Nothing conjures up memories of childhood baking quite like chocolate chip cookies. And if I’m being honest, they’re still my favorite. So when I set out to create a low carb version—it had to be just right. That means a soft, fluffy center and the perfect amount of chocolatey chips. No one will guess that these keto chocolate chip cookies are low carb.
Looking for more nostalgic keto desserts to bake? Check out my classic keto sugar cookies, keto peanut butter cookies, or make some new memories with some these keto no bake cookies.
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Chip Off the Old Block
These days I use a low carb chip (I love Lily’s Milk Chocolate Chips) but the starting point for this recipe was the classic yellow bag of Nestle Toll House Morsels—the ultimate in chocolate chip cookies. The bar was set high, and believe me when I tell you there were dozens of test batches before reaching a cookie that was worthy of the comparison.
Alternative baking can have its challenges— I wanted a dough that was easy to make and easy to enjoy. I didn’t want tons of chill time required (not for a chocolate chip cookie.) The result is one of my all-time favorite low carb spins. These cookies are my weakness. I literally only make them for the blog (or when I know I’ll have people over.) Otherwise, I’d eat these…and nothing else.
Which, to bring it full circle, does make me feel like a kid at heart! So be warned…these keto chocolate chip cookies are a simple joy and you may eat the whole batch by yourself—but they taste even better when you share them—with kids of all ages. 🥛🍪 – Linds x
Important Ingredient Notes
These low carb cookies come together with just a few staples… such as…
- Almond Flour – use a fine grain almond flour such as Bob’s Red Mill for the most flour-like texture. Almond meal is not a good sub here (or in any baked good for that matter).
- Xanthan Gum – since almond flour is gluten free, we’ll need to add xanthan gum to bind our ingredients together, DON’T SKIP! Guar gum and psyllium husk are not adequate substitutes.
- Swerve or Lakanto – are 2 specific keto sweeteners made of erythritol. If using a different brand of erythritol know that most products are 70% as sweet, so you’ll need to add more to achieve the same level of sweetness. I prefer granular here, although brown sugar erythritol works as well.
- Keto Chocolate – Lily’s sugar-free chocolate chips are my fave.
- Unsalted Butter – As with most chocolate chip cookie recipes, keeping your butter cold is the key to success — this is why we chill the dough before baking. Skip this step, and you run the risk of your low carb chocolate chip cookies spreading across the baking sheet.
- Cookie essentials: Baking soda, vanilla extract, eggs, kosher salt
- Pecans – optional, for a bit of crunch.
How to Make Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Combine almond flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine butter, erythritol, vanilla in a separate bowl.
- Add eggs.
- Slowly add the flour combo.
- Fold in chocolate chips and pecans.
- Scoop the dough onto a rimmed baking sheet.
- Flatten the tops of your cookies and place them in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes.
Can you Freeze Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Absolutely! These chewy keto chocolate chip cookies freeze oh-so-well. Place them on a baking sheet in a single, non-touching layer and toss them in your freezer for 1 hour. Remove the partially frozen cookies to a resealable bag — this prevents your low carb chocolate chip cookies from sticking together in the freezer.
Common Questions
Have a different question about this keto cookie recipe? Leave me a comment below!
- How to make keto chocolate chip cookies with coconut flour? Each keto flour has different baking characteristics, and can’t be substituted for one another without additional ingredients — so if you’d prefer to use coconut flour, I suggest following keto dessert recipes made with coconut flour, such as my coconut flour cookies.
- Can I use a different sugar substitute here? Low carb sweeteners can’t be substituted for one another, as each one has different baking characteristics and levels of sweetness. I’ve tested this recipe with both erythritol and allulose, and found that allulose doesn’t give baked goods the same structure, making them softer and less fluffy — another example is that stevia is 24x sweeter than erythritol.
- How do you keep keto cookies from crumbling? Keto cookies are made of gluten-free flours — and as many of you know, gluten acts as a glue to hold baked good ingredients together. Because of this, we need to add a binder (such as xanthan gum) to keep this keto chocolate chip cookie recipe from crumbling. If you skip or substitute this ingredient, your cookies won’t stay together.
- Where can I buy keto chocolate chip cookies? Keto chocolate chip cookies are easy to find on Amazon, I love the Highkey products.
- How many carbs are in a homemade chocolate chip cookie? This will vary on the recipe, but a traditional chocolate chip cookie has around 20g net carbs per cookie.
More Keto Cookies
- Keto Breakfast Cookies
- Keto Oatmeal Cookies
- Coconut Flour Cookies
- Keto Shortbread Cookies
- Keto Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 3/4 Cup Almond Flour (note 1)
- 1 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum (note 2)
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter softened (1 stick)
- 3/4 Cup Granular Swerve or Lakanto (note 3 + 4)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Cup Keto Chocolate chips (note 5)
- 1/2 Cup Pecans chopped. Optional
Instructions
- Dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour (1 3/4 Cup), xanthan gum (1 teaspoon), baking powder (1 teaspoon), and salt (1/4 teaspoon).
- Wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together butter (1/2 Cup), granulated erythritol (3/4 Cup), and vanilla extract (1 teaspoon). Beat until creamy. Add eggs (2) and beat until just incorporated. With beaters on, slowly add the flour combo to the butter. Stir in chocolate chips (1 cup) and chopped pecans (1/2 cup).
- Shape + chill. Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the dough into balls and place 1" apart on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper (you'll need 2 cookies sheets for this). Press the tops of your cookies down to form a disk. Place cookie sheets in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Bake. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the center of your cookies are cooked through. Allow your cookies to cool on the baking sheet before moving, and enjoy!
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Lindsey's Tips
- Almond Flour - Recommended products are Bob's Red Mill, Trader Joe's, or Costco brands, as they're very fine-grain, which will give you the most flour-like texture.
- Xanthan Gum - can't skip or sub (guar gum doesn't work here). This is necessary to bind the cookie ingredients together.
- Lakanto or Swerve, vs. Erythritol. Erythritol is 70% as sweet as Lakanto or Swerve, so if using a different brand of erythritol, adjust accordingly.
- Sweetener alternatives - Fun fact: allulose doesn't harden the same way erythritol products do. For this reason, using allulose will produce softer cookies that spread/burn more easily. I strongly suggest using erythritol-based products here!
- Chocolate chips - I use Lily's milk chocolate chips, use whatever brand/flavor you prefer.
