Keto Honey Graham Cracker Crust

This bake (or no-bake!) keto & gluten-free honey Graham cracker crust is super easy to make and it tastes incredible! The Graham cracker flavor is spot on, with a warm and rich aroma of honey, toasted almonds, cinnamon and brown sugar.

This low-carb press-in Graham cracker pie crust is one of those recipes that you’ll want to print up because it’s really a keeper ❤ it’s the perfect match for keto cheesecake and keto pumpkin pie!

Keto Graham cracker pie crust in a metal pie dish.

The ingredients

I used some specialty items that are a little different, like bee pollen and blackstrap molasses (which is optional), but they are what makes the flavor of this keto crust nearly an exact match to the real thing!

Below are listed all the ingredients you’ll need for the LikeHotKeto Graham cracker crust:

All the ingredients needed for the keto honey Graham cracker pie crust.

Keto honey – The honey flavor in this Graham cracker almond crust is completely natural! I used bee pollen, which is a fantastic ingredient full of nutrients that smells and tastes just like honey, minus the sugar.

Bee pollen is a pain to dissolve in fat, though. I did manage to dissolve it in hot butter, because I didn’t want to add water to this recipe… But it’s really a handful, and I don’t want you cursing at me from your kitchen. So I decided to add some water to the recipe, just enough to dissolve the pollen: one teaspoon. Piping hot, makes it easier!

Almond flour or substitute Toasted almond flour makes the base of the crust, and after mixing with the cinnamon and sweetener it smells so good it’s hard not to eat it just as is!

You can’t substitute the almond flour for coconut flour in this keto Graham cracker crust recipe, but if needed you can still make it nut-free by using either sunflower seed flour (or meal) or pumpkin seed flour (or meal).

The proportion is 1:1 sunflower or pumpkin seed flour to almond flour, and the result, in terms of texture, will be exactly the same. Color and taste will be, of course, different according to the seed flour of your choice.

A hand full of keto Graham cracker moist crumbs, over a fluted pie pan with crust to be pressed.

Powdered keto sweetener – There’s not enough liquid in this recipe to dissolve sweetener granules, so it’s important to use a powdered keto sweetener (instead of granulated), for best flavor and texture.

Although any keto powdered keto sweetener works, I prefer to use erythritol, or erythritol based blends for this recipe. Reason being, the keto honey Graham cracker crust benefits from the drying and crystallizing properties of erythritol, which helps prevent the crust from getting soft or soggy.

Blackstrap molasses The strongest flavored molasses, perfect to impart some dark brown sugar flavor to the keto pie crust. Yes, it is sugar, but it’s added in a really small amount – only 1/2 teaspoon for the whole recipe!

The blackstrap molasses is different from the regular molasses because of its really intense taste. I chose blackstrap because you can get a bunch of flavor with just a tiny bit, which means adding the least amount of sugar and carbs to the recipe.

If you prefer not adding because you think all sugar is temptation from hell (I understand!), you can use a keto brown sugar tasting sweetener instead of the regular white one. Again, it needs to be powdered!

The side of a tall keto cheesecake made with the honey Graham cracker crust.
Keto classic vanilla cheesecake + this Graham cracker crust = Perfection

Egg white protein powder (optional)- I really like having egg white protein powder around. It’s just powdered egg whites, that are pasteurized and keep for a long, long time. It isn’t raw, so you can safely use in no-bake crusts for cold desserts!

You don’t need to add the egg white powder if the crust is going to be baked, but for a no-bake crust it really makes all the difference.

The egg white powder serves as a binder, sort of gluing together the almond flour and making the keto pie crust easier to shape inside the pan, as well as preventing it from crumbling as you slice it.

How to toast almond flour

You might feel tempted to skip this step, but toasting the almond flour really intensifies the flavor and crunch, and makes the Graham cracker taste really pop!! So, PLEASE TOAST – I want you to have the full on pleasure experience that you deserve!

Side by side raw versus toasted, golden brown almond flour.
Raw vs toasted almond flour

It’s really easy and quick to toast almond flour, but it needs your full attention, as it can from not-even-toasted to totally burnt in seconds! (I wish I were exaggerating 😩) It also needs constant mixing to brown uniformly. But hey, it’s done in a few minutes and it’s totally worth it!

Start by putting the almond flour or meal in a dry, large skillet on medium-high heat, and toss it around until you see the first streaks of flour getting darker. This means it reached the temperature to start toasting, so turn down the heat to low, to prevent the bottom from burning.

Continue stirring non-stop to get all the almond powder to a light golden to golden brown color throughout. You are going to love the wonderful aroma of toasted almonds filling your kitchen!

Either if you intend to make the bake or no-bake version of the crust, toasting the almond flour before mixing in with the other ingredients is essential. There’s a difference, though.

If you want to use this straight away as no-bake pie crust for a dessert that’s not going into the oven, I suggest toasting the almond flour for a little longer, until it gets golden brown. If the crust is going into the oven, to make a baked keto pie or cheesecake, then quickly toast, just until light golden.

How to make keto Graham cracker crust

Steps to make the keto Graham cracker crust in images.

Mix the toasted almond flour with the other dry ingredients (except the bee pollen – this is gonna be wet!) in a bowl. If you are making a no-bake pie crust, to fill with a cold dessert, you can add egg white powder to this mix.

Fully melt the butter in the microwave on low-potency, or in a double boiler. Avoid boiling it, just melt it gently.

