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This healthy peanut butter cookies recipe is so tasty and easy to make by hand with just 7 ingredients.
My go-to recipe for when I’m craving a batch of warm, delicious, and slightly-healthier cookies…stat. ♡
These peanut butter cookies are always here to save the day. They’re wonderfully low fuss with just 10 minutes of prep time and only require 7 basic ingredients that are likely already hanging out in your pantry. They’re naturally gluten-free and dairy-free and made with a chewy oatmeal base. There’s no mixer or chill time required here. And even without the usual flour and butter, these peanut butter cookies are still downright delicious.
Feel free to stir some chocolate chips, nuts, or other add-ins to the dough if you’d like. And I definitely recommend a little sprinkle of flaky sea salt for a crunchy finish.
Let’s bake some cookies together!
Healthy Peanut Butter Cookie Ingredients
Here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need to make this healthy peanut butter cookies recipe:
- Natural creamy peanut butter: This recipe was developed with natural creamy peanut butter made from 100% peanuts. (The consistency of natural peanut butter varies significantly from traditional peanut butter.) As always, be sure to give your jar of natural pb a good stir before adding it to the recipe.
- Old fashioned oats: Old fashioned oats (aka “rolled” oats) will serve as the base for these cookies. If you want to make this recipe gluten-free, be sure to check labels to ensure that your oats are certified gluten-free.
- Eggs: We will use eggs tohelp bind all of the ingredients together.
- Brown sugar:I typically make this recipe with light brown sugar, but other forms of granulated sugar may work well too.
- Baking soda: Baking soda will serve as our leavening agent to help the cookie dough rise.
- Vanilla extract:A hint of vanilla extract brings out the best of the peanut butter flavor.
- Salt:And finally, we will use fine sea salt in the cookie dough to bring out the best of all of those flavors. Then I also highly recommend sprinkling a pinch of flaky sea salt on the cookies after baking.
- (Optional) Chocolate chips or nuts: Feel free to also add in a handful of semisweet chocolate chips or chopped nuts (such as pecans or walnuts) if you would like!
Peanut Butter Cookie Tips
Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few additional tips to keep in mind when making these peanut butter cookies:
- Use natural peanut butter. Again, this recipe was developed using natural peanut butter, which you can either purchase at the store or make homemade. The texture/consistency will not be the same if traditional peanut butter is used.
- Save time with a cookie scoop.You’re totally welcome to just use a spoon to scoop the batter into roughly 2-tablespoon balls. But if you’d like to save time, a medium cookie scoop makes measuring and scooping the batter a breeze.
- Be sure to flatten the cookies slightly. This batter doesn’t rise and spread very much on its own, so I recommend patting the cookies down slightly before baking.
Recipe Variations
Here are a few additional variations that you are welcome to try with this recipe:
- Add cocoa powder:Add 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder to the batter if you would like to make it more chocolatey.
- Add cinnamon:Add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the batter if you would like a hint of cinnamon flavor.
- Use different chocolate chips:Use any other favorite kinds of baking chips (i.e. butterscotch, white chocolate, peanut butter, Heath bar chips, M&Ms, etc) in place of semisweet chocolate chips.
More Cookie Recipes
Looking for more delicious cookie recipes to try? Here are a few of our faves:
- The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Brown Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Linzer Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star4.7 from 75 reviews
- Author: Ali
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: About 15 cookies 1x
Description
This tasty healthy peanut butter cookies recipe is quick and easy to make by hand with just 7 ingredients.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- optional: 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped nuts
- flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- Prep oven and baking sheet. Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix the dough. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and brown sugar together until smooth. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt evenly over the top of the mixture and stir until combined. Add in the vanilla, peanut butter, and stir until combined. Add in the oats (and chocolate chips or nuts, if using) and stir until evenly combined.
- Scoop the dough. Use a medium (2 tablespoon) cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Gently press down the dough balls to slightly flatten the tops, since they will not spread much while baking.
- Bake. Bake for 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and sprinkle each cookie with a small pinch of flaky sea salt. Let the cookies cool for at least 5 minutes.
- Serve. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Storage instructions:Cookies can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
posted on October 27, 2022 by Ali
7-Ingredient Recipes, Cookies, Dairy-free, Desserts, Gluten-free, Vegetarian
158 Comments »
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158 comments on “Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies”
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Sofi — June 28, 2020 @ 4:21 pm Reply
Hi there Ali! My name is Sofi! My friends mother just passed away. I want to give them these AMAZING cookies but they can’t have specific foods. DO you mind posting a Nutrition Table? That would be very helpful. Thx!
