Keto Vanilla Wafers (Vegan & Paleo Option)

This keto vanilla wafers recipe uses 5 ingredients (not counting salt) and tastes so much like the original with only 1 gram of carbs per cookie. You can easily adapt it to make it paleo or vegan!

Do you love Vanilla Wafers, or ‘Nilla Wafers? They may seem like plain, boring cookies, but I loved them. There was something so addicting about those light and crispy cookies, and they weren’t too sweet so you could eat a whole bunch in one sitting. Well, today, I’m bring you homemade vanilla wafers in low carb, keto form and they taste just like the original!

Keto Vanilla Wafers Recipe

While these may seem like simple keto cookies (only 5 ingredients!), I actually had to test them out several times because I really wanted to get the texture just right: light, flaky, and crispy, while being soft in the center.

Making these keto vanilla wafers without eggs was key to making them get to that perfect texture that’s soft and crispy at the same time. Eggs are great for creating moist and chewy cookies, but that’s not what you are going for in these homemade vanilla wafers! You want them a bit more sturdy, especially if you’ll be using them in another recipe like banana pudding, as a cake crust, or even just enjoying them dunked in almond milk or coffee like me.

Easy Substitutions to Make These Into Vegan or Paleo Vanilla Wafers

These simple keto cookies can easily be adjusted to make them vegan or paleo-friendly with simple adjustments and substitutions. I know not everyone needs or wants to be low carb, and would rather not purchase extra ingredients like Swerve (my favorite 0 carb sweetener), so here’s how you can make these keto vanilla wafers paleo and/or vegan!

For paleo vanilla wafers: All you have to do is replace the sweetener with coconut sugar, which most people have in their pantry if they regularly cook and eat paleo. That’s it! The rest of the ingredients will stay the same. Keep in mind that replacing Swerve with coconut sugar may result in darker cookies, because coconut sugar imparts a deep, amber color in baked goods.

For vegan vanilla wafers: Replace the sweetener with coconut sugar like for paleo vanilla wafers, AND replace the ghee with the same amount of coconut oil. Ghee gives these homemade vanilla wafers that rich and buttery flavor that’s present in the original version of these cookies, but using coconut oil will still yield delicious results!

Things to Note About This Keto Vanilla Wafers Recipe

• Make sure to use blanched almond flour, NOT almond meal. Almond meal will yield crumbly cookies that won’t hold together well.
• These easy and simple keto cookies won’t spread much during baking. Make sure to flatten them lightly before putting them in the oven. I used the bottom of a bowl to do this.
• If you decide to make them paleo or vegan and use coconut sugar instead of Swerve, keep in mind that the cookies will turn out darker than you see in the photos. It won’t affect the flavor though!
• The baking time will be affect the texture of your homemade vanilla wafers. I found that 25 minutes was great if you want to enjoy the cookies alone. If you are making them to add to a dessert recipe that adds moisture to the cookies, bake them for full 30 minutes so they crisp up further.
• You can store them in an airtight container. Keep in mind that they’ll soften a bit after a day of storage, but will still be delicious!

I honestly couldn’t stop eating these once I made them and they really do taste so much like the original. I hope you enjoy this keto vanilla wafers recipe, and make sure to leave a review below if you end up making them!

Other recipes you might love…

• Nut-Free Cassava Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
• AIP & Paleo Sugar Cookies
• Cranberry Pistachio Paleo Chocolate Cookies
• Paleo Chestnut Chocolate Chip Cookies