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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Thank you so much for this recipe. The texture is spot on and they taste fantastic. My 2 year old (who normally is not a fan of my keto desserts) are two and said they were yummy!
I am so excited to have found this recipe! I am the mid-December baker who sometimes makes only one recipe but two batches of it, but it’s definitely not keto friendly! It’s called oatmeal raisin white chocolate cranberry cookies…I’m hearing the Hallelujah angels singing right now! Thank You!!!
These were a HUGE hit! Next time I’m going to incorporate part of an old family favorite oatmeal cookie recipe where you soak the dried cranberries in the mixed egg and vanilla for an hour before adding to the creamed butter and sweetener. Infusing the cranberries with the moisture of the egg and vanilla flavor made a really flavorful combo. I can’t wait to try it out with this recipe!
Made these with half regular Swerve and half Brown Swerve. And instead of the coconut and almond mixture, added 1 1/2 cups of grain free/sugar free purchased granola. Turned out great!
Hi, I plan to use Lily’s sugar free butterscotch chips in these. I’m wondering if I could use oat fiber/bran instead of the coconut flour? Thanks!
I’m sorry, you will have to experiment yourself because I don’t use it.
Did you ever try it with the oat fiber? Did it work?
Delicious! Easy. I used walnuts in place of cranberries. I’ve been missing cookies and haven’t baked much for years. These are definitely worth the effort. Thank you. You’re my favorite keto blogger, Carolyn!
I always like to know how many carbs per biscuit esp as I try to count carbs. I see you say 1 %. how would that equate to a each biscuit. sorry I know its a stupid question …
Hi Siobhan, you’re looking at the wrong number. That’s just the percent daily value, which comes up automatically on the recipe card. The carbs in grams is right beside the word “carbohydrates”
I’ve been looking for something to satisfy my Oatmeal Cookie fix and I should have looked here first! These were SO good. I’m going to check the carbs on dried cherries to see if I can manage a Holiday version with some of them included as a once a year treat. Thanks for another great recipe.
So glad you liked them!
Made this recipe this morning and all I can say is “wow, wow!” Another Recipe of yours that is absolutely delicious!
Thank you so much!
Question:
Do you recommend storing all low carb or keto dessert and cookie recipes to be stored in the fridge?
No, not at all. Depends on how quickly you will eat these but I store them at room temp for 4 or 5 days.
WOW…. Delicious and so easy to make!! I substituted Pili nuts for sliced almonds as none on hand and just used dark chocolate chips. My family loves them.. Thank you!!
I didnt have any flaked coconut either, I used 3/4 cup of shredded coconut instead and I just didnt pulse it a lot in the blender to keep its texture..I also dont have swerve brown where I live so I added molasses to the granulated erythritol… they turned out amazing! Thanks a lot Carolyn for all the recipes!
I’m preparing these now – wish me luck!
You left out the step where you add the dried cranberries…
You’ve done it again!! These are the best low carb cookies I’ve ever made and I’ve made a lot. It’s hard to stop eating them – so I don’t!
How could I adjust the cooking to make the cookie crunchy with out burning it?
Hi Carolyn,
After seeing the flaked coconut out of stock on Amazon forever, and my friend bringing me shredded coconut by mistake, I bought Trader Joe’s coconut chips. It was my first time in a store in 2 months, and I quickly snatched up 2 bags.
Can I use these in the cookie recipe? Please? I am hoping so. Tell me how to do that. I don’t know if flaked coconut and coconut chips are the same.
Thank you so much, Carolyn!
I think so… but don’t they have added sugar? Maybe I am mistaken but I thought they did when I looked at them in store a while back…
Hi Carolyn! No, no added sugar. Just organic coconut.
I opened up a bag. I looks like a long, thin curl when trying to zest an orange. Or make skinny strips with a peeler
If I know your curiosity, I bet you will get a bag of these and see what you can do with them! Lol.
So, what do you think?
I think if you blend them in a food processor the way I did with my flaked coconut, you’d be okay.
Thank you!!!
And thanks for the vegetarian cookbook choice! Looking forward to seeing your baking book soon.
I had only half of the flaked coconut needed so I used unsweetened Shredded coconut for what was missing and they turned out great. Honestly, nobody knew they weren’t oatmeal cookies. Love, love, love that recipe!
Made these today for my husband. He said these were the best Keto Cookies ever! So easy to make too! We have loved every single one of your recipes I’ve made. Thank you so much for all you do.
That’s wonderful to hear!
These are like the perfect cowgirl cookie. I added pecans (not in place of the almonds…just because pecans make every baked good better) and will go for unsalted butter next time or completely eliminate the salt in them. I also used 1/3 cup allulose and 2tbs of Lakanto golden & added a 1/4th tsp of blackstrap molasses for a bit more of that brown sugar flavor since there isn’t as much in the Lakanto golden as there is in the Swerve brown. They were heaven. I love that the longer I do keto baking and learn how all these ingredients work together, as well as what works for my body and my elevation, the more confident I am in just making my own changes and reporting them to y’all. Thanks so much for this recipe. It’s going to be a new base cookie for me since it acts the most like the same cookie in the non-keto world (just smaller). I was legit going to cheat and order a cowgirl cookie with my take-out bunless burger yesterday and try and only eat a few bites at a time (a lie I already know I was telling myself) but decided to try these first and just..hope. They were legit good enough for me to forgo the real thing. That’s…a hard thing to accomplish!