This Low-Carb Cheese Danish is made with Fat Head dough that is grain free, tree-nut free and made without sugar!
You might be wondering why the word FAT HEAD in the title right? Or maybe some of you know what I'm talking about and you are super excited for this recipe!
If you've never heard of Fat Head dough before you may be very new to low carb living. It's a simple dough that is basically made of CHEESE!
Yep. You heard right!
Well, actually the original dough has almond flour in it. Not even quite sure who the original creator of the Fat Head dough is but a reader found this and thought that might be the origin. Mine is very far from the original in the ingredients but it all starts with mozzarella!
And you know, if you've been following me long enough, my little guy has a tree nut allergy so almond flour for family recipes like this is out of the question.
In comes coconut flour.
Now don't say, oh boo I hate the taste of coconut and ditch this recipe!
My little guy is the greatest coconut detector of all and if he can't taste it neither will you. Plus the flavor is all in the cream cheese center of this danish anyway.
A creamy cheese danish like this has been on my foodie bucket list for a long time.
I just never thought I could make it well, that was until I started making recipes with the fat head dough!
This dough is a GAME CHANGER!
I've made some pretty cool recipes with this dough but this one is my first sweet recipes as opposed to savory.
I've made:
and NOW this EPIC recipe!
You can even get pretty versatile with the filling if you like by adding in some pureed fruit to the cream cheese.
I just wanted it plain and simple, vanilla flavored cream cheese center!
The entire family loved this danish and continue to ask for it again and again, even the picky one!
Check out my video for step by step instructions!
Brenda's Notes:
- You don't necessarily need the dough to be sweet but I think it makes it feel more like a danish with some sweetness to it.
- If you don't like vanilla stevia, sub a sugar free or any sweetener you do like.
- I would use a ½ cup of a granulated sweetener in the dough and filling. You can always taste and adjust as you go along.
- My teen and I tried this right out the oven and were not fans of warm cream cheese so it's best if you refrigerate it for a bit, tastes even better the second day!
Low Carb Cheese Danish {Grain Free, Nut Free}
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup coconut flour I used Bob's Red Mill
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla liquid stevia
Filling
- 1 ½ packages cream cheese or 12 ounces
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla liquid stevia
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a microwaveable bowl add the mozzarella cheese and cream cheese.
- Microwave 1 minute and 30 seconds.
- Stir until combined.
- Whisk flour, the eggs, vanilla extract and vanilla stevia together until combined.
- Add this to the cheese mixture and continue to stir or use wet hands to combine.
- Spread mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet or use a rolling pin between two pieces of parchment. (see video)
- Slice on sides of dough at an angle. See video. Set aside to make filling.
- Add the filling ingredients to a stand mixer and blend on high until smooth.
- Spread down middle of dough and fold sides across the middle.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow to cool about 10 minutes before serving if enjoying warm or cool completely and refrigerate.
- Keep refrigerated.
Notes
Nutrition
Brenda, this recipe is wonderful, haven't tasted it yet, it is cooling still but smells so god. I added sf raspberry jam to the filling, about a half cup, I am a raspberry-a-holic. Lol, and it thinned out the filling almost too much, will add another egg next time to thicken it. Yum, thank you.
I'm beyond excited abt this recipe!
It's in the oven now
Not only is this my first try at a danish but also my first time making any type of fathead dough
Feel like I did pretty good. Of course I had to cut the recipe way down as it's just me and my husband and I don't trust myself to not eat it all lol
Thanks for sharing amazing recipes and the videos are so helpful too
Thanks!
I love it! Nice sized portion and some chia strawberry jam and this rocks! I was wondering about adding flax for just a little "bite" . Since I havent tried that before, I did your way. I had xylitol (2 tsp) and it was not sweet enough but im afraid to add more without some liquid. I really need to turn the pan midway. The darker side came out kinda dry. I did overcook it a little maybe. The jam made it sweeter (erythritol thank goodness- no tummy upset). Overall this is exceptional and will be my new go to "bread". Thank you for posting!
This looks great! Do you think I can substitute half of the coconut flour for flax seed meal? Coconut is a bit higher in carbs even though I love it!
possibly but not sure since I've not tried it. maybe almond flour would be better. my youngest has a tree nut allergy so I can't use almond meal.
Lovely. Made this but I used fresh ricotta instead of cream cheese!!
