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Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

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This healthy peanut butter cookies recipe is so tasty and easy to make by hand with just 7 ingredients.

Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

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 Cookies

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 to help bind all of the ingredients together.
  • Brown sugarI 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 extractA hint of vanilla extract brings out the best of the peanut butter flavor.
  • SaltAnd 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!

Step by step photos showing how to make peanut butter cookies

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.

Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Sea Salt Closeup

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.

Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies in Stack

More Cookie Recipes

Looking for more delicious cookie recipes to try? Here are a few of our faves:

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Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 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

Instructions

  1. Prep oven and baking sheet. Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

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158 comments on “Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies”

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  1. Ali, my husband doesn’t care for the texture of oatmeal. Can I use oat flour instead, and if so, would I still use a cup?

    • Try grinding the oatmeal in blender or coffee grinder before you incorporate into cookies. That way texture will be smooth and it’ll still be healthier.

  2. These look delicious! And I totally agree with adding chocolate chips – pb + chocolate is one of my favourite flavour combos! What would you recommend to swap the eggs with to make the cookies vegan? Do you think a flax egg would work well?

  3. You two are so cute! And your neighbors are in for quite the treat. I love that you used natural peanut butter. It’s my preferred PB, but most cookie recipes I’ve seen always say not to use it.

  4. They look great. Shame you couldn’t get a shot of the mailman and electrical man etc, that would have been cool :)

  5. Great minds think alike! I just posted a healthy PB cookie recipe yesterday! Yours looks absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to try it! Love the little boxes too xx

  6. These look absolutely fabulous! I love that you bake cookies for your new neighbours. More people need to reach out and connect with their neighbours :) Just a quick lil note – vegans don’t eat eggs, but I’ve had a lot of luck with chickpea brine or ground flax & water in lieu of eggs in cookies :)

  7. I made these as soon as I got home from work. I’ve alreasy ate 2! I don’t think I can make them again haha.






  8. Made these tonight. Loved the flavor and healthy recipe that didn’t include a banana! Lol. I may even have one for breakfast.






  9. yum. these look amazing! thanks for sharing.

  10. You two are so freaking cute together. I can’t wait to try these!






  11. We just pulled our first batch out of the oven and they are AMAZING!!! Can’t wait to share them with our gluten-free relatives this Thanksgiving too.






  12. This sound perfect for sharing with neighbors old and new! Anxiously awaiting a shipment of gluten-free oats to arrive, putting these cookies on top of my list to make.

  13. These are so simple, you think ‘why didn’t I think of that!?’ and so delicious, you wonder ‘what witchcraft is this!?’

    They might just be genius.






  14. We just made a batch…and I wish we had tripled it! These were so good!!! The texture is definitely a little different than flour-based cookies, but we loved them and ate every last one. Can’t wait to make the next batch soon!






  15. Just made a big batch of these to surprise my husband. While the taste is absolutely awesome they are quite dry! I don’t think it’s worth eating them, what went wrong? Followed the recipe very meticulously!






    • Oh no, sorry to hear that. Did you maybe use traditional peanut butter instead of natural?

    • No I got some all natural, 100% peanuts peanut butter. I would like to try again but not sure what to change…

    • After some Googling i may have found the problem. Living in the Netherlands “brown sugar” means something different here than in any english speaking country. The sugar we have here attracts a lot of moisture making the cookies very cake like already but also makes the batter very liquid which lead to me adding some extra oats because I could not scoop it. Results: not so good. Would you recommend using granulated, castor or cane sugar instead?

  16. Yes! I was checking your blog each day for this recipe after seeing the cookies on Instagram. I just made my first batch and love them!






  17. Recipe looks fabulous! Just as a side note, if it is to be made for those with Celiac Disease that require gluten free, the oats to be used have to be Certified Gluten Free Oats, otherwise is not fully gluten-free and not Celiac safe.

  18. Best cookies that I have ever made! You can not even tell that it is oatmeal in them, they are moist and soft and taste great!






  19. I made these using homemade gingerbread pecan butter from Fannetastic Food recipe and they were delish! Great texture and flavor.






  20. These are so delicious! I have made them three times in the past week, haha. They are great for the holidays and for my gluten-free family to enjoy :) I love the low amount of sugar and the protein from peanut butter too. The first time I made them I realized, after I cracked four eggs, that I did not have some of the ingredients so I used regular flour instead of oats and white sugar with molasses instead of brown sugar and they turned out great! Best healthy cookie recipe I’ve ever tried, thanks for sharing!!






  21. Hi, have you by chance tried these with natural almond butter? It’s all I have on hand so made me curious if I need a store run or not. Thanks!

  22. Although i really liked the flavour of these cookie I found them tacky to the touch. Not sure if they are meant to be sticky? Maybe I needed to bake them for longer?






  23. I made these yesterday and holy moly are they delicious! So good I had to share the recipe with my sisters. My kids and husband loved them too. I’ll be making them again soon!

  24. I almost forgot! I used Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter. My husband picked up a jar by mistake so it was a quick way to use most of it up. They were amazing!

