Keto Hamburger Borek

Have you tried our Keto Turkish Borek yet? It’s one to add to your weekly planner for sure. Everyone is loving it!

If you’re into Turkish cuisine or ever visited there, you’ve probably tried borek. Traditional borek is usually made with white flour and stuffed with either spinach and cheese or minced meat. This is our low-carb version made with a super easy fathead dough and it's based on this Keto Turkish Borek recipe.

Today I’ve gone all American and opted for a classic hamburger filling made with ground beef, sugar-free ketchup, mustard and pickles. And if you don't have any sugar-free ketchup, you can simply use tomato paste. If you use tomato paste, mix it with some water just to make it a little more runny.

For the topping you'll just need one small-medium egg and some sesame seeds. You won't likely need the whole egg, just about half. You can even use 1 egg yolk mixed with about 1 teaspoon of water, either will work and create a nice and shiny effect once the borek is baked.

This Keto Hamburger Borek is so good and ideal for a healthy low-carb lunch or dinner. If you love cheese, you can easily make this into a Cheeseburger Borek by simply adding ³/₄ to 1 cup of shredded cheddar or monkery jack cheese on top of the mustard before rolling the dough. Enjoy!

How to Make Nut-Free Keto Borek

Whether you're making our Keto Turkish Borek or this low-carb Hamburger Borek, you will need almond flour which can luckily be swapped with coconut flour to make it nut-free.

To do that, simply use about 6 tbsp (48 g/ 1.7 oz) of coconut flour and add 1 to 2 tbsp extra of cream cheese. For a flax alternative, use about 8 tbsp (57 g/ 2 oz) flax meal and add 1 to 2 tbsp extra of cream cheese.

Preparation time

Hands-on:    20 minutes
Overall:     1 hour

Nutritional values (per serving, slice)

Total Carbs	5.1	grams
Fiber	0.8	grams
Net Carbs	4.3	grams

Protein	21.2	grams
Fat	24.8	grams
of which Saturated	11.2	grams

Energy	328	kcal

Magnesium	30	mg (8% RDA)
Potassium	354	mg (18% EMR)

Macronutrient ratio: Calories from carbs (5%), protein (26%), fat (69%)

Ingredients (makes 6 servings)

Dough:

1 ¹/₂ cups low-moisture shredded mozzarella (170 g/ 6 oz)
2 tbsp cream cheese (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
1 cup almond flour (100 g/ 3.5 oz)
1 large egg

Filling:

400 g ground beef (14.1 oz)
1 small yellow onion (70 g/ 2.5 oz)
2 garlic cloves, minced
¹/₂ tsp sea salt
¹/₄ tsp ground black pepper
¹/₂ cup sugar-free ketchup (120 ml/ 4 fl oz) or ¹/₂ cup tomato paste combined with 1-2 tbsp water
1 ¹/₂ tbsp Dijon mustard or yellow mustard (24 g/ 0.8 oz)
¹/₄ cup chopped sugar-free pickles/gherkins (36 g/ 1.2 oz)
1 tbsp ghee or butter (15 ml)

Topping:

1 medium egg, beaten
1 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 °C/ 355 °F (fan assisted), or 200 °C/ 400 °F (conventional).
Place the ground beef, garlic, onion, salt and pepper in a cast iron skillet or non stick frying pan and sauté on a medium heat for 4 - 5 minutes until browned.
Remove from the heat and allow to fully cool. This is important. It needs to be cold so as no not make the fathead dough soggy.
Meanwhile, make the dough. Place the mozzarella and cream cheese in a heat proof bowl and melt in the microwave on high for 1 minute.
Mix with a spatula and heat for a further 30 seconds. Add the almond flour and egg.
Mix until combined and rollable dough is formed. You may need to get your hands involved here!
Lay a long line of baking paper on your tabletop and form the dough into a long sausage about 75 cm/ 30 inch long. Roll the dough between two long sheets of greaseproof paper.
Note: You will need to work quickly so the dough doesn’t become too cold or it stiffens. If it's too hard to roll, form back into a ball and microwave for 15 to 20 seconds to soften, and then roll again.
Spoon the hamburger filling along one side of the dough leaving a 2 ¹/₂ cm/ 1 inch rim around the edge. Top with sugar-free ketchup or tomato puree (mixed with 1-2 tbsp water if too thick), mustard (yellow or Dijon) and chopped sugar-free** pickles (gherkins). Roll to seal.
Generously grease your skillet (I used 25 cm/ 10 inch) with ghee or butter and coil the dough into it.
Note: For zero risk of the borek sticking to the pan, line it with a piece of parchment paper.
Crack the remaining egg into a cup and whisk with a fork. Brush the borek with egg and top with sesame seeds. Note: You won't need the whole egg, just about half. You can even use 1 egg yolk mixed with about 1 teaspoon of water.
Bake in the oven for 25 - 28 minutes until golden on top then allow to cool for 5 - 10 minutes before slicing.
Can be stored in the fridge, covered for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.