Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (2024)

These healthy peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are addictively chewy! Quick and easy to make, this peanut butter oat cookie recipe is also gluten-free, oil-free, dairy-free and flourless.

Believe me, this is the only peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe you need. Perfect as a healthy dessert, as a snack or to enjoy for breakfast.

Soft at first bite, with a slightly crunchy texture from the oats. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there is nothing better than a chewy peanut butter oatmeal cookie. Oh my goodness, the description alone makes me salivate already. Well, no wonder that I’m snacking on one of those cookies right now...

Why are these oatmeal cookies healthy?

Unlike the cookies you buy, these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are rich in nutrients and fibers. Furthermore, this recipe is also dairy-free, oil-free and gluten-free, provided that you use gluten-free rolled oats.

As these are peanut butter cookies made with oats, they also have a low glycemic index. Nutritionists and dietitians suggest eating low glycemic index foods for a healthier lifestyle because they will keep your glucose levels under control. Meaning that your energy levels will stay constant throughout the entire day!

The ingredients

This peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe is very simple. It only requires eight basic ingredients, no flour, no oil and no butter. What is more, with the right substitutes these cookies can also be made vegan.

Keep on reading to learn all the ingredients you need, their substitutes and more details!

• Rolled oats: for the best peanut butter cookies, I recommend making this recipe with rolled oats (also known as “old-fashioned” oats). Although also quick oats or a mix of both will work, the texture of your cookies won’t be the same. Lastly, make sure to use gluten-free oats for gluten-free cookies.
• Coconut sugar: for healthier oat cookies, this recipe uses coconut sugar. But if you don’t have it, you can replace with brown sugar, date sugar, normal sugar or any other granular sweetener of your choice. Syrups and honey, instead, are not adequate as they will alter the cookie dough texture. For sugar-free cookies, I recommend making these chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with erythritol.
• Peanut butter: use creamy peanut butter, best if it is sugar-free and salt-free. As those are peanut butter oatmeal cookies, this ingredient is an essential part of the recipe and therefore should not be replaced. However, if you still want to make those cookies without it, feel free to swap the peanut butter out for any other nut butter. Great options are almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower seed butter.
• Egg: for the best taste and nutritional benefits I recommend using a fresh egg, from free range chicken if possible.If you want to make vegan cookies, replace with one flaxseed egg.
• Baking powder: this ingredient will help your cookie rise. However, if you don’t have it or prefer not to use it, the baking powder can be left out. This recipe will come out anyway, but the cookies will be slightly flatter.
• Vanilla flavor: although it is just a teaspoon, this ingredient will add a delicious taste to your cookies.
• Salt: this enhances the tastes and balances the sweetness.
• Chocolate chips: for cookies that are lower in sugar, this recipe uses extra dark chocolate chips. Feel free to pick and choose the ones you like the most: sugar-free, dark or milk chocolate will all work!

How to make vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies

Do you follow a vegan diet but still want to make these cookies? No problem, because making vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies is very easy. All you have to do is substituting the egg with one flaxseed egg (or any other egg replacement). The preparation of one flaxseed egg is as simple as mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with 2 ½ tablespoons of water. Let it rest for about five minutes and you are set to bake!

Oatmeal cookies with protein powder

There are two ways to make peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that are higher in protein. The first option is to replace part of the oats with protein powder. In this case, my recommendation is to substitute 30 to 50 grams of oatmeal with protein, no more. The second option, instead, is to enrich this recipe with a scoop of protein powder and adjust the dough with more peanut butter or milk until it reaches the right consistency.

Keep in mind that different types of protein powderbehave differentlywhen baking. Thus, you may need to adapt the dough accordingly.

As a rule of thumb:

• Vegan protein powder and casein are more absorbent. Therefore your recipe will likely require a pour of milk (if it is too thick).
• Whey protein powder mixes very well and dissolves easily. Therefore you may need to adjust the dough with more oats.

And if you are still looking for high protein oatmeal cookies, I recommend checking this recipe here. It is very similar to this one, but with the addition of protein powder.

How to make flourless oatmeal cookie with peanut butter

In a large mixing bowl add 1 egg, peanut butter, granular sweetener (erythritol, coconut sugar or any other granular sweetener), vanilla extract and salt. Using a fork or whisk, stir the wet mixture for a couple of minutes until all is well combined.

Add to the wet mixture rolled oats and baking powder. Using a spatula, stir all ingredients together. Depending on the peanut butter consistency, the dough may require about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of milk if it is too thick.

Finally, stir in the chocolate chunks. Let the healthy peanut butter oatmeal cookies batter rest for at least 10 minutes in the fridge.

Scoop some dough out and shape 10 cookies. Transfer the peanut butter cookies to a parchment paper covered baking sheet, spacing the cookies apart. Bake in hot oven for 10 to 14 minutes and let cool over a baking rack before serving.

When to eat chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

As you may have noticed, I am pretty obsessed with these healthy peanut butter oatmeal cookies. Besides being so healthy and delicious, they are also incredibly versatile.

As a dessert or snack, these flourless oatmeal cookies are the healthy solution to your sweet tooth. And if you get caught by cravings early in the day, try them for breakfast! For a more balanced meal, I recommend serving your peanut butter cookies with a generous amount of Greek yogurt and some fruit.

More healthy oatmeal cookie recipes

• No bake chocolate oatmeal cookies
• Oatmeal protein cookies
• 3 ingredient breakfast cookies
• Banana protein cookies with egg whites
• Oatmeal protein cookie dough bars