  25. I am not one to comment on blogs, videos, etc. but OMG, I had to comment about these cookies!! Due to health reasons, I have had to go GF, and these cookies have been a lifesaver! Being GF, you worrying about being able to bake things that are actually edible, and these are simply amazing!! They are soft, chewy, full of flavor, and 100% a crowd pleaser! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe- you seriously rock my socks girl!!






  26. great neighborly idea, curious to know if anyone there has ever had a peanut butter cookie! Great simple recipe, love the “no mixer” prep!

  27. Just made a batch and love them! Could you provide the nutritional info for these?






  28. Can you tell me the calorie count per Healthy Peanut Butter Cookie, please?






  29. These cookies are so delicious and the batter is so easy to prepare. LOVE this recipe! I add a tbsp or two of ground flax seeds and have had success with that, too! Thanks for such a delicious recipe!!






  30. I’ve made these a few times and we really liked them for a healthier cookie option! The nuts and dark chocolate chips are a perfect addition. ❤️






  31. Hi! I used honey instead of sugar (because it’s a natural sweetener and sugar isn’t.) I also used steel-cut oats (because they’re healthier than rolled oats) and it was delish! Thanks, I’ll be making these all the time!






  32. absolutely delic!!! hard to stop myself from eating the whole batch!






  33. I love these cookies. Turned out perfect.






  34. Would it work to use Agave or other sweetener? I am trying to stay away from refined sugars like white or brown. Love your blog <3 <3
    Thanks!!!!
    Linda

    • Agave has a high index, actually highest and stays in your body longer. I’d try coconut sugar or honey. I haven’t tried recipe yet but going to this evening after reading reviews. And I want to move to Spain too! ?

  35. Can I use crunchy peanut butter? Ps: I’ve made this once before and it was a great recipe.






  36. I made this recipe tonight and they came out awesome! I didn’t have any oats so I used almond flour instead and baked them for 15 minutes. They came out so good, even my husband liked them! Will definitely be making again.






  37. Just made these! They turned out so good! Just bought a jar of natural, crunchy peanut butter and was looking for a healthy-ish cookie recipe. I only had instant oats on hand and I was worried that the oats would cook too fast and become mushy, so I substituted a 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup of instant oats. I baked for the full 10 mins, but would probably add on another 2-3 mins (used a convection oven). The insides were a bit too soft/ raw looking. I have a sweet tooth, so I also added two extra tablespoons of brown sugar, but next time I’ll only do the 1/2 cup sugar. It was plenty sweet!

    Thanks for the recipe :) Looking forward to trying more!!






  38. These look delish! I’d like to whip some up tonight, but I only happen to have fine sea salt crystals on hand – think it’ll be okay to use this instead of Maldon flakes? Thanks in advance!

  39. I made these today and I’m really happy with the results. There are a few things I would like to experiment with, however. I was really surprised at how visually pleasing they are. They don’t look healthy, and that’s a great thing. While these are said to be light, I didn’t have the same experience. Mine were somewhat dense, but not unpleasing. It felt like I was eating a really moist cookie. They are VERY satisfying. By my second cookie, I was feeling satisfied. While enjoying these, I had to remind myself that they did not have butter, flour and a ton of sugar. I was starting to feel guilty! :)

    Future changes:
    I may use crunchy BP next time
    I will process the oats to a course texture, and probably add 1/4 cup more.
    I will toast the oat in a dry pan to bring out the nuttiness prior to use
    I dislike chocolate so I left that out in my first batch and will continue to do so in future batches.






  40. Just made these and am so impressed! I shouldn’t be surprised?. Well done, Ali! Another great one???????






  41. I am late to this party. But this mom of 3 finds herself with an overload of non-natural crunchy PB at the moment. Will the recipe still work?

  42. These are amazing! Remind me of monster cookies a bit!






  43. Easy, delicious and healthy!!! Super yum






  44. I’m making these for the first time, patiently waiting for the 10 minutes to be up! Smells delicious…

  45. These are fantastic! I never would have expected that with just seven ingredients such a delicious, soft cookie would result! Thank you so much!






  46. These are delish, I love the taste of real pb with no bananas in the recipe. I’m going to make them during the holidays in lieu of blossoms with a Hershey’s kiss and a tiny sprinkling of sugar on top as a special treat. Thank you for your recipe. I just found your blog yesterday. You should do the fb sponsoring ad so that you can reach more people.

  47. These look scrumptious! And I knew I could count on you for an amazing looking recipe since I need to use up some natural PB and would rather make “healthier” cookies. Can’t wait to bake! thanks Ali!

  48. So good!! A healthier way to satisfy my sweet tooth. We added a small amount of mini chocolate chips to ours.






  49. I have a question because I’m SO making these cookies for Valentines Day! I sounds like you gave away cookies to nine people (six adorable boxes, repairman and two friends). At 12-14 cookies per batch, how many batches did you make, like how many cookies fit in those boxes?

    Thanks; btw, so many of yr recipes are now in my rotation, you’re famous in my house!

    • SO these were a big success. I used my 2tbs scoop which yielded 18-20 cookies, careful not to overbake, doubled the recipe. People asked for the recipe ☺️. Oh, and I toasted the oatmeal , right when the oven preheated.

  50. I substituted coconut sugar for brown sugar one to one