These keto Cranberry Bars boast a crunchy, buttery crust, topped with a sweet and tart cranberry layer and a toasty pecan streusel topping. Perfect for breakfast or a sweet treat, these will be your new favorite low carb cranberry bars!
Recently a fellow blogger put out a request for keto cranberry themed recipes for an upcoming roundup post, and I realized that I didn’t have very many to offer.
There were a couple of main dishes – like these festive turkey meatballs with cranberry glaze, and my cranberry apricot glazed ham, but no baked goods or keto treats of any kind that celebrated the beautiful and complex cranberry!
So I set out to remedy the problem last week and got to baking these incredibly tasty keto cranberry shortbread streusel bars. (Also a delicious keto cranberry coffee cake.)
This is the kind of easy keto bar recipe that I just love, since I’m not about spending hours fussing over impossibly pretty baked goods that will be devoured in minutes anyway.
The shortbread crust is similar to the one I use for my popular low carb Raspberry Linzer Cookie Bars, and is pressed into the pan with no rolling required. Meanwhile the cranberries are simmered on the stove until popped and thickened, then cooled slightly and spread over the partially baked crust.
A toasty layer of lightly cinnamon flavored streusel and chopped pecans adorns the top of these keto cranberry bars and pulls it all together into the most satisfying cookie bar I’ve eaten in AGES.
These fantastic keto cranberry shortbread bars go from start to finish in less than an hour, with very little hands on time required – so you can definitely get lots of other cooking, cleaning, or Netflix binge-watching done during the process!
In addition, these keto cranberry bars freeze really well – aaaand I personally recommend going the freezing route so that you don’t eat them all in less than 24 hours.
Not that I’d know from experience or anything. 🤨
Keto Cranberry Bars Recipe Notes:
I used Cointreau in my cranberry jelly, which is an orange flavored liqueur. You can substitute Grand Marnier or Triple Sec, or if you prefer to leave out the alcohol (it cooks off anyway, leaving just the flavor behind), you can sub 1/2 tsp orange extract or omit it altogether!
Xanthan gum is hard to get here in Belize, so I used arrowroot powder to thicken my cranberry jelly enough to set. You can use an equal amount of xanthan or guar gum to get the same results. If you omit it, this recipe will still work but the cranberry layer will be a little gooier – not necessarily a bad thing!
I just know you guys are going to enjoy these keto cranberry bars as much as we did, so please make them soon and report back to let us know how it went!
More Keto Cranberry Recipes
Keto Cranberry Orange Cheesecake
Keto Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Keto Salmon with Cranberry Orange Butter
Festive Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Glaze
PrintKeto Cranberry Bars with Streusel Topping
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
The perfect blend of sweet and tart, these keto cranberry bars will be your new favorite keto cookie! Low Carb & Gluten Free too
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust:
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 cups superfine almond flour
- 1/2 cup erythritol granulated sweetener
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
For the cranberry filling:
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 cup erythritol granulated sweetener
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Cointreau orange liquor (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon arrowroot powder (or xanthan or guar gum)
For the streusel topping:
- 1/3 crust mix (from above)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
For the crust:
- Combine all of the crust ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well with a fork.
- Remove approximately 1/3 of the crust mix and set aside for the streusel topping.
- Press the remaining 2/3 of the crust mix into an 8×8 baking pan, preferably lined with parchment or foil for easier removal after baking.
- Bake in a 350 degree (F) preheated oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove and set aside.
For the cranberry filling:
- In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, sweetener, water, Cointreau, and arrowroot powder and stir well.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
- Stir and pop all of the cranberries that remained whole after cooking.
- Remove from heat and cool for about five minutes, or until no longer steaming.
- Spread the cranberry filling evenly over the partially baked shortbread crust.
For the streusel topping:
- Add the cinnamon and chopped pecans to the 1/3 crust mix you set aside earlier.
- Work with your fingers until clusters are formed.
- Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the cranberry layer.
- Bake the bars at 350 degrees (F) for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool before slicing.
Notes
To see a list of my favorite keto products and brands that I recommend for sweeteners, flours, etc. you can check out the IBIH Pantry Ingredients Page!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: keto Cookie Recipe
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 x 2 bar
- Calories: 136
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 3g net
- Protein: 4g
Keywords: keto cranberry bars, low carb cranberry bars, keto cranberry desserts
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Rheta says
Perfect! There is only one problem. The pieces are too small, even for me, my plate was empty way too soon.
I knew before I made it that we would like it, so scaled it for a 9-inch pan. Next time it will be cut into 16 pieces instead of 20, just to prevent complaints from across the table.
★★★★★
Sue says
Pure heaven!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yay!
Alicia says
No fresh cranberries in Italy. I brought over some dried ones. Any experience using them?
Kelly says
Could I just do this as a crisp and eliminate the crust and do topping only?
Amy says
How much gelatin can I replace for the arrowroot powder? My store only carries large amounts for arrowroot at once.
Barbara says
This came out so good & was so easy to make! I tweaked the tipping just a little because I love crunchy topping & added 2 tbsp of brown Swerve to the mixture.Yum!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
So happy you liked it!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Not sure why you are getting a gritty texture unless you are using a coarse almond meal that still has the skins in it maybe?
Anya says
I had fresh cranberries in the fridge since forever and didn’t know what to do with them. I found this recipe and it turned out amazing, thank you so much!
