Healthy vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies are the perfect homemade treat for the whole family! Simple, wholesome ingredients are needed to create them in only 30 minutes total and they are perfect year-round.
This recipe for soft and crumbly oatmeal cookies infused with peanut butter has become a true family favorite for us.
They are so easy to make and can be customized with lots of add-ins to make any palate happy! Better yet, they are high in fiber, oil-free and require only a tad of maple syrup for sweetening.
Healthy snacking just got super delicious! By the way, these vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies are made with aquafaba (chickpea liquid) to keep them egg-free and fully plant-based.
The reserved chickpeas can be used for edible cookie dough or this high-protein skillet cookie!
Other vegan treats you’ll probably love are these blackout brownies and almond lemon cookies.
Recipe overview & features
- Healthy treat for kids and adults
- Soft and crumbly texture
- Peanut butter infused
- Low in added sugars
- Gluten-free and can be made allergen-free
- Made with everyday ingredients
Whenever your sweet tooth requests a delicious treat but you want to stick to more wholesome ingredients, these vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies are perfect!
Ingredients needed
- Oats – classic vegan staple food easily ground into flour and naturally gluten-free; you can choose rolled oats or quick oats!
- Natural peanut butter – adding some protein, wholesome fats and that delicious nutty hint.
- Almond milk — bringing all of the ingredients together!
- Vegan chocolate chips – because we all need some of those sprinkled into our lives sometimes!
- Maple syrup – just a hint is needed for enough sweetness. You can also use coconut sugar if you like!
- Aquafaba – this is where the healthy vegan baking magic happens!
Together with some baking powder, baking soda and a splash of lemon juice (optional), these ingredients are all you need to make healthy vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies!
In terms of kitchen equipment, a large bowl, food processor, baking sheet and parchment paper is all that’s required to make these treats.
Before you start
Preheat the oven to 345 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the aquafaba
Add the chickpea liquid into a glass bowl and mix with a hand mixer for 5-7 minutes to obtain a stiff foam.
In a food processor, add the oat flour, peanut butter, maple syrup, lemon juice, almond milk, baking powder and baking soda. Process to obtain a sticky batter.
If you don’t have a food processor, use a large bowl and add the dry ingredients first, then stir in the wet ingredients and mix with a spoon until well-combined.
No matter how you create the oatmeal batter, it needs to be placed into a bowl and topped with the stiff aquafaba.
Using a spatula, gently mix everything to incorporate the aquafaba without destroying its texture.
Time for add-ins
Finally, add the chocolate chips to your cookie batter and mix to incorporate. You can leave them out if you just want to make vegan oatmeal peanut butter cookies or browse our list of suggested add-ins below for more ideas.
Scoop the batter onto the baking sheet and press to obtain cookie shapes.
Place the sheet in your preheated oven and bake the cookies for 15 minutes, until slightly brown and cross.
Remove from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before serving.
Storage & serving suggestions
These vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies taste best when still warm and freshly baked (of course!) but you can store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
We love them on their own, with a glass of dairy-free milk or perhaps a vanilla almond latte — hot or cold, your choice.
We sometimes like to add some crumbles of these vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies on our smoothie bowl or on top of our chocolate chickpea ice cream (which even makes use of the canned chickpeas).
They also pair well with some fresh fruit!
FAQs & tips
How to make aquafaba?
We highly recommend that you use chickpea brine from a can instead of saving the cooking water from chickpeas you cooked yourself at home — the texture will be much better.
Plus, canned chickpeas are just so much more convenient! You can try to get some lower salt ones for your sweet treats if you like.
Once you’ve separated the chickpeas from the brine, place the latter in a large bowl and grab a hand mixer or stand mixer. The liquid needs to be whipped for a couple of minutes until it becomes stiff, so don’t get discouraged along the way!
Unfortunately, whisking by hand won’t work. To make the aquafaba extra stiff (which is more relevant for other uses than our oatmeal cookies), you can add cream of tartar.
Use the chickpeas from the can to make chocolate chickpea ice cream, edible cookie dough, potato curry or green hummus!
