Keto No Bake Cookies
Published February 2, 2023 • Updated August 19, 2026
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I make these keto no bake cookies almost every week. Five minutes, no oven, and the oat fiber gives them that real oat flavor and crunch without a single carb from oatmeal.
If you’ve tried my Almond Flour Cookies or Small Batch Sugar Cookies, you know I think cookies belong on a keto diet. But creating a no bake version without all the carbs from oatmeal took me more rounds of testing than I expected.
Traditional recipes rely on oats as the star ingredient, and one cup of old fashioned oats has 50 grams of carbohydrates. That puts them off limits for any serious carb-conscious diet. I started experimenting with oat fiber as a replacement, and it works. Oat fiber is made from the insoluble fiber of the oat husk, so it has the same toasty flavor with zero net carbs. Combined with unsweetened coconut, chopped almonds, and peanut butter, you get a cookie that’s fudgy in the center and crunchy all the way through.
The technique is simple but the details matter. I bring the butter, cream, cocoa, and sweetener to a full rolling boil for one minute. That step is non-negotiable. I skipped it on my second batch ever and the cookies never held together. Once you pull the pot off the heat, stir everything else right in. No mixer, no separate bowls, no oven.
Here’s the part most people get wrong: the freeze time. I give mine 30 minutes, the short end of the 30-60 minute freeze range. At 30, the center stays fudgy while the edges firm up solid. The full 60 sets them harder all the way through, so I stay at the short end for that texture contrast. If your freezer is too small for a full sheet pan, spread the mixture into a small parchment-lined pan and cut into bars once it’s cold. Cuts way cleaner than scooping individual cookies and stores easier too.
I keep a batch in the freezer at all times. When I need a low carb dessert that takes zero effort, I grab two straight from the freezer and they’re ready to eat. If you love the peanut butter and chocolate combination as much as I do, my Keto Peanut Butter Mousse and Keto Peanut Butter Pie hit that same craving. For pure chocolate, try my Keto Chocolate Mousse.
Key ingredients and swaps I've tested
The ingredient list looks simple, but I’ve tested enough swaps to know what matters and what doesn’t.
Key ingredients and substitutions
- Sweetener: I use allulose because it doesn’t recrystallize when frozen. Erythritol and monkfruit sweeteners like Lakanto or Swerve work too, but they can form a cloudy layer on the surface after freezing. Purely cosmetic, not a taste issue.
- Cocoa powder: I bump mine to 1/3 cup from the start. The original 1/4 cup is fine, but if you want the chocolate flavor louder (and I always do), that extra cocoa makes a real difference.
- Unsweetened coconut: Shredded works best. Avoid large flaked coconut because it won’t hold the cookies together. Double check the label for added sugar.
- Chopped almonds: Any nut works here. Pecans, walnuts, and macadamia nuts are all solid swaps. If you love coconut and almonds together, try my Keto Coconut Joys for a similar flavor combination.
- Peanut butter: Creamy, unsweetened, peanuts-only on the label. I wouldn’t swap another nut butter here because the flavor changes too much, but unsweetened almond butter works if you need it.
- Oat fiber: Not oatmeal, not oat bran. Oat fiber is the insoluble fiber from oat husks, which is why it’s zero net carbs. It’s the ingredient that makes this whole recipe possible on keto.
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Ingredients
1 cup sugar-free sweetener -
½ cup heavy cream
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½ cup unsalted butter
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¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
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2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
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1 cup chopped almonds
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1 cup no-sugar added peanut butter
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¼ cup oat fiber
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1 tablespoon vanilla extract
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pinch of salt
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Heat ingredients
Add sweetener, cream, butter and cocoa powder to a large sauce pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Bring mixture to a boil and let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- 1 cup sugar-free sweetener
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Add remaining ingredients
Stir in coconut, almonds, peanut butter, oat fiber, vanilla and salt.
- 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped almonds
- 1 cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup oat fiber
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Drop & freeze
Drop heaping tablespoons of the cookie mixture onto a parchment or wax paper lined baking tray. Freeze tray for 30-60 minutes or until cookies are cooled and hardened.
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
What can I substitute for coconut in these cookies?
I get this question constantly. The best swap I've found is adding more chopped nuts. Use an extra cup of almonds, pecans, or walnuts in place of the coconut. The texture is a little different (you lose some of that chewy shred), but the cookies still hold together and taste great. I've also had readers try unsweetened coconut flour as a swap, but I haven't tested that ratio myself.
Why won't my no bake cookies set up?
Nine times out of ten, this comes down to the boil. I need a full rolling boil for one minute, not a gentle simmer. That boil is what lets the butter, cocoa, and sweetener emulsify into a base that actually firms up when cold. If you pulled it off the heat too early, the mixture stays soft no matter how long you freeze it. The other possibility is freeze time. I give mine at least 30 minutes and they're solid. If yours are still soft after 60 minutes, try moving them to a colder spot in the freezer.
Can I make these dairy-free?
I haven't tested a fully dairy-free version myself, but one of my readers, Kimberly, swapped the heavy cream for Califia Farms dairy-free heavy cream alternative (zero carbs) and said it worked perfectly. I'd use coconut oil in place of the butter if you're going fully dairy-free. The flavor shifts slightly toward coconut, which works well with the shredded coconut already in the recipe.
What is oat fiber and where do I buy it?
