Some recipe mashups have spectacular results, and these Keto Zucchini Cookies are one such happy marriage. Tender keto cookies with an oatmeal-like consistency, studded with sugar free chocolate chips and… zucchini? I know it sounds out of place but it really works!
I am not one for trying to hide vegetables in desserts, but zucchini just hits different. It’s one of the most versatile keto ingredients – great in savory recipes, but wonderful in baked goods too. It adds moisture and tenderness without adding a strong flavor. The additional nutrition is just an added bonus.
So why not in cookies? This recipe brings together two of my favorite treats: keto zucchini bread and keto chocolate chip cookies. They have amazing texture and flavor, soft and slightly chewy with hints of brown sugar and cinnamon. They’ve become a fan favorite!
If you love zucchini desserts, try my Keto Zucchini Brownies next.
★★★★★
Valerie says: “These are delicious. I made them for myself while family was visiting from out of town. My daughter and granddaughters couldn’t keep their hands off of them. They stay moist from the zucchini!“
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Zucchini: It wouldn’t be zucchini cookies without some shredded zucchini!
- Flaked coconut: This adds an oatmeal-like quality and some chewiness. But you can do more sliced almonds if you prefer. You can also use shredded coconut although the texture will be less like oatmeal.
- Sliced almonds: Along with the coconut, this adds an oatmeal cookie texture.
- Almond flour: This provides more structure for the cookies.
- Coconut flour: A little coconut flour helps offset the moisture from the zucchini so they aren’t soggy. You could try another dry flour like bamboo fiber or oat fiber but you may need a little more of it if the dough is too soggy.
- Sweetener: I really like a brown sugar replacement in this recipe. Please see the Sweetener Options for more information.
- Cinnamon: For a more zucchini bread flavor!
- Chocolate chips: You can use your preferred brand of keto chocolate chips.
- Chopped nuts: This is optional, and you can skip them or add more chocolate chips.
- Baking staples: Eggs, butter, vanilla, baking soda.
How to Make Keto Zucchini Cookies
- Prep the zucchini: As with most baked goods that include zucchini, you need to shred it, salt it, and drain it first. Let it drain for about an hour, then press out as much liquid as possible.
- Make the keto “oatmeal”: Grind the shredded coconut and sliced almonds until they resemble oats, then stir in the remaining dry ingredients.
- Combine the wet ingredient: Beat the butter with the sweetener, then beat in the egg, vanilla, and zucchini.
- Stir in the dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture and beat until well combined, then stir in the chocolate chips and nuts by hand.
- Shape the cookies: Roll them into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and place on the cookie sheet. Press down to about 3/4 inch thick.
- Bake the cookies: Bake until golden brown, then remove and let cool completely on the pan.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
As with many zucchini baked goods, you need to salt it and squeeze out the excess moisture. I do this in a sieve over the sink to let it drain, then pressing on the zucchini and squeezing it out with my hands.
Flaked coconut and sliced almonds give the most “oatmeal cookie” texture because they are flat and thin. But you are welcome to play with proportions and/or try other nut and seed combinations. I just can’t guarantee the results.
Use baking soda and not baking powder. This helps the cookies brown and spread nicely, whereas baking powder will make them puffier and more soft.
Sweetener Options
As with most keto cookies, I recommend an erythritol-based sweetener for best results. I like to use my homemade keto brown sugar replacement. Allulose an xylitol will make the cookies very soft and they will brown too quickly.
If you wish to cut back on the erythritol, you can use 1/4 cup and try sweetening more with some pure stevia or monk fruit extract. And if you wish to take your chances on allulose, I recommend reducing the oven temperature by 25 degrees so they don’t brown too quickly.
More Zucchini Recipes to Love
Keto Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 (175 g) medium-small zucchini, about 175g
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt, divided
- 1 cup (85 g) flaked coconut
- 3/4 cup (177.44 g) sliced almonds
- 1 cup (105 g) almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking soda
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar replacement, lightly packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (60 g) sugar-free chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (29.25 g) chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Finely grate the zucchini and place in a sieve in the sink. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt, tossing to combine. Let drain 1 hour, then squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Combine the coconut and sliced almonds in a food processor and process until they resemble oat flakes. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and remaining salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until lightened and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, then beat in the squeezed zucchini.
- Add the flour mixture and beat until the dough comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans by hand.
- Roll into 18 balls, each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Set on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Press down with the palm of your hand to 1 inch thick. They will spread a bit as they bake.
- Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. They will still be very soft when you remove them from the oven. Allow them to cool completely on the pan.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
You can replace the flaked coconut with another cup of sliced almonds. However, the coconut flour is pretty critical for the consistency of these bars. You will need to find another very dry, absorbent flour if you want to replace it.
