Healthy No Bake Cookies
on Jun 03, 2025
These Healthy No Bake Cookies are refined sugar free and made with cacao powder, pure maple syrup, and natural peanut butter. A delicious twist on the classic favorite cookie!
Our favorite no bake cookies
Everyone has had a classic no bake cookie. They are easy to make and always a nostalgic favorite.
These healthy no bake cookies taste every bit as good as that classic favorite, but are made with lighter ingredients and no refined sugar.
They are the perfect dessert: easy to prepare, naturally sweetened, chewy, and full of rich fudgy, chocolatey flavor.
I have been making these healthy no bake cookies for years and they do not disappoint.
They are also naturally dairy free, gluten free, and vegan.
My only issue with these delicious little cookies is that I can’t seem to stop eating them!
Ingredients and Notes
The full recipe with instructions is at the bottom of this post, but here are the ingredients you will need plus a few things to note.
- Natural creamy peanut butter: the only ingredients should be peanuts and salt.
- Maple syrup: the rich flavor of this natural sweetener is perfect in no bake cookies.
- Raw cacao powder: for that rich chocolate flavor. You can also substitute regular cocoa powder.
- Coconut oil: measure this when it is still solid.
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Quick oats: the small size of quick oats is perfect for the classic chewiness of no bake cookies.
How to make healthy no bake cookies
Step 1: Combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, salt, and coconut oil in a sauce pan. Stir the mixture over medium heat until melted and combined.
Step 2: Once that is melted, stir in the vanilla extract and cacao powder.
Your mixture should look like melted chocolate sauce and be smooth at this point like the photo below.
Step 3: Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the quick oats.
Step 4: Use a mini cookie scoop or spoons to drop cookies onto a wax paper lined baking sheet.
Joy’s Tip
A mini cookie scoop is perfect for portioning out no bake cookies. Just scoop, drop, and shape your cookies. It makes the process go a lot quicker!
I like using a 1.5 tablespoon sized mini cookie scoop for this recipe.
Step 5: Chill the no bake cookies in the refrigerator until hardened. This will usually take around an hour or so.
Storing
Leftover healthy no bake cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. My personal favorite is to freeze them, I love the texture!
They will keep up to one week in the refrigerator, or 2 months in the freezer.
Since these cookies are made with coconut oil, they do not sit out well. They are best served chilled!
More No Bake Recipes
I could eat these for a snack or dessert any time!
This is the best healthy no bake cookie recipe and I hope you give them a try!
Healthy No Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter, the only ingredients should be peanuts and salt
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons raw cacao powder
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, measured solid
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups quick oats
Instructions
- Combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, salt, and coconut oil in a sauce pan. Stir the mixture over medium heat until melted and combined.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and cacao powder.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the quick oats.
- Use a mini cookie scoop or spoons to drop the cookie batter onto a wax paper lined baking sheet. Shape the cookies and flatten the tops, if desired.
- Chill the no bake cookies in the refrigerator until hardened. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.
I modified these a little.. I used half cocoa half chocolate protein powder and I mixed PB2 with the coconut oil before adding instead of peanut butter. I noticed after 2 cups of oats that my batter couldn’t take any more. I realized later that I forgot to add my almond milk so that’s probably why but the cookie was still good and held together well. And my cookies ended up higher in protein, and lower in fat and carbs. No bake cookies were a favorite when I was a kid so Im super happy I found this recipe!
Bottom line: a huge hit in this gf, dairy-free, low-sugar household! My husband loves them. Pretty much… that’s the most important thing about these cookies. Rich flavor. Trying to provide him with fresh & healthy grab-n-go foods in order to have fewer less-healthy processed food items in the house.
Super easy to make! That’s the next-important thing! Easy clean-up. Love that there aren’t a guhzillion ingredients, and no obscure ingredients, either (for our household, at least). Found a huge bag of organic, fair trade cacao as well as huge bag of glysophate-free, organic, gluten-free rolled oats at Costco, so I can now make these cookies on a regular basis for pennies per serving! Much less pricey than similar processed snack foods. I used Maranatha brand raw organic almond butter and Kirkland real maple syrup. Because one commenter used butter successfully, I used 1/2 butter & 1/2 coconut oil because my husband prefers butter over coconut oil.
A wonderful treat! Thank you, Joy!
Is the cacao powder just for flavor or is it necessary for binding the cookie together? I’m wondering if I can leave out the cacao and put raisin or cacao nibs in instead.
It is what will give it the chocolate shape and color.
I’ve made these twice now and love them! I used ghee the first time and butter the second, it’s what I had, and they were great! I highly recommend using maple syrup as it compliments the chocolate flavor!
There’s are the best!!! Thank you!!!
These are delicious. I was skeptical, but one taste and I was hooked. Has a little coconut flavor, which I think is great. Will make these again! Great find! Normally the original no bake cookies has like 4 cups of sugar. You will not miss any of that sugar in these!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Heather!
Looks yummy! Pinned for later
No, rolled oats are the specific texture needed for this recipe.
I added some unsweetened flake coconut and dried cranberries YUMMY!
Wow these are amazing! I can’t tell the difference between the original
Ones and these! Thanks for a quick healthy snack option!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Emily!