This Dairy-Free No-Bake Cookies recipe makes soft and chewy chocolate-peanut butter oatmeal cookies with healthy ingredients in just 10 minutes -no baking needed! This no-bake cookie recipe is also vegan-friendly.
Homemade chocolate-peanut butter oatmeal cookies without turning the oven on? Yes, please. You're going to love these dairy-free no-bake cookies that are made with healthy ingredients yet taste absolutely decadent.
Nothing brings you back quite like a nostalgic rich and fudgy no-bake cookie. This type of cookie was my favorite growing up. They were truly heavenly but loaded with refined sugar. I wanted to create a healthier version for my kids (and well, me too), so this is my nutritious and delicious recreation of a childhood favorite.
These healthy-ish no-bake cookies are made with gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free ingredients but you'd never know it because they taste so indulgent. So far, I've made them with peanut butter and they are AMAZING. I bet they would be delicious with almond butter too! Best of all, my kids LOVE them, so I'm confident you will too. Enjoy!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Refined sugar-free. Make decadent cookies with natural sweeteners and ingredients.
- The flavor. The chocolate-peanut butter combination makes these cookies impossible to eat just one.
- Quick and easy. Using basic pantry ingredients, make dairy-free chocolate-peanut butter cookies in 10 minutes.
Naturally gluten-free. Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Organic Coconut Oil - helps make a soft and chewy cookie and helps the cookie keep its shape. If you can have butter, you can substitute butter 1:1 for the coconut oil for a more traditional no-bake cookie taste.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - adds a deep, chocolatey flavor.
- Coconut Sugar - For a classic no-bake taste you can use regular sugar, but coconut sugar is a great natural alternative. It sweetens no-bake cookies perfectly with a caramel-toffee-like flavor.
- Pure Maple Syrup - enhances the sweetness and adds moisture to create a soft, moist cookie.
- Almond Milk (unsweetened) - or any non-dairy milk you like.
- Peanut Butter - tastes fantastic with the fudgy, chocolatey goodness.
- Vanilla Extract - enhances the rich chocolate and peanut butter flavors.
- Quick Oats - Make sure they are certified gluten-free if necessary.
- Cinnamon - adds subtle spice and warming flavor.
- Salt- enhances the sweetness of the cookies, you especially need salt if you're using unsalted peanut butter for a better-tasting cookie
How to make no-bake cookies without dairy
Gather your ingredients, measure them out and let's not-bake some cookies!
- Heat chocolate mixture: In a saucepan, over medium heat, mix together coconut oil (or butter), cocoa, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and almond milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Let boil for 1 minute and then remove from heat.
- Mix no-bake cookie dough: Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, oats, salt, and cinnamon. Mix well until a firm and cohesive cookie dough forms.
- Mold dough: On a wax paper-lined cookie sheet, drop heaping tablespoons of dough in a single layer.
- Chill until firm: Transfer the cookie sheet to the refrigerator to let sit until firm (about 30 minutes). Serve immediately or transfer to a sealed container and keep refrigerated.
Recipe Tips
- Double or triple the recipe and store extra in the freezer for whenever you are craving something sweet.
- For soft, moist cookies use creamy peanut butter. Using peanut butter with a smooth consistency makes the BEST no-bake cookies.
- All of the ingredients are naturally gluten-free. However, cross-contamination happens, so be sure to double-check the ingredient labels, especially with the quick oats.
Substitutions
The listed ingredients can be used interchangeably to make vegan no-bake cookies.
- Coconut Oil - Regular Butter or Vegan Butter
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - Cacao Powder
- Coconut Sugar - Brown Sugar (vegan), Regular Sugar, or Maple Sugar
- Almond Milk - Coconut Milk, Oat Milk, Cashew Milk, Soy Milk, etc.
- Peanut Butter - Almond Butter, Cashew Butter, Mixed Nut Butter, Sun Butter, etc.
- Quick Oats - Rolled Oats or Old Fashioned Oats (keep in mind you'll end up with a chewier, more textured no-bake cookie).
Chocolate No-Bake Cookie Mix-Ins
Try making these addicting salty and sweet cookies by adding one or two of the following mix-ins to the dough.
- Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
- Chopped Peanuts
- Chopped Almonds, Walnuts, Macadamia Nuts, etc.
- Vegan Dark Chocolate Chunks or Chocolate Chips
- Raisins, Dried Dates, Dried Cranberries, etc.
Storing & Freezing
Storing: Once the cookie dough has had enough time in the fridge to firm up completely, transfer the cookies to an airtight container of the zip-top bag and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Freezing: No-bake cookies can be frozen for up to a month. Thaw in the fridge or enjoy chilled straight from the freezer.
Recipe FAQ
If your no-bake cookies did not set correctly, this most likely happened because the coconut oil-cocoa powder mixture was not heated to a high enough temperature. Make sure the liquid boils for a full minute before removing the saucepan from the burner.
Yes, you can use old-fashioned oats (or rolled oats). The cookies will just have a chewier texture.
Allow your cookies to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. The cookies should definitely be fully hardened within 45 minutes. To speed up the process, you can plop no-bake cookies in the freezer.
If you love this dairy-free no-bake cookie recipe I would be so grateful if you could leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below. I love reading your comments and feedback!
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No-Bake Cookies (Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
- ½ cup organic coconut oil can also sub with butter for a classic no-bake taste
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups coconut sugar *can also use regular sugar, maple sugar, or brown sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups quick oats
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, mix coconut oil, cocoa, coconut sugar, maple syrup and almond milk over medium heat and boil for 1 minute.
- Take off heat and stir in peanut or almond butter, vanilla, oats, cinnamon, and salt.
- Mix well and drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
- Refrigerate until firm, then transfer to a sealed container and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Double or triple the recipe and store extra in the freezer for whenever you are craving something sweet.
- For soft, moist cookies use creamy peanut butter. Using peanut butter with a smooth consistency makes the BEST vegan no-bake cookies.
- All of the ingredients are naturally gluten-free. However, cross-contamination happens, so be sure to double-check the ingredient labels, especially with the quick oats.
Nutrition
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gardenofeight
Will try this one for sure.
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction
Love the idea of using coconut oil! Can't wait to try these!
Emily Lynne @ The Best of this Life
Yum! I love no-bake cookies; the healthy ones! Great recipe Amee 🙂
Miz Helen
Your Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies look delicious! Thank you very much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great week!Come Back Soon,Miz Helen
Amee Livingston
Thank you all for stopping by! I hope you love these cookies as much as we do! 🙂