Healthy No Bake Cookies
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Published Dec 03, 2018, Updated Jan 19, 2024
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Peanut butter chocolate healthy no bake cookies made with half the amount of sugar in traditional no bake cookies and coconut oil instead of butter. Dairy-free, vegan and refined sugar free.
I’ve always loved traditional chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies. I grew up with them as a kid — my mom would make them for us every Christmas and once I was old enough she taught me how to make them myself.
No Bake Cookies Made Healthier
Traditional no bake cookies are made with butter, milk and refined sugar, but for this version we’re keeping things dairy-free by using coconut oil instead of butter and almond milk instead of the regular milk. To keep things refined sugar-free we’re using coconut sugar instead of white sugar. It also has half the amount of sugar and I have to say, I actually like this version with coconut sugar and less sugar way better!
I will warn you, these cookies might be healthier than traditional no bake cookies, but they’re just as addictive… I think I ate around four every day until they were gone. Oops. Breakfast dessert, lunch dessert, snack and/or dinner dessert – they work well for any and all of the above. 😉
How to Make These Cookies Sugar-Free
If you want to make this recipe sugar-free, feel free to try using stevia or monk fruit in place of the sugar. I haven’t experimented with either myself so I don’t know the appropriate measurement. For stevia, I’d recommend adding a little bit of stevia at a time until the cookies taste sweet enough to suit your liking. If using monk fruit, you can probably just sub it 1:1 with the coconut sugar. Let me know if you try a sugar-free version in the comments below!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these cookies, plus some ideas for substitutions.
- coconut oil – I’ve also made this recipe with a mashed banana in place of the coconut oil. The cookies will turn out a little bit more dry without the coconut oil, but still yummy.
- creamy peanut butter – you can also use almond butter or any other nut/seed butter in place of the peanut butter.
- coconut sugar – if you’re looking for a sugar-free option, you can use monk fruit or stevia.
- cocoa power or cacao powder – either option will work.
- unsweetened vanilla almond milk – any non-dairy milk option will work just fine.
- sea salt
- vanilla extract
- instant oats or rolled oats – steel-cut oats won’t work for this recipe.
How to Make No Bake Cookies
Mix the dough – Add melted coconut oil and peanut butter to a large bowl and stir until combined. Then add coconut sugar, cocoa powder, almond milk, sea salt, vanilla and oats into the bowl and stir until combined.
Scoop the dough – Drop the dough by the spoonfuls on a baking sheet lined parchment paper.
Set – Place baking sheet in fridge until cookies are set, then serve.
How to Store These Cookies
After letting these cookies set completely in the fridge, store them in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 1 week. These also freeze well if you need to keep them longer. Store cookies in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Holiday Cookies To Try
- Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies (Cut-Out Cookies)
- Gingersnap Cookies
- Healthier Snowball Cookies
- Almond Butter Espresso Cookies
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Oatmeal Date Cookies
- Healthy Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy No Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup natural creamy peanut butter, or almond butter
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups quick oats (also called instant oats)
Instructions
- Add melted coconut oil and peanut butter in a medium mixing bowl and stir until combined. Add coconut sugar, cocoa powder, almond milk, sea salt, vanilla.
- If desired you can heat the peanut butter cocoa mixture on the stovetop over medium low heat to fully dissolve the coconut sugar, about 5-6 minutes. Sometimes I do this and sometimes I don't. Depends on how much time I have.
- Add oats to a large mixing bowl and top with peanut butter cocoa mixture. Stir until well combined.
- Using a small/medium cookie scoop, scoop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use your hands to press the dough down a bit and form the cookies into a cookie shape.
- Place baking sheet in fridge until cookies are set, then serve. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
Video
Notes
- No oil version: I’ve also made this recipe with a mashed banana in place of the coconut oil. The cookies will turn out a little bit more dry without the coconut oil, but still yummy.
- Sugar: You can use granulated sugar instead of coconut sugar, but you will definitely want to heat the peanut butter cocoa mixture to dissolve the sugar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I use honey instead of sugar and bananas in place of oil. They have to be kept in the freezer but I’m okay with that.
Sounds amazing, Nancy! Thank you for sharing your review & star rating, so glad you’re loving this recipe!
I can’t stand coconut taste and get sick from bananas. What other oil. Could I use. Also was thinking of adding some protein powder.
Hi Rachel – You could try melted butter, but I haven’t tested this recipe with it so I am not sure how it will work out. If you choose to use protein power, you’ll need to adjust your liquid because it’ll make the batter much more dry. Let me know how these turn out, hope you enjoy!
This recipe has a lot of delicious and healthy ingredients. But there is way too much oatmeal for the amount of wet ingredients. I did melt the wet ingredients together. After I added the oatmeal, I had to add more peanut butter and coconut oil to get the oats somewhat covered. you have good ingredients as I said, but it definitely needs some tweaking. I checked numerous other similar recipes (in case it was just me) They all have a ratio with less oatmeal.
Hi Sharon – I am sorry to hear this recipe did not turn out as you had hoped. Did you change anything about the recipe before having to add in more pb? I have not had this problem before and am wondering if maybe something was changed.
i made these cookies tonight, and they are wonderful. i only had old fashioned oats, and i added a little coconut flakes. i found that they solidify nicely and had a fantastic flavor. i may cut back the sweetener next time because im trying to train my pallet to enjoy sweetness, though these are perfectly sweetened but not too sweet.
WOO! I am so glad that you are loving this recipe, Tara. The coconut flakes sound like a delicious addition. Thank you so much for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I so appreciate it!
This was one of my favorite treats as a kid and I was looking for a healthier version for my kids. These were delicious and they loved them, thanks!
WOO! I am so excited to hear that this recipe is a hit for you and your family, Hannah! Thank you so much for coming back and sharing your review & star rating, it means so much to me.
This is a great recipe, but I think the title is a little misleading. Coconut oil is not healthier than butter. It’s debatable as to whether or not coconut sugar is healthier than cane sugar. I can see why this would be a good vegan recipe though.
I’m not clear on what’s healthy about this? It has saturated fat (coconut oil) and added sugars (coconut sugar)?
Hi Matilda – this recipe is a refined sugar-free, dairy-free, vegan alternative to traditional no-bake cookies. Hope this helps!
These are my absolute fave treats to make for my kids. They love that they can make it themselves too.
That’s great to hear! Thank you so much for your comment.
I made these! I try all kinds of healthy recipes with no sugar and no flour. I used Chocolate sunbutter, monkfruit instead of the coconut sugar, and Oat milk instead of the almond.(that’s what I had on hand:) I also used half homemade granola and the other half of the instant oats. Added 2 tbls. of unsweetened coconut too. I just like to play with my food. Excellente!! Thank you for your wonderful delicious healthy recipes!
Hi Liz, those sound like great swaps! Thank you for coming back to share and leave a review, I appreciate it!
Can I use refined canola oil instead?
Hey Joyce – That should work just fine. I will note that the coconut oil hardens in the fridge/freezer so it helps these cookies stay together, but I have made these cookies with mashed banana instead of oil and it worked well, so I think subbing the coconut oil for another oil will work just fine. Let me know how these cookies turn out if you end up trying them!
Just made these and they are better than the original recipe and much healthier. Yum!!
Hi Janis, so glad you liked this recipe! Thank you for leaving me a comment and review, it’s very appreciated!