Keto Hot Pockets with Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

Keto chicken alfredo hot pockets on a wooden board, one cut open to show the chicken and broccoli filling
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Introduction

The thing a Hot Pocket is really for is being in the freezer. Nobody makes one — you take one out, heat it, and eat it standing up.

This recipe is built the same way. It makes eight and takes the better part of an hour, and the payoff is the six or seven that go into the freezer afterwards and come back out on a night when you were not going to cook. Eat two hot from the oven by all means; the other six are the reason for the afternoon.

The Dough Is Fathead, and It Has to Chill

The wrapper is the same melted-mozzarella-and-cream-cheese dough that goes under keto pizza, with almond flour, an egg and a little xanthan gum worked through it.

Straight out of the bowl it is warm and slack and it will stick to everything it meets. Thirty minutes in the refrigerator is not optional — chilled, it rolls to a quarter inch and cuts into rectangles that keep their edges. Warm, it tears as you lift it and the filling ends up on the counter.

Two more things that make the difference between a sealed pocket and a leaked one:

Roll it between two sheets of parchment rather than on a floured surface. There is almond flour in the dough, but nothing to dust the counter with — almond flour does not sit on the surface and stop things sticking the way wheat flour does.

Underfill them. A small amount per rectangle looks stingy and is correct. An overfilled pocket splits along the seam in the oven and empties itself onto the baking sheet.

Then pinch the edges and go around them with a fork. The crimp is not decorative — it is the second seal.

Use the chilling half hour to make the filling, and let the filling cool a little before it goes on, so it does not soften the dough you just firmed up.

They Freeze Well, Which Is Most of the Appeal

Bake them, cool them, then freeze them in a single layer on a sheet before bagging them — that way they freeze as eight separate things rather than one block.

From frozen, 20 to 25 minutes in a 350°F oven brings them back. The oven matters here: a microwave will heat them through, but it turns the crust soft, and the crust is most of what makes these worth making.

Keto Hot Pockets- Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Total Time
55 minutes
Yield
8 servings
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
American

Ingredients

For the filling

For the dough

Nutrition Facts

8 servings per recipe
Trans Fat 0g 0% 0g 0%
Total Sugars — —
Sugar Alcohols 0g 0% 0g 0%
Allulose 0g 0% 0g 0%

Where you see an em dash: one of the ingredients in this recipe does not publish a figure for that row, so we cannot add one up honestly. We would rather show you nothing there than a zero we cannot stand behind.

About these numbers: We are home cooks, not certified nutritionists. Nutrition is shared as a courtesy. We pick a representative product for each ingredient, and our recipe system works out the totals from the amounts in this recipe, so please treat them as a helpful estimate rather than a guarantee. The brands you buy, any swaps you make, and how generously you portion the recipe will all move these numbers.

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

  2. Gather the ingredients for the filling.

    Have the shredded chicken, broccoli, cream, butter, onion, garlic, and Parmesan ready. See the Ingredient Notes below for more on the main ones.

  3. Gather the ingredients for the dough.

    Measure the mozzarella, cream cheese, almond flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, egg, and seasonings. See the Ingredient Notes below for what each one does.

  5. Add the cream cheese and mozzarella cheese to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 30-second intervals until thoroughly combined.

  6. Season the dough, then chill it.

    Place the cheese mixture into a mixing bowl with the almond flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, egg, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt. Mix to combine well until it forms a thick dough. Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out will make it easier to handle and prevent it from sticking to the parchment paper or rolling pin.

  7. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add in the onions, and sauté until softened. Stir in the garlic, and sauté for 30 seconds more.

  8. Pour in the heavy whipping cream, and add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until the mixture thickens.

  10. Add the broccoli, chicken, and Parmesan to the sauce, and stir to combine.

    Set the filling aside to cool a bit.

  11. Roll the chilled dough out between two pieces of parchment paper.

    The dough should be about ¼ of an inch thick. When rolling out the dough this way you will prevent the dough from sticking and make it easier to roll out evenly.

  12. Cut the dough into eight evenly sized rectangles.

    Keep them the same size so they bake evenly and finish together.

  13. Place a bit of filling on one half of each rectangle of dough.

    Be careful not to overfill the pockets. A little goes a long way; you don't want the dough to burst open while baking.

  15. Fold the other half of each rectangle of dough up over the filling, and pinch the edges closed.

    When folding the dough over the filling, press down and pinch the edges tightly to seal the pockets. This will prevent the filling from leaking out while cooking.

  16. Crimp the edges of each dough pocket with the tines of a fork. This will give them a nice, finished appearance and help seal the edges.

  17. Place the chicken and broccoli Alfredo pockets onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, until they turn golden brown.

    To ensure that the filling is fully cooked, check the internal temperature of the hot pockets with a meat thermometer. They should reach a temperature of 165F.

Notes

Ingredient Notes

The ingredient list above gives the exact quantities. These notes explain what the main ingredients contribute.

