Okay, you caught me. There is no oatmeal in these Keto Oatmeal Cookies. Not even a little bit. They are completely grain free, with nary an oat to be seen. Not even the tiniest oat flake. There weren’t even any oats in the vicinity when I made them!
But with a little low carb ingenuity, they look and taste like the real deal. I take flaked coconut and sliced almonds and process them until they resemble oats. It’s the very same trick I used in my Keto Oatmeal recipe.
Who doesn’t love oatmeal cookies? But those of us on low carb or keto diets, we can’t indulge any more. So what’s a cookie lover to do? Fake it ’til you make it, I always say.
I confess, I am not one for cutesie little names like “faux-tmeal” or “N’oatmeal”. Those just annoy me for some reason. If I want oatmeal cookies and I want to make them keto-friendly, I will call them what I please. You are free to do the same.
And now they are bigger and better than ever! I decided to adjust the recipe ever so slightly, and made them a little bigger and thicker, for that chewy cookie goodness. Now there’s more to love!
What Readers are Saying…
“I made these this morning. they are delicious. With the coconut, nuts and butter, you really do not even think about them not being true oatmeal cookies. They come together easily and I usually always have the ingredients on hand.” — Linda
Why You Will Love These Cookies
- Classic texture: They have the same chewy, tender texture of real oatmeal cookies.
- Buttery flavor: Butter, brown sweetener, and a hint of cinnamon gives these cookies the classic flavor.
- Easy to make: In less than 40 minutes, you can satisfy your cookie cravings.
- Customizable: Add chocolate chips, dried cranberries, other nuts, or leave them plain.
- Low carb: Each cookie has only 2.5 grams net carbs, so they fit the keto lifestyle perfectly.
Ingredient Notes
- Sliced almonds: I like the sliced almonds that have the skins on, as they resemble oats even more when processed.
- Flaked coconut: Use flaked coconut, rather than shredded, as it will help give the cookies the right texture.
- Almond flour: This gives the cookies a little more structure.
- Cinnamon: A touch of ground cinnamon gives them the classic oatmeal cookie flavor.
- Sweetener: I like the flavor that a brown sugar replacement adds to these cookies.
- Dark chocolate chips (optional): You can use any variety of sugar-free chocolate chips.
- Unsweetened dried cranberries (optional): Instead of raisins, I use my homemade sugar free dried cranberries.
- Kitchen staples: Egg, butter, vanilla, baking powder, and salt.
How to Make Keto Oatmeal Cookies
- Process the nuts: Add the flaked coconut and sliced almonds to your food processor and process until mixture resembles oatmeal.
- Add the other dry ingredients: Add the almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and pulse a few times to combine.
- Combine the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Add the almond/coconut mixture: Pour in the dry ingredients and beat until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and dried cranberries, if using.
- Form the cookies: Roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Press cookies down to about 3/4 inch thickness.
- Bake: Bake until golden brown around the edges. Remove and let cool completely on the pan.
Tips for Success
It’s truly astonishing how sliced almonds and flaked coconut can resemble oat flakes. But you do need to grind them up a bit. I recommend using your food processor on the pulse setting so you don’t over-process them. Give a few pulses, see how they look, and pulse more if necessary.
Conventional oatmeal cookies typically take raisins, but raisins simply aren’t a keto-friendly option. You could, of course, add a tiny amount of them in, but it really wouldn’t be worth your while. There would be so few of them, the flavor wouldn’t come through. But sugar-free dried cranberries make a great replacement.
Sweetener Options: As with many keto cookie recipes, I recommend an erythritol-based sweetener for the best texture. Allulose can make the cookies overly soft, and they may brown too much, especially on the bottoms). That said, please feel free to experiment with your preferred sweeteners. Just know that it can affect the results.
More Keto “Oatmeal” Recipes
- Keto Do-si-dos (Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies)
- Keto Granola Bars
- Chewy Keto Butterscotch Bars
- Coconut Cacao Nib Granola
- Keto Pumpkin Breakfast Bars
Keto Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (92 g) sliced almonds
- 3/4 cup (63.75 g) flaked coconut
- 1 cup (112 g) almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar replacement, erythritol recommended
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup (45 g) dark chocolate chips, sugar-free, (optional)
- 1/4 cup (30.3 g) unsweetened dried cranberries, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silicone liner.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the sliced almonds and flaked coconut Process until mixture resembles oatmeal.
- Add the almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and pulse a few times to combine.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Add the almond/coconut mixture and beat until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and dried cranberries, if using.
- Roll into 16 balls and place several inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. With the heel of your hand, press the cookies down to about 3/4-inch thickness.
- Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely on the pan.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, real oatmeal is not okay for keto diets. A a bowl of cooked oatmeal has 27g of carbs and only 4g of fiber. And most people with diabetes see a significant blood sugar spike from consuming it. So you want to avoid oatmeal when following a low carb diet.
Try using more sliced almonds to replace the coconut, in the same amount. They may be a little more crumbly when baked.
Store the cookies in a covered container on the counter for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to 10 days. You can also freeze them for several months. Bring the cookies to room temperature before serving.
