A ceramic fastener includes a ceramic body portion, and a containment layer disposed around the ceramic body portion. The containment layer retains pieces of the ceramic body portion when the ceramic body portion is subjected to a torque sufficient to fracture the ceramic body portion. The fastener can be a nut, and the containment layer can be disposed around one or more of the top, bottom and side surfaces of the nut. The containment layer can be a metal shroud having a thickness from 0.01 to 0.125 inches. The ceramic body portion can be alumina or zirconia. A thread insert may be disposed within a fastener bore of the ceramic body portion.