Sugar-Free Keto Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links, which help keep this content free. (Full disclosure)

Since these low carb keto peanut butter cookies are based on regular flourless peanut butter cookies, they are virtually indistinguishable from a regular version. Unlike cream cheese cookies or chocolate chip cookies that had to be reworked to use a low carb flour, these sugar-free peanut butter cookies have no flour at all – we’re just swapping the sweetener!

Without the sugar, I also think these are healthy enough for breakfast, served with a cup of keto butter coffee. Or dipped in a cold glass of almond milk or hemp milk. But you can decide. 🙂

The key to chewy keto peanut butter cookies? Besti sweetener! This blend of monk fruit and allulose makes them perfectly sweet like sugar, with no aftertaste, and the allulose makes them soft and chewy. I used to make these with erythritol a long time ago and they always got that cooling effect, plus they were more prone to hardening. They are so much better with Besti, give it a try and see for yourself!

This sugar-free peanut butter cookie recipe was originally published on November 8th, 2017, and the post was republished in April 2021 to add updated pictures and useful tips. The recipe is the same.

I’ve been making sugar-free peanut butter cookies for a few years now. They are super easy and so good!

The idea originally came from the recipe for flourless almond butter waffles. That one is made with eggs and almond butter as the main ingredients. I’ve also made them with peanut butter, which works equally well.

Flourless peanut butter cookies are the same idea. Believe it or not, these are easy peanut butter cookies with no flour and no sugar. The nut butter and eggs combine surprisingly well to form a wonderful sugar-free cookie dough.

I first made this keto peanut butter cookie recipe for a fun Cookie Week that I had here at Wholesome Yum, where I published a recipe for sugar-free cookies each day for a whole week. If you’re catching up, check out the chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies and lemon meringue cookies from the same week originally.

Ingredients For Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

The basic, classic recipe for 3-ingredient flourless peanut butter cookies requires just peanut butter, eggs, and sweetener. I prefer to add a few other things that I’ll explain below. Taking care of your sugar-free cookie cravings is just minutes away!

• Peanut butter – Make sure you are using a sugar-free peanut butter, and it needs to be creamy and salted! I recommend this brand or this brand, because they are not too runny. Some natural brands are more runny and don’t work as well for flourless peanut butter cookies.
• Eggs – The right size for this recipe is large, not medium or jumbo.
• Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – I recommend using this 1:1 sugar substitute, but you can also use other granulated sweeteners (see more options below).
• Vanilla extract (optional)
• Sea salt
• Chopped peanuts – Use peeled and salted peanuts, or unsalted if you prefer less salt.

Wondering about the peanuts? If you really want the crunchiest, best peanut butter cookies, you have to add these in. And yes, it turns your 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies into 4-ingredient peanut butter cookies (vanilla being optional and sea salt not included in ingredient counts by convention). Either way, this really isn’t that many, and so worth it.

Besti makes the sugar-free cookies plenty soft, while the peanuts add crunch. Perfection!

How To Make Keto Peanut Butter Cookies

• Mix dough. Process peanut butter, egg, Besti, vanilla, and salt in a food processor.

• Add peanut pieces. Pulse in chopped peanuts, until they are mixed in but still in pieces.

• Scoop. Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop cookies onto a lined cookie sheet.

TIP: Press cookie dough into the scoop tightly before releasing onto the sheet pan.

• Flatten. Flatten cookies using a fork in a criss-cross pattern.

FYI: You may prefer to flatten them a bit more than the photo below. They won’t spread.

• Bake. Bake the low carb peanut butter cookies until golden.

Tips For The Best Keto Peanut Butter Cookies

If you want just the steps for how to make homemade peanut butter cookies, the recipe card is below and I have step-by-step pictures above. But below are some additional tips and tricks for the best keto peanut butter cookies every time.

1. Choose the right peanut butter.

I prefer to use natural peanut butter without sugar, but the problem is, many brands are too runny and can seep oil all over the place during baking.

Look for peanut butter that is thick and creamy (just like the sugary kinds), but without sugar. I recommend this brand or this brand, because they are not too runny and only contain peanuts, oil and salt.

2. Choose the right sweetener.

I mentioned this a couple times above, but this is very important. Monk Fruit Allulose Blend makes soft, chewy keto peanut butter cookies that taste like they are made with sugar. If you use a different low carb sweetener, you’ll still get sugar-free cookies, but you risk a crumbly result with a cooling effect, aftertaste, or simply one that’s not very soft.

