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. What can be substituted for the sliced almonds ?
Thanks.
You can try more flaked coconut but it definitely changes the texture.
Hi Carolyn I have a bunch of shredded coconut I need to burn up. I know you said flaky, will the shredded change the texture that much?
In this case, I recommend NOT grinding it with the almonds, but instead adding it to them in the mixing bowl. That way it won’t get any more shredded and be too fine. It will still change the texture a little…
I can’t tolerate eryrithrtol or other sugar alcohols. If I were to substitute pure monk fruit or stevia (without anything added to make it a 1:1 measure substitute), would I have to make any accommodations to make up for the difference in the bulk? Thanks
Hi Carolyn,
I’m not a fan of coconut flakes. Do you think chopping up some extra almonds will give the same effect?
TIA!
It should!
Your recipes never disappoint! My hubby doesn’t like butter (I do) so to make a batch for him is there a butter substitute?
You can try coconut oil or a vegan butter substitute.
Wow! I think my favorite dessert recipe on this site so far. Hubby was missing cookies. When this showed up on my inbox, well, I’ve had good luck with the muffin recipes so I thought I’d try it. Easy and delicious! I did double the cinnamon because I like spice.
Funny sidenote: I forgot to take out an egg to bring to room temperature. So I tucked one into the cleavage of my sports bra while I assembled and measured the other ingredients. It worked! Just had to be careful if I bent over though, LOL!
Too funny! I place my eggs in warm water for about 5-10 minutes to bring them to room temperature but I’m also lacking in the cleavage department! lol
Just made these cookies for the first time and I WILL be making them again!!! SO good! I have come to know that if it’s YOUR recipe, it’s gonna turn out fantastic. Thank you so much for all that you do for our community!
Loved these! I made your recipe for dried cranberries during the holidays and froze them. Used them in these cookies along with Swerve chocolate chips. One of my favorite of your fantastic recipes.
Woŵ these are sooo goood!!
These are amazing. Can’t wait to make them again.
In Step 3, perhaps you’d like to say stir in chocolate chips and cranberries by hand. Just a thought. 🙂
Hi Carolyn,
Have you ever tried using oat fiber in your recipes instead of coconut flour? I saw a keto baker mentioning oat fiber. Apparently it doesn’t get digested so it won’t affect glucose. The use in recipes seem to be the same as coconut flour, to hold moisture. I love coconut however not all recipes I want coconut taste. I’d love to hear your experience and opinion.
Thanks!
Oh yes… it’s been touted for a long time. And if you want your cookies to taste like sawdust, feel free to try it!
Oh I didn’t know that. You could have been more friendly though. Thanks.
It wasn’t meant to be unfriendly… it was tongue in cheek! 🙂
I have a 90 second bread recipe that I always add a “bit” of oat fiber to, to help it hold together better. I LOVE how it helps and the bread does NOT taste like sawdust. I only use a small amount. I would not use it to replace ALL the coconut flour, just a small amount, though.
Hi Carolyn, first let me tell you that I really enjoy receiving your daily emails of recipes. I always tell myself I wish you lived next door to me. Love and appreciate all the work you do in making and sharing wonderful recipes. That said. I made the keto oatmeal cookies today and they came out kind of flat. I’m thinking my butter wasn’t softened enough or RT. What do you think?
Flat as in they spread too much? That means you didn’t have quite enough flour.
ok, these are the best, I mean really the best keto cookie I’ve ever made/eaten. They taste and feel normal, not weird. Thank you!!!!!!!
I love your recipes. They have saved me from going back to old habits. Gastric bypass in 2008. And still trying to stay on tract. I’m satisfied and content. Love my food from your recipes. Blessings sweet lady.
I didn’t make them yet but was wondering if using hemp seeds could replace half the coconut flakes thereby giving it a more nutty, oatmeal texture?
You’re certainly welcome to experiment!
I hate coconut flour and shreds in all ways. This one is going to be hard to fix. Oat fiber for the flour, ok. Double up on the sliced almonds for the shredded coconut?
What a great cookie!! I used lily’s butterscotch baking chips in this to try to recreate the oatmeal scotchies my mom used to make. My type 1 diabetic son really loves this recipe!
I am so glad!
I’ve just made these and they are really great! I’m quite new to keto, and the nicest thing is that they don’t scream the texture of almond flour + a dash of coconut flour. They’re quite light and somewhat crumbly (no major snap) but they are totally a make again. They look oaty and I love the coconut flake vibe running through. Followed the receipt exactly (as a Brit it nearly killed me to use cups (find them vague) over my electric scales and precise-grammes-obsession, but I survived.) Thank you!