This keto oatmeal cookie recipe has 5.7g of carbs and 3.2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.5 grams net carbs per cookie.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Hi Carolyn! I tried making these last night and I was so disappointed. I”m sure I’m doing something wrong! While the flavor was wonderful, they were extremely dry and almost powdery in texture once cooled. I baked two pans, one of which I baked only 13 minutes in hopes that it would not be dry, but no luck. 🙁 I’m planning to take another run at the recipe as the flavor is so yummy but would love any ideas as to why this might have happened! Perhaps my flaked coconut was dried out, or my egg wasn’t quite as large as your large egg? Maybe a smidge too much coconut flour (though it was a level tbsp)? Thanks for the help/ideas!!
Okay, let’s chat about every ingredient here. What brand of almond flour, coconut flour, and flaked coconut did you use? I want to help you identify the issue here.
Here is my list of ingredients.
Honeyville Grain blanched Almond flour
Bob’s Red Mill Unsweetened Flake coconut
Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flour
Calumet Baking Powder
Generic butter, cinnamon and salt
Lily’s dark chocolate baking chips
Egg from my backyard flock 🙂
Does anything stick out? I’m wondering if it might be a difference in how the measuring cups are filled – eg – spooning the flour into the cup rather than scooping the cup into the flour, etc? The other thought I had was that I possibly over processed the almonds and coconut in the food processor. Thank you for taking the time to troubleshoot! Normally every one of your recipes I try is spot on so this has me puzzled! Eleni Jae
None of those ingredients would be the culprit. Really not sure but your egg may have been on the smaller side. I don’t know if how you scoop the almond flour would matter much…as long as you don’t pack it down. No one else really had this issue so small egg is my best guess!
I’ll try again with a larger egg and report if that was the problem. Despite my baking fail we are thoroughly enjoying the flavor, so this recipe is a keeper! Thank you for your thoughts!
Maybe crumble it up and put it over ice cream?
Elanie – I am wondering if the altitude has something to do with the cookies (seeing a comment down below), don’t know if you are high altitude or not?
Sorry…Eleni, I mean!
Can’t wait to make these today. Ps LOVE the new graphics on the site!
This is HANDS DOWN THE BEST LCHF cookies I’ve ever made. It also opens up so many additional possibilities for this “oatmeal” alternative.
Crazy old fart! I’ve been making these for years and calling them Coconut Chocolate Chip. I always loved Keebler version.
Can I replace the almond flour with coconut flour or will it throw the consistency totally off?
Would totally throw off the consistency.
AMEN!
I tried making these yesterday. You would not believe how much they taste like the real deal and the texture is amazing! My mom and my husband were also blown away.
Yay, that makes me so happy! <3
You had me at Carmalitas…..which were amazing. Trying these tomorrow!
I wonder if this would morph well into the old Libby’s recipe for Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies? It is my all time favorite cookie. This is my second fall season low carb-ing, and it’s definitely like something is missing!!
we’re egg-free so I was planning to sub-in 1/4c pumpkin puree + 1TBLS baking powder
Any substitute of almond flour , please?
You could use sunflower seed flour.
These look delicious!
Another old fart here that hates the creative spellings for faux ingredients. Oatmeal raisin used to be my favourite cookie before eating keto. I’m going to give these a go tonight. Thanks again for all your hard work, Carolyn!
Omggg I have so many reasons to love you and your amazing recipes ! I can hardly wait to make these!! Funny story … my friend knows how I have changed my food choices and I was sharing another recipe of yours at a get together… someone asked where I find such incredible recipes!!! I responded with, all day I dream about food… my friend who knows me too all too well about choked on her bite of food and I had to laugh as well since she thinks of me as someone who ALL day long dreams about food! Anyway , now MANY more friends know of your site and amazing recipes! Love the title! And you!
Are there any substitutes for flaked coconut? Unfortunately I detest coconut.
More sliced almonds, although I don’t think you will get quite the right chewy consistency.
Carolyn, these look fabulous. But you surprised me….after the build up I was expecting hemp hearts to be the secret ingredient….have been waiting for hemp hearts to reappear in your ingredient list. I love love love your hemp heart granola….its my emergency go-to when I am sick of eggs or don’t have the energy on a weekend night to whip up muffins for the next day. I keep a big glass jar of it on my counter.
Are you working on any hemp heart recipes? Can you add that to the long wish list from readers?
Deborah, I’d love to have that Hemp Heart Granola recipe but can’t find it. Just searched on Carolyn’s site for it but no go. Would you please share it when you can, or point me to the URL? So appreciate it!
If you search Banana Hemp Seed Cereal, you will find my version.
Thanks, Carolyn! Got it! I was searching for Hemp Hearts. Making this tomorrow!
chewy? Mine turned out crispy no matter how long I baked them. Also, the sugar substitute after taste is so gross. The cookie gets a 10 the after taste gets a 0. Thse are not a do over for me.
What sweetener were you using?
Oh yum! Could these be baked, cooled, and then frozen without a loss of quality when thawed? I’m not ever certain about freezing low carb baked treats. Rarely does anything last long enough!
I have no problem freezing low carb treats. Protect the well, though
YUM — I am definitely going to be make these babies this weekend!! I can’t wait to give them a try, especially since my family all loved the Carmelita’s!! Thanks Carolyn — I certainly do appreciate your ingenuity!!
Been doing keto on and off for 5 years. These days I am ON. I have made these 4 times since discovering Carolyn 2 months ago. She is my new goddess to worship and my go-to test kitchen for all things keto. I have tried several dessert recipes and for the first time ever, all turned out as promised. I trust everything she says. ERYTHRITOL!! 🙂