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Carla Luna — July 5, 2020 @ 8:44 am Reply
My husband loves these! He had been asking me for months to bake something healthy that he could enjoy after his workout and this was the perfect recipe. It’s super easy and barely takes time. I’m in your debt!
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Johnny Swift — October 19, 2020 @ 4:06 am Reply
I gave a batch of these to my girlfriend and within twenty minutes I had her pants off an she was smiling big time!
She will want more real soon!! -
Mel — October 22, 2020 @ 8:40 am Reply
I did not enjoy these cookies. The flavor is ok, but they no crunch to them. More like a cookie shaped flat muffin top.
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Kathi — November 5, 2020 @ 12:53 am Reply
I have made these cookies several times. They are my very favorite. I added mini chocolate chips and some raisins.
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Adavidson — November 11, 2020 @ 3:26 pm Reply
Followed recipe exactly… after 10 mins in oven, they were flat and huge! But still completely raw?? I put them in for a further 10 minutes and just hasn’t worked? I don’t know what I did wrong as the recipient was followed exactly?
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KATHY VAN — November 11, 2020 @ 11:13 pm Reply
Wow, wow and wow. Delicious. Gluten free and amazing. The only thing I added was chopped pecans and one pecan on top to make it pretty ❤️
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Jocy — September 1, 2021 @ 9:22 pm
I was a little hesitant to make these we are not big fans of pb cookies. But I needed a healthy fatty snack for my family. I made half the recipe to just give it a try. Omg!!! It is perfect!!! Everyone loved it!! I can’t wait to try with nuts. Thank you so much!!!
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Angela — November 15, 2020 @ 3:57 pm Reply
Curious about nutrition info didn’t see it listed anywhere and am wondering how many calories are in a cookie and how many carbs? Anyone?
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melinda martin — September 13, 2021 @ 1:56 pm
I calculated the recipe on Myfitnesspal at 12 cookies, 199 cals each.
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Annice Kay Heinz — November 24, 2020 @ 4:31 pm Reply
Easy to make, like the NO BAKE Oatmeal Chocolate cookies, and I added Semi Sweet chocolates instead of nuts. Next time I will add raisins.
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Jamie — November 28, 2020 @ 11:58 am Reply
These are the best healthy peanut butter cookies! By far my favourite recipe! Their easy to make, they taste so good and they’re healthy.
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Amanda Nelson — December 18, 2020 @ 5:33 pm Reply
I just made these today and they are amazing!!!! I put the chocolate chips in mine and they are delicious. Especially when they were warm and the chocolate was melted!!! <3
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Melinda — December 23, 2020 @ 10:04 am Reply
The gluten free oats I have on hand are the quick-cook/1-minute kind. Will these still bring the same results in your cookies?
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Ali — December 23, 2020 @ 11:09 am
They should still work! The texture will be slightly different.
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Meggie — January 14, 2021 @ 2:10 pm Reply
Perfect guilt-free peanut butter cookies! They taste just as good as regular pb cookies without all the butter and sugar. Super quick and easy to make too. Thank you so much for this recipe, will definitely make again!
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L Molenhuis — January 27, 2021 @ 8:59 pm Reply
These are delicious. Do you have the nutritional information available?
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Pamela Fleury — March 7, 2021 @ 8:41 am Reply
Have not made the recipe because I couldn’t find nutritional info ….. did I miss it?
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Janice G — April 15, 2021 @ 3:24 pm Reply
Amazing cookies, my husband who has to eat gluten free absolutely loves these. We just use gluten free oats. Thanks for the recipe!
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Donna — August 6, 2021 @ 10:16 pm Reply
Thank you for creating a healthy cookie recipe. Just found this. I have been making changes in my eating habits after dealing with some medical issues but I do have a sweet tooth I just don’t want or need all the added refined sugar in most recipes. Having read many of the comments I made the following changes: 1/4 c raw sugar & 1/4 c raw honey instead of 1/2 c brown sugar: quick oats (what I had on hand): added about 1/4-1/2 tsp more vanilla: because I like chocolate I also added cho chips: added about 2 tsp oat flour because of the honey. I used a small cookie scoop (I like a smaller cookie). Baked in convection oven at 325 for 11 minutes. Perfect I love these cookies. Will be making more very soon.
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MaryAnn Coy — October 29, 2022 @ 12:19 am
Great ideas. Healthier cookies are still a better way to partake of an occasional treat. Freeze them in sandwich bags In a bigger freezer bag. Take just 1 for a snack leave the rest in the freezer, less likely to overindulge that way.
