Bread is one of the most common foods in the world, and it is used as an ingredient in other dishes and its own; it can be found at every meal of the day, including breakfast and dinner. The health benefits of bread are immense.
However, it can also have adverse effects when consumed excessively, such as bloating or high blood sugar levels.
Because of this, you may choose to reduce your intake of bread to avoid unwanted side effects or to follow specific diets that don’t permit bread at all.
If you want to know what food are suitable substitutes for bread, read this article!
Table of Contents
- Lettuce wraps
- Wraps
- Zucchini Noodles
- Tortillas
- Cloud bread
- Collard Wraps
- Flatbreads
- Protein Wraps
- Cauliflower Pizza Crusts
- Spaghetti Squash Dishes
- Pita Bread, Keto Friendly
- Cheesecake Without the Crust
- Popover
- Almond Flour Bread or Gluten-free Bread
- Sweet Potatoes Toast
- Collard Green Wraps
- Ezekiel Bread
- Eggplant Disks
- Nori Sheets
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Lettuce wraps
We all know how much pain eating low-carb can be. Often, you end up missing out on something that you like and have to find alternatives. Not with lettuce wraps.
Wrapping your burger in lettuce instead of buns saves you 5.8g net carbs—18% calories! Not only is it easy, but it’s delicious too.
You probably know quinoa as a tasty grain-like seed, but did you know that boiling it down into a puree, then frying it with butter, salt, and pepper, makes it one of the suitable substitutes for bread?
Wraps
For bread lovers, eating a sandwich without bread can be challenging. There’s no perfect substitute, but you can use any of these products to make a delicious and healthy filling that takes the place of bread. Try using large lettuce leaves, collard greens, or Swiss chard.
These vegetables add extra fiber to your meal and are an alternative way to enjoy a sandwich that isn’t full of empty carbs.
Avoid cream sauces, as they will mess with your diet more than help it. Instead, try some vinaigrette dressing or pesto mayonnaise! Both have low-calorie counts and are made from fresh ingredients.
Zucchini Noodles
Low in calories and carbohydrates but high in dietary fiber, zucchini is also an excellent bread substitute. Use a vegetable peeler to slice zucchini into thin ribbons to make noodles. You can coat them with an egg-white mixture before baking or adding sauces for added nutrition.
Zucchini noodles are perfect for those following a low-carb diet like Atkins or Paleo because they’re free of breading and sauces. If you’re avoiding gluten but don’t need to watch your carb intake, try pairing zoodles with lean proteins like shrimp or chicken.
Tortillas
Quick and easy, tortillas are an excellent substitute for bread in many recipes. The obvious—and tastiest—substitute is wrapped.
You can cover anything from deli meat to veggies to even dessert ingredients into a tortilla and have yourself a delicious lunch or dinner! When looking at brands, make sure you find ones that do not contain trans fats or partially hydrogenated oils.
According to research by the Harvard School of Public Health, these unhealthy additives affect your blood cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease.
Opt instead for brands with no trans fats, such as la tortilla factory smart & delicious low-carb wraps. Ten substitutes for bread as food.
Cloud bread
If you’ve ever baked with a baguette, you’ve made cloud bread before. A good starting point is to follow a recipe and add some cream cheese, which will make it nice and fluffy.
If you’re having trouble getting your cloud bread not to fall apart, mix all of your ingredients in a food processor until everything is well combined.
Try different flavors of cream cheese if you find that plain isn’t doing it for you—some suggestions include cinnamon honey or orange marmalade.
And be sure to enjoy your cloud bread when fresh; once it cools down and sets up, it becomes more akin to biscotti than anything else.
Collard Wraps
Collard greens have never been so tasty. These leafy, green superfoods, when roasted, make a surprisingly delicious wrap or sandwich substitute for bread.
Served stuffed with cooked quinoa and veggies (with an egg on top), you might forget that you’re eating vegetables instead of bread.
