Sugar free macaroons are one of the great ways to use up leftover egg whites. You can easily adapt the recipe to different flavoured macaroons. See below.
Sugar Free Macaroons
I love macaroons and to make sugar free macaroons is an easy recipe you can try today. Make sure the egg whites have been whipped/beaten to form stiff peaks.
[clickToTweet tweet=”These sugar free and low carb macaroons look amazing. Perfect little balls of LCHF happiness.” quote=”These sugar free and low carb macaroons look amazing. Perfect little balls of LCHF happiness.”]
For flavour variations you could add the following –
- lemon zest
- orange zest
- dip in dark chocolate
- vanilla and cinnamon
- dried ginger
- spiced for Christmas time
Sugar Free Macaroons
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites
- 2 tbsp granulated sweetener of choice or more, to your taste
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 200 g desiccated/shredded coconut unsweetened
Instructions
- Clean a large bowl with kitchen paper to ensure it is free of grease or oil, otherwise your egg whites won't whisk well. Whisk the egg whites with the sweetener, to form stiff peaks.
- Add the vanilla and the coconut and gently mix to combine.
- Line a baking tray with a non stick liner or baking paper. Roll a spoonful of macaroon mixture into a small firm ball and place evenly on the baking tray.
- Bake at 180C/350F for10-12 minutes depending on your oven and the humidity.
Notes
I like the subtle vanilla flavour that macaroons, but others have enjoyed adapting these by adding almond essence, cinnamon or dipping in chocolate.
Roll them into golf sized balls and place on a lined baking sheet
Cook until golden brown then dip them in chocolate for an extra treat
For more low carb, sugar free and gluten free recipes, take a look at these top recipes.
- Keto Fudge
- Lemon Cheesecake
- Keto Brownie
- Peppermint Fat Bombs
- Best low Carb Cookies
- Lemon Coconut Cake
- Chocolate Heaven Cake
- Chocolate Mint Truffles
- Flavoured Waters
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- Walnut & Chocolate Keto Fudge
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- Flourless Keto Brownie
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- Low Carb Cookies
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- Lemon Coconut Cake
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- Chocolate Heaven Cake
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- Flavoured waters
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Wendy says
Made the macaroons today. To my uneducated eye, when I added the coconut the mixture seemed too moist to make macaroon balls. However, I have never made macaroons or meringue before so I added some more coconut (maybe a little too much). I was able to form them into balls but they are very crumbly. Watched some videos on making macaroons and one mentioned letting the mixture sit for a while so that the coconut can absorb the liquid. Do you think this would work next time.
Craah says
I like that they are low carb, low protein and high in good fats. But these don’t really taste like macaroons. They taste like sweetened baked coconut – which is basically what they are. It doesn’t have that nice gooey experience that you typically get with macaroons. But it does provide a sweet Keto treat when you crave one.
Raina says
I made hollandaise sauce with my brekkie this morning and was looking for a way to use the leftover egg whites – came across this recipe and they were perfect! I grated orange zest through the batter and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you so much!
Crystal Reeves says
OMG so yummy! Thank you for this! Dipped mine in cocoa powder mixed with coconut oil and a few drops of stevia. YumO!
Claudia says
I made these today. I usually like to read the comments on a recipe and I read that one of the readers had trouble with the egg whites after putting the coconut in, so what I did was add a pinch of cream of tartar to stabilise the egg whites just in case. I also added more vanilla and a couple of extra tablespoons of stevia granules. My husband enjoyed them and I enjoyed them too. Thank you for a beautiful recipe.
Shellihob says
Any tips or ideas for the egg yolk left over so they aren’t wasted.
Cornelb says
I actually made mayonnaise with my egg yolks and the macaroons with my leftover egg whites!
Kyle says
Cornelb: fresh egg yolks are not safe to make mayonnaise with in fear of salmonella food poising! Only posturized egg yolks are safe for this use.
A safer use for the leftover yolks is just to add them to an omelette mix and enjoy the richness.
Samantha says
My family has been making mayo with fresh eggs we raise ourselves for many, many years. No problems. Real farmers don’t fear such things.
EM says
Same here – I make mayo every week out of our own chickens from the back yard. Freshly laid. No trouble at all, and I’ve been doing this for years!
I just made these macaroons for the first time, they’re delicious and really easy to make. Next time I’ll make sure I have some dark chocolate on hand to top them off with, it sounds like a heavenly mix.
Lorna says
I agree. If it’s not made from fresh eggs, it’s not food, but rather just another food-like product. Real food is not meant to ‘keep behind the couch’ for 2 years.
