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These Low-Carb Peanut Butter Cookies are a delicious, healthy way to satisfy your cookie craving! They come together in 1 bowl with only 5 ingredients for a super easy treat.
Why you should make this recipe
If you’re like me and have a weakness for cookies, you’ll love these low-carb peanut butter cookies! They’re perfectly chewy and delicious, and you can eat more than one without overloading on sugar.
In fact, these cookies are completely sugar-free and only have 4 grams of carbs (mostly fiber) per cookie! This makes them suitable for even a ketogenic diet.
If you’ve never made these before, you’re in for a treat! The batter comes together in just 1 bowl using 5 simple ingredients. No fancy kitchen equipment is needed, just mix it all up and bake!
I recommend making these cookies at the start of the week so you have a treat ready to enjoy or share with friends and family. They will be amazed at how easy and tasty low-carb baking can be.
Ingredients
These keto peanut butter cookies call for 5 simple ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen.
- peanut butter: make sure to use classic peanut butter with no added sugar. Smooth, creamy peanut butter is the best in this recipe.
- egg
- erythritol: powdered erythritol works best in this peanut butter cookie recipe (you can blend regular erythritol or use low-carb confectioner’s sweetener)
- baking soda
- vanilla extract
Step-by-step instructions
You can see how I make this keto cookie recipe in this short video or read the step-by-step instructions below.
It only takes about 5 minutes to mix up the batter, and then you’ll have a delicious treat ready to be enjoyed throughout the week!
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Step 2: Add the erythritol to a Nutribullet or blender and blend until powdered. Set aside. If using a confectioner’s low-carb sweetener, you can skip this step.
Step 3: Add a cup of peanut butter, egg, powdered erythritol, baking soda, and vanilla extract into a medium mixing bowl. Mix until smooth, glossy dough forms.
Step 4: Roll about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough between your palms to form a ball, then place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all dough has been used. You should end up with 12-14 cookies.
Step 5: Use a fork to flatten the cookies, creating a criss-cross pattern across the top.
Step 6: Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes.
Step 7: Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 25 minutes on the baking tray, then transfer to a cooling rack for another 15 minutes.
Now your cookies are ready to be enjoyed! How easy were these 5 ingredient peanut butter cookies?!
Expert tips
Even though your cookies are going to smell amazing when you take them out of the oven, resist the urge to sample one right away! Make sure you give them the full amount of time to cool on the baking tray and the cooling rack.
Because this recipe does not contain any flour, the cooling step is crucial to allow the cookies to firm up. The longer they are able to cool, the better the texture will be. You don’t want them to fall apart when you eat them!
Be patient with these. I promise it’s worth it 🙂
Variations
There are a few different variations for this recipe that you can try. Don’t be afraid to get creative!
- We all know that peanut butter and chocolate are a classic combination. For a little extra sweetness, add some sugar-free chocolate chips for peanut butter chocolate cookies.
- For a truly decadent treat, half-dip each cookie in melted sugar-free dark chocolate to make the best chocolate peanut butter cookies. This takes it to a WHOLE new level! Just be sure you allow the cookies to fully cool before dipping.
- To give the cookies a nutty texture, try using crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy peanut butter.
- You can also swap out the peanut butter altogether and use different nut butter. Cashew or almond butter would work well in this recipe!
Keep in mind that the natural peanut butter will add the most taste to the cookies, but if you prefer not to use it or have an allergy, any nut butter will do.
Storage
I recommend storing these keto peanut butter cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. They will stay fresh, soft, and delicious!
For longer storage, you can freeze them instead and enjoy for several months.
Nutrition
This peanut butter cookie recipe is naturally gluten-free and dairy free. They are also free from any flours, making it all the more easy and practical to whip up a healthy low-carb cookie treat.
Each cookie has just 4 grams of carbs and only 2.8 grams of net carbs, making it a wonderful treat for those following a keto or low-carb diet.
Even though these are a healthier option because they are lower in carbs than traditional peanut butter cookies, it’s important to remember it is still very much a treat. Therefore, it should be enjoyed in moderation and never on an empty stomach.
Learn more: Is Peanut Butter Good for People Living with Diabetes?
Frequently asked questions
Plain peanut butter is keto compliant and suitable for those following a low-carb diet. But stick to good quality peanut butter that is free from added sugars and other additives. Flavored peanut butter is not ideal as it is usually higher in carbs from added sugars and flavorings.
Peanut butters that have only 1 or 2 ingredients are best for the keto diet. It should be plain and natural peanut butter with only peanuts and possibly salt. Chunky or creamy peanut butter are both suitable for keto and low-carb diets.