Plus, collard greens are full of vitamins K and A and antioxidants to help keep your immune system running smoothly. The best part? This recipe takes just 35 minutes from start to finish!
Flatbreads
Many different types of flatbreads are suitable substitutes for bread. Some of these include chapati, tortillas, and phulka. Chapati is an Indian dish that is made with wheat flour. Tortillas are found in Mexico and are made from corn meal or sometimes masa harina instead of wheat flour.
Phulka is an Indian dish also called roti which can be made with either wheat flour or dal chawal ki atti (an Indian concoction consisting of a mixture of grains).
It’s usually served with gravy but can also be eaten alone with pickles or chutney. All three foods vary in flavor, but all fill your stomach just like bread, making them excellent substitutes for bread.
Protein Wraps
Protein wraps make great substitutes for bread also; they are portable, nutritious, and taste delicious. If you’re trying to lose weight but miss eating sandwiches, you can use protein wraps instead of regular bread to achieve your goals.
Protein wraps are also popular among health-conscious individuals looking for ways to reduce their carbohydrate intake.
They come in various flavors, including cheddar cheese, chocolate brownie, and flaxseed. Try substituting them on your next sandwich to see how well they work!
Cauliflower Pizza Crusts
This crust gives you a pizza fix without all of that starchy and carb-heavy dough. Cauliflower is a staple in most vegetarian and vegan diets, making it easy to stay true to your meat-free lifestyle.
Just steam or boil cauliflower, add your favorite toppings (pro tip: think BBQ sauce or barbecue pulled pork), and bake in your oven until crispy.
The time needed depends on how thick you’ve made your crust but generally takes about 30 minutes. Sometimes, I have to add cheese at the end, just so my husband will eat it—but more power to him because he’s getting vegetables with his meal while I’m not!
Spaghetti Squash Dishes
The name is deceiving because spaghetti squash isn’t a form of pasta; it’s more closely related to pumpkin. This low-calorie, fiber-rich vegetable makes an excellent substitute for starchy carbohydrate foods like bread, rice, and potatoes.
The bulk of its volume is water, so you can fill up on spaghetti squash without worrying about gaining weight. Try it in place of regular pasta or as a side dish that’s heavy on flavor and light on calories. You can even purée cooked spaghetti squash until smooth as a thickener in sauces, soups, and stews.
Pita Bread, Keto Friendly
If you want to eat bread but want to go on a keto diet, try pita bread. Pita is better than most other bread as one of the fantastic substitutes for bread in that it’s a flatbread.
Flatbread is more compatible with holding toppings like meats and cheeses. As far as taste goes, some people find it bland without anything. However, pita can also be dressed up with veggies and different flavor profiles.
As far as health benefits go, pita has little fat (about one gram per piece) and high amounts of sodium (around 100 milligrams per piece). It’s also low in calories (30 per piece). These factors make pita quite useful when following a low-carb diet like keto.
Cheesecake Without the Crust
Using a cake pan means cutting thin slices from it to serve one party trays or to take to gatherings. When not doing it in their original form, cheesecakes are bread substitutes when sliced with other cakes, such as chocolate, vanilla, and carrot.
All you need is some fruit or berries between two thin slices of cheesecake, and voila! You have an appetizer that will surprise your guests.
When presented with cheesecake, apples dipped in melted caramel make an elegant treat instead of bread.
Cheesecake also goes well with strawberries and blueberries, making a quick breakfast during cold mornings. Serve it while still warm if you want extra points from your family members or friends.
Popover
Popovers are a perfect replacement for bread because they are essentially hollowed-out bread. They are often made with buttermilk and eggs, so they’re great protein sources and healthy fats.
This makes them much more filling than most of your alternatives, which will help you cut down on your overall calorie intake at mealtime.
Popovers can be served alongside other foods that would need something to sop up excess sauces or gravies, so it’s easy to enjoy them without spoiling your diet. If you find yourself craving toast or looking for another type of starch, popovers may be a good alternative.
