Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
Published 8/19/2023 • Updated 9/7/2023
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Made without refined sugar or flour, this recipe for no-bake peanut butter oatmeal cookies is a more nutritious version of the classic.
These peanut butter no-bake cookies are naturally gluten-free (use certified GF oats) and come together with just a few simple ingredients.
Growing up, no-bake cookies were a staple in our house. Quick and easy to make, they were always around, especially throughout the holiday season dotting cookie and dessert trays. They will always be one of my favorite cookies (a close second to peanut butter oatmeal cookies) and bring me back to my childhood.
Classic no-bake peanut butter cookies are full of sugar, butter, more sugar, and more butter. After lots of recipe testing, we created this recipe for more nutritious no-bake cookies. They’re everything we love about the original, with a few wholesome ingredient swaps and additions.
Featured Comment
“I made these on Monday and have been enjoying them all week : ) It’s so nice to know I have a yummy treat waiting in the freezer for me when I get home.” – Angela
What You Need for No-Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
No butter or white sugar needed for these no-bake cookies!
- Oats: Old-fashioned oats are the base of these cookies. Use certified GF oats to keep them gluten free.
- Peanuts + Peanut Butter: Chopped peanuts + all-natural (aka drippy) peanut butter add flavor AND protein. Each cookie has 5g of protein!
- Brown Rice Syrup + Honey: Both sweeten and bind all of the ingredients together.
- Chocolate Chips: Melt dark chocolate chips and drizzle on top of the cookies before freezing.
Ingredient Substitutions
Use homemade peanut butter instead of store-bought peanut butter.
Swap the same amount of maple syrup for honey.
Instead of a dark chocolate drizzle on top, mix in 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips before scooping and freezing.
Make them chocolate: check out our no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies for a similar variation.
FAQ
Add 1-2 tablespoons of oats to the dough.
Mix in 1 teaspoon of water to your cookie dough at a time until the dough reaches a malleable consistency.
We recommend whole old-fashioned oats for these no-bake cookies for extra chew and texture, but quick cook oats work in a pinch. Use the same amount.
Make our no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies!
Storage
No-bake cookies keep best in the freezer. Once the cookies have fully frozen on the cookie sheet, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container and enjoy for up to 3 months. They won’t last that long, trust me!
More Quick No-Bake Peanut Butter Recipes
Try our peanut butter protein balls, no-bake peanut butter oat cups, or peanut butter bars for other grab and go peanut butter snacks.
Healthy Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup all-natural, drippy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- sea salt, to taste
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Mix together until well combined. The mixture should be fairly moist and malleable.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out each cookie and roll the dough between your palms until a ball forms. Place the cookie dough ball onto the prepared baking sheet and gently press down on the top of the ball to slightly flatten. Repeat.
- If adding the chocolate drizzle, melt the dark chocolate chips in the microwave or on the stovetop. Drizzle over each cookie.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and freeze until the chocolate sets and the cookies are solid throughout.
Tips & Notes
- Storage: Once the cookies have fully frozen on the cookie sheet, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container and enjoy for up to 3 months.
- Peanut Butter: Our homemade peanut butter is great to use in these no bake peanut butter oatmeal cookies!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Oh myyyyyyyy. I’d go crazy recipe testing any day, but we just recently got our house cleaned so we have to keep baking to a minimum, unfortunately 🙁
And if you need any extra mouths to eliminate the leftovers, LEMME KNOW :DDDDD
“The more you test, the more cookies I get to eat…” 100% YES!! I am totally on board with that! Especially when it comes to PB… And cookies… I’m obsessed with Planters and always keep a jar in my pantry for quick & easy snacking. But adding them to no-bake cookies?? Especially when it’s 100°F+ outside right now?? Pure genius!
These cookies look so good and I don’t have to heat up the kitchen!
These cookies contain all the things I love! Perfect for breakfast? I think so 😉
My thoughts exactly 😛
I love any kind of combo that includes peanut butter and oats and chocolate. And no bake makes it even better. Those things should freeze well! Yum!
They freeze extremely well!
This sounds like a great recipe for those hot summer days when it’s too hot to turn on the oven but you still want to do some baking.
Exactly! Don’t let that heat prevent you from cookin’ in the kitch! AMIRIGHT?
ALL about the no-bake stuff lately, this muggy weather has been brutal! Love the double peanut butter goodness from the nuts AND the nut butter. You know the way to my heart! 😉
We’ve got some MAJOR humidity here in the midwest. Like holy bajezuz.
These look delicious! Can’t wait to try them 🙂
Are the syrups (honey included) necessary for this recipe. I’m looking forward to trying these out, but would like to make a ‘non-sweet’ version, flavoured only by the peanut butter? I guess the sticky stuff is necessary to bind the ingredients, however… Would there be a suitable alternative to make these not taste very sweet at all?
Hi Jasper! Unfortunately the brown rice syrup is necessary to bind and hold everything together. Essentially what you could do is throw peanut butter and oats in a food processor and create more of a cookie dough. That will for sure hold. You can add a little water and that should do the trick!
I remember that glass peanut jar…Brings back memories when I was little! SO GOOD and cookies with peanuts and PB…YES PLEASE! Happy Friday Friend! XOXO
You too LOVE!