Keto Cheatos

#1 Low Carb & Keto Diet App Since 2010

Track macros, calories, and access top Keto recipes.

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  • prep time

    prep time

    1 h 20 min

  • cook time

    cook time

    25 min

  • ready time

    ready time

    1 h 45 min

Keto Cheatos

28 ratings

Cheatos or Cheetos? In a taste test, you may be hardly able to tell the difference! These little baked snacks are surprisingly flavorful and cheesy. You might be amazed with how quickly you munch these imitation crunchy goodies down, which is okay since they hardly affect your nutritional log! You can even toss these Cheatos in popcorn cheese powder for extra cheese flavor.

  • Net Carbs

    0.6 g

  • Fiber

    0 g

  • Total Carbs

    0.6 g

  • Protein

    4 g

  • Fats

    3.8 g

53 cals

Keto Cheatos

#1 Low Carb & Keto Diet App Since 2010

Track macros, calories, and access top Keto recipes.

Download on the App Store
Get in on Google Play

Ingredients

  • Cheddar Cheese, Natural

    Cheddar Cheese, Natural

    ½ cup, shredded

  • Raw Egg, White

    Raw Egg, White

    2 large

  • Cream Of Tartar

    Cream Of Tartar

    ¼ teaspoon

Recipe Steps

steps 6

1 h 45 min

  • Step 1

    Place the cheddar on a dish and set it in your freezer. 1 hour should freeze your cheddar, but go longer if this is necessary.
    Step 1
  • Step 2

    Once the cheddar is frozen, pulse it in a food processor into it has the texture of breadcrumbs. Set the cheddar aside for later - you may want to set it back in the freezer until you need it.
    Step 2
  • Step 3

    Whip 2 egg whites in a stand mixer on high with the cream of tartar. Whip until you have stiff peaks. This process will go much faster if you use room-temp eggs.
    Step 3
  • Step 4

    Preheat an oven to 300 degrees. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper as well. Fold the frozen cheddar crumbles into the egg whites. Be gentle to preserve the air incorporated into the egg whites. Then, transfer the cheato mix into a plastic bag for piping.
    Step 4
  • Step 5

    Snip a small corner of your piping bag, and pipe your cheatos on the sheet tray. This recipe makes approx. 45-50 cheatos.
    Step 5
  • Step 6

    Bake the cheatos for approx 25 minutes. The edges will be golden brown, the cheatos will be puffy, and they should easily move when you give the sheet tray a little shake.
    Step 6

Comments 31

  • Just_Juju

    Just_Juju 2 years ago

    I don’t understand all the great reviews. I followed the recipe exact. After grinding the frozen cheddar into bread crumbs I placed back into the freezer until right before I folded it into the egg whites. I had a number of problems: 1) piping was difficult. There is so much air throughout the mix that it kept sputtering or exploding and ruining any control over the shape, and you need a really, really large, -extra large- piping bag that has a few inches room left on the ends after adding it so that you can twist it tight without flattening the mix. I have M-L bags, not extra large, and it took me three batches to do this and it still squeezed out the end by my hand even with it twisted. I used to do high quality Christmas cookies so I’m very experienced and versed with piping, 2) the cheese never really melted. These came out of the oven white with cheese speckles, so the cheese flavor was not uniform throughout, 3) there are only seconds between the edges browning and the entire puff browning all over, over-cooking the cheese and egg and making it - horrible flavor and rubbery. The batch I took out the second I saw edges browning were still white but they were still a rubbery texture to chew. I used the cheddar powder to shake all over them but it was no different than biting into a flattened packing peanut that had cheddar powder all over them. Completely unenjoyable, lacking good flavor. I might as well just eat cheddar powder off a spoon. I don’t get it.

    • RottenRae

      RottenRae 2 months ago

      We sometimes just place shredded cheese, whatever flavor, on a paper plate and microwave for about 2 minutes, using about 1/3rd of a cup of cheese. This you also have to watch as it will brown and bitter, but you can blot the excess fat off halfway with a paper towel, then finish nuking. The end result is a thin crips cheese disc. You could drape it over a bowl when it's hot to make an edible salad bowl, but otherwise, it's just a crispy, fatty indulgent kinda snack when you need some kinda crunch in your life.