30+ Aquafaba Recipes →Can I replace the aquafaba?
Yes, you can use a flax egg (1 tablespoon of ground flax + 2 tablespoons of water) instead of the aquafaba and add less almond milk.
Store-bought egg replacers for baking can also be used.
Yes, they are gluten-free but if you need them to be free from any traces of gluten, choose certified gluten-free oats or oat flour at the store to be sure.
We haven’t tried making the cookies with any other flour.
What add-ins can I use?
We obviously love vegan chocolate chips in these peanut butter oatmeal cookies but here are more ideas:
- Raisins
- Goji berries
- Pumpkin seeds
- Dried cranberries
- Chopped nuts
- Poppy seeds
- Coconut flakes
- Vegan sprinkles
Can’t have peanut butter?
No worries, just use almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter or tahini instead.
Even canned coconut milk works for some creamy plant-based fat or choose the lower fat version I lay out in the paragraph below (minus the powder).
Instead of using peanut butter, you can go for PB2 powder (about 1 tablespoon or however much you desire) plus some unsweetened applesauce which replaces the texture of nut butter.
More vegan treats to try
Intrigued by vegan desserts? We have so many more delicious recipes you need to check out for some healthy treats!
- Sugar-Free Raspberry Flapjacks
- Silken Tofu Chocolate Mousse
- Vegan Pumpkin Brownies
- Chocolate Caramel Slice
- Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
Did you make our vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies? Share with us in the comments below, rate this recipe and feel free to pin the recipe for later or tag us on Instagram if you tried them! We’d love to see your creations.
was just looking for a recipe like this! Turned out great, thanks. The kids loved them
I have a question about almond milk. At home I usually buy 30 calorie per serving, which is one cup) Almond Breeze, can I use it in this recipe? Thank you for all your advice and inspiration, it is appreciated.
sure, you can use any almond milk you wish for this recipe! Pretty much any plant-based milk works :) The calories for each cookie will just be slightly different but nothing to stress about.
Is there anything i can use instead of aquafaba? I don’t usually stock chickpea tins at home.
you can use a flax egg (flax meal + water) instead but I’d have to make them again to tell you the exact quantities – try 2 tsp with 3 times the amount of water :)
Hi — just a note to say these are absolutely delicious cookies.
This may be the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve tried making that was plant-based and oil-free. And I’ve tried a ton.
I also appreciate that they are not overly sweet, and the flavors don’t compete with each other. That’s quite the feat — thank you!
Kate, thank you so much for sharing! This just made my morning a lot sweeter :) Really appreciate the feedback, cannot wait to share all of the other delicious recipes I have in store with the world.
Warm wishes to you x
Hi, I just tried to make these but the dough was very tough and sticky, I really couldn’t incorporste the aquafaba because it was almost like cement… any idea what went wrong? Is it that I used 100% peanut-butter instead of regular? Or did I add too little or much liquids?
Also, what blade do you use in the food processor to make the dough?
Cheers,
Yesuke
what is the equivalent of 1 can of aquafaba to UK as i used a 400g tin and was wayyy to much :)
Hi Kim,
thanks so much for asking this question! I totally agree, we should have written the amount of grams or tablespoons instead (I now changed that). Just to make sure I remember correctly, I made those cookies again tonight (hubby was very happy about that!) and it came down to about 5 tbsp of chickpea liquid. Hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Alena
Can these be made without the aqua fab?
yes, just use 1 tbsp applesauce or 1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax + splash of water) for binding :)
Hi Alena! Thank you for this recipe! I want to try it! It looks amazing!
I have a question, Can I substitute the aquafaba for something other than applesauce?
Thank you!
esther
yes, you can just use a flax egg instead (1 tbsp of ground flax + 2 tbsp water)
let us know how you like the cookies!
Hello! Just made this recipe… what a good cookie! I added some ground cinnamon and used raisins instead of chocolate chips, and instead of a lemon used a lime (didn’t have a lemon). I will probably double or triple it as I wasn’t sure how it would turn out…. this is a keeper!!
awesome, happy you like the recipe! thanks for the feedback :)
Craveable! Delicious cooked or even raw.
♡