The Curious Case of No-Flour, No-Yeast Rolls

When KyMorgan inquired about cauliflower toast as a low-carb alternative for English muffins in eggs Benedict on our Hotline, I was immediately intrigued. How would cauliflower toast differ from cauliflower "steak"? And how would it stand up to sweet potato toast and all the other "toasts" out there? What even is toast, anyway?

And the answers to KyMorgan's question led me to the entrance to another internet rabbit hole: Oopsie Rolls. "Take a look at 'oopsie' rolls (recipes all over the internet)," inpatskitchen advised. And Pat was right—the recipes are all over the internet, and the name is only half of what makes them interesting.

Oopsie rolls are made of just four ingredients—cream cheese, egg, cream of tartar, and salt (that's right, no flour)—and have a fluffy, airy texture and slightly eggy flavor that might remind you of an unbelted popover or Yorkshire pudding.

Their name derives from their origin story: The oopsie roll was invented by Cleochatra, a blogger who also thought up the cauliflower pizza "crust," when she made a mistake baking Atkins Revolution Rolls and used cream cheese in place of the called-for cottage cheese. (You can also make a similar bun using sour cream or mascarpone.)

Personal White Pizza With No-Yeast Dough

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Exploring oopsie roll recipes might serve as your introduction to a thriving online low-carb community you never knew existed, among which the batter is hailed as a nearly carb-less foundation for making bread and its relatives. People have experimented with pizza and sponge cake, roulade and danish.

But even if you don't know (or care to know) the first thing about counting carbs, and even if you love eating bread (I love eating bread!), oopsie rolls are still worth making. Incredibly simple and quick to make, they really are a great alternative if you find yourself with no bread in the house and a longing for something slightly squishy to sandwich your bacon between.

I enjoyed their near-marshmallow lightness and the slight tang of the cream cheese. Plus, the eggy flavor makes them the perfect candidate for a topping of melty cheese (consider toasting the baked oopsie rolls in the oven first, for more color and crispiness).

They're certainly not bread, and maybe they're not "rolls" either—but they still are tasty.

Here's how to make them:

Heat the oven to 300° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then spray that parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray (the oopsie rolls have a tendency to stick, like wet meringues).

Carefully separate 3 eggs. In a large bowl, mix the yolks with 3 ounces of cream cheese, slightly soft and cut into cubes, and a pinch of salt. You want the mixture to be uniform and as lump-free as possible.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar (which stabilizes them) to stiff peaks.

Now spoon the egg whites onto the egg yolk mixture and fold gently with a rubber spatula, being careful not to deflate the airy whites. (Now's a time when you don't want to over-mix: Stop folding as soon as, or just before, no white streaks remain.)

Use a large spoon to make 6 circles of batter on your prepped baking sheet, slightly flattening out each one. (If you have a muffin top pan, now would be the time to drag it out.)

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden-brown all over.

Let the oopsies hang out on the pan until cool enough to handle, then use a large spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.

The leftovers can be stored in a sealed bag in the refrigerator for about three days.

Have you ever made oopsie rolls? Tell us in the comments!