

• Pour the mixture in a large measuring cup or another container that contains a spout to easily pour the strawberry cream mixture over the crust

Assembling and Baking

• Once almond flour crust has baked, remove it from the oven.
• Using a large spoon or a ¼ cup measuring cup, carefully pour the strawberry cream onto the spoon or measuring cup and allow it to overflow - this ensures that you don't indent the crust
• Return the keto strawberry cream bars to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until strawberry cream is set but still slightly jiggly in the center
• Allow the bars to cool completely and then put them in the fridge for at least 2 hours or until fully set.

How do you store these bars?

I like to store these easy keto summer dessert bars in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

You can also cut these bars and store them in the freezer for 3 months.  Before indulging, allow the bars to come to room temperature.

In our house, I cut the bars and store them in the freezer.  In the morning, I remove one bar from the freezer, place it in a container for Mr. Grumbles's lunch box.  By lunchtime, the bar has returned to room temperature and is ready to eat.

Tips and Tricks for these Easy Keto Dessert Bars:

• make sure that you bake your crust first otherwise it will end up soggy
• line your baking dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray it well
• leave enough of an overhang to make is easy to remove the bars once they have cooled
• the top strawberry cream layer is VERY liquid so be careful when you place it in the oven
• you could probably make this entire recipe, following the same directions, using a high-speed blender
• do not over-bake the bars as they will be less creamy and could crack on the top
• feel free to make this as a pie instead of bars

More Easy Keto Summer Dessert Recipes

• Creamy No-Bake Keto Strawberry Lasagna Dessert
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Blondies - Keto
• Easy Keto Blueberry Blondies
• Raspberry Coconut Cake (Gluten-Free, Keto)

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