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Low Carb Coconut Macaroons with Almond Flour

Coconut macaroons, not to be confused with French macarons, are an easy and delicious snack to whip up whenever you’re feeling the need for something sweet on the keto diet. These low carb macaroons with almond flour are made with shredded coconut and are similar to macaroon cookies you might enjoy at a Jewish Passover seder.

Macaroon cookies on a red plate.Pin
Photo credit: On and Off Keto.

No Carb Keto Coconut Macaroons

Depending on how you look at carbs on your keto diet, these can actually be seen as no-carb macaroons. That’s because they only have 2.2g of total carbohydrates but 1.3g of that is fiber and the other .9g is from the keto sweetener which is considered sugar alcohol and does not get metabolized by your body but instead passes right through. That leaves a total of zero net carbs. At only 62 calories and 6g of fat per macaroon, these are great portable keto snacks and dessert options!

If you’ve ever been to Jamaica and tried Grater Cake, which is made from coconuts, then you’ll have a sense of what this coconut macaroon recipe tastes like. There, they add red food coloring to the cake and make it in a layer, almost like a blondie or brownie. Here I’m using almond flour and, yes, for fun, one time I added red food coloring.

To dress up this special tropical treat, here are some flavors I’d try:

  • Drizzle melted sugar-free chocolate bars over them or dip the bottom of them in melted chocolate for a two-toned cookie
  • Put a pecan in the center of them before baking for a delicious nutty snack
  • Press a candied fruit into the tops of each like a maraschino cherry
  • Add lime juice to the batter for a deliciously tropical lime and coconut twist
  • Make multiple colors so your cookie basket bursts with color

Ingredients Overview

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How to Make Low Carb Macaroons with Almond Flour

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine all ingredients except the egg whites in a medium bowl. To make these, you want to start with room temperature eggs to ensure you get stiff peaks when you beat the whites. This will help with the delicate flaky texture of your macaroons.

Beat your egg whites in a large bowl with a hand mixer or handheld immersion blender. I used the latter option. Pro tip: get the immersion blender with the whisk attachment. It makes it so much easier.

This will take about 2 minutes. You want your whites to triple in size and form stiff peaks.

Slowly fold whites into the coconut mixture a bit at a time until just incorporated. When you’re mixing everything together, be sure to take your time adding the dry ingredients to the egg whites. You don’t want to disturb the egg whites too much, you want to keep them airy and fluffy.

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Because this recipe does not have a lot of liquid in it, the batter will be crumbly. It is best to use your hands to form the macaroons into traditional ball shapes. Unlike other cookies, you can’t roll them in your hand — more like squeeze them in a fist to form and then place on your parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

Uncooked macaroons on baking sheet.Pin
Photo credit: On and Off Keto.

Originally, I had this recipe baking for 15 minutes. However, this last time, I don’t know if I let the oven preheat for too long or what. But at 12 minutes the tops were starting to burn. So I took the macaroons out to cool. I’ve adjusted the cooking time on the recipe card down to 12 minutes in case you’ve tried this recipe and found that 15 minutes was too long and things started to burn.

Baked macaroons on a cookie sheet in the oven.Pin
Photo credit: On and Off Keto.

After you remove the pan from the oven, grasp the parchment paper and slide it onto a cooling rack. After a few minutes, it’s time to enjoy your low carb macaroons that we made with almond flour.

A hand holding a coconut macacroon.Pin
Photo credit: On and Off Keto.

Notes

The aforementioned Grater Cakes from Jamaica are square and two-toned, white on the bottom and red on top. You could do red on top of green or orange on top of a layer dipped in chocolate for festive holiday macaroons!

You can keep these at room temperature for a few days on the counter. However, I like my treats to be cold so I’ll keep them in the refrigerator or freezer instead. If I’m serving them from frozen, I’ll toast them in the oven for a bit.

You can add fun food colorings to make your macaroons festive for different holidays. Crayola has food coloring kits in fun primary colors.

You can use three teaspoons of coconut flour in place of the almond flour. I prefer this method because of the texture, it holds up better for me. Some prefer the almond flour. Try them both and see which works better for you.

I use a Lakanto sugar substitute made with monk fruit to sweeten these. I’ve also tried them with Xylitol but for some reason, they were extra crumbly when made with this instead. No idea why.

This is the shredded coconut that I used in this recipe.

Macaroons on red plate with blurry background.Pin

Low Carb Macaroons with Almond Flour

These low carb macaroons with almond flour are made with shredded coconut and are similar to macaroon cookies you might have enjoyed at a Jewish Passover seder. They are so easy to make and everyone in your family will love them
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Course: Snack
Cuisine: American, Jewish
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Servings: 12 macaroons
Calories: 100kcal
Author: Leah Ingram

Ingredients

  • 2 cups shredded coconut
  • ¼ cup monk fruit sweetener
  • ¼ cup almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter or coconut oil
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large egg whites

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • Combine all ingredients except the egg whites in a medium bowl.
  • Beat your egg whites in a large bowl with a hand mixer or handheld immersion blender. I used the latter option. Pro tip: get the immersion blender with the whisk attachment. It makes it so much easier.
  • Slowly fold whites into the coconut mixture a bit at a time until just incorporated.
  • Form into separate balls or desired shapes on your cookie sheet.
  • Bake for 12 minutes or until the tops get slightly brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a rack. Enjoy!

Notes

You can add fun food colorings to make your macaroons festive for different holidays. Crayola has food coloring kits in fun primary colors.
You can use 3 teaspoons of coconut flour in place of the almond flour. I prefer this method because of the texture, it holds up better for me. Some prefer the almond flour. Try them both and see which works better for you.
I use a Lakanto sugar substitute made with monk fruit to sweeten these. I’ve also tried them with Xylitol but for some reason, they were extra crumbly when made with this instead. No idea why.
This is the shredded coconut that I used in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 100kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 29IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.4mg