Low Carb Blini – Two Ways. Both DAIRY-FREE and NUT-FREE.
With only 1.2-1.5g net carbs for 4, depending on which option you choose.
Never heard of blini? They (blini is plural) are pancake morsels served with various toppings as canapés. Perfect for entertaining guests at a dinner party, because their tiny size means they’re gobbled up in one single mouthful. No need for cutlery. Zero mess. A truly fancy, yet clever finger-food choice. And easy to make ahead of time.
I don’t bother to wait for special occasions, guests, or fancy dinners. I’ll have blini for lunch, as a savoury snack, or as a starter. Why not?
DAIRY-FREE and NUT-FREE options for Low Carb Blini – Two Ways
Blini may be small, but they need to be sturdy enough to be picked up using fingers. Without them breaking or collapsing from the weight of whatever topping is put on them. After many, many tests, with different ingredient combinations, I think I have managed to create two decent options. Obviosuly, neither of them are identical to real high-carb blini. But they’re as close as I could get them to be.
BLINI OPTION 1
My firm favourite. The taste is almost like classic blini, with the right texture. This recipe uses Ultra Fine Fiberflour, which is a low-carb product with gluten and wheat derivatives. I cannot tell you how much I love this flour. However, it clearly isn’t a clean keto choice. Both because of the grains and because gluten is known to cause gut damage even in people who can tolerate it. So yes, I do use Fiberflour. But only occasionally and in moderation. For specific ketofied recipes that would otherwise not be a good enough version of the high-carb originals I’m trying to re-create. Unfortunately, Ultra Fine Fiberflour isn’t widely available outside Europe, so it may not be an option for you, depending on where you live. Standard Fiberflour won’t work. You definitely need the Ultra Fine.
BLINI OPTION 2
A good compromise. Not quite the neutral texture and flavour that you’ll get with option 1. But not outrageously different, either. Having tried many flour combinations, I think my lupin + coconut combo achieves the best result.
There are plenty of keto/low carb pancake recipes on the net that you may be attracted to. Of course you’re free to use one of those recipes (or your own) if you don’t like my flour choices. But I should tell you that I’ve probably tried them all. I wouldn’t bother with almond flour ones. Too sweet, moist and nutty. Coconut flour only? Nope. Too dry and brittle for blini. Remember: these miniature pancakes must be able to hold toppings and be strong enough to be lifted with fingers from plate to mouth. In one piece.
Both options are NUT-FREE and DAIRY-FREE – unless you use butter for frying. Both can be made ahead and revived with a blast of heat when you want to use them. They are also freezer friendly.
As for topping, the world is your oyster. The classic choice is smoked salmon on a creamy base, like crème fraîche, or soft cheese. But really you can put on them whatever you want. If you feel like something unusual, but easy and super-healthy, you could try my Smoked Salmon Pâté or Beetroot & Gin Salmon Gravadlax.
Enjoy!
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Low Carb Blini - Two Ways
Ingredients
Option 1 (contains gluten)
- 60 g Ultra Fine Fiberflour
- ⅛ tsp fine Himalayan pink salt (U.S. option HERE)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg - 60g without shell
- ½ TBSP (7g) extra virgin olive oil (U.S. option HERE)
- 60 g coconut milk or other milk of choice
- unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil (U.S. option HERE)
Option 2 (gluten free)
- 30 g lupin flour (U.S. option HERE or international delivery option HERE - discount code QUEENKETO5 at checkout)
- 2 tsp (4g) fine coconut flour (U.S. option HERE)
- ⅛ tsp fine Himalayan pink salt (U.S. option HERE)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg - 60g without shell
- 10 g extra virgin olive oil (U.S. option HERE)
- 70 g coconut milk or other milk of choice
- unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil (U.S. option HERE)
Instructions
To Make Option 1 ([adjustable]24[/adjustable] blini):
- mix dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
- make a well in the centre and crack your egg into it.
- add oil and ½ the milk, and whisk vigorously by hand using a manual balloon whisk, until you have a nice smooth batter.
- incorporate the remainder of the milk and leave to sit for 10 minutes.
- heat a pancake pan or similar, melt a little butter or oil, and spread with a pastry brush.
- pour 1 dessert-size teaspoon (1 TBSP if using volume measures) of the batter onto the sizzling fat.
- repeat until you’ve used up all the space - but leave gaps or you won’t have enough room to turn them - you will probably need to do two batches, depending on the size of your pan.
- once little bubbles appear and the blini move easily (about 2-4 mins), flip them over to cook the other side.
To Make Option 2 (16 blini):
- separate egg and whip albumen to stiff peaks; set aside.
- weigh and mix dry ingredients; set aside.
- in a medium mixing bowl, hand-whip yolk, oil and milk, then add dry ingredients and whisk vigorously by hand using a manual balloon whisk, until you have a nice smooth batter.
- gently fold in the whipped egg white.
- heat a pancake pan or similar, melt a little butter or oil, and spread with a pastry brush.
- pour 1 dessert-size teaspoon (1 TBSP if using volume measures) of the batter onto the sizzling fat.
- repeat until you’ve used up all the space - but leave gaps or you won’t have enough room to turn them - you will probably need to do two batches, depending on the size of your pan.
- once little bubbles appear and the blini move easily (about 2-4 mins), flip them over to cook the other side.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi Antya,
Can you please explain the difference between fibre flour and oat fibre?
Can you swap one for the other?
Thank you!
Hi, Fiberflour is a mixture of various ingredients including wheat derivatives, and has a carbohydrate content. Oat fibre is just pure fibre extracted from oats, with zero nutritional values.
They’re not interchangeable because they are totally different products.
Like many other low-carb recipe developers, I use oat fibre to add bulk and absorb liquids without injecting additional calories or carbohydrates. I also use it for ‘dusting’ when rolling out pastry dough, as it’s a fine powder, not granular like coconut flour or almond flour.
Hope this helps. Best wishes.
Made these yesterday as part of a birthday meal for my son in law. Also made your naan breads. They both went down really well. We are going to try making a couple of large pancakes using the mixture.
Lovely! Thank you for the feedback, Tracey.