Oat fiber is the insoluble fiber from oat husks, ground into a fine powder. It's not oatmeal and it's not oat bran. It has zero net carbs and zero calories, which is why I use it in this recipe instead of rolled oats. I buy mine on Amazon (I use the NuNaturals brand), but some health food stores carry it too. It's the one ingredient you probably don't already have, but it's worth ordering because I use it in several keto recipes.
Is peanut butter keto?
Yes, and I use it constantly. The key is checking the label for peanuts-only ingredients. A lot of brands sneak in sugar, honey, or palm oil. I stick with the natural kind where you can see the oil separation at the top. That tells me there's nothing added.
What's the difference between haystack and no bake cookies?
Haystacks use crunchy chow mein noodles as the base, while the traditional version uses oatmeal (or in my case, oat fiber). Both are stovetop cookies you don't bake in an oven. I prefer the texture of this version because the oat fiber and peanut butter create a fudgier bite than the crispy haystack approach.
Can coconut oil be substituted for the butter?
Yes, I've tested this and it works fine. The texture is almost identical once the cookies set up in the freezer. You lose a tiny bit of that buttery richness, but the cocoa and peanut butter carry most of the flavor anyway. I use the same amount, melted.
How long do these last in the freezer?
Mine last 1-2 months in the freezer with no change in taste or texture. I store them in a single layer in a freezer bag with parchment between layers so they don't stick together. I've eaten ones that were in there for close to 8 weeks and they tasted the same as day one.
How many carbs are in one no bake cookie?
One of my keto no bake cookies has 2.2 grams of net carbs and 6.3 grams of total carbs. Each cookie also has 175 calories, 16.2 grams of fat, and 4 grams of protein, and the batch makes 24. Traditional versions lean on rolled oats, and one cup of oats alone carries 50 grams of carbs. Swapping in oat fiber is how I keep the count this low.
What is the secret to no bake cookies?
The full rolling boil. I bring the sweetener, cream, butter, and cocoa powder to a boil and let it boil for one full minute before stirring in everything else. Skip that and the cookies never firm up. After that, the freezer does the rest: 30-60 minutes until they harden.
The coconut comes through strong, as my kids made pretty clear. Two went right through them, one spent four minutes fishing out every shred. I'm cutting back to a cup next batch. The oat fiber and peanut butter underneath have more going on.
add a pinch more salt, the chocolate really pops
Confession: my mom made these every year when I was growing up, and I wrote them off as gone once I went keto. The oat fiber is doing real work here, that slightly grainy texture I remembered. If your kitchen runs warm, give them a full 20 minutes in the freezer before moving them, mine were too soft at first. Four stars, but grateful this one came back.
I use crunchy peanut butter. Extra bite.
I do this now too. The almonds are already giving crunch, so smooth peanut butter always felt like a missed opportunity. Good call, Danielle.
Made these last week and already needed a second batch.
I just started making a double batch. Same thing happened to me. One batch is basically a test run.
bookmarking this for the 4th of july weekend
No oven on a holiday weekend is exactly why I reach for this one. Make them a day ahead and keep them in the freezer - they're good for two months and you can eat them straight from frozen.
Wasn't sure I could pull off the stovetop part without scorching everything, but it came together faster than I expected. The second the peanut butter hit the mixture I knew it was going somewhere good. Still can't wrap my head around 2.2 net carbs. Already planning a second batch this weekend.
That peanut butter smell is the signal. It goes from loose cocoa syrup to something that actually looks like cookie dough in about 30 seconds. The 2.2 net carbs are real, I ran the math twice.
24 servings from one batch and they actually hold shape out of the freezer, which is more than my other no-bake attempts can say. Whatever the coconut-to-peanut-butter ratio is here, it works where others didn't. Would push to five stars if I could dial the coconut back slightly, but that's just me.
The peanut butter holds everything together. For less coconut, Morgan, I'd pull half and just swap in more almonds. They'll set the same.
5 minutes (I timed it). Not a sales pitch.
thought i'd grieved these permanently. 2.2 net carbs.
The grief was real until I worked out the oat fiber ratio. I've made these every week since.
No oven in this heat and my daughter found the stash before they fully set, so I'm already making double next time.
Pre-set ones go first in my house too. Freezer gets them set in about 20 minutes if you need a better hiding spot.
Swapped the almonds for macadamia nuts and the difference is wild. Made them yesterday (too hot for the oven) and I've already eaten six. Four stars because I have zero self control.
Macadamia has a butteriness almonds just can't. Six tracks.
Seven batches in, and no-bake really lives up in June. Last round I swapped half the peanut butter for cashew butter. It softened the flavor, let the cocoa come through cleaner, and I think I actually prefer the balance. One thing: I add an extra pinch of salt now. The cocoa needs it.
Cashew is milder so the cocoa isn't competing with anything. Makes sense that the balance shifted. And the salt is right, I always think cocoa wants more than the recipe says.
Swapped the almonds for pecans because I ran out, and the texture ended up noticeably softer and fudgier in the center. Still got that oat fiber chew, just with more give. It's a small change but I think I actually prefer it now.
That tracks. Pecans are softer to start with so the center was always going to give more. Might try half almonds, half pecans next batch to get both textures.
The oat fiber actually delivers, you get a real chew instead of just a chocolate fudge puck. Only note is to watch your freeze time, mine came out harder than I wanted, but that's a quick fix. Already thinking double batch.
Ha, chocolate fudge puck is exactly right for the ones without oat fiber. 20-25 minutes is all they need. They keep setting after you pull them out, so longer just makes them harder.