Keto Peanut Butter Cookies with 3 Ingredients
Three ingredients, 18 minutes, done: peanut butter cookies made with peanut butter, erythritol and egg. No flour, no extra butter, the peanut butter delivers everything the cookie needs. Per piece: 1.5 g net carbs, 9 g fat and 4 g protein. Probably the easiest keto cookies out there, perfect when a sweet craving hits out of nowhere.
Key Takeaways
- Prep time: approx. 5 minutes active, 12 minutes baking, makes 12 cookies.
- Approx. 1.5 g net carbs and 9 g fat per cookie.
- Ingredients: peanut butter (unsweetened, no palm oil), erythritol, 1 egg, that's it.
- Great for a coffee break, workout snack or sweet nibble, keeps for 5 days.
Ingredients
The recipe makes 12 cookies. A coffee-break portion is 1 to 2 cookies (1.5 to 3 g net carbs); as a workout snack, 2 cookies before or after training.
| Amount | Ingredient | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peanut butter (100% peanuts, unsweetened) | - | |||
| Erythritol | - | |||
| Egg (medium, room temperature) | - | |||
| Salt | if the peanut butter is unsalted | |||
| if the peanut butter is unsalted | ||||
Preparation
-
Prep
approx. 2 minutes250 g Peanut butter (100% peanuts, unsweetened) Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C (top/bottom heat). Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Stir the peanut butter (250 g) in the jar with a spoon if any oil has settled at the top.
-
Mix the dough
approx. 3 minutes80 g Erythritol 1 pinch Salt if the peanut butter is unsalted In a bowl, stir peanut butter (250 g), erythritol (80 g), egg (1) and, if the peanut butter is unsalted, 1 pinch of salt with a spoon into a sticky, dark dough. The mixture looks crumbly at first but turns compact as you stir.
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Shape
approx. 5 minutesWith damp hands, shape 12 walnut-sized balls (approx. 28 g each) and place them on the tray 5 cm apart. Press with a fork in a crosshatch pattern (classic PB-cookie look) until the cookies are about 1 cm thick. Dip the fork in powdered erythritol or water between cookies so it does not stick.
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Bake
approx. 12 minutesBake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, the edges turn slightly golden while the center stays soft. Do not bake longer, or the cookies will turn dry and crumbly.
-
Cool
approx. 20 minutesLet the cookies rest on the tray for 5 minutes, they are very soft while hot and break easily. Then transfer carefully with a spatula to a wire rack and let cool completely (approx. 15 minutes). They only firm up as they cool.
You did it! Enjoy every delicious bite.
Which tips help with the keto peanut butter cookies?
- Stir the peanut butter well first, the oil often separates, which leads to uneven cookies.
- Shape with damp hands, the dough is very sticky.
- Dip the fork in powdered erythritol between cookies, prevents sticking and gives a cleaner pattern.
- Press cookies to about 1 cm thick, flatter = crunchy, thicker = soft.
- Straight from the oven they are very soft, let them rest 5 minutes on the tray before moving them.
Why these cookies work well on keto
Peanut butter is the main ingredient: approx. 8 g net carbs/100 g, 50 g fat, 25 g protein, a keto staple as long as it is pure peanut butter without sugar or palm oil. Each cookie uses around 21 g of peanut butter (1.7 g carbs, 11 g fat, 5 g protein). Erythritol replaces the classic sugar (a regular PB cookie recipe holds 100 g sugar = 100 g carbs saved). The egg binds the dough. Per cookie you end up with 1.5 g net carbs, 9 g fat and 4 g protein, a keto-friendly protein cookie.
Source: USDA FoodData Central, Peanut butter, smooth , FDDB Nutrition Database
Which peanut butter is keto-friendly?
Pure peanut butter with just one ingredient: ground peanuts. Additives to avoid: sugar (often 5 to 10 g/100 g added), palm oil (used for stability, changes the fat profile), honey or syrup. Brands like Whole Earth, Manilife, or any "100% peanut butter" are ideal. Spot checks at discount stores: 30% of "peanut butter" products contain sugar. Read the label carefully. Peanut butter with a small salt content is fine (often 0.5 to 1 g salt/100 g, actually tastes better).
