Keto Meringue Cookies
Published February 17, 2021 • Updated March 9, 2026
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These keto meringue cookies are crispy on the outside, soft and cloud-like on the inside, and only 0.3g net carbs each. I love having a few with my evening coffee. They satisfy my sweet tooth without the sugar.
I make these sugar free meringues with just 3 ingredients and they taste like biting into a sweet cloud that dissolves on your tongue. They’re a hit at bake sales and cookie exchanges. I like to pair them with my almond flour cookies and thin mint cookies for a full sugar-free cookie spread.
At 0.3g carbs per cookie, these are about as close to zero carb as a cookie gets. I’ve eaten a handful in one sitting and still been well under my daily limit. If you’re counting macros, you basically can’t mess this up.
These aren’t anything like traditional cookies. No flour, no sugar. The base is just egg whites. The whole batch comes together in about 10 minutes of active work before they go into the oven, and the ingredient list is shorter than most things I make.
Making low carb meringue is simple: egg whites, sweetener, and cream of tartar. From there, have fun with it. Add vanilla extract, lemon juice, food coloring, or pipe them into shapes like ghosts for Halloween. I personally add a quarter teaspoon of almond extract to almost every batch because it rounds out the sweetener aftertaste in a way nothing else does. I left it out of the published recipe because when I included it, readers kept saying it didn’t taste almond-y enough. A quarter teaspoon is subtle on purpose.
Your sweetener choice matters here more than in most recipes. Powdered erythritol or a monk fruit blend both work well. Allulose will leave you with chewy, sticky meringues that never fully crisp up. I tested it twice to make sure, and both times the texture was wrong. If you want that classic shattering shell, stick with powdered erythritol.
After the hour at 200 degrees, I prop the oven door open about an inch with a wooden spoon and let them cool inside for another hour. I started doing this after a batch came out baked through but still chewy, and I realized residual steam trapped inside the oven was the problem. That one change made the biggest difference in crispness of anything I’ve tried.
These store well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. I keep mine on the counter in a mason jar. You can freeze them too (layer parchment between cookies so they don’t stick), and they thaw in about 15 minutes. If you’re looking for more keto cookies to add to your rotation, my flourless cookies and keto fudge are two I come back to constantly.
How to make keto meringue cookies
Key ingredients
- Egg whites: The star of the recipe and there’s no substitute. Make sure no yolk gets into your whites or you won’t get stiff peaks. I use the leftover yolks for keto chocolate mousse or sugar free condensed milk.
- Cream of tartar: Not required, but I always add it. It stabilizes the sugar free meringue and helps the peaks hold longer.
- Salt: A small amount enhances the sweetness.
- Powdered sweetener: Use powdered (not granulated) so your meringue turns out airy instead of grainy. I use powdered Swerve or a monk fruit blend.
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Ingredients
4 egg whites -
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
-
Pinch of salt
-
1/2 cup powdered sugar free sweetener
-
food coloring or flavor extracts, optional
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Beat eggs until foamy
To a large clean, dry bowl, add egg whites. Add cream of tartar and a pinch of salt. Beat until mixture is foamy. It’s important for the bowl to be clean and dry so your meringue forms stiff peaks.
Beat until stiff peaks form
Slowly add sweetener while continuing to beat mixture. Add food coloring and flavoring, like vanilla extract, if using at this point. Beat until very stiff peaks form (around 3-5 minutes). Meringue needs to be so stiff that you can flip the bowl upside down without it falling out.
Pipe into cookie shapes
Add meringue mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip or desired tip. Pipe little star shaped cookies out onto a parchment lined baking tray. Space each cookie about ½ inch apart.
Bake and cool
Bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour. After an hour, turn off the oven and let the meringue cookies sit in the oven undisturbed for another hour to allow the cookies to set and harden further.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I freeze keto meringue cookies?
I freeze them all the time. Layer parchment paper between the cookies, store them in a freezer bag, and they'll keep for about two months. When I'm ready for a few, I pull them out and let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. They crisp back up almost exactly like fresh.
Why are my meringue cookies chewy instead of crispy?
In my experience, it's almost always one of two things: under-baking or humidity. If you're in a humid climate, meringues absorb moisture from the air and lose their crunch. I prop the oven door open about an inch with a wooden spoon during the cooldown hour, and that keeps steam from softening them. If they're already chewy, put them back in at 200 degrees for 10 minutes and they'll usually crisp up again.