★★★★★
Sally Toombs says
OUT OF THE BALLPARK!!! I just made these for a pre-Thankgiving treat and they are fabulous. Since, going Keto I’ve been looking for new traditions to pass on. This recipe made the list for ALL holidays. So festive. I only made one change and it worked perfectly, I swapped both the neutral water and Cointreau orange liquor for Mandarin Orange Propel 0 calorie Electrolyte water. (I tend to do this whenever working with cranberries.) It worked perfectly. I had in mind to try it and maybe next time add orange peel. It came out so successfully, there is no need to experiment more with the recipe. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
★★★★★
Elizabeth Ketchum says
Just made this and it is amazing!
Does this keep at room temp or frig? Also can it be frozen?
evy says
Wow!!! Yummmmmm! Easy!
We ground up a whole satsuma/Clementine and added about 2/3 of it to the cooking cranberries. This was a GREAT dessert!!!! Thank for the recipe :)
★★★★★
Kathy Humann says
I’ve been wanting to try this for a week now and kept forgetting to buy cranberries and pecans. Today we are experiencing the first snowfall of the season and it is miserable out! Perfect day for a cup of coffee and a yummy fall dessert. I decided to improvise, which I am famous for doing. I had frozen cherries in the freezer, so used those instead of cranberries. I didn’t have the orange liquer, so I substituted fresh lemon juice and no pecans, so I chopped walnuts. This is heavenly. I served it warm with a dollop of whipped cream! You are so right about having to hide it in the freezer. If I don’t, it wont last another day! I can see this as a base for many other fruits…apples, peaches, blueberries. The cherries increased the carb count, so be sure to take that into consideration! Thank you for always making me happy I have gone Keto!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
So happy that you were able to make these work for you Kathy! I’m dying to make them here in Honduras but they don’t have any cranberries in our grocery store yet! They DO have frozen cherries in the freezer though so I’m going to try your version! Thanks for sharing!
Diana says
Oh my, I used this recipe with wild organic boreal blueberries last week, and it was fantastic! I had my doubts about the simple almond flour crust, as I usually find almond flour crusts, cakes, etc. to be too heavy and oily. But these bars were just out of this world. Only one caution–even though I don’t usually care too much for sweets, I ate 11 out of 16 pieces of this in two days. Definitely need to freeze them in individual servings! Looking forward to making with cranberries as soon as they become available.
★★★★★
Teresa L says
YUM!!! I love cranberries and could eat these bars all year long. Love them and thank you for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★
Mary says
Oh Melissa! These are incredible. The only change I made was to sub 1/2 tsp orange oil for the liquor. I am going to have to freeze these or give them away as i could easily eat the whole pan. BTW, they are so good warm from the oven with a little heavy cream. ☺
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad you liked these Mary! They are on my list to make again soon!
SavingSheri says
Wow. Oh WOW!! I made these the other day and they are amazing. I’ve been warming up a piece and drizzling a tablespoon or two of cream over the top. I will never feel the need to have oatmeal again, It’s just such a warm delicious comfort food. I may try adding some psyllium husks or such into the crumble next batch, to try and healthy it up a bit more. We shall see. I’m not sure I want to mess with perfection. I really love these bars. Everyone reading this needs to step AWAY from the computer and make these right now. Seriously.. what are you still doing here. Get in the kitchen. :P
★★★★★
Kathleen Kelly says
These look really good and perfect for a diabetic diet! Thank you and Happy Holidays!
Tammy S says
Oh my goodness! These look like pure perfection! I am going to make this for Christmas.
Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Amy says
I made these beautiful gems for Thanksgiving this year. It is Saturday, and there are no leftovers. For it just being the two of us, this is an amazing feat. I was asked by my other half this morning, while staring at the last two remaining bars, would I be making more today? Here I am, making more. Delicious! Thank you so much for your recipes, and all the tips and tricks you offer the low carb community! You are wonderful!
★★★★★
Tim says
I made mine earlier since it was my birthday and the kids love them! Thanks for sharing Mellissa. :)
Julie D. says
Made these last night, SO GOOD!!! That base could be used for so many yummy treats! Thanks for another great recipe!!
★★★★★
Terra says
Any recommended subs for erythritol? It really upsets my stomach.
Thank you
Mellissa Sevigny says
Any sweetener that measures cup for cup like sugar you can use in the same quantity as what I used for the erythritol. Xylitol maybe?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hope they are a bit hit!
Rita Allen says
I just made these last night. They will be made through the entire holiday season! I’m in love! I had been eyeballing these for months
One question: how many servings are in this recipe
I cut 9 squares
And I just ate 2 for breakfast! ?
I’m going to freeze the rest now
★★★★★
Tracy says
This looks awesome, I bet this would be even better with cream cheese as an additional layer. I am going to try this!
Gypsea says
Looks great! Just one question you say 1/3 crust mix for the topping? is that 1/3 cup?
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
No, it’s 1/3 of the total mix that you will make for the crust – it’s approximate so a few tablespoons either way won’t matter. Should be around a heaping 1/2 cup give or take.
Gypsea says
Perfect, Thank you!
★★★★★
Stephany says
Wow, those look good. Is this by any chance logged into MFP? I’d like to know the total carbs if possible.
Mellissa Sevigny says
I don’t put any of my recipes into MFP but some have added them, since this is a new one I don’t think it will be there yet but feel free to add it!