When making keto and low-carb cookies, use erythritol-based sweeteners for the best results. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that mimics sugar in its molecular structure. This makes it a great option because it browns nicely, yielding a very crispy texture. More importantly, erythritol does not impact blood sugar at all due it its zero carb count. It is an excellent sugar substitute for people with diabetes.
Other healthy dessert recipes
I believe a healthy diet should absolutely include dessert! If you’re looking for a few more treats that you can enjoy guilt-free, check out these recipes I know you’ll love:
You can also read this roundup of my favorite 10 diabetic cookie recipes for even more delicious inspiration!
When you’ve tried these cookies, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked them and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Low-Carb Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, (no added salt and sugar)
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup erythritol, (powdered)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Skip this step if using a confectioner's low-carb sweetener. Add the erythritol to a Nutribullet or blender and blend until powdered. Set aside.
- Add all of the ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and mix until a smooth, glossy dough forms.1 cup creamy peanut butter, 1 large egg, ⅔ cup erythritol, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Roll about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough between your palms to form a ball, then transfer to the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until all dough has been used. You should end up with 12-14 cookies.
- Use a fork to flatten the cookies, creating a criss-cross pattern across the top.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 25 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack for another 15 minutes.
Notes
- To add chocolate, you can mix sugar-free chocolate chips into the batter or dip the cookies (once cooled) into melted sugar-free chocolate.
- You can use crunchy peanut butter to add a nutty texture.
- The peanut butter can be substituted with any nut butter, but keep in mind that peanut butter will add the most taste.
kim plummer
can i use granulated sweetner made with sucralose
Christel Oerum
That should be fine but there is a bit of controversy when it comes to artificial sweeteners. You can read more about it in this article, look under “Artificial Sweeteners (FDA approved only)” https://diabetesstrong.com/how-natural-artificial-sweeteners-affect-blood-sugar/
Steve S.
This is the second peanut butter cookies recipe that I made. Your recipe is the best.
Hilda
I made these today and added chopped pecans. They are good but will use 1 cup of Swerve confectioners sugar next time so they will be a little sweeter.
Peter
I made these cookies last week and now about to do a second batch because they were great. I used monk fruit and powdered it in a blender, used crunchy peanut paste too.
Jo Ann Phillips
I cannot handle Erythritol. Can I use stevia or monkfruit?
Christel Oerum
Yes, that will work as well
Kim
I used a granulated Erythritol/Monkfruit blend sweetener in these and blended it into a powder. While we thought the cookies were decent, the ground erythritol sweetener seems to have left a strange “cooling” sensation in the mouth when eating them, which is great for mint or chocolate type things, but very strange with a peanut butter cookie. Is there a way to get ground erythritol to not have that effect? (apparently, its a well known chemical reaction).
Christel Oerum
You could use a Stevia sweetener instead
SUNNY
I made these cookies with Swerve brown sugar. They were delicious! No funky after taste! Wonderful!
Vernita
I made the cookies and followed it exactly they were not good. The peanut butter bomb “was the bomb” for me!!! I added Splenda to my chocolate ganache and that “sweetened the deal”!!!
Jill
Did you grind the brown sugar before using it? Thanks for your help.
Brooke Layton
I’m confused by the math here. Can you please post how you did the math to get 4g carb per cookie? Every time I do it, I come up with 12.67g per cookie.
Thank you!
Christel Oerum
1 cup peanut butter = 48 g carbs / 12 = 4
You probably get to ~13 because you include the sweetener. Since it doesn’t get converted into glucose, we don’t include the sweetener in our carb count
Phil
I would love to make these biscuits, they look great. But I’m confused over the ingredients. there are 2 cups full of ingredients and 2 tablespoons full of mixture makes one biscuit. Surely 2 cups full of mixture can’t make 16 biscuits T that rate. Is there some flour missing from the recipe? Erythritol is a sweetener, not a flour, so where is the flour substitute? I have a 250g pack of pure via 100% Erythritol sugar alternative. Is that what I use, and no flour or flour substitute? Also, it says blend Erythritol in a bullet until powdered. This Pack I have IS powder already. I don’t get it. Have I got the wrong stuff. Please advise.
Christel Oerum
No flour missing, this recipe is basically just egg, peanut butter, and sweetener. If you look right below the first paragraph under “How to make low-carb peanut butter cookies” you’ll see a video on how it all comes together.
If your sweetener is already powdered you don’t have to blend it (see step 2), just pour it in and mix it all together
Jerri
These are so delicious. I love that they are super soft. I’ll be making these often