Dissolve the bee pollen in one teaspoon of hot water (I swear it’s enough!). You could try dissolving it straight into the melted butter, but the granules can be hard to melt away.

Then add both the dissolved bee pollen and the blackstrap molasses into the melted butter, and mix – this will make spreading the flavors easier than just adding them separately to to almond flour.

Add the flavored melted butter into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and mix everything together until it’s all evenly moist crumbs.

Press down the keto Graham cracker crumbs inside the pie dish or cheesecake pan, previously greased with plenty of butter or coconut oil. I like to put down a disc of parchment paper on the bottom of the dish as well, better safe than sorry for stuck pie, right?

A golden honey Graham cracker keto pie crust, in a fluted pie dish.

Tips for a perfect crust

No soggy bottom

It seems unavoidable to not get a soggy bottom when the filling is too liquid. To help prevent it, here are tips for no-bake and baked crust situations:

For a no-bake crust, to be used with a refrigerated dessert (that doesn’t go into the oven), there’s two options:

  1. After preparing the crust and pressing into the pie dish or cheesecake pan, cover with a plastic film and put in the freezer for a couple of hours before filling. This will minimize the absorption of liquids.
  2. If the flavor of your no-bake pie or cheesecake is a good match for chocolate (or white chocolate), you can melt enough sugar-free, keto friendly chocolate to make a thin, even layer on top of the crust. Refrigerate until it hardens, and then pour in the pie filling.

If baking the crust, simply blind baking for about 10 minutes does help prevent sogginess. But adding egg white wash is even better, and nobody will be able to tell.

To make the crust really impermeable like a fortress, brush it with egg white wash before blind baking for about 10 minutes at 175 °C (350 °F). Then wait for it to cool before adding the filling.

Avoid burnt edges

Crusts with a large amount of sugar or fat in them tend to scorch around the edges. This keto Graham cracker crust has no sugar, but the amount of fat is, let’s not kid ourselves, enormous. Don’t blame the butter, this one is on the almond flour.

It’s easy to prevent the edges of the crust from getting too dark during baking. Use a physical barrier throughout all the baking time to prevent the crust from burning, either protecting with aluminum foil around the edges, or topping the baking dish with a pie crust shield.


A golden honey Graham cracker keto pie crust, in a fluted pie dish.

Keto Graham Cracker Crust (Bake & No-Bake)

Yield: 1 crust
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

This keto & gluten-free honey Graham cracker pie (and cheesecake!) crust has bake & no-bake options, is super easy to make and tastes like the real thing!

Ingredients

  • 200 grams (~2 cups) almond flour
  • 50 grams (~4 tablespoons) keto powdered sweetener
  • 60 grams (~4 tablespoons) butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon bee pollen (diluted in 1 teaspoon hot water)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
  • (Optional, for no-bake version) 2 tablespoons egg white powder
  • Butter or coconut oil, to grease the pie dish or pan

Instructions

  1. For better flavor, start by toasting the almond flour on a dry, non-stick pan. Toss the almond flour around constantly to toast it evenly and avoid burning. If the crust is going to be baked, toast just until golden. If it's a no-bake crust, toast a bit longer until golden brown.
  2. Mix the toasted almond flour with the keto powdered sweetener (such as erythritol, xylitol or allulose), the cinnamon powder and the salt. For a no-bake crust, (optionally) also add egg white powder.
  3. Melt the butter, and mix it with the blackstrap molasses and the bee pollen dissolved in one teaspoon of hot water
  4. Pour the melted butter mixture into the almond flour mixture, and combine until you get an evenly moist crumb that keeps shape when pressed
  5. Grease well the pan or pie dish, with butter or coconut oil. Additionally, you can put a disc of parchment paper on the bottom for easier serving. Pour the crumbs into the pan and press down with your fingers (not too hard) to form the crust.
  6. If no-bake, refrigerate the pie crust while making the filling. If baking the crust, you can blind bake for about 10 minutes at 175 °C (350 °F) before adding the filling.

Notes

Please see post section on tips to avoid soggy bottom and burnt edges.

The egg white powder is an optional addition for no-bake crust, it makes the crumbs "stay together" and slice easier without breaking.

The sweetener must be powdered (not granulated). You can easily powder it yourself by blending/processing for a few seconds.

The blackstrap molasses adds a deep caramel, burnt sugar flavor. If you prefer not to use it, I recommend using a brown sugar keto sweetener.

Pan size: This recipe makes enough crust to cover the bottom of a 10" pan or the bottom and sides of a 9" (short) pan or a 8" (tall) pan.

Nutritional information displayed on card is for the crust without egg white powder. With egg white powder, one slice (of 12) has 150 calories, 1.8 gram of net carbs, 5 grams of protein and 12.8 grams of fat.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 144Total Fat: 12.8gCarbohydrates: 3.4gNet Carbohydrates: 1.7gFiber: 1.7gSugar: 1gProtein: 3.7g

Nutrition information is provided as a guideline only. Different brands of ingredients may have different nutrition facts. If tracking macros, remake the calculations using the nutrition facts from the labels of the ingredients you selected. Net carbs calculated exclude carbs from insoluble fiber and sugar alcohols.

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2 Comments

  1. I’m glad to hear the keto cheesecake was a success, Steph! And please, you can totally increase the pollen to taste.

  2. I made this recipe with your vanilla cheesecake and man… let’s just say it didn’t last a day here 😋 the pollen for honey flavor idea is genius, but it was not very strong, I think I’ll put some more next time!

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