Keto Hamburger Buns
Published August 9, 2020 • Updated March 10, 2026
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I made these fluffy, gluten-free buns because I was tired of eating burgers with no bread. They hold together, taste like real buns, and come in at 3.4g net carbs.
I know you’ve been missing bread and a real burger with a bun. I have been too.
There are only so many bunless burgers I can take. I created this recipe because I wanted a real bun, not a lettuce wrap, not a fathead dough disc made from a pile of mozzarella. These are gluten-free buns that actually rise in the oven, hold their shape, and taste like bread.
The reason these work when so many keto buns don’t is the combination of xanthan gum and psyllium husk together. Most recipes skip one or the other. I’ve tested both ways. Without xanthan, you lose the stretch and the bun tears when you pick it up. Without psyllium, the inside dries out and goes crumbly within hours. Using both gives you a bun that holds a loaded burger without falling apart on the first bite.
The whole process takes about 20 minutes from bowl to oven. I sift the dry ingredients (this matters for a finer crumb), stir in eggs, melted butter, and sour cream, then shape the dough with wet hands. It’s sticky on purpose. 12-13 minutes at 400 degrees and the edges crisp up golden while the inside stays soft and spongy.
Here’s what I do on burger night: I start the grill, then mix the batter. Once the burgers go on, the buns go in the oven. By the time everything is off the heat, the buns are cool enough to slice. Dinner hits the table at the same time, no waiting around.
A tip I picked up from a reader: chill the shaped buns for 10 minutes before baking. It helps them hold their dome instead of spreading flat on the tray. I didn’t include this originally, but I’ve been doing it ever since Ashley mentioned it and she was right.
These work for more than just burgers. I’ve used them for breakfast sandwiches with egg and cheese, sloppy joes (the hardest test because the sauce soaks in fast), and as slider-size buns when I divide the dough into 6-8 smaller pieces. One reader made 8 sliders for a party and said they held up better than the full-size version.
If you’re on a low carb bread kick, try my keto sandwich bread, my dinner rolls, my hot dog buns for cookout season, or my keto biscuits if you want something flaky.
Explore 686+ keto recipe videos with step-by-step instructions, tips, and tricks to make keto easy.
Ingredients
1 cup almond flour -
1/2 cup unflavored whey protein powder
-
2 tablespoons whole psyllium husk flakes
-
2 tablespoons golden flax seed meal
-
2 teaspoons baking powder
-
1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum
-
1/2 teaspoon salt
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2 eggs
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1/4 cup butter, melted
-
2 tablespoons sour cream
-
sesame seeds (optional)
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray and set aside.
Sift dry ingredients
Whisk or sift together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Sifting the dry ingredients is preferred to get a finer texture.
- Almond flour
- Whey protein powder
- Psyllium husk flakes
- Golden flax seed meal
- Baking powder
- Xanthan gum
- Salt
Finish dough
Add eggs, melted butter and sour cream to dry ingredients. Mix together until combined.
- Eggs
- Butter
- Sour cream
Mold into buns
Wet your hands with some water or oil in order to handle the dough as it is sticky. Divide the bread dough into four balls and mold each ball into a round disc shape and place on a parchment lined baking tray. Continue with remaining dough. Place each dough ball about 1-2 inches apart.
Sprinkle sesame
Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of each bun if you want to make a sesame seed bun. Some add bagel seasoning here for a ‘kitchen sink’ burger bun topping!
- Sesame seeds
Bake
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-13 minutes or until slightly hardened on the outside and spongy to the touch. Let cool for 3-5 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these in an air fryer?
I've tested these in the air fryer and they work well. Drop the temp to 375 (not 400, the psyllium holds moisture and they'll dry out fast at full heat). Start checking at 10 minutes. Mine usually go about 12. They won't dome as much as the oven version, but the texture is right.
Can I use psyllium husk powder instead of flakes?
Powder is way more concentrated than flakes. Use about 1 tablespoon of powder in place of the 2 tablespoons of flakes. Readers who've tried it tell me the buns come out a bit more dense, and they can look slightly gummy when warm. That cooks out as they cool. I keep flakes in my pantry specifically because they're easier to measure for baking.
How do I reheat these without them crumbling?
I microwave mine for about 20 seconds wrapped in a damp paper towel. Whatever you do, don't toast them. Almond flour buns lose moisture fast without gluten to hold things together, and toasting makes the bottom crumble into pieces. I learned this after a reader reported the same thing, and I confirmed it myself. Microwave, always.
Can I freeze keto hamburger buns?
I freeze them all the time. Let them cool completely after baking, then separate with squares of parchment paper and store in a freezer bag. They keep for about 2 months. To thaw, I leave them on the counter for 30-40 minutes or microwave for 15-20 seconds.
Why didn't my buns rise?
The most common reason I see is old baking powder. If yours has been sitting in the pantry for a while, it loses its lift. Also double-check that you're using 1 1/4 teaspoons of xanthan gum (not 1/4 teaspoon, which my video overlay got wrong at one point). If the dough is spreading flat instead of holding shape, try adding a touch more almond flour, or chill the shaped buns for 10 minutes before they go in the oven.
Can I make slider-size buns with this recipe?
I divide the same dough into 6-8 pieces instead of 4 for sliders. The bake time drops to about 10-11 minutes since they're smaller, so keep an eye on them. A reader made 8 small ones for sloppy joes and said they held up even better than the full-size version because the ratio of crispy edge to soft center was higher.
What can I substitute for whey protein powder if I'm dairy-free?
