Collagen English Muffins: Keto GF DF THM All-Fuels

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Collagen English Muffins have it all, without the carbs or fat! High-protein, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, keto, and THM All-Fuels!

Well y’all, I did it again. Another game-changer THM/keto “bread” recipe. 🤯 It’s mostly an English muffin recipe, but you’ll see that it’s actually much more than that. And, while it’s technically a “microwave keto bread” recipe, it’s unlike any others out there. Microwave keto English muffin recipes are literally a dime a dozen but this one actually looks and tastes like it was baked, is so soft and light, and with “nooks and crannies” galore! Also, unlike other recipes, these Collagen English Muffins are high-protein and are NOT made of nut-flours. And they can be made 100% dairy-free and nut-free! Of course, they are gluten-free, as well! Oh and they’re compatible with ALL THM fuel settings! Oh and they’re essentially ZERO NET CARB!!! 🙌

Gluten-free AND nut-free?! So what’s in Collagen English Muffins?

The main players:

Oat Fiber: Made from the fibrous hulls of oats and is pretty much pure fiber (and zero calorie and net carb). It’s NOT the same as oat bran or oat flour and usually has to be purchased online. I use Lifesource brand. If you don’t have oat fiber, are paleo, or can’t tolerate oats, there’s good news: I have tested these with coconut flour and it works as a substitute! Since coconut flour is more absorbent than oat fiber, less is needed. For a single-serve amount, just use 1.5 TBS coconut flour instead of 2 TBS oat fiber. The macros will change some, though, and is roughly 102 calories, 2.3g net carbs, 3.6g fat, and 9.3g protein per serving. Keep in mind that coconut flour is not allowed in THM Deep-S, but these are still compatible with the other THM fuel settings.

Collagen Peptides: The collagen in this recipe provides protein and structure while keeping the English muffins soft and moist. Not to mention, collagen is quite the superfood and is dairy-free, too! While it is possible to substitute whey protein isolate (though 25% less), I would not recommend whey protein isolate in this recipe as it makes these quite dry tasting.

Psyllium: Like oat fiber, psyllium is also basically pure fiber while having almost no calories or net carbs. It helps keep these English muffins moist and gives them a “bread-like” quality without gluten. It may be possible to substitute golden flaxseed meal but I have not tested it (and it would make these no longer Deep-S compatible). I use NOW Whole Psyllium Husks and grind them into a fine powder in my coffee/spice mill BEFORE measuring. Psyllium powder would likely work fine, as well. I have not tried unground psyllium like the THM Psyllium flakes but, if you try it, you will likely need to add more because 1 TBS of psyllium flakes is equal to about 1 tsp of ground psyllium (so you’ll need about 3x the recipe amount).

Why this is a microwave recipe

Like with my other “bread” recipes, I expected this to be an oven recipe. I’ve just never been a big fan of breads/cakes/etc that are cooked in the microwave. I actually only recently started using a microwave again after probably 15+ years of living without one after reading this.

I had a beautiful recipe, prepared with yeast and allowed to rise for 30 minutes before baking, like traditional English muffin recipes. But it would take a full hour to bake them, and, while they would be fully cooked, the crumb would still feel “wet”.

I literally tried everything to fix this and almost just scrapped this recipe altogether. Seriously, I tried every ingredient combination! (It appears to have to do with the collagen in the recipe) But then I tried it in the microwave and it worked beautifully! And it was sooo much easier and quicker!

If you don’t have a microwave and still want to make these, you can bake them. But, they will need to bake for a full hour at 350*. They will need to be toasted before eating since the crumb will likely be slightly “wet”.

This isn’t just an English Muffin recipe

While these make excellent English muffins, there are other awesome things that can also be made from this recipe!

They make great buns or sandwich rolls/bread! I’ll include instructions below. But here’s a few of the sandwiches I’ve made with this recipe:

But that’s not all! I’ve also discovered that you can make soft and fluffy pancakes with this recipe, too! I’ll include directions below.

How to make Collagen English Muffins (and other things!)

While this is a “microwave keto bread” recipe, there is a little more to it than just stirring ingredients together in a mug and hitting start. But it’s still much quicker and easier than most “bread” recipes! And you can make this recipe either as a single-serving or 4 servings (or any other amounts that you want to make). I personally like to make 4 servings and keep the extras in the freezer (they freeze and reheat well).

For a classic English muffin, I like to first cook the batter in the skillet before transferring to the microwave. Same with the pancakes. I cook the buns/sandwich bread directly in the microwave. And then, once the English muffins and buns are fully cooked, I then like to put them in my air-fryer (oven/toaster oven would work, too) for about 5 minutes to give them more of a crispy/chewier “just baked” crust. Of course this part is optional, especially if you plan to toast them before eating anyway.

I’m including pretty detailed instructions with tons of pictures. Don’t let that intimidate you. These are really quick and easy to make! Even the classic English muffin method. It’s really much like making pancakes but it uses Mason jar rings to mold them into an English muffin shape. If you’re unsure, just try the single-serving version first to get the hang of things and then try the 4 muffin version once you get a feel for things.

With all the versions of this recipe, you will want to start them like this:

First, bring the wet ingredients to room temperature. I quickly do this by measuring and mixing my wet ingredients into a bowl or measuring cup and submerging the container in hot tap water for a few minutes while I gather my other ingredients. No matter what you make with this recipe, it will be lighter and fluffier if you start with room temperature ingredients. Tip: If making the full recipe (4 servings), you can quickly warm the “milk” and egg whites in the microwave in 5-10 second increments (takes mine about a total of 17 seconds).

