These Keto Macaroons can be your new go-to easy baked good. Six ingredients. Five minutes to mix and scoop. Thirty minutes to bake. Done. These low carb Keto Coconut Macaroons are also Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, and a THM S with only 1.9 net carbs per serving.
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These low carb coconut macaroons are one of the easiest cookie recipes I have ever made. We went away with another family for the weekend and I brought some very basic baking supplies because I knew I would want something sweet and suitable for a keto diet before the weekend was over. This is what I came up with while staying in a very limited kitchen with very limited supplies. And they were absolutely delicious.
I've been working hard on cutting back dairy in my diet. My easiest switch was beginning to use cashew or almond milk in my coffee in the morning. Harder is giving up creamy desserts and cheesy dinners. I'm trying to do one or two dairy-free meals a day in the hope that it will help me break my weight loss plateau.
Having dairy-free treats like these Keto Coconut Macaroons on hand is a must in my book. One that mixes up in just 5 minutes is even better.
Just a few minutes and you will have this gluten free coconut macaroons recipe in the oven! I hope it becomes one of your favorite easy low carb keto desserts.
Ingredients
Finely Shredded Coconut - This is very fine unsweetened shredded coconut. Make sure the bag says 'finely shredded' and the texture of the individual flakes is like sawdust.
Coconut Milk - I use full-fat canned coconut milk in this recipe.
Sweetener - I use a blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia in my recipes. It tastes like sugar but is twice as sweet so you need less. I do offer substitutions in the recipe card.
Eggs - Eggs are the binding agent that hold the cookies together. You can use just egg whites if you prefer.
Coconut Flour - I add a bit of coconut flour to thicken up the cookie batter.
Sugar Free Chocolate Chips - Any variety of keto chocolate chips are fine: semisweet, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate.
How to make Keto Coconut Macaroons
This is just about the easiest recipe ever. One dirty bowl and two dirty cookie sheets. And a measuring spoon or two. That's it. I even simplify further and line my cookie sheets with parchment paper but that's optional. Simply mix together six ingredients, scoop cookies, and bake. My kids can make these all on their own. Which is fine with me.
Step One: Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl. I mix everything besides the chocolate chips in the large mixing bowl first and then fold those in.
Expert Tip: If you use FINELY shredded coconut your mixture should look like my photos and not be overly wet.
Step Two: Form the mixture into two dozen cookies using a large cookie scoop. Press them down lightly with your fingers. Place on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Step Three: Bake until they are firm to the touch with golden edges.
Variations
You can leave the chocolate chips out for plain macaroons, add some nuts, add your favorite extract, and easily adapt this recipe for your own family. Last time I made these easy gluten free keto coconut macaroons I made half with sugar free chocolate chips mixed in and made the other half into Triple Chocolate Macaroons with cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and a melted sugar-free chocolate drizzle.
White Chocolate Cranberry - My new favorite variation is adding a dash of vanilla extract, chewy unsweetened dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips!
Bars - Want bars instead of keto cookies? Try my keto coconut bars or these healthy coconut bars from my friend Sarah at My Montana Kitchen.
Extracts - To really boost the coconut flavor add some coconut extract. Love almonds? Add almond extract. Pure vanilla extract also gives the cookies a nice flavor.
Common Questions
What are Coconut Macaroons?
Macaroons are a chewy cookie made primarily from coconut. These differ from the French Macaron which is an almond flour based sandwich cookie. Both are delicious but macarons are very delicate and tricky to make. I've tried to make a keto version a few times and could never get it right. They seem to be one of the few recipes that really do need cane sugar to succeed.
Why Should I Use Parchment Paper for Cookies?
I always use parchment when baking cookies just for the ease of clean up. I buy one huge pack at Costco and it lasts me years even with all the baking I do for this blog. I highly recommend it!
What is Finely Shredded Coconut?
Finely shredded coconut is unsweetened coconut in very very thin pieces. It looks almost like sawdust. If you use coconut with bigger flakes this recipe will not work.
When I first published this keto coconut macaroons recipe I just put 8 oz of finely shredded coconut flakes because that is a standard measurement and then you can just dump in the whole bag. A lot of people translated that to 1 cup of finely shredded coconut. Not the same thing. Coconut is light and fluffy so 8 oz of unsweetened coconut flakes is actually 2 ½ cups.
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Ingredients
- 8 oz finely shredded coconut this is equal to 2 ½ cups
- 13.5 oz coconut milk full fat canned
- 1 cup sugar free chocolate chips
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Mix together all the ingredients until well combined. Drop 24 heaping tablespoons onto 2 cookie sheets.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are golden and the cookies are slightly firm to the touch.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally Published November 11, 2016. Revised and Republished April 25, 2022.