And by the way, these cookies sound like they would taste good, but they are far from sugar-free and should not be labeled as such. Any granulated sweetener is sugar and is not food. I’ve wasted so much time being misled by recipe titles because the popular definition of ‘sugar-free’ is so inaccurate. A mind shift really need to happen. So sad. Thanks for listening.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Hi Lorna, this is indeed sugar free, the sweetener I use contains no sugar whatsoever. You may wish to read this article.
Kim says
How much mayo.
Yolande Morgan says
Home made custard is good, I use a sugar substitute and arrowroot to thicken it.
amber bryan says
Wondering if we could use cartoned egg white or is there thibgs added into them that wouldn’t make this work? Thanks
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I have never used cartoned egg white, I’m not sure if we can even get it here in NZ. Personally, I prefer to use eggs directly, being in a carton implies it has been through some processing to get there? Sorry, can’t give you much of an idea on this one.
Heatger says
I tried the carton whites and they didn’t work.
Tony Bermudez says
I tried this recipe, and I used Splenda as my sweetner. And tbh it didn’t taste like anything. I may need to modify it for more, I tried getting my egg whites to a stiff peaks, but I wasn’t sure if it needed to be stiff like making macarons meringue. I added a whole orange for its zest, maybe that messed up the recipe too. Help?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
The egg whites need to form stage peaks like any meringue would require. I’m not sure how it didn’t taste of anything as it is packed with coconut and vanilla. And yes adding an entire orange would have affected the recipe. A little zest would be a lovely addition though. Also dipped in dark chocolate would be amazing.
Trish says
Love these and yes I find I follow recipe exactly they work every time, I do add an extra teaspoon of vanilla essence as I love vanilla flavour. They so good to snack on. Thanks for the recipe.
Esther says
I tried these today. Everything was going great until I added the coconut. The stiff peaked egg whites wentry flat!!! I poured it into mini tart pans and baked. It fluffed up, and now I have 6 cute tartlets! Very moist and tastes yummy.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Oops, I’m glad to hear they were still yummy. Next time you could try adding even more coconut and then they may roll into little balls.
Barbara says
I make these regularly and reduce sweetner down to 1/2 tablespoon. Also added
Cinnamon. Latest batches i used home grown stevia which i grew , dried leaves over winter then blended then ground in coffee grinder. 1/4 tablespoon added to mixture as very sweet. (Buy Stevia plants from garden centre)
Phoebe says
Mine turned out delicious! I just forgot to flatten them a bit so they looked like mini volcanoes! Added a bit more (maybe 1/2 cup) coconut, and a bit more vanilla, as they seemed not to have enough..I believe it was because my eggs are jumbo eggs! Thank you so much, Libby!!
T. Bastress says
My 9 yr.old made these today and they are fantastic! Thank you for the recipe!!!
Leah Cox says
Love these! I used Sweet Leaf Stevie and food the traditional chocolate dip using dark chocolate. They turned out great and my picky son loved them too! Thank you for this recipe!
Julie says
Can you make these sweetener free?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Possibly but that would depend on your sweet tooth and how you can tolerate baking without any sweetener added.
Theresa says
I used a half cup of egg whites from a carton and granulated Xylitol; they turned out perfectly!
Amanda says
Bummer wanted to leave a photo – yummy Libby thankyou. We put 85% lindt choc drizzled over the top mixed with some cocnut oil- even my fussy sons love them lol
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Yes I wish readers could add photo’s, you can share them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or even Pinterest. I love seeing riders recipes results. Tag me and I can share your photos.
Linda says
Good recipe, I increased the sweetener ( plain erythritol ) to 4T, 3 would have been fine! It worked well, lovely moist macaroons. Great way to use up egg whites when you make home made mayo!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Linda thank you. There have been some failures from readers that I cannot fathom as they work for me (and you). I’m wondering if their was something wrong with their eggs? thanks for the great feedback. Libby.
Lisa says
I made a batch today using your recipe. The macaroons were delicious! Light, airy and guilt-free. Thank you for posting : )
ginni says
I made these yesterday but they were so dry and tasteless I couldn’t eat them. Unfortunately I’m having a hard time with LC dessert recipes. They always disappoint because they are never like the real thing. When I see dessert, my mind is expecting a certain taste and mouth feel, which I can’t find when substituting ingredients.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
It sounds like a) they were cooked for too long as they shouldn’t be dry at all. You can always salvage them by dipping in dark chocolate. b) It also sounds like you may still have a sweet tooth. Don’t worry, this will pass with time and you won’t be craving so much of your usual sweet desserts or baking. When people start off low carb, it can sometimes be difficult to give up the texture and “bliss point” that are formulated in so many processed foods. That is probably what you are missing. Start off with some of the cheesecake recipes, I’m sure they will be more to your liking.