For the filling

  • Shredded chicken: Goes in already cooked, and wants to be on the dry side — the filling gets its moisture from the sauce, and anything extra ends up as steam inside a sealed pocket.
  • Broccoli, cooked and chopped: Frozen works, but drain it properly and chop it small. Large wet florets are the usual reason a pocket splits along the seam.
  • Heavy whipping cream and butter: The sauce. Reduce it until it coats a spoon rather than runs off one; a loose sauce soaks the dough from the inside before it ever reaches the oven.

For the dough

  • Shredded mozzarella cheese: Low-moisture, and it is the structure. Melted, it does the job gluten would in a wheat dough.
  • Cream cheese: Keeps the melted mozzarella pliable rather than rubbery, so the dough rolls thin without springing back.
  • Almond flour: The bulk of the dough. It has no gluten, so it cannot stretch on its own — the melted mozzarella does that job, and the almond flour is what keeps the result a dough rather than a sheet of cheese.
  • Xanthan gum and egg: Hold the dough together once it cools and stops being held by molten cheese alone. Without them it crumbles at the seal.
  • Baking powder: Gives a little lift, so the pocket is not solid.

Tools & Equipment You’ll Need On Hand

Nothing unusual, with one exception: you need something to roll with. A rolling pin is the obvious answer, though I have used a beer bottle in a pinch and it works fine.

Beyond that: a skillet for the sauce, a bowl for the dough, a baking sheet, and enough parchment paper for two jobs — lining the sheet, and rolling the dough out between two sheets of it, which is the only reliable way to stop this dough sticking to everything.

Storage and Reheating Instructions

  • Refrigeration: Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat in a preheated 350F oven for 10-15 minutes, until the middle reaches 165F.
  • Freezing: Freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet until solid, then move them to a freezer bag or airtight container. Held frozen at 0°F they stay safe indefinitely; the recipe gives no figure for how long the crust stays at its best. Reheat from frozen in a preheated 350F oven for 20-25 minutes, until the middle reaches 165F.
  • Microwave: It heats them through, but the crust comes out soft, so the oven is the better choice either way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a different type of meat for the filling?

Turkey, beef or pork can take the chicken’s place, though the recipe is written for chicken. What matters more than which meat is the state it goes in.

It needs to be cooked already, because the pockets bake for long enough to heat a filling through and no longer. It needs to be cool, because a warm filling steams inside a sealed pocket and pushes the seam open. And it needs to be fairly dry: drain anything that has rendered fat or released liquid, and pat it if you need to. The sauce is meant to supply the moisture here, and anything on top of that has nowhere to go.

Shredded or finely chopped seals better than chunks, which push against the dough from the inside.

Can I use fresh broccoli instead of frozen?

Yes, as long as it is cooked first. Boil or steam it until tender, then chop it small and drain it well, the same as frozen. Raw broccoli would go into the pocket still raw, because the pockets bake only long enough to heat the filling through.

Can I use different types of cheese for the dough?

Not as freely as it might look. In fathead dough the cheese is structural, not just flavor — the low-moisture mozzarella is what melts into a smooth, stretchy dough you can roll thin and seal. Cheddar, gouda and provolone all melt differently, and a dough that will not come together smoothly is one that tears when you lift it.

The seasoning is where to put the flavor you are after. Replacing the mozzarella is a different dough rather than this one adjusted.

Can I add additional vegetables to the filling?

You can, but moisture is the thing to watch rather than flavor. A wet filling is one of the two reliable ways to split a pocket in the oven, along with a warm one.

Mushrooms and zucchini are both high-moisture vegetables, so they need cooking down and draining before they go anywhere near the dough — not added raw. Bell peppers are drier and more forgiving, though they still benefit from a few minutes in a pan first. Whatever you add, let it cool to room temperature with the rest of the filling.

Can I use a different type of flour for the dough?

The dough is written for almond flour, and that is what to use; the recipe gives no amounts for any other low-carb flour. Coconut flour in particular is not a one-for-one substitute: it absorbs far more moisture, so it needs more egg and liquid to reach the same consistency, and pastries made with it tend to be drier and more crumbly. It also has a stronger flavor that some people find distracting in a savory dish like this one.

Can I make this recipe in advance?

Yes, and that is most of the point of making eight. Bake them, let them cool, then refrigerate or freeze them. The storage notes in the recipe card have how long they keep and how to reheat them.

Can I reheat the keto hot pockets in the microwave?

You can, and it will heat them through, but the crust comes out soft. A 350F oven brings them back much better: 10 to 15 minutes from the fridge, or 20 to 25 from frozen.

Wrap Up

The filling is the easiest part to change without touching the method, as long as whatever goes in is cooked, cool and fairly dry. Vegetables are the part to think about: anything wetter than broccoli wants cooking down and draining first, because the two things that split a pocket in the oven are a warm filling and a wet one.

If you make a batch, please rate the recipe below and tell us how it went in the comments. If you post a photo on Instagram, tag it #buttertogetherkitchen so we can see it.

Correction — October 2, 2026: Refrigerated hot pockets should be eaten within 3 to 4 days and reheated until the middle reaches 165°F.