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Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
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Whether it’s for breakfast, a snack, or a treat, you’ll always find a reason to pop one of these keto no bake cookies into your mouth! And you can feel totally great about it, because while they taste like a treat, these sugar free no bake cookies are packed with macro-friendly ingredients like almonds and unsweetened cocoa powder. They have a prep method and texture like protein balls, but with added crunch and a chocolaty twist!
One thing I don’t like about many keto no bake cookie recipes is that they turn out too soft. A soft cookie is nice, but I also like a little crunch. These cookies have the perfect balance of crunch and softness, which is why they are the best no bake keto cookies I’ve ever tried.
Why You’ll Love This Sugar Free No Bake Cookies Recipe
- Chocolaty, lightly spiced flavor
- Crunchy and chewy textures
- Uses easy keto baking pantry staples
- No specialty flours needed
- Fast 10 minute prep time
- Naturally gluten free, dairy free, and great for a keto diet
- The perfect fast way to satisfy your sweet tooth!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for keto no bake cookies without peanut butter, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Keto Cookie Butter Spread – I love the flavor of this for these low carb no bake cookies so much! But, you can easily substitute thick peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, or even sunflower seed butter. You could even use homemade sugar free Nutella. The cookie flavor in this spread is my top recommendation, though.
TIP: Drain any oil from the top of the spread, if there is oil present.
This will ensure that the cookies turn out firm enough.
- Cocoa Powder – For rich chocolate flavor. Use the highest-quality one you can for best flavor.
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – My favorite sugar free powdered sweetener that keeps this keto no bake cookies recipe from taking on a gritty texture. It mixes easily into the cookie dough and tastes just like real powdered sugar! Other powdered sugar substitutes could work, but may still leave a gritty texture or cooling aftertaste if they are erythritol-based (as most other brands of monk fruit are).
- Sea Salt – Balances the sweet flavor.
- Vanilla Extract – Use a quality one for best taste.
- Almonds – For added crunch and texture. You can substitute your favorite chopped keto nuts (such as pecans, macadamia nuts, or peanuts), or even use unsweetened coconut flakes (though cookies may be more difficult to scoop). If you need a nut-free version, sunflower or pumpkin seeds are the best substitute.
- Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips – Optional, but add another layer of rich chocolate flavor and texture. Other sugar free chocolate chips, such as white chocolate or milk chocolate, would also taste great. If you prefer, you can melt the chocolate and drizzle it on top, then let it cool to harden.
How To Make Keto No Bake Cookies
This section shows how to make keto cookies no bake, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a food processor, pulse together Besti, cocoa powder, and salt until uniform.
- Add wet ingredients. Mix in the cookie butter spread (or nut butter) and vanilla. Process until smooth, scraping the sides of the container as needed. Adjust sweetener to taste, if desired.
TIP: What should the dough look like?
The dough will be dense, but should still feel sticky when pressed together. If it’s crumbly, you may need to add more cookie butter. If it’s too runny, you can try more sweetener and cocoa powder.
- Add nuts. Pulse in almonds until just combined.
TIP: Avoid over-mixing the nuts.
They will not keep their crunchy texture if over-mixed. Stir with a spatula instead of pulsing if nuts are chopped enough but not mixed in well.
- Shape. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop to gather spoonfuls of dough. Press firmly into the scoop, then release onto the sheet. Use your fingers or a spoon to to shape dough into desired thickness. If using optional chocolate chips, press them into tops of the cookies. (Alternatibely, you can met the chocolate chips and drizzle the chocolate on top instead.)
- Chill. Refrigerate the keto no bake cookies for at least 30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator and serve cold.
Storage Instructions
- Store: Store cookies covered in the refrigerator for 5-6 days. The cookies may become sticky and hard to pick up if left at room temperature for too long. (You can see in the picture below, they are starting to get soft, compared to the other photos.)
- Freeze: Keep in the freezer for 3-6 months. Freeze the cookies on the lined sheet pan first, until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. To thaw, arrange in a single layer again on a lind baking sheet. Then, thaw at room temperature or in the fridge overnight before serving.
More Keto Cookie Recipes
Can’t get enough cookies? Keep every bite sugar free with these easy recipes!
Recommended Tools
- ChocZero Keto Cookie Butter Spread – All the rich cookie flavor you crave, without an oven — plus no sugar, sugar alcohols, soy, or GMOs.