Hi! Just found your blog today. So many amazing recipes! The Danish recipe looks awesome and I may make it as is but I was really hoping to find something with a ricotta based filling. Then, voila, I found your cannoli recipe. Do you suppose it would work to swap the cannoli filling for the cream cheese filling? Thanks!
That sounds like a fabulous idea!
Awesome, I'll try it!
I made this today. Delicious . I went a step further and drizzled some sugar free icing on it. Thank you so much for your recipe
I have a guest room in my house. You can move in. We (read: you) can cook for me all day long! It's a really nice room, seriously.
I made these a little less American (read: sweet) and only used a tsp of sweetener in the dough and in the filling with some sf raspberry jam. They tasted more like cheese and less like sweet dough that way, with the raspberry to cut the cheesiness, but that's how I like my danish. I agree, much better cold.
I was craving when I found your site and you rock. I didn't have quite enough mozzarella for the dough, even with halving the recipe so I used 1.5c. mozzarella and 1/4 c. dry pressed cottage cheese (farmers cheese) and it worked really well, I think it made the dough a tad less pliable, but again, added that nice sharp cheese taste.
Just wanted to comment on this recipe! I had some reservations about the dough. I used whole milk mozzarella. The dough went together beautifully! I substituted almond extract for the vanilla, used Just Like Sugar (baking type) as sweetener. I topped the completed Danish with sliced almonds so it resembeled the baked good called Bear Claw. Cooling now, but the smell is wonderful! Can't wait to taste it!
Thanks for making this public!
I made this today and it is delicious!!! I didn't realize that it makes 12 servings though (my fault). It was HUGE! Going forward I will make only half the recipe. I was not sure if to use 1/2 cup sweetener in the dough and another 1/2 cup in the filling or 1/2 cup split between the two. I ended up using 1/4 cup powdered erythritol plus 1/2 tsp stevia in the dough and another 1/4 cup erythritol plus 1/2 tsp stevia in the filling. This made it sweet but not too sweet. I also added low carb mixed fruit chia jam on one half of the pastry and that was the favored half. Next time I will put jam on the whole thing.
THANK YOU for such a great recipe!
Will be trying this and wondered about the sweetener sub in the comments. Thanks to Shiro for giving a little detail on subbing erythritol & of course Brenda for taking the time to post it !!
Bello. This looks really good but I want to know if you think it would be good to replace the mozzarella forma ricotta
Sure I think that would be great.
I just made this ... smells good but not very pretty! Questions:
1. My dough was very dry and not pliable. I rolled it out okay, but each strip broke rather than bending. I used 144g coconut flour (1 cup). I was tempted to add some moisture, would cream/butter help, do you think?
2. I baked it for 28 minutes, still not sure that the cream cheese filling has cooked. And my filling looked like a lot more than on the video.
Thanks, Bonnie
It tastes great - added some leftover sf cherry pie filling and sprinkled cinnamon sugar over the top ... Just need to figure out this dough ... it has potential but was too dry to roll thin
I noticed the same thing about the dough not being very pliable. It kinda worked if I pushed the dough up from underneath the parchment paper and then peeled it off then it was above the filling. I might try using half the coconut flour next time. I figure coconut flour needs a lot of moisture so 1 full cup may have made it too dry? With the mozzarella being so gooey it should make the dough more pliable.
I'm glad I was not the only one who ended up with too much filling. I thought I had whisked it too much and made it too fluffy. I used it all anyway and miraculously it did not leak out of the pastry.
I have found that when fathead gets cold it get tough and harder to roll out. I saw someplace that if it is hard to stir, before adding the egg to pop it back into the microwave for a short time and warm it back up before adding the egg. I try to work quickly with it, only using it so far for pizza and nacho chips. I also only made it
with almond flour, so I have not had an issue with it
So in addition to the ingredients listed in the recipe you also add 1/2c sweetener to both the crust and the filling? Is that 1/2c each? Is that an occasional thing or highly recommended? Thanks!
I only added it because I felt a typical danish is much sweeter than my recipe so a little would help make it more authentic to a traditional danish, certainly could be left out.
Sorry, I looked again and it was pinned to a board that was labeled Paleo. My apologies 🙂
The pin highlighted that this recipe was Paleo. Cheese is NOT Paleo. Please update your pin as it is deceptive. :/
I made this the other day. I had some leftover cherry (No Sugar Added) pie filling, and added that.