  • oliveoile

    oliveoile 3 years ago

    Used the popcorn seasoning and made ranch and cheddar flavor it was AWESOME

    • Jules

      Jules 3 years ago

      Lighter than regular Cheetos- even the puff Cheetos. BUT absolutely delicious! Highly recommend this recipe.

      • Vanderso

        Vanderso 3 years ago

        Absolutely loved these! Light airy cheesy perfection!

        • Tealblazer

          Tealblazer 4 years ago

          Warning! Extremely morish!! Yum! But how do they store? Can you freeze them? Really lovely.

          • OutstandingKetone267237

            OutstandingKetone267237 3 years ago

            I'm a pastry chef and these are similar to meringue. Store them in an air tight container, no more than a week, so they don't get chewy. I would say don't freeze. Anything with egg whites hate moisture.

        • kimdo

          kimdo 4 years ago

          Are they an inch or 2 inches long?

          • Pink1985

            Pink1985 4 years ago

            Can the remaining be placed in the fridge or freezer. Also for how long

            • Anonymous

              Anonymous 4 years ago

              Should the leftovers be refrigerated?

              • Kylac4256

                Kylac4256 4 years ago

                Tasted great but didn’t look like the picture. Lol had a difficult time getting the equal sized puffs squeezed out of the bag.

                • lindacampbell13545aa7

                  lindacampbell13545aa7 4 years ago

                  what about adding nutritional yeast for cheese taste? would that work?

                  • recipewriter

                    recipewriter 4 years ago

                    You could try tossing the cooled cheatos in nutritional yeast to coat them in the powder. If the powder isn't sticking, a quick spritz of pan spray on the cheatos will help it stick.

                • Becky

                  Becky 5 years ago

                  Is there a substitution for cream of tartar? Can’t find it local.

                  • Charlene

                    Charlene 4 years ago

                    You probably already know this but, just in case... It's in with spices.

                  • recipewriter

                    recipewriter 5 years ago

                    Substitute with an equal amount of lemon juice or white vinegar.

                • Agubbins

                  Agubbins 5 years ago

                  Curious is anyone has tried any other cheese then cheddar??

                  • crandad

                    crandad 5 years ago

                    These look great...I wonder how they would come out using a cookie press with a wavy tip? Sounds like the key is to keep the cheese frozen?

                    • Mary

                      Mary 5 years ago

                      So, these are good enough that I looked up to see how damaging it would be to eat the whole batch. Yum!

                      • Jusdoit

                        Jusdoit 5 years ago

                        I have no idea why, but mine was a melted mess. So disappointed because I really miss eating Cheetos and was looking forward to these. Does anyone have a guess why this might’ve happened?

                        • recipewriter

                          recipewriter 5 years ago

                          My only thought here is the cheese may have been out of the freezer for too long before it was baked. Freezing the cheese keeps it from melting during baking.

                      • Arabella

                        Arabella 6 years ago

                        Really, really good! Crunchy on outside, softer on inside. A big hit with family.

                        • MikeAvento

                          MikeAvento 6 years ago

                          Ok. These are really good. But...maybe I didn’t cook enough? I browned them and they were crunchy. When I tried in the morning...squish. Not sure. Anybody? They still tasted fine.

                          • recipewriter

                            recipewriter 6 years ago

                            Please make sure your cheatos are fully cooled before storing them! A ziploc bag is all you need - similar to how you store regular snacks.

                          • MikeAvento

                            MikeAvento 6 years ago

                            I just read a few posts before mine with the same issue. It’s possible mine were still warm when I bagged them. Going to make them again!

                        • Skyler

                          Skyler 6 years ago

                          These were pretty good.

                          • dmalyross

                            dmalyross 6 years ago

                            Made a double batch, added nacho cheese popcorn seasoning. They are light, salty, and cheesy! Hit the spot!

                            • Jamibaby

                              Jamibaby 6 years ago

                              Same issue as Loncop72 as soon as put in a bag they went soft.

                              • Loncop72

                                Loncop72 6 years ago

                                How do you store them? I put mine in a plastic baggie and when I opened it there was moisture in the bag ;(

                                • recipewriter

                                  recipewriter 6 years ago

                                  Hi there! First, make sure your cheatos are completely cooled before storing them. If a ziploc bag doesn't work for you, try storing them in an airtight tupperware container.

                              • Yasminie5

                                Yasminie5 6 years ago

                                This looks good