- Food Processor – Makes this recipe for sugar free no bake cookies a breeze to blend up.
- Cookie Scoop – The perfect size for the best keto no bake cookies.
Keto No Bake Cookies (Sugar Free, Easy)
By
These sugar free keto no bake cookies taste rich, sweet, fudgy, and crunchy, with just 5 ingredients and 10 minutes prep time!
Instructions
[ See step photos ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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In a food processor, pulse together Besti, cocoa powder, and salt, until uniform.
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Add the cookie butter and vanilla. Process until smooth and slightly glossy, scraping down the sides and bottom to make sure all dry ingredients are incorporated. Adjust sweetener to taste if desired. (The dough will be very dense, but should stick when pressed together. If it's powdery or crumbly, you may need to add more peanut butter, depending on how thick yours is.)
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Pulse in the almond pieces until just combined. (Don't overmix – you want pieces for crunch.) If the almonds are chopped sufficiently but not uniformly distributed, remove the blade and stir with a spatula.
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Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough, press it into the scoop firmly, then release onto the cookie sheet. Use a spoon to spread the cookie ball to your desired cookie thickness. If using chocolate chips (optional), press them into the tops of the cookies.
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Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up more. Store cookies in the fridge and enjoy them cold. (They will become soft and sticky at room temperature.)
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 cookie
Nutrition info does not include optional chocolate chips.
📖 Want more recipes like this? Find this one and many more in my Keto Ebook Bundle!
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead.
Easy Keto No Bake Cookies
81 Comments
Trish
0Omg. This cookie was too moist, not firm at all. Could it be because I didn’t have a processor and used my mixer? I couldn’t add more sugar to make drier as you said. Way too sweet. It Was delicious tho so want to figure this out. Also used Swerve- 1/2 was Confection style and rest was granular. Ran out of the powered. Your thoughts?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Trish, A couple of things to keep in mind when making these: 1. If you don’t use powdered sweetener your cookies will have a gritty texture. 2. The peanut butter is what makes this recipe work. Make sure whatever you use (either natural or conventional peanut butter) is thoroughly stirred with the oil completely mixed in. If it’s too thin and oily the cookies won’t set well. If your peanut butter is too runny, that can prevent them from setting. If you do end up in this situation, worst case, you can refrigerate or freeze them to firm up, but they are best refrigerated anyway. I hope this helps!
Kath
0These are great if you like eating dough. I thought they would be like a cookie. Followed recipe to a t. Tastes is nice but consistency isn’t like a cookie.
Jules
0Hi Maya,
I haven’t given the recipe a rating as thought I would touch base with you first. I will preface this by saying I really like your website and recipes and have had much fun and deliciousness creating in the kitchen thank you to yourself.
Unfortunately this particular recipe really tripped me up- it has been my biggest keto ‘baking’ disaster to date. I followed instructions to a tee. The peanut butter I use is the same natural brand I have bought for the last few years and has been used to make no bake cookies many times. I wasn’t sure how these were going to hold together as most other recipes use even just a teeny bit of coconut flour or something to help bind them. My most recent batch of no bake PB cookies even came out on an overnight cycling trip with me and were fine at breakfast time, just softer than they would be from the fridge. So I did have my reservations but thought I would give it a go, I stuck to the powdered sweetener amount in the recipe- knowing it would be too sweet as I use a stevia/erythritol blend- as I thought maybe the magic was in that volume holding it together. In any event, they were just a pretty sloppy mess which was disappointing as the investment in the ingredients is no small matter with the nuts, PB etc. I even out a few in the freezer to see if I could get them to a point where they could come off the baking paper, but still was not really happy. The flavour (other than being too sweet) was pretty delish though.
I scraped the fridge ones back into the bowl and back to room temp, added an egg and 1/2 tbsp coconut flour, some further crushed nuts (macadamias) and a sprinkle of xanthan gum. After that they were in keeping with the consistency of other no bake cookies I have made, but I wasn’t keen on the raw egg aspect, so baked them for 15 minutes at 180C. I allowed them to cool for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. I am pleased to say that I have at least rescued the ingredients, even if it wasn’t quite what I was going for. I cannot imagine what I could possibly have done wrong when others have had such awesome success. I literally measured everything carefully, followed instructions and adjusted as necessary as per your method. I shall put my dunce cap on and enjoy a crunchy cooked version of it now with a coffee 😉
Thank you so much for all the hard work you do though- it really is a great resource here.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Jules, I’m sorry these didn’t turn out as you had hoped. How thick or thin is the peanut butter you used? It definitely sounds like your cookie dough needed to be thickened up a lot! The dry ingredients listed in the recipe should be enough to bind the dough together, but that obviously has not worked out in your situation. You can increase the amount of cocoa powder to thicken the dough or even add a small amount of coconut flour to balance the moisture and make the dough workable. I’m glad you were able to save the first attempt at this recipe, and hope that when you try it again you will have better success with these troubleshooting tips! Best of luck!
