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
Gina Donza says
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?
Carolyn says
You’re certainly welcome to experiment!
Betsy Mickey says
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?
Sarah says
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!
Carolyn says
I am so glad!
Krayola says
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!
Kathryn says
love the baked oatmeal so thought I would try the cookies. I used 1/4c keto maple syrup and 1/4c allulose for sweetner and it worked perfect. Did not have the Cranberries and added some chopped pecans. This recipie is definitely a keeper.
Tammy says
Oatmeal cookies are my favorite!
Ralph says
These cookies came out great, and I am a mediocre cook / baker.
Due to lack of equipment (I don’t have a food processor, so I chopped with a knife) and ingredients (I substituted pecans for almonds and substituted Erythritol for Swerve) I made slight changes to the recipe and process, but the cookies were excellent and my friend gave a rave review of them.
I will definitely make these again.
Thanks for the recipe, Carolyn!
Carolyn says
Great to hear!
Tina says
I didn’t read the recipe correctly and threw all the dry ingredients in together in a bowl. Added the beaten egg and melted butter. Turned out beautifully. Thank you for the recipe.
S Lorton says
Oh my goodness! I have watched the YouTube video of Carolyn making these cookies so many times, and I finally made them myself. YUM! I am so impressed with the taste and texture. I used Lakanto golden as the sweetener. Next time I think I’ll add a little more cinnamon and a tiny bit of nutmeg and clove (the way I like my oatmeal cookies). These will be a staple in my house!
Beth says
These are great cookies! Yum!
Alex says
I make these cookies almost every week. Definitely a favourite! Thanks for this amazing recipe!
Amy says
Will this recipe be fine omitting the almonds? If so, what we can use instead of almonds? I do have the coconut.
Carolyn says
It needs the almonds for the texture.
Susan says
Hands down, the best Oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. I use walnuts instead of almonds – sooo good. Thanks…
Susan says
These have a really convincing oatmeal cookie taste and texture! I have to stop myself from eating a whole bunch at once. Thank you!
Margaret L Wilkins says
Delicious! I made 50 smaller cookies out of this recipe, just to fool my brain that I was indulging. Baking for 11 minutes seemed to work well. Making these again.
DIXIE RAPP says
This is one of my favorite recipes and I’ve made it many times. Today I made it again but used some left over Pumpkin Spice Chips (Lily’s) instead of chocolate chips. Wow!!! What a different flavor treat! Thanks Carolyn for this great recipe!!
Audrey says
Just made these for the umpteenth time; they’re what I keep coming back to when I crave “real” cookies. Used 1/4 cup each of Swerve brown & granulated, and added a quarter teaspoon gelatin powder for extra chewiness. Also added some cardamom & ground cloves in addition to the cinnamon but skipped the chocolate chips this time. Munching one as I type this. Heavenly.
Had to bake a second batch just to make sure I could save some for myself (using a less expensive regular oatmeal cookie recipe, for my three guys who don’t need to worry about carb counts).
Mark says
KETO “OATMEAL” COOKIES – Do you have any ideas on how to make this recipe crunchy? To use as a crumble topping. I have tied additional oven time and a dehydrator without much luck.
Thanks,
Mark
Carolyn says
Sorry, I haven’t tried. This isn’t meant to be crunchy.
Carolyn says
If you want a crunchy crumb topping, try this: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/keto-rhubarb-crumble-tart/
Claire says
Hands up…..I made these without following the instructions properly so didn’t end up blending in a blender. I also swapped pecans for almonds as I didn’t have enough almonds. I chopped the coconut with scissors and broke the pecans by hand. End result still delicious!!!! I made them to take on a camping trip and OH demolished half of them before we even left ????????????. I was not impressed!!!! I found that 2 of them with A coffee and cream kept me going until mid afternoon. Just made another batch tonight and house smells lush!!!! Definitely best to put on wire rack to cool properly but don’t try and
Move them too soon… wait till they’re fairly firm. Thanks for the recipe it’s one of my favourites ????????????
Anita says
I don’t have a food processor, so I’m wondering what my options are to make this come out right without it…???
Carolyn says
Do you have a blender? Can you pulse it quickly in that? I would do it in small batches so you don’t over-process it.
Barbara P says
Just finished making these. I could not find my food processor, so I used a magic bullet instead. I think I may have over processed them slightly, but still oatmeal–like texture. I used 1/4 cup Swerve brown sugar and 1/4 cup Swerve granular sugar, and the cookies came out perfect! My husband loved them also. He’s so happy to have something to go with his afternoon coffee!