Jen says
Hi. Baked them for the first time this afternoon as a treat for my husband who is diabetic.
Followed the recipe to the letter , bur unfortunately they turned out to be very crumbly and didnt hold their shape. Any suggestions on what went wrong regards. Jen
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Possibly not enough egg whites or your brand of shredded/desiccated coconut? I’ve never heard this problem for this recipe before but my suspicion is something was wrong with the egg whites.
Rebecca Fox says
Hi! I’ve just made these, stuck to the recipe to a T- However, they have come out extremely, EXTREMELY, dry…Can anyone help point me in the right direction please?! Mucho thanks!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
It may be that your brand of desiccated/shredded coconut was drier than most, you may have been on fan bake, and they may have been cooked a little too long. Next time reserve a little coconut to ensure the mixture isn’t too dry before adding it all, cook on bake and keep an eye on them so they don’t dry out. If they do ever turn out dry, you can always dip them in dark chocolate – a tip that has saved many recipes 🙂
a says
Maybe dry due to oven too hot or using fan forced too long?
Brigitte says
How long would these keep? Could I freeze them?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Yes, you can freeze in an airtight container.
janice says
Wondering what brand of powdered stevia you use? I have liquid on hand,but the powdered types in the stores all seem to have either dextrose oe erithritol added which I assume is not good.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I currently use
Natvia
which is a blend of stevia and erythritol. It has no bitter aftertaste that some do. I have tried the drops and have found for me it is too easy to over or under dose the sweet taste. Many people try 2 or 3 brands until they find one that suits them and they can cook easily with.Mkchael says
Would this work with yolks as well (whole egg) to get some protein in there?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
No sorry the fat in the egg yolks makes the egg whites impossible to whisk into firm peaks. That is why the bowl must be dry and oil free to begin with. To use up the egg yolks, try some custard.
Janice says
The white contains the protein, not the yolk.
Jenni says
There is 3.6g of protein in one large egg white and about 2.6 in one large egg yolk. So a good amount here really.
Hanlie says
How many calories?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
This is one of my older recipes before I started to calculate macros. I am slowly going back and updating them all, until then, hop onto MyFitnessPal 🙂
Janice says
I am curious about the calorie calculation. I calculate approx. 65 calories per macaroon, not 29 calories (based on the recipe yielding 20 cookies)
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
You are indeed correct and I have updated it using cronometer.com. I use to use My Fitness Pal but had so many inaccuracies I am now going through all my old recipes and recalculating them. A laborious job but worth doing I think. I always add the note that my nutrition panels are a guide only because there is just so much variation between brands out there. Thanks for keeping me on my toes Janice 😉
Alice says
Hi there, what brand of unsweetened desiccated coconut did you use?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
This is great option depending on which country you are in –Bob’s Red Mill Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
Alice says
Great. thank you!
liso66 says
I didn’t wait for an answer on liquid vs granulated Stevia, however,liquid works wonderfully! Also, I added a tsp of fresh lemon zest to the fold and it had a bright, fresh flavor with the vanilla. These are so good! Now… My husband is eyeing the rest of the batch. He said “YUM!” and stole two more off the cooling rack! haha!
I have been low carb for two years and T2 diabetic, off meds for over 1.5 years now. LCHF and lovin’ it! And love this recipe!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I love the suggestion of lemon to the macaroons. And I love that you have been LCHF which has allowed you to come off your T2 meds. Awesome results. If you have a moment, you could add your LCHF testimonial here 🙂
cindykeen says
I thought the recipe called for 2 tbs of liquid stevia. I tasted them before cooking and they are the most chemical tasting cookies I have ever tasted. They are in the oven but I don’t have much hope, almost through them away without cooking but the oven was ready so I’m going to see if some miracle might happen in there and they will become edible. It would be so helpful if you would specify which ingredient in the directions.
liso66 says
Will liquid Stevia work? The granular Stevia has carbs due to the anti-clumping agents. The liquid has zero carbs and if I can get away with it, it is my first choice.
Thanks!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I have never got on with liquid stevia, but I’m sure it would work. I use Natvia 100% Natural Sweetener,
liso66 says
I have that brand as well, and use it when liquid can’t be used.
Oh! I played with the macaroons a bit. Ever hear about the candy bar, Mounds? I made two batches of these and I melted 80% dark chocolate and drizzled it over the second batch. AMAZING!
Also, I’ll be happy to write up a testimonial. 😉
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Brilliant. Cant wait to read it 🙂
IkeyWabbit says
Major disappointment. This recipe resulted in possibly the blandest outcome I have tasted in recent years. The taste was so bland that I had a laughing fit (yes, at least it was good for a laugh), because it *looked* so delicious in the recipe picture.