Mary G says
What brand of finely shredded coconut did you use for the recipe?
Taryn says
I've used this one before: https://amzn.to/3LtYMZC
B says
I have made these many times and we love them! I did find that the kind of coconut cream is a big difference. I only had one can left and it was more like coconut milk unfortunately. Added a tad more coconut flour and that helped a little.
Jordan says
These look great. I don’t have coconut milk, so wondering if I could sub almond or regular milk? Thank you.
Taryn says
Half and half would be a better sub. Or part cream and part milk. Start with half the amount listed and add until it is the consistency in my photos. And make sure you have the very finely shredded coconut.
Kim says
So can you use half and half cream instead of coconut milk?
Taryn says
I think so. I would use less. Start with 2/3 cup and then check the consistency compared to my photos.
Christine says
Delicious! Only substitution is that I used 2/3 cups of Swerve Confectioners sugar and added a bit of vanilla extract. Thought the dough was really wet and was nervous they wouldn't turn out. But they are so good and the texture is great too. Happy to find a NUT FREE Keto dessert, as it seems so many of them have nuts, which make me sick when I eat too much of them.
Michele says
I used a little bit more sweetener as I used erythitol/monk fruit, as well as some vanilla extract. Very good, slightly chewy, and very satisfying! I ate one the next morning and found that they had gotten significantly softer and crumbly, so I put them in the fridge and they firmed right up!
Andrea says
If I froze these, would they defrost nicely and still taste good? I'm pregnant and wanting to make as many freezer meals/desserts as possible and LOVE these macaroons! I've made them a handful of times now 🙂
Taryn says
They do freeze well. I'd suggest wrapping them one or two at a time in plastic wrap and then putting in a large ziploc bag.
Milisa says
I am a chocolate chip fanatic, can't wait to make these!
Lucy says
Yum I love that these macaroons are so easy to put together! Big fan of coconut so pinning these to make next baking day.
Lani says
Tried this today to take to a bday potluck. The taste was delicious but they came out flat and crumbly. Ugh. But these were tasty and I tried the 2nd batch with added cocoa powder. They’re baking right now so hope these don’t flatten like the first batch! Will update later.
Taryn says
Did you use finely shredded coconut?
Lani says
Yes I used finely shredded coconut. The 2nd batch still came out crumbly and flat as a pancake. I let them bake for 15 mins then watched until the edges would turn brown and still felt like it was pretty crumbly. I followed the recipe exactly. Was disappointed they didn’t look like the pic. Not sure why this didn’t work out.
Taryn says
I'm not sure. Did you use a full 8 oz bag of finely shredded coconut? What did the dough look like when you scooped it? Like my photos?
Vosha says
If I want to use just egg whites to keep the pure white color, do I use the same amount of eggs? Or should I add one more?
Taryn says
I would add one more.
Janet C. says
So easy and so tasty! Brought them into work and they were a big hit. I'm making my second batch now.
Linda McDonald says
Not sure if this will matter or not, but every single recipe for coconut macaroons I've seen uses only egg WHITES for some reason, yours uses all of the egg including yolks. Any idea why it works in yours and not in others? So annoying separating eggs and yolks anyway isn't it?
Taryn says
You can definitely use whole eggs in macaroons. I think most macaroon recipes call for just the white so the macaroons are pure white. That is not something I care about (they just need to taste good!) so I go ahead and use the whole egg.
Linda says
wish I could post a pic here but macaroons are in oven with the coconut milk spreading out in a puddle around each one! any idea why this is happening? seemed like an awful lot of liquid in there to me I noticed when mixing. Thanks~!
Taryn says
Did you use FINELY shredded coconut? It has to be fine or they don't absorb all the liquid. You can email me a pic at taryn @ joyfilledeats.com but they should be yummy anyway. My magic cookies lose a little liquid as they bake and they are still great.
Louise says
The same thing happened to me. This recipe is missing something.
Taryn says
Can you share which brand of coconut you used?
Stacy says
WOW!!!! I am SERIOUSLY impressed! I made these today and just ate one....oh I am soooo happy!
I used stevia to make them, used the amount suggested in the recipe and it is sweet enough for me.
THANK YOU FOR THIS TASTY RECIPE!!!
Jeffrie Story says
These are terrific!!!! I made them exactly as written, for a friend who can't eat gluten or dairy. I didn't think I'd like chocolate with coconut, but they're really good. I WILL be making them again and again. Thank you for this recipe!