Keto oatmeal cookies, just like Grandma used to make! Well, not exactly. They look like oatmeal cookies and they taste like oatmeal cookies, but they don’t contain any oats at all. Let me show you how it’s done.
Okay, you caught me. There is no oatmeal in these keto oatmeal cookies. Nope, not even a little bit. Completely grain free, with nary an oat to be seen. Not even the tiniest oat flake. There were no oats even in the vicinity when I made them.
But guess what? I am still going to call them sugar free keto oatmeal cookies. I am not one for clever little low carb names like “faux-tmeal” or “N’oatmeal”. Those just annoy me, I don’t know why.
The most I can do is put “oatmeal” in quotations; that’s as far as I will go. I am a stubborn old fart and I don’t care who knows it. If I want oatmeal cookies and I want to make them without the blood-sugar spiking oats, you’re just going to have to go along with it. I will brook no opposition. Got it? Good.
Seriously, who doesn’t love oatmeal cookies? They are the classic childhood after-school treat. Everybody’s mother or grandmother or aunt had the best oatmeal cookie recipe, right? But being devoted to the low carb, grain-free way of life, we can’t exactly have those any more. What’s an oatmeal cookie lover to do?
How to Make Keto Oatmeal Cookies
So how do you make oatmeal cookies without oats? Pure low carb ingenuity, that’s how. And an easy grain free stand in that gives these delicious keto cookies that classic oatmeal taste and texture.
Do you remember my super awesome low carb Carmelitas? Those might have been one of my favourite recipes of the summer, all crumbly, oatmeal-like crust and gooey caramel and chocolate filling. If you never saw them or don’t remember them, I suggest you hightail it on over to that post and take a look.
Similarly to my keto carmelitas, coconut flakes and sliced almonds become the replacement for the oats. You simply give them a whiz in the food processor to break them up a little more and you get that perfect oatmeal consistency. It’s really quite remarkable how much it resembles oatmeal in both taste and texture.
Then you proceed the way you would with any low carb cookie recipe. Cream the butter and sweetener together, add an egg and some vanilla, and stir in the “oatmeal” and flour. Scoop them up, roll them into balls and bake.
It’s a pretty simple formula but it really works for those oatmeal cookie cravings.
Other additions for your “oatmeal” cookies
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.
When I originally created this recipe, I simply added sugar-free dark chocolate chips. And that’s certainly an excellent option.
But when I re-made these cookies for the video, I decided to add in some sugar-free dried cranberries as well. They don’t exactly taste like raisins, but they give the cookies that chewy, dried fruit texture. I really liked them this way!
I have a recipe for homemade sugar free dried cranberries, which do use some sweetener. But you can also buy entirely unsweetened dried cranberries as well. They are very tart when eaten on their own, but in these keto oatmeal cookies, they are delicious!
Praise for Sugar Free Oatmeal Cookies
“This is hands-down the best cookie I’ve made Keto.” – Gwen
“Wow! These smell great cooking. My family could not wait to try. Amazed out how much these taste like oatmeal cookies!” – Lori
“Made these tonight—Loved them! Thank you for the recipe!” – Laura
Other great Keto “Oatmeal” Recipes
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Keto Do-si-dos (Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies)
- Keto Granola Bars
- No Bake Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- Coconut Cacao Nib Granola
“Oatmeal” Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup flaked coconut
- ¾ cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips, sugar-free
- ¼ cup unsweetened dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silicone liner.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flaked coconut and sliced almonds. Process until mixture resembles oatmeal. Add almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and pulse a few times to combine.
- In a large bowl, beat butter with sweetener until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract and then beat in coconut/almond mixture until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
- Form into balls a little over 1 inch in diameter and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. With the heel of your hand, press cookies down to about ½ inch thickness.
- Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and just barely firm to the touch. Remove and let cool on pan.
Video
Michele says
How could I adjust the cooking to make the cookie crunchy with out burning it?
Baker Judy says
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!
Carolyn says
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…
Judy says
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?
Carolyn says
I think if you blend them in a food processor the way I did with my flaked coconut, you’d be okay.
Judy says
Thank you!!!
And thanks for the vegetarian cookbook choice! Looking forward to seeing your baking book soon.
Christine says
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!
Jamie Jones says
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.