Reading over the other comments, now I understand why some people suggested making it more “flavourful” with almond flavouring and cinnamon; the 85% chocolate suggestion also sounds like a viable option. But then again, instead of adding, one might as well avoid this recipe completely.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Thank you for taking the time to add your honest feedback. Are you sure you didn’t miss out the vanilla? I made these again last night to the letter in case I had misjudged these when writing the recipe. They were again another hit with us so cannot understand how coconut and vanilla can be mistaken for bland? Like with all recipes, if you need a stronger flavour, or find they are not to your taste, play around with flavours before you bake them. 🙂
Reeva says
Wonderful! Made these because hubby and i are keto believers but also because i am 28 weeks along and on a very strict sugar/carb intake. I used splenda (what i had) but i think i added a wee bit too much coconut. When i measured them out i had like less than 1/3 cup left and i know that will sit in my cupboard because i will forget that i have it. Anyways, thanks so much!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
If you have leftover coconut, give my grain free granola a go.
helen says
Is it better to use stevia rather than dextrose? we have been cutting out a lot of sugar and carbs, but notice NZ Sugarfree uses glucose in their recipes and you use stevia? If you have time I would love a little more info …thanks. like the look of theses little beauties xx
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I don’t use glucose/dextrose because they are sugars which will raise your blood sugar and hence insulin, and all that goes along with high insulin (fat storage, inflammation etc). I choose to use stevia. I don’t do as much baking as I used to do and I use far less than the ‘spoon for spoon’ recommendation (your sweet tooth definitely goes away). Which sweetener you use is a personal choice and your goal, but for me, stevia works when I need a sweetener (which is rare). Take a look at this article and this to read about sweeteners. Hope that helps 🙂
@UKMikeSmith says
Added a twist, took some 85% chocolate (fibre matches and cancels carbs) melt this in a bowl over some boiling water, add a tsp of orange extract and a knob of butter and dip the cooled macaroons into the melted bowl. Chocolate orange topped macaroons – Yummy!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I love the sound of your version, thanks xx
Leah says
I added some almond flavouring and pinch of cinnamon to make a bit more flavourful.
Sheila Dunn says
I have recently found you and can’t believe all the great recipes
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I’m so glad you have found us and thank you for the kind feedback 🙂
Grace says
Hi, I only have stevia powder (the green stuff) how much of that do you think I should put in?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Sorry you may have to experiment. I only use the baking mix or icing mix.
Kris says
Hi Libby,
These are great, thanks! I even found them a bit too sweet, so I’ll halve the Natvia next time. I really appreciate that you’ve posted a dessert-type recipe that doesn’t require heaps of sweetener. A quick Pinterest search for keto cookies or the like turns up a gazillion options, but they’ve all got so much sweetener. For me, any kind of sweetness triggers cravings. I’d love to see more dessert recipes that take advantage of the natural sweetness of coconut or nuts.
Thanks again!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Yes, as our tastes adapt we need less, which is why I alway say use the least you can and test as you go so you haven’t made it too sweet, you can always add more but can’t take it out. Glad you liked them 🙂
Kimberley says
Hi, what brand of Stevia do you use? I tried these and the stevia taste was so bitter. Thanks 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I use Natvia brand of granulated stevia. It measures cup for cup, but I use far less than is recommended as my tastes have changed, and I require a less sweet taste.
Neil says
First attempt not looking great so far 🙁 smell lovely. Think I knocked the air out of the eggs and sugar. Of which I didn’t put enough in! Always next time.
Natalie says
Can I use liquid stevia?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I’m sure you could. I personally don’t get on with the liquid stevia, as it is too easy to under/overdose with the drops. 🙂
Cindy says
Making some today. Do you know how many calories they have?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Hi Cindy, I am slowly going through my older recipes and updating the nutritional information, I’ll try to calculate this one next.
Amanda @ MoveLoveEat says
How many did this recipe make?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Hi Amanda, thanks for stopping by. It made about 30 and they didn’t last long in our house!
loveh3 says
These look amazing 🙂 Like little bundles of happiness ! Lol
Libby at ditchthecarbs.com says
Thanks, my children certainly LOVED them. I had to stop them from eating them all at once.
loveh3 says
I will be making them some day soon 🙂
angusglsf says
Looks delicious 🙂
Libby at ditchthecarbs.com says
Thanks. If you make some, let me know what you think.
FatGirl_LivingLowCarb says
Looks so easy! Can’t wait to try these! I’m used to macaroons that have condensed milk on it. Didn’t know it will still come up nice like yours.
Libby at ditchthecarbs.com says
I am trying to experiment with recipes to make them as healthy and low carb as possible while retaining their nutrition. My children couldn’t get enough of these.