These vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies are an easy healthy chocolate chips breakfast cookie recipe with almond flour. Plus, they have the most delicious chewy texture, and they’re made refined-sugar-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free!
This recipe is for peanut butter and vegan cookie lovers. You must have already tried my popular no-bake peanut butter cookies, Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies, or 2-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies. These won’t disappoint.
These vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies are the most delicious breakfast cookies for your busy morning and they are the oatmeal version of my Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies.
Are Oatmeal Cookies Healthy?
Oatmeal cookies are one of the healthiest cookie choices. Oats are among the most nutrient-dense foods, with 16.9 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber per 100 grams (source).
Therefore, these vegan oatmeal cookies are great, fulfilling cookies to start the day or refuel after a workout.
Ingredients
Let’s see what you need.
- Peanut butter – or any nut butter you like. Always make sure you are using fresh nut butter, not dry, with no added sugar or oil.
- Maple syrup – you can replace it with agave, coconut nectar or brown rice syrup, or sugar-free Monk fruit syrup.
- Almond flour – or almond meal.
- Rolled oats – I used gluten-free certified rolled oats.
- Extra virgin coconut oil – or any vegetable oil you like.
- Vanilla extract – cookies are always better with a hint of vanilla.
- Baking powder or use half baking soda if preferred.
- Vegan dark chocolate chips – I used low-sugar vegan paleo chocolate chips.
How To Make Vegan Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
These are the easiest vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies ever. In fact, it’s basically a one-bowl recipe made with only 8 ingredients.
- To begin, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper. If your parchment paper has a tendency to stick to food, consider lightly oiling it. Set the prepared sheet aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all the liquid ingredients: peanut butter, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and vanilla. To make the peanut butter more pliable, microwave it for 30 seconds.
- Use a spatula to thoroughly combine the ingredients until you achieve a consistent, shiny batter. This process typically takes no more than 1 minute.
- Next, incorporate the rolled oats, almond flour, and baking powder into the mixture, stirring until a cohesive cookie dough forms. Keep in mind that the dough may become drier as you mix. If using chocolate chips, add them to the dough and continue stirring to ensure an even distribution.
- Now, shape the cookie dough into a ball. If the dough appears too dry or crumbly, consider adding a small splash of water (around 1 tablespoon, max) to bring the ingredients together. This adjustment may be necessary, especially if you opted for almond meal instead of almond flour, as almond meal has more fiber and can dry out the cookie dough.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal parts and roll each portion into a ball using your hands. Place each cookie dough ball on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving some space between them. Although the cookies don’t expand much during baking, providing ample space ensures even flattening and prevents them from touching for consistent baking.
- Use your fingers to press down on each cookie dough ball to flatten it. If the edges crumble slightly, employ your fingers to soften them – refer to the accompanying video for additional tips and tricks.
- Bake the cookies at 350°F (180°C) for 12 to 14 minutes or until the edges turn golden. After baking, let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Use a spatula to carefully lift each cookie from the tray to the rack.
- For optimal enjoyment, wait until the cookies are fully cooled down. Keep in mind that they tend to become crispier with time.
Serving Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
These cookies are vegan oatmeal cookies, meaning they don’t contain inflammatory food like eggs or butter. They are easy to digest and provide excellent omega-3 fatty acids essential for a vegan diet.
You can serve these cookies plain or dipped in melted chocolate. You can also make my light Vegan Whipped Cream or Peanut Butter Dip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Oats are generally not gluten-free. However, research shows that most people with celiac disease can tolerate oats. The research shows that the main reason why people react to oats is a contamination issue. In fact, most oat facilities also process wheat, barley, and rye.
That is why gluten-free oats, also known as non-contaminated or pure oats, are safe for most people with gluten intolerance and often tolerated by people with celiac disease.
You can store these cookies for up to 3 weeks in a cookie jar in the pantry, at room temperature. Don’t store them in the fridge as they would soften.
They can be frozen in an airtight zip-lock bag and defrosted the day before.
More Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes
If you love easy vegan peanut butter cookie recipes, I highly recommend you try my other recipes:
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Vegan Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
Liquid ingredients
- ½ cup Peanut Butter (Unsalted) - fresh, runny, no added oil, no added sugar
- ⅓ cup Maple Syrup - or brown rice syrup
- 3 tablespoons Coconut Oil - melted or vegetable oil of your choice
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup Rolled Oats - I used gluten-free certified
- 1 cup Almond Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ⅓ cup Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips - I used low-sugar chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, lightly oil the paper if your paper tends to stick to food. Set aside.
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, add all the liquid ingredients: peanut butter, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and vanilla.
- Microwave 30 seconds to soften peanut butter, then combine with a spatula until it forms a consistent shiny batter. It shouldn't take you more than 1 minute.
- Stir in rolled oats, almond flour, and baking powder.
- Combine until it forms a cookie dough. It gets drier as you go. Stir in chocolate chips if used and keep stirring to incorporate.
- Shape a cookie dough ball. If too dry or crumbly, add a splash of water (think 1 tablespoon max.) to gather ingredients together. This could happen if you used almond meal instead of almond flour. It contains more fiber and can dry out cookie dough.
- Cut the dough into 8 even parts. Roll each part into a ball between your hands.
- Place each cookie dough ball onto the cookie sheet you prepared before. Leave a thumb space between each cookie. They won't expand while baking, but you need some space to flatten the cookies and ensure they don't touch each other for consistent baking.
- Press each cookie dough ball with your fingers to flatten.
- If the sides crumble slightly, use your fingers to soften the edges – see video for tips and tricks.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 12-14 minutes or until the sides are golden.
- Cool 10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer onto a cooling rack. Slide a spatula under each cookie to carefully carry them from the tray to the cooling rack.
- Wait until fully cool down to enjoy. They get crispier with time.
Storage
- Store up to 3 weeks in a cookie jar in the pantry, at room temperature. Don't store them in the fridge, or they will soften. They can be frozen in an airtight ziplock bag and defrosted the day before.
Notes
- Make sure you are using rolled oats and not jumbo oats. Rolled oats, also known as porridge oats, are crushed jumbo oats.
- You can replace almond flour with almond meal or sunflower seed flour.
- It is optional to add some. You can also use sugar-free dark chocolate chips or add dried raisins if preferred.
- You can make this recipe using almond butter or sunflower seed butter.
What can I substitute the oil for? I don’t think oil. Thanks.
I haven’t try removing the oil but I suspect that they won’t firm up if you use a oil swap like same amount of apple sauce or mashed bananas
Hi I watched your video, please note you used instant oats not rolled oats. Rolled oats are what you are called jumbo oats, the oats in the video are instant bc they are smaller and cook faster.
Yes, you are right but I tested the recipe with both, and they both work well in the recipe. Feel free to use your favorite option
Delicious! Added chopped pecans. And two more on top of each.
Wonderful recipe. I used white chocolate in ours and added pecans. They were very delicious!
Amazing recipe! My daughter even loved them I love how they get a little crispy after cooled. Ready to make a second batch!
Thank you SO much for your feedback. I send you and your dughter lots of love. Enjoy the recipes on the blog, XOXO Carine.
Hi there! I tried these cookies and they were delicious. The only thing I changed is that I replaced the chocolate chips by pecans. Thank you for this great recipe, it will become a regular in my house (my kids loved them!).
I’m never using another PB cookie again! These turned out INCREDBLE!! Next time I’ll have to double the recipe, because they were gobbled up quick!! Thank you!!
Oh thank YOU! So glad you love my cookie recipe, Enjoy the recipes on the blog, XOXO Carine
Excellent recipe, so easy to make with simple, natural ingredients. Fabulous energy boosters before or after a workout, and they also satisfy my (frequent) sugar cravings! I make a large batch to freeze every so often, then take 5 out at the start of the week for work. So handy!
Oh thank you for posting your comment 🙂 Makes me very happy to read it and to have you here on the blog ! XOXO Carine
Thank you for the lovely feedback! I like the idea of using pecan in those cookies, I will definetly try next time. Thanks again for taking some time to review my recipes. Enjoy the blog, XOXO Carine.
These cookies look so yummy!!!
May I use whole wheat flour instead?
I am sure it could work as a replacement to almond flour yes. Enjoy ! XOXO Carine