Ultra Crispy Low Carb/Keto Beer Battered Fish Fry
- Keto Upgrade
- Apr 4
- 7 min read
Who doesn't love fried food, I have so many ideas for this batter! Fried food is definitely something I've missed a lot since going keto in 2020. So happy to have a delicious, crispy low carb beer batter to try on all sorts of things!! For my first mission it was fried shrimp and haddock fish fry and both turned out amazing!
I tried altering and simplifying this recipe a lot from my original time making it back a few years ago. But unfortunately you need everything in the recipe. There are a few swaps that can be made though.
The main ingredient besides the beer is unflavored whey protein isolate, I use isopure as it has 0 carbs and has never steered me wrong in any recipe. I have not found an equal swap for it yet but I have not tried almond flour since I don't like contaminating everything with nuts if I don't have to. Plus I don't like the texture that almond flour gives most things.
The next main ingredient is coconut flour but since I figured out the original recipe I have found you that you can swap coconut flour for bamboo fiber and it helps to cut the carbs down in the batter. I didn't prefer using all bamboo fiber in place of the coconut for a few reasons. One it doesn't brown as much as using some coconut flour and I don't think it gets as crispy. So I don't suggest using all bamboo fiber, I liked the combination of of half coconut flour and half bamboo fiber.
The last main "flour" that is essential is Egg white protein, I tried without it and the batter didn't stick to the food and flew off in all directions. I thought about it later that you may be able to just use a fresh egg white in place of the powder but would need to add less liquid. I happen to have a lot of egg white protein that contains sunflower lecithin so I can't use it to make egg white bread but I can use it in these type of recipes.
A beer batter usually has cornstarch in it. I don't prefer to use cornstarch as it has no real health benefits so I usually swap it out in recipes for arrowroot powder. It can soothe digestive issues and act as a prebiotic, promoting the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. Due to being low in calories and low on the glycemic index, arrowroot may help regulate blood sugar levels. Arrowroot is a good source of B vitamins, potassium, and magnesium also. But you can swap it out for cornstarch if that is all you have.
The last two ingredients besides seasoning are a tiny bit of baking powder that helps browning and give a little bit of puffiness to the batter and xanthan gum which is our gluten replacement. The batter will work without the baking powder but definitely think it makes it better. The xanthan gum is essential to hold everything together. I use Anthony's brand and have found that all brands can vary in their gelling strengths. I made the recipe with great value brand to begin with a few years ago then went to remake it and I couldn't get it not gloopy even though I was using the same brand, I had bought a new bag and it was over 3x stronger than the previous bag I had. Keto ingredients can vary widely from brand to brand and bag to bag.
For the seasoning I just went simple with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. But you can use any seasoning you like or your fish fry or shrimp, ole bay would be a good seasoning to add for fish.
For the beer, you can use any bubbly liquid you prefer, from your favorite low carb beer, low carb non-alcoholic beer, no carb hop water or even club soda. I chose a gluten sensitive friendly non-alcoholic beer called Partake Blonde Ale that you can find on Amazon or on their website. I've also bought an unflavored hop water on Amazon but there are many available at different stores. The stores closest to me didn't have any unflavored versions that I saw though so that is why I went to Amazon.
Bread Recipe- https://youtu.be/2X1cCKLyZI4
For frying I prefer refined coconut oil but you can use any high heat oil you prefer. If you do an all coconut flour version I would keep the heat between 340-350F. If doing half and half coconut flour and bamboo fiber I would keep the fry oil for large hunks of fish at around 350F but you can go up to 360F for small shrimp. I do suggest if you are frying a lot to have a wire rack to transfer fish or shrimp to, to keep in a warm oven to stay crispy.
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I have made this batter and kept overnight and reused it the next day and it worked fine, I just added a tiny bit more liquid to make the consistency what I wanted. And the shrimp fried up nice and crispy still. You can also fry up all the food and reheat the next day in an air fryer or toaster oven and it gets nice and crispy again. This batter makes enough for at least 6 nice sized haddock filets or 1.5 Lbs. of large shrimp. You can also make just a half batch if you don't want to fry a lot of food.
Beer Batter Recipe (my preferred recipe)
30g/1 Packed Scoop Unflavored Whey Protein Isolate
12g/2 Packed Tbs. Egg White Protein
12g/1 Tbs. + 2 tsp. Coconut Flour (alternatively you can use 24g/3 Tbs.+1 tsp. and Omit the bamboo fiber)
12g/2 Tbs. + 1/2 tsp. Bamboo Fiber
12g/1 Packed Tbs. Arrowroot Powder
1/2 tsp. Anthony's Xanthan Gum
1/8 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper- to taste
1/2 tsp. Cajun-to taste or any seasoning you like
7-8oz. Low Carb Bubbly Liquid
About 1.5 Lbs. Fish or Shrimp
Enough oil to deep fry fish, need less if doing small pieces as oppose to large filets
Salt to sprinkle when the fish comes out
Instructions:
Start by defrosting whatever seafood you are frying and get the oil warming in a medium size pot on medium heat
Weigh/Measure out the dry ingredients and whisk well to distribute all the xanthan gum evenly
Turn up the heat on the oil and keep an eye on the temperature, trying not to exceed 360F, pat the seafood dry and grab a plate with paper towels to get the excess oil off the seafood when it comes out of the oil
Add the liquid, starting with about 6oz./3/4 Cup and whisk well, as it thickens add a little at a time until it's thick but not super gloopy, you can test if it clings in a thin layer on the fish or shrimp (check out the video for step by step tutorial- https://youtu.be/wYdSyotsjvA )
Once the oil is up to 350 for large filets or 360 for smaller pieces, dip the seafood in the beer batter to coat evenly and gently lower the piece into the oil, swiping back and forth to start cooking the beer batter, then release gently into the hot oil
For large pieces of fish, flip periodically for 5-7 minutes, keeping an eye on the temperature of the oil, using an instant read thermometer cook the fish until the internal temperature is at least 145F, for small piece fry until golden brown all around
Once the seafood is cooked, place onto a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and continue frying the rest of the seafood, if frying a lot you can transfer to a wire rack and keep it in a warm oven to keep it warm and crispy
Serve with lemon and your favorite low carb dipping sauce and enjoy!!
Macros for all the beer batter using half coconut flour/half bamboo fiber and the partake blonde ale
280 Calories
1.5g Fat
23g Total Carbs
8g Fiber
15g Net Carbs
41g Protein
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