I haven't tested every option, but pea protein or a plant-based blend should work. Make sure it's unflavored so the buns don't pick up any sweetness. The protein powder gives these their structure, so I wouldn't skip it entirely. If you're also cutting sour cream, try coconut cream as my suggested swap.
Can I add herbs or spices to the batter?
I do this all the time. Garlic powder and onion powder are my go-to additions (a teaspoon of each). A reader turned me onto everything bagel seasoning on top instead of plain sesame seeds, and I won't go back. Italian seasoning mixed into the dough works well with burgers too.
First attempt at keto buns and went in braced for disaster (psyllium husk and whey protein aren't exactly my comfort zone). Dough came together fast and held a full burger without falling apart. Can these be frozen, or does the texture go?
Tried these with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream because I didn't have any on hand, and the texture came out a little denser but still held up completely fine under a loaded burger, which I was genuinely not sure about. The psyllium husk does something interesting in the bake, that slight chew in the middle, I kept poking at the first one trying to figure out what I was tasting. By batch two I realized the wet hands step matters more than the recipe implies: really soak them, not just barely damp. The dough stopped tearing and I got much cleaner rounds that didn't look homemade in the best way. Going to try these at a cookout this spring and see if anyone notices they're not regular buns.
Soaked, not damp. I've been vague about that for years and I need to fix the wording. The Greek yogurt going a little denser makes sense (less fat), but 2 tablespoons either way isn't enough to lose the structure.
Made these last weekend. They went completely flat even though I wet my hands like the recipe says. Any trick to get them to hold their shape?
Shape them higher than feels right before they go in. Mine go about an inch and a half tall, almost domed, because they spread in the oven. If they're going completely flat the baking powder might also be old - that's the #1 culprit I see with these.
Made burgers last Sunday and my husband, who has given up on every keto bread I've tried, picked up his bun and squeezed it before eating. It held. He asked for burgers again on Thursday, which is basically a standing ovation from him.
Mine failed the squeeze test the first four batches. Xanthan gum is what fixed it. Him asking for burgers again Thursday is the whole point.
Tried every 'keto bun' recipe out there and most fall apart the second you load them up. These held a full burger with the works. Xanthan gum ratio is finally right, and that sour cream tang beats the fathead versions I've been making for two years.
Two years of fathead and done. The sour cream is only 2 tablespoons but that tang is exactly why these don't taste like every other almond flour bun.
I've tried every keto bun recipe out there and they've all let me down the same way. Either they crumble the second you pick them up or they're so dense you might as well be eating a protein bar between two bricks. Was going to give up and just do burger bowls. The psyllium husk in the ingredients list almost made me skip this one too (that's usually what sends keto bread sideways for me) but I made them anyway. Loaded mine up with a smash patty, extra pickles, and a pile of sauce. The bun held. It actually held. This is the first keto bun I've made that I'd put in front of someone who doesn't eat keto without any kind of disclaimer.
The no-disclaimer test is the real one. Psyllium gets a bad rap because most recipes use it wrong (or use the powder when the flakes work better here). Worth the risk.
Hadn't had a real bun in over a year and the first bite made me do that thing where you close your eyes without meaning to.
That involuntary eye-close is the whole reason I kept testing these until they worked.
I've tried probably six different keto bun recipes over the past two years and every single one either fell apart the second I put anything on it or had that weird spongy protein bread taste that my brain just refused to accept as a bun. This one is different in a way I wasn't expecting. The psyllium husk and flax combo does something to the texture that none of my other recipes had, like there's actual structure there instead of just density. Toasted one this morning for a breakfast burger and it held up through the whole thing, didn't get soggy at the bottom, didn't crumble when I bit in. The 3.4g net carbs had me skeptical because usually that kind of macro means you're sacrificing something, but I genuinely can't figure out what the trade-off is here. Going back through my recipe folder and retiring the other five.
Six different recipes. The flax is what most of them are missing (or they use psyllium alone and wonder why it's still dense).
Used brown butter instead of regular melted and the buns picked up this nutty depth that worked really well with a smash burger. Worth the extra two minutes.
Never browned it first but the almond flour already leans nutty so that must amplify the whole thing. Trying this next batch.
Added a teaspoon of garlic powder to the dry ingredients and won't skip it again. Also, chilling the shaped buns 10 minutes before baking helps them hold their dome.
Same on the garlic powder, been adding it for months. I throw in a little onion powder too and it's a noticeably better bun.
Growing up, my mom made hamburger buns from scratch every Sunday, and I hadn't thought about that in years. When I opened the oven on these and saw how they'd domed up, it just came back all at once. She used to wet her hands too, the dough always sticking, the same vague frustration. These aren't hers (nothing is), but the texture when you split one is closer than I expected. I've made them three times since.
Three times since. The wet hands part is in there because the dough fights you otherwise. Sticky on purpose.
I wasn't sure these would work as real buns but they did. Held together with a burger and everything. Texture was way better than I expected.
The xanthan gum and psyllium together are what make them actually hold. A lot of keto bun recipes skip one or the other and they just fall apart the second you bite in.
Planning to use my air fryer instead of the oven for these since it's faster and I'm making them for a quick weeknight burger. Should I drop the temp to 375 or keep it at 400, and do they need the full time or will they cook faster?
375 for sure. The psyllium husk in these makes them hold moisture and they'll dry out fast at 400 in an air fryer. Start checking at 10 minutes, mine usually go about 12.
I have whole psyllium husk. Is that different than psyllium husk flakes?
I believe these are the same thing...as long as yours looks like flakes.
Do you have to use psyllium husk flakes or can you use psyllium husk powder ? I only have powder.
I haven't tried it with the powder. It might work but you should probably try less. Maybe 1 tablespoon?