These easy low carb pecan cookies need just three ingredients: pecans, an egg and a sugar free sweetener. They're soft, nutty, naturally gluten free and keto friendly, and you can have a batch out of the oven in about 20 minutes!
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This recipe is SO simple! The cookies can be prepared and baked in no time, so they're perfect for when you need a low carb sweet treat - and they really do only need three ingredients. There's no flour, no butter and no sugar, just the rich, toasty flavor of pecans in every bite.
The timing couldn't be better, either. Pecans are a trending flavor this fall, showing up in everything from coffee drinks to pies, and these cookies are an easy, sugar free way to get in on it without blowing your carbs for the day.
Love cookies? Check out all my low carb cookie recipes!
Watch my recipe video, or scroll down for the full instructions and printable recipe card!
What Is Pecan Flour?
Pecan flour is simply pecans ground down into a fine, soft powder. You'll also see it sold as pecan meal, which is usually a little coarser. Both are grain free, gluten free and naturally low in carbs, because pecans are mostly healthy fat and fiber. That makes pecan flour a great keto baking ingredient, and it has a sweeter, more buttery flavor than almond flour.
For these cookies you grind your own pecans, which takes seconds and gives you the freshest flavor. If you'd rather skip that step, store-bought pecan flour works too: use about 1 cup (110 g) in place of the chopped pecans. You can find it in the baking aisle of larger grocery stores and health food shops, or order a bag of Nature's Eats pecan flour online. Because nut flours are high in oil, keep the bag sealed in the fridge or freezer so it stays fresh.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pecans. The star of the show. Chopped pecans or pecan halves both work, since they get ground anyway. Pecan flour or pecan meal can be swapped in cup for cup. Walnuts work in a pinch, though the cookies will taste a little more bitter.
- Egg. One egg binds the ground nuts into a soft dough. Use a large egg; a small one can leave the mixture too dry to hold together.
- Sugar free sweetener. I use Lakanto monk fruit sweetener, which measures like sugar. Any granulated monk fruit or stevia blend that measures cup for cup with sugar will work the same way.
How to Make Low Carb Pecan Cookies
First you'll need to grind up the pecans - use a food processor or the blade attachment on a stick blender. The pecans are reduced to dust in just a few seconds! The finer the nuts, the better the cookies will be.
In a bowl, add an egg and beat to mix. Pour in the ground pecans and add the sweetener. Mix well - it forms a loose "dough" very quickly.
Divide it into 12 portions and use a teaspoon to place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Flatten each one a little with the back of the spoon.
Bake in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes until firm. Let them cool on the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Seriously, these cookies are SO easy!
Helpful Tips
Grind in short pulses. You want a fine meal, not pecan butter. Pulse the nuts in short bursts and stop as soon as they look like coarse sand. If you keep going, the oils start to release and the mixture turns pasty, which gives you greasy, flat cookies.
Keep the cookies small. One cup of pecans makes 12 small cookies, about a heaped teaspoon each. Smaller cookies bake evenly and hold together better than big ones, since there's no flour to give them structure.
Let them cool before moving. The cookies are very soft straight out of the oven and firm up as they cool. Give them 5 minutes on the tray before you lift them onto a rack, or they may break.
Watch the edges, not the clock. Ovens vary, and nuts can go from toasty to burnt quickly. Start checking at 8 minutes; they're done when the tops feel set and the edges are just turning golden.
Toast the pecans for extra flavor. For a deeper, more caramel-like taste, toast the pecans in a dry skillet for 3-4 minutes and let them cool completely before grinding.
Variations
- Maple pecan cookies. Stir ½ teaspoon of maple extract into the egg before adding the nuts, and press a pecan half on top of each cookie before baking. It tastes like a sugar free pecan praline. If you love that flavor, try my Keto Maple Nut Pralines too.
- Chocolate chip pecan cookies. Fold 2 tablespoons of Lily's sugar free chocolate chips into the dough. This adds a little to the carb count, so check the label on your chips.
- Cinnamon spice. Add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for a cozy fall version.
- Salted pecan. Sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt on each cookie before baking to balance the sweetness.