Almond Flour Bread or Gluten-free Bread
Almond flour bread and gluten-free bread are great alternative options to serve with a bowl of soup, stew, or chicken noodle soup.
You can buy gluten-free bread from many grocery stores or make your gluten-free bread at home by grinding almonds in a food processor and combining it with other non-gluten ingredients like bananas and eggs.
When making your bread at home, use almond flour instead of all-purpose flour to remain gluten-free. Whether it’s a chocolate chip or banana nut, your favorite recipe will be delicious when made into an almond flour loaf. Cool it thoroughly before slicing—otherwise, you risk squashed slices in your sandwich!
Sweet Potatoes Toast
Boil up a few sweet potatoes, slice them into your favorite shape, and drizzle them with olive oil—season to taste. Serve with a spread (hummus, nut butter, tuna salad).
Once you get used to these hearty substitutes for bread, there’s no going back! You can even add seasonings such as nutritional yeast or garam masala powder to give them more flavor.
Collard Green Wraps
If you can’t get used to eating a big plate of greens, you might want to try another route—wrapping your food in other foods.
Collard green wraps are often used as an alternative to low-carb tortillas and sandwiches because they contain just five calories per cup (uncooked).
As far as taste goes, collard green wraps may not be so bad if you get past their tough texture. Try them yourself in these recipes: Low-Carb Pizza on Collard Greens and Low-Carb Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon on Collard Greens. Check out these eight other ideas for collard green wraps for more inspiration.
Ezekiel Bread
Although Ezekiel bread is a more recent invention than other low-carbohydrate options, it’s also one of the exciting and delicious alternatives for bread. (Ezekiel bread is made from sprouted grains and contains fewer carbohydrates than many types of wheat-based bread).
One key to success with a low-carb diet is to find replacements for high-carbohydrate foods in your diet; Ezekiel bread can be a valuable addition.
To try out Ezekiel bread as a healthier alternative to traditional wheat-based loaves, try serving it at dinner with marinara sauce or pesto sauce. Sprinkle with cheese, add veggies or meat between slices, and serve as mini sandwiches.
Eggplant Disks
For recipes that call for flatbread, try using slices of grilled eggplant. Thinly slice eggplant, brush both sides with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Grill until tender, and then top with hummus or your favorite spread. Crumble it up to use in place of pita chips or crackers.
You can make your pita chips out of whole-wheat pitas for extra credit. Slice into rounds, brush lightly with olive oil, and season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper before baking on a tray at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until crisp, about 10 minutes.
Nori Sheets
Nori is a tasty, toasty seaweed that’s used in sushi rolls. You can buy sheets of nori and use them as crackers. You can toast them at 350 degrees in your oven with olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic powder if you get real fancy.
Then eat straight out of your toaster oven! (If you want to read more about nori, I have an entire post on it here.)
Cabbage
Because it is a vegetable and a great source of nutrition, many people find that cabbages can be an excellent alternative to bread. Whether cooked or raw, cabbages are filling and easy to prepare.
Cabbage can also be easily mixed with other ingredients to make different varieties of salads. Try having cabbage instead of bread in your next sandwich!
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
This can be made with your hands or through a food processor. Recipe: grate cauliflower (you should get about 2 cups) and place in a microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave on high for 5 minutes, until tender. Allow to cool, then place in a clean dish towel and squeeze out excess moisture by wringing it together.
It would be best if you had 1 cup of cooked cauliflower that is already creamy like rice. Place riced cauliflower in a large bowl with eggs, grated parmesan cheese (1/2 cup), salt and pepper, garlic powder (optional) to taste, and any other flavors you want to add (garlic oil, pesto sauce). Mix well using your hands, so everything gets incorporated well.
Conclusion
Bread, I am sure of it, bread has many alternatives in the form of replacements to make your life easier while still enjoying your food. My job here is done. I hope you enjoyed reading. Thank you, bye-bye!
