These deliciously chewy sugar-free oatmeal cookies have a lovely crunch on the outside and a soft centre. Even better, they are ready in just 25 minutes. Find out in the post which substitution I'm using to make this classic recipe low carb - into proper keto oatmeal cookies!
Oatmeal raisin cookies used to be one of my favourite cookies as a kid, and as we all know, some things never change.
There's comfort in a simple cookie that just hits the spot, whether you have it with a glass of milk after school or with a cup of tea taking a break from work. My mum had a secret oatmeal cookies recipe, as probably your mum or gran did. And if you're lucky, they'll pass it on to you.
Well, I have taken my mum's recipe and made it keto friendly!
For these keto oatmeal cookies, I'm using a combination of almond flakes and coconut flakes to mimic the chew of oats. Mixed into a buttery almond flour cookie batter, they add that texture we all love about oatmeal cookies.
I've had these cookies both as a snack and for breakfast and can confirm either is a great choice. I'm adding it to my "noatmeal" collection, alongside this low carb porridge and my keto overnight oats.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we need for low carb oatmeal cookies.
- Almond flour, Coconut flakes, Almond flakes: As you can see in the image, I am not using actual oatmeal or oats. Instead, we need almond and coconut flakes. They have the same chewy texture as oats, without the carb count.
- Butter - melted and then cooled
- Granulated sweetener - any sugar substitute works here. I used an erythritol monk fruit sweetener blend.
- Egg - mine was large and fridge cold
- Baking powder
- Vanilla extract.
I'm also using a pinch of salt and xanthan gum. Neither is strictly necessary. Sea salt improves the taste and the xanthan gum gives a stronger crumb structure.
If you omit the xanthan gum, your cookies will be a little flakier, but the recipe still works well.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
Let's make keto oatmeal cookies in five simple steps!!
This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
STEP 1
Chop the sliced almonds and the coconut flakes to resemble the size of oats.
STEP 2
Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then, add the melted butter and egg and mix to form a cookie dough.Â
STEP 3
Roll the mix into 9 balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Alternatively, use a medium cookie scoop and scoop the dough onto the baking sheet.
STEP 4
Press some almond flakes into the top, flatten the cookies and shape the edges with your figures to remove cracks.
STEP 5
Bake in the preheated oven until golden.
Expert Tips
Taste the cookie dough. If you have a sweet tooth, feel free to add a little more sweetener to taste. I don't like my cookies too sweet.
Use a cold egg. My sugar-free cookies did not spread much because I used a cold egg and I made sure I only JUST melted the butter. With room temperature egg and hot butter, the cookies spread more.
Let the cookies cool fully. Low carb cookies need to come to room temperature on a cooling rack before handling. They are fragile when hot and firm up as they cool.
Substitutions
Nut Free
You can use only coconut flakes and substitute almond flour for â…“ cup coconut flour. Coconut flour is more brittle than almond flour, so you'll have to use the xanthan gum for a stronger texture. You may also need to add one additional egg.
However, this will change the taste of the cookies considerably and they will definitely NOT taste of oatmeal cookies any more. The great thing about almond flour is that it is very neutral in taste.
Dairy Free
Use coconut oil or a nut butter instead of the butter.
Egg Free
Replace the egg with a flax egg. If you don't mind adding some carbs, you can also sub in banana or apple sauce. The cookies won't be keto friendly any more, but still sugar-free!
Add-ins
Sugar free dried cranberries: Regular oatmeal cookies often contain raisins, which are very high in natural sugars. Sugar free dried cranberries are a brilliant substitution, because they have the same chewy texture. You could also add either dried unsweetened cranberries or dried blueberries.
Low carb oatmeal chocolate chip cookies: Add ¼ cup of sugar free chocolate chips.
Make them nutty: Chopped walnuts or pecans would work well. I'd also add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon peanut butter for more flavor.
Add sugar free icing: Mix ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) powdered sweetener with 1 tablespoon cream. Drizzle over the cooled cookies.
