Way back in the day, when I ate things like gluten and sugar, I was obsessed with cookie dough. As a child, I would sneak spoonfuls of it when my mom made cookies. In my teen years, I would buy whole tubes of it, just to snack on. In fact, one time I bought a 5lb tub of cookie dough, and kept it in my dorm freezer, so I could have a spoonful as a snack whenever I felt like it. The obsession was real. Of course, cookie dough isn’t exactly the type of thing that’s compatible with a low carb, gluten-free diet. So, this vegan keto cookie dough was born.

Now, this isn’t exactly like cookie dough that you would have eaten as a kid, but it does fulfill the same purpose. It’s sweet, as some texture to it, and tastes like vanilla. And even better than real cookie dough, this is rich in protein, free of any added sugars and happily keto-friendly. This is also vegan, so it’s egg-free and dairy-free. It’s also gluten-free by nature, and soy-free or nut-free, depending on what kind of vegan cream cheese you use (more on that in the notes).

I really hope you enjoy this snack! It’s certainly become one of my favorites over the years. If you do make it, I’d love to hear about it in the comments or on social media! 😀

Notes on Making Low Carb Vegan Cookie Dough 

• This isn’t real cookie dough, and will not bake into cookies if you stick it in the oven. I actually have no idea what it would do, but my guess is that it would probably melt into a puddle, and potentially burn.
• You could reduce the carbs by using either a totally unsweetened chocolate, or cacao nibs. I like using a super dark chocolate like Lindt 90%, even though it has a little sugar, because I think it tastes better and is more satiating when you really have a craving.
• There are plenty of brands of vegan cream cheese out there that will all work nicely. If you can do nuts, the whole-foods based cream-cheeses from Kite Hill, Miyoko’s Kitchen and Culcherd are all fantastic. If you can’t do nuts, then any of the other brands (Tofutti, Follow Your Heart, Trader Joe’s, Daiya) will also work great!
• The protein powder used in this recipe is already sweetened with stevia, but if you only have unsweetened protein powder, adding about 10 drops of liquid stevia or any type of sugar-free syrup should work nicely.
• I would not recommend using a granulated sweetener here, as it’s likely to stay gritty.
• While I strive to provide accurate nutritional information, keep in mind that different brands and varieties of ingredient may have different macros. So, your calculations may vary somewhat!