Does the type of sweetener matter for meringue?
It matters a lot with these. I've tested powdered erythritol, monk fruit blends, and allulose. Erythritol and monk fruit both give you that crispy, shattering texture. Allulose does not. It stays soft and tacky no matter how long you bake. I tried it twice because I wanted it to work (allulose tastes the closest to sugar), but the texture was wrong both times. Go with powdered Swerve or a monk fruit blend.
How long do these keep?
Mine last about two weeks in an airtight container at room temperature. I keep them in a mason jar on my counter and they hold their crunch the whole time. The key is keeping moisture out. If you leave the lid off or store them in a humid room, they'll go soft within a day or two.
What if I don't have a piping bag?
I've used a spoon plenty of times. Just scoop a tablespoon of meringue and drop it onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. They won't have the pretty star shape, but they taste exactly the same. You can also cut the corner off a plastic bag and use that as a makeshift piping bag. I did that for my first few batches before I bought a proper tip.
Can I fold chocolate chips into the meringue?
I've done this with Lily's sugar-free chocolate chips and it works. Fold them in gently right after you hit stiff peaks. Don't over-mix or you'll deflate the meringue. I use about a quarter cup per batch. The chips add a little weight so the cookies spread slightly more, but the texture stays the same.
Why bake at 200 degrees instead of a higher temperature?
I've tested these at 225 and 250, and both of those temperatures rush the drying process. You get a meringue that's crispy all the way through with no soft center, or one that browns on the outside before the inside sets. 200 degrees gives you that crispy shell with a cloud-soft center, which is the whole point. It takes longer, but the contrast in texture is worth the wait.
Are egg whites keto?
Completely. Egg whites are nearly pure protein with trace carbs, so they fit perfectly into a keto diet. I use them in a lot of my recipes. The whole batch here uses four egg whites and comes out to about 0.3g net carbs per cookie, which is about as low as it gets.
The texture is actually right here, which keto meringues almost never are. Soft and cloud-like in the center, crispy shell. That contrast is the whole point of meringue, and getting it with a sugar sub takes a lower oven than most recipes say. The cool-down in a turned-off oven matters more than it sounds. Most versions I've made are decent crispy puffs. The interior here is the real thing.
Tried these with almond extract instead of vanilla (the recipe mentions flavor extracts as optional) and the difference is noticeable in the best way. The almond comes through clean without being overpowering, and they still got that crispy shell with the soft, almost cloud-like inside. One thing I figured out after my first batch: your bowl has to be completely dry before you start beating the egg whites. Even a small amount of moisture and they won't peak up the way they need to. My second batch, once I actually dried everything properly, piped into clean little rosettes that held their shape through the full hour at 200. Made these for a pool afternoon this week because I wanted something sweet that wouldn't melt sitting out, and they held up perfectly in a sealed container. Peppermint extract is definitely next on my list.
Made these on Sunday and barely got them onto the cooling rack before my kids started picking them off. My youngest kept asking why they taste 'crunchy and fluffy at the same time,' which honestly is the best anyone has described a meringue. I've been making French macarons for a few years so the technique felt familiar once I got to stiff peaks, but these come together so much faster with no resting time before the oven. The 200 degree bake is what does it, they dry out rather than brown, and leaving them in the oven after you turn it off makes a real difference in texture (tried pulling them at the hour mark the first time and they were slightly sticky inside). None of my kids are keto and I've made no announcements about that. I'm doubling the batch next weekend and adding the almond extract.
I genuinely thought sugar-free meringue was a fool's errand. I'd tried two other recipes that came out grainy and collapsed on me and just... defeated the whole point. Made these mostly out of stubbornness and the 200 degrees for a full hour felt insane to me, but the moment I cracked the oven open after the cool-down they had this paper-thin shell that gave way to something actually airy inside. Not the weird chewy-gummy texture I'd been getting with other sweeteners, which I've since figured out was erythritol crystallizing too fast without enough stabilizer. The cream of tartar is doing serious structural work here and I think that's exactly what the other recipes were missing. Six batches in since March, and I've started swirling in peppermint extract and a little cocoa powder before piping (they hold their shape through the full bake, no weeping, no collapse). Took me way too long to find a meringue recipe that actually behaves like meringue.