3. Don’t overprocess the peanuts.

Your food processor will do all the work for you when making sugar-free peanut butter cookies. But when you add the peanuts, be sure to pulse (starting and stopping) and don’t run the processor continuously.

You want the chunky pieces to stay in there, and if you process too much, they’ll be gone. That’s how you get the delicious crunch in your sugar-free peanut butter cookies! (I use the same technique for keto energy balls.)

4. Flatten the sugar-free cookies with a fork.

After you scoop your yummy keto peanut butter cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet, flatten with a fork. This is where you add that signature criss-cross pattern we all know and love.

There’s actually a scientific reason for it beyond aesthetics: it helps the cookies cook more evenly.

TIP: To prevent sticking, dip the fork tongs in cold water between cookies. Wipe with a paper towel before moving on to the next one.

5. Flatten to the right thickness.

Unlike many other kinds, flourless peanut butter cookies don’t spread very much. So, when you are flattening them, make them the thickness you want them to be after baking.

Cool completely.

Don’t forget to let your low carb peanut butter cookies cool completely, so that they can firm up. (Like many keto cookie recipes, they will be fragile right out of the oven.)

Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookies FAQs

Are peanut butter cookies keto?

Peanut butter is keto, but most peanut butter cookies won’t be keto, because they are made with sugar. Even though some of them may be flourless, they are still made with sugar.

These low carb peanut butter cookies are made with Besti, which keeps the carbs and sugar low.

While these are not quite no carb peanut butter cookies, they are close: each cookie has just 2 grams net carbs!

Can you use a different sweetener?

As explained above, monk fruit allulose blend is the best sweetener for sugar-free peanut butter cookies, because it helps make them soft and chewy, with no aftertaste or cooling effect. You can also use plain allulose for a similar result.

I used to make these sugar-free cookies with erythritol, but don’t recommend it anymore because it creates a noticeable cooling effect and also hardens the cookies too much. Feel free to try it if that’s all you have, though.

If you decide to swap in erythritol or allulose instead of Besti, use 1/2 cup sweetener instead of 1/3 cup. Learn more about the differences in my keto sweeteners guide.

Definitely avoid swapping in anything super concentrated (like pure stevia powder), because the volume will be too different. The sweetener does help provide some structure in the cookies.

Can you make keto peanut butter cookies without almond flour?

Yes! While many sugar-free cookie recipes are made with almond flour, this is a flourless cookie.

Can you substitute the peanut butter?

While omitting the peanut butter and peanuts would mean these are no longer peanut butter cookies, you can do that if you have an allergy. Swap the peanut butter and peanuts for almond butter and almonds instead.

Can you omit the chopped peanuts?

Yes, you can. If you prefer smooth sugar-free cookies without the crunch, feel free to omit the chopped peanuts.

Can you make them without a food processor?

Yes, you can mix by hand in a bowl if you like. A food processor just makes it a lot easier to incorporate everything.

Storage Instructions

Flourless peanut butter cookies will last for about 3-5 days at room temperature. You can also keep the cookies in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Can you freeze peanut butter keto cookies?

Yes, you can freeze sugar-free cookies for 2-3 months.

More Sugar-free Cookie Recipes

If you like this low carb peanut butter cookie recipe, you might also like some of these other recipes for sugar-free cookies:

• Keto Oatmeal Cookies – I bet you thought these would be impossible on keto! Just 1 gram net carb per cookie.
• Peanut Butter Protein Cookies – Soft and chewy, with an added protein boost (and chocolate chips)!
• Keto White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies – Soft and chewy with brown sugar flavor and amazing sugar-free white chocolate chips.
• Flourless Chocolate Cookies – Made with just 6 ingredients, these fudgey cookies take just 20 minutes. Just 2.5 grams net carbs each.
• Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies – Soft, chewy, and sweet! These classics are made with just 6 ingredients.

• Food Processor – No mixer required for these flourless peanut butter cookies. The dough mixes up easily in the food processor.
• Cookie Scoop – Use a cookie scoop to ensure that the low sugar peanut butter cookies are all the same size, so they’ll cook evenly. This one is the perfect size.
• Cookie Sheet – You’ll use this cookie sheet for everything from flourless peanut butter cookies to keto roasted vegetables.