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Angie Fullerton — August 8, 2021 @ 8:50 am Reply
This recipe always goes over incredibly well! I like to use chunky peanut butter to add some crunchy peanuts to the mix.
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Kim Voisin — September 22, 2021 @ 9:14 pm Reply
I made these anticipating an amazing cookie. Something went wrong and they leave such an awful after taste we cannot eat them. And I doubled the recipe :(
Not sure what happened or based on the ingredient list what could have been bad. Does any one have any suggestions? -
Sarah C — November 9, 2021 @ 10:36 am Reply
If your cookies came out flat as a pancake, check what peanut butter you used. I made two batches, one with JIF peanut butter and one with organic 100% natural peanut butter. The batch with JIF peanut butter flattened out but the one with organic peanut butter was perfect. A++ recipe! Brough the cookies to a dinner and they were a hit!
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Andrea — February 19, 2022 @ 9:51 pm Reply
Not sure if it’s already in the comments but I used 2 tablespoons of flax meal + 6 tablespoons of water in place of the 2 eggs! Came out great I added about 5 more mins bake time :)
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Jennifer Murdoch — March 18, 2022 @ 6:58 pm Reply
These look delicious. Do you have the nutritional breakdown?
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Cheryl — March 21, 2022 @ 7:21 pm Reply
These were SO good!! I was afraid of how they would turn out since they aren’t “traditional cookie dough”. But they baked very nicely! This is definitely going in to my saved recipe! Thank you!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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Roma — April 6, 2022 @ 12:00 am Reply
Hi, thank you for sharing your recipe, I tried it and really liked it.
Just wanted to ask if I can use other natural butter, like almond or cashew butter?Thanks in advance.
Roma
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Anonymous Mommy — July 14, 2022 @ 2:25 pm Reply
I love a good, easy, and healthy oatmeal cookie recipe! I made these for my toddlers today and they were a big hit. The texture was soft and chewy and there wasn’t too much sugar. I’ll be making these again!
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Meg Welch — July 30, 2022 @ 8:58 pm Reply
These were extremely delicious and super easy to make! I used GF oats too. I am vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free; so this was the perfect treat for me.
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Sadye — October 27, 2022 @ 10:16 am Reply
Cookie + Kate has a similar recipe that makes EXCELLENT ice cream sandwiches … just sayin’ for anyone who tries Ali’s version!
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Darlene Prochaska — October 28, 2022 @ 9:19 am Reply
Have a peanut sensitivity. Do you think I could make these with natural almond butter?
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MaryAnn Coy — October 29, 2022 @ 12:11 am Reply
Where’s the acid to activate the baking soda?
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Ramona — November 3, 2022 @ 1:50 pm Reply
Loved these!
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Laurie Proctor — November 3, 2022 @ 10:30 pm Reply
These cookies are really good. I made them with 2/3 of a cup of organic peanut butter instead of one cup. Thank you. My grand daughter loved them as an after school snack. Hello from the rainy Comox Valley, Vancouver Island,Canada
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Kathleen — November 30, 2022 @ 4:28 pm Reply
This recipe didn’t really work for me. The “dough” was like a batter, way too liquid to form into cookies. I had to add 1/4c of flour to make it stiff enough. Once baked (12 min), they were just ok. Barely sweet at all, and they have a slightly odd aftertaste (which someone else commented on too). I wonder if it’s the baking soda–maybe 3/4t baking soda would be enough. This is the first of your recipes to fail me, Ali! :(
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Alison — December 23, 2022 @ 4:31 pm Reply
I made these today and they are incredible! My husband and I can’t get enough of the peanut butter chocolate combo, and I love that they have no refined flour in them. I highly recommend using dark chocolate chips in these! Pro tip: the dough is super sticky, so use the back of a measuring cup to flatten the cookies instead of your hands.
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Emma — January 30, 2023 @ 9:36 am Reply
Hii
Your recipe is great! I definitely want to try cooking all the dishes. Thank you for the inspiration!!!! -
Meg Mullett — April 25, 2023 @ 12:49 pm Reply
These are great! I cut the recipe in half, and added 1/4 cup roasted peanuts instead of other nuts or chocolate. Then I cooked them in the air fryer 350 for 6 minutes. Came out perfect! Thanks for a great recipe!
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Isabel — May 31, 2023 @ 7:38 pm Reply
Made these tonight. Turned out very well. We all enjoyed them
Thanks.
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