Any granular sweetener will work, but please note that sweeteners like allulose and BochaSweet will make the cookies very soft and cake-like. I prefer erythritol based sweeteners in cookies.
Absolutely! Swap out the butter for some coconut oil or another dairy free butter replacement, and they will still be delicious.
We liked them so much that we didn’t even try to freeze any, but they should freeze nicely. Store them in a covered container in the freezer for up to two months.
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.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
I saw you said you could cut back on erythritol and use some monkfruit extract. If you can’t use erythritol or xylitol in recipes does granulated monkfruit not work?
And one more question, we used to be able to grow zucchini/squash/pumpkin no problem but not anymore. Besides nasty chemicals that we don’t use we haven’t been able to grow any without the squash bugs😞
I kept looking at this recipe, knowing I wanted to try it. Having just taken them out of the oven, here are my sincere thoughts. They are a bit more trouble than I care to go through with my keto desserts. I just don’t like waiting on the zucchini to drain. That said, they are very good and made twice as many as the recipe said. Perhaps my zucchini was larger. They are moist. I would have liked a bit more sweetener, maybe a dash of stevia would have been just right or a few more chips. I’m going to enjoy them no matter what.
Thanks for the feedback!
FABULOUS! Only change I.made was subbing pistachios for walnuts/pecans bc we didn’t have any. Rave reviews from all.
The flavor is great! But mine are super soft and falling apart.
You may still have had too much moisture in your zucchini. But did you use a different sweetener, by chance?
Made these this afternoon, rave reviews from family.
Great idea to make a favorite cookie Keto friendly!
thank you for this recipe.
it was a great way to use up some zucchini I had in my freezer.
I used Pecans instead of sliced almonds (because I had no almonds) and made them into little bars.
I wonder about adding some Whey Protein powder.. maybe next time I will add a little…
These are so good. I have tons of zucchini so I doubled the recipe. How should these be stored?
I am allergic to coconut and what’s more cannot stand the taste of it. Would love to make these cookies and I now I can substitute for the coconut fl;our but what can I do to replace the volume of the coconut flakes?
Sorry, I think you may need to try a different recipe.
Do you measure the zucchini in grams before or after squeezing out the extra liquid from the zucchini!
Before. If the ingredient list doesn’t say drained and squeezed, then it’s always before doing so.
These cookies are excellent!
I have made these cookies several times and they are always delicious. Everyone loves them. The only problem is that they are much too crumbly. They are impossible to hold. They simply fall apart before you can get them to your mouth! What am I doing wrong?
Hmmm, I wish I could say for sure. What kind of almond flour are you using?
Carolyn, I had the same problem. GREAT tasting cookie… I actually made 22 so I only baked for 15 minutes. I am using Nature Eats Nut flour, almond and Great Value Organic Coconut flour. Could it be one of those? I’m going to try toasted them before eating them tomorrow and see if they are just undercooked. Any suggestions would be great.
It could be… But are yours crumbly or too soft? Because crumbliness would suggest that there isn’t enough egg or oil, in which case, it’s not about undercooking. If they are very soft, then it might be under-cooking.
Thanks for responding!!! I did undercook them. I put a couple back in at 350 for about 8 minutes, and almost overcooked them. So that was my issue. They definitely need the full 18 or more for my oven.
Thanks again for great recipes…
can you use coconut flour?
Not in this recipe, no.
Please help me understand….
Coconut flour is listed in the ingredients, but you state coconut flour can NOT be used in this recipe.
I love these of healthy treats & I don’t want to mess it up.
Thank you!
It can’t be used as the main flour. That little bit is just to offset some of the moisture from the zucchini. But if you only used coconut flour, the cookies would be awful.
I like my cookies crispy and sandy, these were not like that. But they were delicious! They have so much texture they can’t be anything but chewy and that is also a good thing. I will definitely be making these cookies over and over. Best use of a zucchini I have ever tried. Thank you for the recipe.
I do have other cookies that are crisp and sandy! 🙂
Hi Carolyn!
Greetings from LA! Thank you for this- I’ve recently reached enlightenment on the extreme no sugar diet. I’ve made at least 3 batches of these this year for friends & fam. Have you or anyone else tried freezing the dough for later? If not, what do you predict?
Aloha! I freeze all of her cookie dough successfully although I have not specifically tried this recipe. Good luck!
Love these! If I want to add a bit more zuchini are there any other adjustments I need to make?
I think they may be too we if you do that. And of course, I can’t guide you as to any adjustments because I didn’t not test the recipe that way.