Fourth batch and I finally landed on my version. A little almond extract alongside the vanilla took it from sweet-and-airy to something that actually tastes like a real cookie. The 200 degree slow bake is non-negotiable, you can't rush it. Only note: mine needed closer to 70-75 minutes before they were dry inside, not the full hour, so check before you pull them.
70-75 is right. The hour mark is just when to start checking.
Used almond extract instead of vanilla and these taste exactly like the Italian bakery meringues I grew up on. Same crispy shell, totally different vibe. Worth trying if you've got it.
Added a few drops of almond extract and some pink food coloring Saturday. Completely changed how I see this recipe. Almond in light meringue stays delicate instead of cloying (denser cookies don't do this), and the tint made them look like they came from an actual patisserie. Baked exactly at 200 for the full hour, no adjustments, still got that crispy shell with the cloud-soft inside. Making four colors for Easter in two weeks, double batch minimum. At 5 calories each I've been having a stack with my evening coffee every night this week and that's just not going to stop. The base takes modifications SO well, already planning lemon next.
That evening coffee stack at 5 calories each is exactly why I keep a batch on the counter. Lemon is going to be even better than the pink.
Just picked up all the ingredients to make these today and realized I only grabbed regular granular Swerve, not the powdered kind. Since the egg whites are so finicky I'm worried the granules won't fully dissolve while beating. Can I pulse it in the blender to make it finer first, or is it a total no-go and I need to run back to the store?
Blender trick works. Pulse it until it looks like powdered sugar. I've done it in a pinch. The finer the grind, the better it dissolves into the whites.
Added a tiny drop of almond extract and these went from good to freaking unreal. No idea why the recipe calls that 'optional.'
Optional means it works plain. One drop with four egg whites is the right amount, two and it starts tasting like marzipan.
I've tried probably four other keto meringue recipes and they all come out either gummy or flat. These have that paper-thin crunch on the outside with a soft center that I thought you actually needed real sugar to get. The low and slow at 200 does something the other versions completely miss.
200 is really the whole thing. Tested at 225 and 250, both of them dry the center completely. Glad this one finally delivered after four tries.
Meringue terrified me for years. All the warnings about weeping and humidity and whatever, I just kept putting it off. Finally tried these last Sunday and they came out exactly like the photos. Genuinely didn't expect that. That cloud-like inside with the crisp shell is freaking unreal for basically just egg whites and sweetener. I piped mine into little rosettes (first time using a piping bag), and they held their shape through the whole bake. Let them cool in the oven like you said, bit into one, and I couldn't believe there was no sugar. I want to try almond extract next time but I'm nervous about the extra liquid wrecking my stiff peaks. Safe amount to use, or should I just go with gel flavoring instead?
One drop. Peaks hold fine with four egg whites. Never bothered with gel for extracts.
Dropped rose water into the meringue and the flavor difference is enough that I'm not making these plain again. Let them sit past the hour mark as the oven cools. Clean snap through every one, no soft centers.
Rose water in meringue. I'm trying that. And yeah, the oven cooldown makes a real difference, I've pulled them early before and regretted it.
Fourth batch and I finally got brave enough to add just a tiny drop of almond extract (I was convinced I'd ruin them), and the smell when they came out of the oven was something else entirely. Still that same crispy shell with the cloud-like inside, just with this little extra something I can't stop thinking about. Vanilla is next.
Almond extract in meringue is so good. The smell when they come out is almost better than eating them. Vanilla's more forgiving than almond (harder to overdo it), so you can probably go past a drop without worrying.
Added a few drops of lemon extract, maybe 1/4 teaspoon, and it completely changed these. The lemon cuts through the sweetness so they stop tasting like a diet dessert and just taste like a dessert. Folded it in at the same point as the coloring, no issues. They do get more fragile with extract though, so pipe them smaller if you're making the same swap. The shell still holds but the inside gets even softer, almost melts before the crunch hits. Can't decide if that's 4 or 5 stars but I'm already on batch two.
The fragility is real with extracts. Sizing down helps. But batch two on a 4-star is basically a 5.
Never made meringue before. Kept hovering over the mixer waiting for it to fall apart, re-reading the cream of tartar step on loop. Stiff peaks happened faster than expected though, and they actually turned out. Crisp shell, soft middle. Mine got a little golden at the edges, oven probably runs warm. Still ate most of them.
Golden edges means about 15 degrees too hot. Try 185 next time. And eating most of them right away is the correct response.