FAQs
No. Oats are whole grains and therefore high in carbs. 100g (roughly â…” cup) of uncooked rolled oats come in at a whopping 55 net carbs. If you want to keep your net carbs anywhere between 20 and 40 per day and your blood sugar levels stable, then oats, or oatmeal, are not a good choice.
It is possible! If you replaced the almond flour with â…” cup or 100 grams of oats, the net carbs are 7.6g per cookie. By comparison, my keto oatmeal cookies come in at less than a third - 2.1g net carbs per cookie.
If your cookie batter is too soft to handle, let it rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
To achieve crunchier cookies, flatten them more and leave them in the oven longer.
Of course! Instead of 9 large cookies, you can make 18 small ones. Keep in mind you may need to reduce the baking time.
Use pure granulated erythritol or an erythritol blend with stevia or monk fruit. Xylitol or allulose are a possibility, although allulose will result in a softer cookie. If you use Splenda, measure in US cups only. It's lighter in weight than erythritol. If you're using a granulated stevia sweetener, check that is a 1:1 sugar substitute. They are often twice as sweet as sugar.
Storage
Room temperature: Store these almond flour oatmeal cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. There is no need to store them in the fridge.
Freezer: You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
More Keto Cookie Recipes
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Recipe
Keto Sugar Free Oatmeal Cookies
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
- 1 cup / 100g almond flour or ground almonds
- ½ cup / 115g unsalted butter melted, then cooled
- ¾ cup / 75g flaked almonds
- â…“ cup / 20g coconut flakes
- ¼ cup / 50g granulated sweetener
- 1 large egg cold
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum optional
- ½ teaspoon salt optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C electric or 320F / 160C fan and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Using a sharp knife, chop ½ cup / 50g sliced almonds and the coconut flakes to resemble the size of oats. Option to use a food processor and pulse if you prefer.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl (almond flour, erythritol, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, chopped flaked almonds and coconut. Stir to combine.
- Add the melted butter, vanilla and egg and mix to form a dough.
- Roll the mix into 9 balls.
- Chop the remaining ¼ cup of almonds.
- Place the balls on a baking tray and press crushed almonds into the top.
- Flatten the cookies and  shape the edges with your fingers to remove cracks. Bake for 12-15 minutes until slightly golden.
Katherine
These were delicious, but more like cake so I ate them with a fork. I did nearly double the sweetener, though, and used two small eggs. They are addictive!
Ziggy
Amazing! Used Lakanto golden as the sweetener, added 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and baked 12 rather than 9 cookies. Perfect texture and taste, will be making again, and again...
Janice Hinkley
I baked a batch of these cookies today. They’re light and fluffy with just the right crunch. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Suzanne
In place of xanthan gum, you can use grass fed gelatin.
Lyn
I cannot wait to try these! Loving the Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies I cooked a few days ago 🙂
JG
Could you use dessicated coconut instead of flaked?
Katrin Nürnberger
I guess that would work, but measure in grams and not in cups so you don't use too much.
Veronika
I User desiccated coconut in grams and it worked really well.
LyndaW
Have made these and they are scrummy! I think they are quite sweet. Can I reduce the sugar amount, I used xylitol. Is it in the recipe for flavour or is it required for the texture and balance of the recipe? Also made the sugar free lemon curd yesterday. It is lovely and very moerish.
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, you can reduce the sweetener without problems.
Catherine
I my goodness gracious! I was skeptical as I have not found a good keto cookie recipe... but I can admit when I’m wrong. Crazy tasty! This is my new go to cookie recipe! I used Lily’s butterscotch chips & it was insanely good, but I may do chocolate chip next! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Alice
thank you for this terrific recipe...absolutely delicious and easy to make!
Sharon
I made these yesterday and added Lily's Sugar Free Butterscotch Chips. My husbands favorite cookie is the Nestle Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies. He liked these and he is hard to please when it comes to Low Carb Baking. These were wonderful.That is the only change I made to your recipe!