Carolyn says
That’s wonderful to hear!
Erin says
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!
Laura says
Carolyn, can you share what food processor you use and how many cups (Size)?
Carolyn says
I have a KitchenAid 13 cup but you certainly do not need one that big. I had the 11 cup before and it was great.
Colleen says
Wow these cookies are amazing ! I have tried so many different recipes and wasted money on failed recipes (not yours different sites) These are everything you say they are very tasty. Many thanks, and the step by step videos are super helpful.
Many Thanks !
Lynne says
OMG Carolyn these are exactly like you said. I didnt do the brown swerve but definitely will next time and i added a very small handful of my granola breakfast cereal and it took them to the next level. Im soo glad i came back and watched your video on them as mine seemed very moist but so did yours. I used a fork dipped in coconut flour to push them down. i will be sharing this recipe with the Keto group on Facebook 🙂
Jana says
Can I substitute butter with oil? I can’t have dairy…
Or is there anything else to swap for the butter?
Carolyn says
Don’t use a liquid oil. Coconut oil would be fine, so would firm palm oils and shortenings. Nutiva has some good sustainable ones.
Shirley Ben-Ami says
Yum. I’ve made these twice now, once subbing macadamias for the almonds (because I was out of almonds). Love them both ways. Even my non-keto daughter approves! I think I will have to have these in the house at all times! Two of them with a cup of coffee or tea even subs as a light meal for me Thank you!!!
Chelsea Santos says
These are delicious! Taste just like a non-low carb oatmeal cookie! The portion size makes for a great snack at the end of day w/ a cup of tea. And I normally freeze half of the batch and are great once thawed out.
Haley says
I don’t have flaked coconut only shedded coconut – will that make a difference in this recipe ?
Carolyn says
It does change the texture some, it’s less flakey like oatmeal but if that’s all you’ve got, give it a try!
Elaina Breland says
These are AMAZING!!! My family loved them. They came out perfect, just like the pictures. I even offered one to a KETO hater…haha..you know, just to see. He smiled and said man I just love oatmeal cookies. Never told the truth!
Thanks again for all you do for us. Been following you for so long you feel like family. <3
Marcelle says
OMG, what kind of keto voodoo is this???? These cookies are FREAKING AMAZING! Even my non-keto husband swears there is oatmeal in these cookies! I skipped the chocolate and /or cranberries and they are still out of this world! Girl, you are a GENIUS!!!!
Judy Yurisich says
Made these today, they are amazing! In fact I made a second batch shortly after the first as they were such a hit! Used your recipe for sugar free dried cranberries, fantastic! Love biting into the sweet cookie and getting a burst of tangy chewy craisen. Only thing that made these better with the second batch was adding in more of your craisens!
Tara says
Mmmmm. I just made a batch of these. I didn’t have any sliced almonds on hand, so I replaced the almonds with more coconut. I also added a coupled of teaspoons of black strap molasses (a trick I learned from you ). I didn’t have any cranberries either, so I didn’t add those (but I wish I had). They are DELICIOUS! I can’t wait to try them sometime with all of the proper ingredients!
Toni Ruggles says
I have made this recipe now twice. Liking it more the second time around. Even though they break easily can’t believe how much they taste like an oatmeal cookie. Thought they would taste two much like coconut and was pleasantly pleased that they did not. Even husband and children like them.
Joy says
My husbands favorite so far was your butter pecan cookies and now this one just took its place. We demolished half of the cookie tray with the 3 kids. I used lakanto golden for the sweetener. I don’t like oatmeal cookies but I love coconut everything and this hit the spot!
Suzy says
I have tried sooo many recipes to get a nice, slightly crunchy, yummy keto cookie. My wait is over!! These are honestly the best keto/low carb cookies I have ever made! I did not add the cranberries as could not find low sugar ones. Wow, honestly these are the best!!
Carolyn says
I am so glad to hear it!
Ann says
Just made these to take with me to work, and wow!! Amazingly delicious!! Thank you for all the awesome recipes you post. I’ve bought 5 of your books now. You rock and make it so easy for me to stay low carb / sugar free. Love you lemon custard ice cream recipe yum!
Deborah Kloss says
Another hit! Thank you so much for your fantastic recipes! My niece and I just love them. I have to find the cranberries for the next batch.