I also like to measure most of my ingredients on a digital scale for accuracy. Gluten-free baked goods almost always turn out better when the ingredients are weighed in grams.

Also, like with all gluten-free recipes, results will vary with different ingredient brands. I have linked the specific brands (in the recipe card) that I used to make mine. If you use different brands, or are making any substitutions, first try these as a single-serve to see how they turn out with your specific ingredient brands.

Classic Collagen English Muffins:

When my ingredients are all measured and at room temperature, I add my wet ingredients to my dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed. Then I start heating my skillet while the ingredients absorb and expand. Like almost all my recipes, I like to let my batter/dough rest for about 5 minutes before cooking. The batter will puff up a lot after mixing but will really be just barely thicker than pancake batter.

I don’t have actually English muffin rings/molds so I use Mason jar rings instead. I spray them with coconut oil spray to keep the batter from sticking.

I then portion the batter into the sprayed rings in my hot skillet (at medium heat) and cover the pan. I let them cook for a minute or two like this before I flip them.

Just before flipping them, I spray the tops with coconut oil spray to keep them from sticking after they’re flipped.

This can be a little tricky with a small pan like what I use (pancake griddle would work better), but gently flip each muffin over with a spatula and loosen and remove the metal rings.

I then take my spatula and even up the sides of each muffin while they cook for another 1-2 minutes.

I then transfer them to my silicone muffin top pan (but you could also just set them on a plate) and finish cooking them in the microwave. I set mine for 1 minute and then flip them and cook for another 1 minute. This may vary for other microwaves. I recommend flipping them after the initial minute and then checking them every 30 seconds after that until the sides and tops are firm (but you don’t want to overcook them or they may taste “dry”). When cooking a batch of 4 English muffins, it takes a total of about 2-2.5 minutes in my microwave.

They will be soft after cooking in the microwave. I like to make mine look and taste more like they were baked in the oven instead of the microwave. To brown them more and to give them a crispier/chewier crust I like to put mine in my air-fryer (oven/toaster oven would work, too) for a few minutes before cooling.

They continue to cook as they cool so I wait at least 10 minutes before opening/slicing them.

After cooling, I like to maximize the “nooks and crannies” by using a fork around the sides to pry open the muffins. They can also just be sliced in half, as well, with a serrated knife. If you discover that they needed more cooking after you’ve cut them, just put the halves back together and put back in microwave for 30 seconds or so.

And they’re ready to eat! Or toast and then eat! My favorite way to toast these is face down in a hot skillet with a little butter on the tops until they’re golden. And then I pour a little sugar-free maple syrup on them as a sugar-free honey alternative. They’re also yummy as cinnamon toast, too! 😋

How to make buns and sandwich rolls/bread:

Read the directions above on how to make the batter. Once the batter is made, let it sit for about 5 minutes for the ingredients to expand/absorb. Then divide the batter into 4 equal quadrants.

Next, I scoop the batter into my silicone muffin top pan (it won’t be much thicker than pancake batter). You could also use Pyrex containers (or anything that’s microwave safe). Just make sure to first grease/spray with coconut oil cooking spray to keep the batter from sticking. Also, the bigger the container (ie the more spread out/shallow the batter), the more quickly it cooks, so adjust your microwave cooking times accordingly.

I used a 4 cup square Pyrex to make the Fuel-Pull PB&J sandwich in one of the above pictures. I also made the “bread” for the grilled cheese (in a picture above) in a Pyrex dish. Since this “bread” was more spread out, it was not thick enough to slice horizontally, so I sliced it vertically down the middle instead and stacked the halves (with my sandwich fillings in between) to make a sandwich. It tasted just like a soft and fluffy white sandwich bread! 😋

I then put the pan in the microwave and cook for a total of 3 – 3.5 minutes. Of course, this will vary with all microwaves. I would initially cook these for 2.5 minutes and then in 30 second increments until the tops are firm. I don’t flip these like the English muffins (they’re a little more delicate).

They will be soft when they come out of the microwave. Gently remove them from the muffin top pan (or wait a few minutes before removing from Pyrex to let them firm up some first). I like to put mine in my air-fryer for a few minutes to brown the outside for the “just baked” look and taste.

Since these are a little flatter than the English muffins, they cool a little quicker. I usually let the buns cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Once cool, I use a serrated knife to slice them in half. If you discover that they needed more cooking after you have already sliced them, just put halves back together and put back in microwave for another 30 seconds or so.

Now they’re ready to eat, or toast and then eat. Even as buns, they have a lot of “nooks and crannies”. They make a great cheater English muffin (if you don’t want to bother with the skillet step) and work great as toast or whatever! I even love them as garlic bread. And I bet they’d be great as mini pizzas, as well!

How to make Pancakes:

For gluten-free, nut-free and dairy-free pancakes that are compatible with ALL THM fuel-settings, make the batter like in the above instructions, but add:

• 1/2 TBS extra of “milk” per serving. So, with a single-serving, add 2.5 TBS of “milk” instead of just 2 TBS.
• Also add 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract (can also add maple extract, if you like) per serving.

You can have up to 2 servings-worth in a THM Fuel-Pull setting.

While the batter is expanding/absorbing for 5 minutes, heat your skillet. On med-low heat, spray a little cooking oil and start frying up the pancakes. Keep them on the smallish side so they’re easier to flip. These are a bit delicate. Each serving makes about 2 smallish pancakes. The batter will be thick and will not spread much on its own (it will also not bubble or “puff” up much like other pancakes) so spread batter with the back of a spoon.

They do not fully cook in the skillet. Like the English muffins, they have to finish cooking in the microwave. Cook in 30 second increments until the centers are firm.

Helpful Tools for making Collagen English Muffins:

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