With shredded coconut and almond meal, our keto rum balls are sure to be the life of your holiday get-togethers! This no-bake Christmas dessert is a healthy alternative to traditional recipes and comes together with just 15-minutes of prep work. A whole lot of holiday goodness and a WHOLE LOTTA YUM are just what Santa is bringing with this recipe.
Sugar-Free Rum Balls
Our updated recipe means this year, everyone can enjoy a seasonal favorite. Shredded coconut and almond meal combine to give our keto rum balls that familiar texture we all know and love, yet adapted to fit most modern diets. However, even these low carb rums should be kept away from the kid's table. 😉
This Christmas, we are taking a classic holiday dessert and giving it a modern twist! As the name suggests, our keto rum balls are perfect for both low-carb and keto fans, but this recipe is also compliant with gluten-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free eaters.
As tempting as it may be to keep this no-bake and super easy dessert to yourself, it is the season of giving. Share your keto rum balls as part of a dessert table or as a welcomed addition in a gift box of homemade treats.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Sweetened with monk fruit, our keto rum balls are the perfect treat low-carb treat for your holidays!
- Cocoa powder, shredded coconut, and almond meal are used in place of vanilla cookie crumbs giving you the same taste and texture of traditional methods, but without the gluten!
- You can whip up a batch of keto rum balls in just 15-minutes making this a super easy no-bake holiday treat.
We have a huge selection of keto and gluten-free desserts so you can enjoy the tastes of the season without worrying about ruining your healthy lifestyle. Check out some of our favorites such as chocolate peanut butter fat bombs, keto blondies, and keto sugared pecans!
On Keto? Grab our FREE keto foods list here OR Snag our Keto Binder HERE
Ingredient Notes
Some new ingredients here, but these keto rum balls taste just like traditional recipes!
- cocoa powder - we use dutch process
- powdered monk fruit - or the powdered sweetener of your choice
- finely shredded coconut - unsweetened to keep your rum balls as low carb as possible
- almond meal
- coconut flour
- butter, melted
- rum - we used a small amount, but you can increase to taste
Variations
Coconut oil can also be used in place of the butter.
Use rum extract in place of rum to create an alcohol-free rum ball.
Almond flour can be used in place of almond meal. For a nuttier texture, finely crushed almonds can also be used.
Diet Adaptions
- Dairy-Free - use melted coconut oil in place of the butter.
Step by Step Instructions
Assembling your keto rum balls takes just 15-minutes! After that, let them chill in the fridge until it's time to serve this traditional Christmas dessert.
Prep Ingredients
Add parchment paper to a large baking sheet.
Shred the coconut into finer pieces by pulsing it in a blender or food processor.
Assemble
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the cocoa powder, powdered monk fruit (or erythritol), finely shredded coconut, almond meal, coconut flour, butter, and rum.
Make a test ball to make sure the dough holds its shape. If your dough won't form a ball shape, add a touch more melted butter or coconut oil until it binds. Likewise, if it seems too wet, add a little more coconut flour or almond meal.
Shape the dough into small balls with clean hands, it should make about 18-20 small 1"+ sized balls.
Optional: Roll the low carb rum balls in a coating such as powdered monk fruit, finely shredded coconut or cocoa powder, or crushed freeze-dried berries.
Place the completed rum balls on your prepared baking sheet.
Refrigerate
Refrigerate the sugar-free rum balls until firm, for an hour or two. They'll store in the fridge for a couple of weeks or freeze well up to 3 months
Recipe Tips
- Finely shredded coconut is vital to making sure your keto rum balls have the right consistency. We used unsweetened shredded coconut and made it a fine consistency by pulsing it in our blender. You can also purchase what's called desecrated coconut that's already finely shredded.
- Make a test ball before rolling the entire batch and adjust dry or liquid ingredients as needed to get them to hold their shape.
- We kept the rum low in our version, but you can increase the rum and reduce the melted butter or coconut oil as needed.
Common Questions
Keto rum balls will store well in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Be sure to store them in an air tight container.
Yes, you can freeze rum balls for up to 3 months. Simply thaw before serving.
More Keto Treats
Looking for more keto dessert recipes?
More Keto Holiday Recipes
Make your holiday ever more cheerful with these great keto holiday treats!
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Keto Rum Balls
Easy no bake keto rum balls for the holidays that are a decadent treat without the guilt! You'll love these easy gluten free rum balls that can be rolled in coconut, chocolate, or your favorite sugar-free powdered sweetener.
Ingredients
- ½ cup cocoa powder, dutch process
- ¼ cup powdered monk fruit
- 1 cup finely shredded coconut, unsweetened
- ½ cup almond meal
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1-2 tablespoon rum
Instructions
Add parchment paper to a large baking sheet.
Shred the coconut into finer pieces by pulsing it in a blender or food processor.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the cocoa powder, powdered monk fruit (or erythritol), finely shredded coconut, almond meal, coconut flour, butter, and rum.
Make a test ball to make sure the dough holds its shape. If your dough won't form a ball shape, add a touch more melted butter or coconut oil until it binds. Likewise, if it seems too wet, add a little more coconut flour or almond meal.
Shape the dough into small balls with clean hands, it should make about 18-20 small 1"+ sized balls.
Roll the low carb rum balls in a coating such as powdered monk fruit, finely shredded coconut or cocoa powder, or crushed freeze-dried berries.
Refrigerate the sugar-free rum balls until firm, for an hour or two. They'll store in the fridge for a couple of weeks or freeze well up to 3 months.
Notes
Add more alcohol if desired, we kept these lighter with the rum taste or try a different liquor. for a sugar-free version add rum extract to taste.
Traditional rum balls use crushed vanilla wafers which add a tiny bit of crunch. To keep these keto-friendly, we're using almond meal and finely shredded coconut to do that for us.
We bought unsweetened shredded coconut and made it a fine consistency by pulsing it in our blender. You can also purchase what's called desecrated coconut that's already finely shredded.
Substitutions - use almond flour instead of almond meal, use coconut oil instead of melted butter for a dairy-free version. For a nuttier texture, use finely crushed unsalted almonds instead of almond meal.
Feel free to cut the recipe in half if you don't want to make this many, likewise, you can also double or triple the recipe to store them in the freezer for later.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 20 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 112Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 12mgSodium 40mgCarbohydrates 5gNet Carbohydrates 2gFiber 2gSugar 0gSugar Alcohols 1gProtein 2g
Laurel says
Will this stay solid at room temperature if I use the coconut oil instead of butter? Would cocoa butter work? Or half coconut oil half cocoa butter? Thanks 🙂
WholeLottaYum says
yes! You can swap coconut oil for the butter. I've never tried it but it should be fine. I'm not sure about the cocoa butter but it should be fine since they're being used as a binder in the recipe and they both harden as butter does when chilled.
Julie says
Looking forward to trying these! I haven't been able to have bourbon balls (KY version of rum balls) in years. I have to tell you, you gave me quite a chuckle. I think, in the "notes" section of the printable recipe, you meant to write desiccated coconut, not desecrated 🙂
WholeLottaYum says
Haha, thanks for catching the typo! Let's just blame it on autocorrect 😉
Grace says
Do you think this would work with replacing the shredded coconut with more almond meal? My husband is allergic to coconut 😕
WholeLottaYum says
Yep! I think you could or try to shred chocolate in place of the coconut?