- Vanilla. A ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract makes them taste more like a classic butter cookie.
Serving Ideas
These cookies are lovely with a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon, and they're small enough to tuck into a lunchbox as a keto snack. Two cookies make one serving, so it's easy to keep portions in check.
For dessert, drizzle them with a little Low Carb Caramel Sauce, or sandwich a scoop of Sugar Free No Carb Ice Cream between two cookies for a quick ice cream sandwich. They also make a nice addition to a holiday cookie tray alongside chocolate and almond cookies.
Storing & Freezing
These cookies are at their best on the day they're baked, when the edges are slightly crisp. Once completely cool, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day, or in the fridge for up to 4 days. They'll get a little softer as they sit, but they still taste good!
To freeze, lay the cooled cookies in a single layer on a tray until firm, then move them to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for about 20 minutes. If you'd like to bring back a bit of crispness, warm them in a 300°F oven for 3-4 minutes.
More Low Carb Cookies & Pecan Treats
If you loved this recipe, here are a few more you might enjoy:
- Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Low Carb Amaretti Cookies
- Low Carb Pecan Pie Brownies
- Low Carb Caramelized Pecans
📖 Recipe
Easy Low Carb Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Grind the pecans in a food processor (or with a stick blender's chopper attachment) using short pulses until they look like fine sand. Stop before they turn into nut butter.
- Crack the egg into a mixing bowl and whisk until lightly beaten. Add the ground pecans and sweetener and stir until a soft, loose dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 12 portions (about a heaped teaspoon each), place them on the lined baking sheet and flatten each one slightly with the back of the spoon.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the tops are set and the edges are just turning golden.
- Leave the cookies on the tray for 5 minutes to firm up, then transfer to a cooling rack. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is my best approximation. Net carbs are calculated as the total grams carbs minus the total grams of fiber.
Lynn says
You could ask just buy pecan meal
Elizabeth Smock says
I can buy pecan meal at my local grocery store--it's cheaper than pecans, and very finely ground. How much meal should I use?
Georgina says
1 cup pecan halves is approximately 100g or 3.5oz. Hope that helps!
Janet says
Thank you! So easy! I will use the Stevia instead of splenda. I will see if that works.
Dawn VanZandt says
will this work on parchment paper instead of a silicone mat?
Georgina says
Yes, absolutely!
Martha says
I’m Adding Lilly’s dark SF chocolate chips to this scrumptious recipe! Thanks.
Georgina says
That's a wonderful idea!
suzanne says
could you add strawberries somehow?
Georgina says
I guess you could... if you chopped them up finely... But I haven't done this before, so if you try it, let me know!
Laura says
I have added cinnamon to mine. Very good!
RandyH says
I'm thinking some finely shredded coconut might work well too. 🙂
Sarah says
These are delicious, however, mine never flattened out the way yours have in the photo. Any advice?
Georgina says
Which sweetener did you use, out of interest?
Rose says
Mine didn't neither and kind of dry too ☹️
Barb says
Could I use Liquid no carb sweetener with these ?
Georgina says
You could but I haven't tested the recipe with it so I wouldn't be sure about what quantity to use or how it might affect the final texture!
RandyH says
Any suggestions for trying it with other nuts? Brazil, macadamia, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, ...?
Georgina says
I'm sure walnuts would work just as well!
RandyH says
I tried with some old macadamia nuts we had. The cookies were good, but tasted a little stale (just like the nuts did). I made a few "as is" and then added some Lily's chocolate chips and some finely shredded unsweetened coconut to the remaining dough. They were MUCH better.
Amy says
I used Erythritol and had to add ~7 minutes to the bake time, just an FYI to others who may use that sweetener.
Krystel says
Can you use stevia instead of xylitol or Swerve?
Georgina says
I haven't tried this recipe with stevia I'm afraid - so let me know how it works out!
elaine says
Just a reminder that xylitol is toxic to dogs..... VERY toxic. If you have pets, be careful. Thanks for this recipe. Sounds great!
Cathie McGinnis says
Elaine, Thank you for adding that comment. My dog ingested a whole puns cake made with xylitol and had to be put down. Saddest, most guilt ridden day of my life. But I didn’t know about that nasty stuff.