Peanut butter as a protein source
Peanuts are botanically legumes (not nuts), but with 25 g protein and 50 g fat per 100 g they fit into keto. Each cookie adds 5 g protein, not huge, but very handy as a sweet snack with a protein angle. If you have a peanut allergy or are not into peanuts, you can swap in almond butter (3 g carbs/100 g) or cashew butter (8 g carbs), although cashew butter sits right at the edge of keto territory.
How to serve and vary the cookies
Fresh from the oven the cookies are very soft, they only firm up as they cool. From experience: a pinch of fleur de sel sprinkled on the still-warm cookie right after baking, sweet-and-salty like in an American bakery. With a glass of unsweetened almond milk or a black coffee, it makes a perfect afternoon snack.
Meal prep: storage
Keeps for 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. In the fridge 1 week (they firm up a bit there). Freezing: up to 2 months, wrapped individually in foil. Thaw 10 minutes at room temperature, the cookies soften again. Raw dough: 3 days in the fridge, then bake fresh.
Variations: chocolate chips, salt, jam
Chocolate chip version: stir in 30 g chopped 85% dark chocolate, turns them into "peanut butter chocolate chip cookies", +0.3 g carbs/cookie. Salt version: sprinkle fleur de sel on top right after baking. Jam version: press a small well into each cookie and fill with 1/2 tsp sugar-free strawberry jam, a wedding-classic look after baking. Almond butter version: swap peanut butter for almond butter, milder flavor, vegan-friendly.
Nutrition values
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per cookie (approx. 28 g) | Keto rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | approx. 430 kcal | approx. 120 kcal | Moderate per piece; peanut butter is very calorie-dense. |
| Moderate per piece; peanut butter is very calorie-dense. | |||
| Fat | approx. 32 g | approx. 9 g | Monounsaturated from peanuts; low share of saturated fat. |
| Monounsaturated from peanuts; low share of saturated fat. | |||
| Net carbs | approx. 5.5 g | approx. 1.5 g | Very low; only from peanuts, erythritol does not count. |
| Very low; only from peanuts, erythritol does not count. | |||
| Sugar | approx. 3.5 g | approx. 1 g | Natural sugar from peanuts. No added sugar. |
| Natural sugar from peanuts. No added sugar. | |||
| Protein | approx. 15 g | approx. 4 g | High for a baked good; peanuts and egg deliver protein. |
| High for a baked good; peanuts and egg deliver protein. | |||
| Salt | approx. 0.4 g | approx. 0.1 g | Low to moderate; depends on the salt level of the peanut butter. |
| Low to moderate; depends on the salt level of the peanut butter. | |||
Note: Nutrition values are estimated averages per 100 g and per serving and may vary depending on ingredients, brands, portion size, and preparation. They do not replace individual nutrition or medical advice.
FAQ
Does this also work with almond butter or cashew butter?
Yes: almond butter gives milder cookies with a less pronounced nutty flavor, around 1 g carbs/cookie. Cashew butter works too, but sits at the upper keto edge (8 g carbs/100 g), about 2.5 g carbs per cookie. Sunflower seed butter for peanut allergies is also an option, slightly bitter but keto-friendly (2 g carbs/100 g).
Why do my cookies spread too much while baking?
Peanut butter with too much oil (or palm oil) spreads more. Fix: rest the dough 30 seconds in the fridge, or add 1 tbsp almond flour, which absorbs the excess fat. With most natural brands (no palm oil) the cookies only spread a little.
Are the cookies suitable for diabetics?
Yes, very much so: 1.5 g net carbs per piece and erythritol has no blood sugar effect. Peanuts have a low glycemic index. Still, anyone on insulin should test individually, since with several cookies the fat content can also affect insulin sensitivity (a delayed glucose response is possible).
Can the cookies rise without baking powder?
They barely rise, and that is intentional. Classic 3-ingredient cookies are flat and short-crunchy, not fluffy. If you want fluffier cookies, add 1/2 tsp baking powder (turns it into a 4-ingredient version). The texture becomes lighter but less "crunchy".