Tammy
0Can I use regular monk sugar and not powder? I am out and need a chocolate fix.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Tammy, Because these cookies are no-bake, the texture of the erythritol will not change and they will be gritty.
Tara Osborn
0These are fantastic! Thanks so much for the recipe. I do need to try a thicker peanut butter because they were too soft, but definitely worth peeling off the parchment paper. Lol!
Gina
0I made these cookies tonight. And they are wonderful. Hard not to eat more than one. Mine don’t look like the pic above, more like the video, but not as much texture.
I over pulsed my almonds. But they are so good!
Crystal
0These were great! When the dough was done I rolled it up into a “log” in plastic wrap, froze it for a bit (actually overnight because I forgot about it, haha). I took it out in the morning and let it soften a bit and then sliced it. These did NOT last long! Thank you for a great keto friendly recipe.
Glenda
0I had an issue. They are too soft, just like when I put them on the parchment sheet. They’ve been in the fridge for hours and did not firm up at all. So I’m layering them between wax paper in a closed container and putting them in the freezer to see if that does the trick. I haven’t really tasted them yet, but so far I’m sure I wouldn’t make these again.
Tet
0Do you think roasted cacao nibs would be an alternative to choco chips?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Tet, I haven’t tried that but it should work! Let me know how it goes for you.
Rachel gagnon
0I doubled the vanilla because I love it. I also had to add a little water because the dough was kind of dry. I used powdered swerve. They are delicious! A little high though in carbs at 5 each since I’m trying to stay below 20 carbs a day. I also do miss the coconut and outs. But super delicious for sure!!
Rachel Gagnon
0So delicious I almost couldn’t stop eating them!
Charlene
0These cookies are really fudgy when they are not baked; it feels uncooked when you eat them. They are so much better when cooked. I used Skippy crunchy peanut butter (didn’t need to add any nuts) and I did what someone else did-they added one egg and baked it at 350 for 10 min. I like it this way.
K Grant
0I made these cookies tonight and they are delicious! I’ll definitely be making them again. Thank you.
Tera
0I don’t like keto sweets. It’s just not the same. These are seriously the BEST cookies I’ve made since keto, ever!!! Thank you so much for this recipe. It will get me through Christmas for sure!!!
regina
0I cannot wait to make these. Thank you.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I hope you like them, Regina!
Pat Conley
0I added a tbsp of coconut oil instead of more peanut butter to smooth it out. NOTE: the chocolate chips are sweetened, no sugar added chips, not just sugar free unsweetened chips. Lily is the brand to look for. I also used Dutch process cocoa for a richer chocolate flavor. This recipe makes a very small batch so you may want to double it. Thanks Maya!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thanks for sharing with us, Pat!
G
0Thank you for sharing…my husband is diabetic so we love trying low carb and low sugar recipes …
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Best of luck to you! Thanks for stopping by!
Janet Adey
0I made these using stevia which is more powdery that the granulated erythritol I usually use. It made them have a nasty aftertaste and they were not nice at all. 🙁
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Janet, Sorry they didn’t work for you with stevia. It might be that stevia isn’t for you (some people don’t like the taste), or it could be that the amount you used was off (if it’s pure stevia, you’d need much less than the sweetener amount in the recipe). I hope you’ll try them sometime as the recipe is written.
Patty
0No oats! No coconut! Not that I’m against these, but every now and then I’d like something different and then…BAM! Your recipe comes along! Out of curiosity, why didn’t you use peanuts instead of almonds?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Patty, You can use either one – peanuts and almonds will both work!
Jan Krassner
0Could I make these with almond butter? Any tweaks needed?
Jan Krassner
0Thanks, Maya!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jan, Yes, you can. It should work the same.
Kathryn
0I added an egg and a little more peanut butter. I baked at 350° for 10 minutes and they made amazing peanut butter chocolate cookies!!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked them, Kathryn! Thanks for stopping by!