Georgina says
Oh Cathie that's so sad. We have dogs and I've always been aware of the dangers - but I do think that they should put more obvious warnings on the packets!
Jacqui says
Delicious cookies and so easy to make! This time I used monk fruit sweetener and added a 1/2 tsp of maple extract for extra flavor. I had to increase the cooking time to about 15-20 min.
I’m using the cookies to make Keto ice cream cookie sandwiches.
Georgina says
They sound delicious!!!
Melissa says
My family thought they were rather bland so for sugar i used 1 tbs brown sugar splenda and 1 tbs granular stevia, 1/2 tbs cinnamon and 1/2 tsp baking powder. Also i cant stop eating them so i put them in the freezer. Out of sight out of mind and when you want one, pull it out and eat it cold. Or not. It didnt freeze hard.
Cynthia says
I love this cookies, but I have a question. Can I leave the cookies in room temperature, or I need to put it inside of the refrigerator?
Georgina says
I personally store them in an airtight box at room temperature - but they disappear pretty fast at my house!
RandyH says
I always add Lily's chocolate chips and unsweetened coconut, and even tried it with cocoa powder
Alice says
When I enter the ingredients into My Fitness Pal, the carbs show as 6 per cookie. Do you have any idea what the macros are different?
Georgina says
What sweetener are you using in MFP and does it include sugar alcohols? I don't include them in my net carbs data.
Leigh says
I only have swerve confectioners on hand. I am assuming you used a granulated product? Would conf. work? Knew i shoulda went to the grocery store! Lol
Georgina says
Yes, I use a granulated sweetener. I imagine the final result with confectioner's would taste OK - no idea about the texture I'm afraid!
Donna says
Thank You for the recipe I just made 3 batches. They are amazing just out of the oven. I have seen posts where some did not flatten out. Mine did not as well. Please tell me the pecan measurement is that before of after grinding the nuts to a meal ? I measured mine after grinding them and wonder if that is the difference. I used a sweetener blend, added cinnamon and plan to dip the bottoms in sf chocolate.
Georgina says
I'm so glad you liked them! The pecans are measured when chopped (as that's how I buy them for this recipe), but then they are ground after measuring. I hope that helps!
Kelly says
I was also wondering how much Pecan Flour to use. Your answer when asked above was vague. Please provide the actual measurement for using pecan flour (measure your pecans after you grind them in processor) in your recipe.
Georgina says
The recipe uses one cup of chopped pecans. I did not measure the volume once they had been ground, however, the next time I make these cookies I will do that and add it to the instructions. I hope that helps.
Melissa says
I used a cup of pecan meal, extra lacanto sweetener, dash of cinnamon. They are so dry, didn’t flattened out ????
Georgina says
If you use a cup of pecan meal, rather than a cup of chopped pecans as the recipe states, you'll be using a lot more pecans by weight. And if you then increase sweetener, it's no surprise that they came out dry. Maybe next time try 3/4 cup pecan meal.
Claudia says
@Melissa, I believe you lose the natural fat from the pecans if you use the meal. The ground pecans are full of it.
Cindy says
Can swerve brown sugar be substituted for the monk fruit?
Georgina says
I haven't tried it because I didn't know it existed when I first made this recipe. But I bet it would be awesome! If you try it, let me know!
Sandra says
What would happen if you didn't grind your pecans so fine. I like a little crunch to my pecans.
Georgina says
I haven't tried it but the cookie mixture might not hold together quite so well. But if you try it, let me know how they turn out!
Claudia says
These are so good!! But apparently I didn't read to the end. I just made these for a camping trip this weekend and it's only Tuesday. Do you think they will do ok if I refrigerate them?
Michelle says
I made these and they are very good. I doubled the batch and added a handful of Lilly's dark chocolate chips and unsweetened coconut and a splash of vanilla. Since I added the additional ingredients I also added 1 TBLS of melted butter so they wouldn't be dry.
I used a 1 TBLS cookie scoop for them and flattend each with my hand, glad I did that as they didn't flatten much more while baking.
I will definitely be making again, thanks for the basic recipe.