Everyone loved it.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Where did you find no sugar added cherry pie filling? I'd love to know. Thanks !
Walmart carries their own Great Value brand of no sugar added as well as the Duncan Hines/Comstock and Duncan Hines/Wilderness brands of no sugar added pie fillings. At least, that's where I've bought them in the past. I believe all 3 are sweetened with sucralose which is why I stopped using them.
I've made fathead dough with flaxmeal and it worked fine, it just looks browner.
Ok thanks, good to know!
Which brand of flaxseed meal do you use? We have a nut and coconut allergy here so I need an alternative. Thanks! 🙂
I used Bob's Red Mill.
OMG, this is good. I had some leftover no sugar added cherry pie filling, and cherry cheese Danish is AMAZEBALLS!
Awesome, thanks for coming back to share!
Oops! Is there a way to delete my previous comment? I just re-read/looked up the fathead pizza crust and crackers recipes, and even Tom Naughton says they're not his! They are the source that you originally posted Cooky's... Sorry about that. If the other one got posted, I apologize for the misleading information. If it didn't please don't publish either comment. Thanks.
I deleted the previous comment, thanks!
sugarfree and creamy.... 🙂 I'm going to add a thin layer of SF Jam and take your suggestion to refrigerate until chilled and enjoy tomorrow morning. What's a Danish if not a little sweat. Great with a hot cup of coffee. Thanks for the work into these recipes.
Thanks! Let me know how you like it!
This looks good, and I am looking forward to trying this with berries. Thank you for all of your creative work! I love cooking with stevia. I've never heard of "fat head dough," but "cat head biscuits" are biscuits as large as a cat's head.
I appreciate recipes that use coconut flour. There are no nut allergies in my family but almond flour is SO expensive that I prefer to use coconut flour whenever possible.
This sounds amazing and I'm making it for tomorrow's breakfast.
This is a great breakfast treat. And so easy to make! I whipped it up before bedtime and we had a marvelous breakfast treat with my coffee the next morning.
Thanks so much for sharing these healthier recipes!
This looks so delicious. Did you use full fat mozzarella or part skim to make the dough?
I'm afraid I'm leaving this site as it is just as disappointing as all the rest I've tried. sugar free ha. if this is sugar free why put in a sugar alternative all the time. that to me is a massive fail. so you failed this time around.
This is a great breakfast treat. And so easy to make! I whipped it up before bedtime and we had a marvelous breakfast treat with my coffee the next morning.
Thanks so much for sharing these healthier recipes!
That's what "sugar free" means, you know--sweets that have a sugar alternative! Stevia is natural (in fact I just used the last of what I grew last year) and a GREAT alternative sweetener!
This recipe is one I'm going to try for my sister's upcoming visit.
Can you tell me how you process your stevia? I've grown it for two years and saved and dried the leaves but not sure what to do with them
I would just grind the leaves in a blender and store in a mason jar.
Kathleen, When you grow the stevia how do you process it to eat? I have always wanted to do this. Thanks!
@jo gard -
MASSIVE FAIL on YOUR part. Even meats and leafy greens are not completely sugar free, but this is a blog about replacing sugar and grains.
Really hard to replace sugar with meat or cheese.
Go away rude person. Didn't you say you were leaving?
@ Doreen LOLOL!!
You know nothing. Its sad.
What a hateful statement. Sugar free does not mean sugar alternatives are not a wonderful substitution, so if you are having a difficult time with this concept then it might be in your best interest to go ahead and find another forum that is better suited to your desires
What exactly are you searching for?
That's not a FAIL. Maybe this isn't what you need, then I hope you find what works for you.
There are those that because of health reasons need an alternative, but still want to have a sweet taste.
Rude.
Jo, are you six years old?
Jo Gard, I dont understand your comment. Why would anyone make dessert type treats without trying to sweeten it with a sugar free alternative? Were you looking for baked goods that are not sweetened with a sugar free alternative? If so, I think that would be a huge and disgusting fail. Savory chocolate chip cookies etc? Maybe I misunderstood.
Alternatives are NOT sugar.. Big difference....
Uh because cheese danish is sweet. Don’t know where you’re from, but danish is a pastry, not a savory dish. DURR!!!
What, exactly did you expect in a low carb danish recipe? The sweetness comes from somewhere.