No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
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My family is obsessed with these no bake oatmeal cookies. They need just 3 ingredients to make and use wholesome and simple ingredients.
No Bake Oatmeal Cookies in minutes.
My family and I always need a post-dinner sweet treat, and these 3 ingredient no-bake oatmeal cookies have become a savior. Unlike other no-bake cookies, these skip out on the butter and sugar but are still thick, chewy, and stable at room temperature. They take minutes to make and are so fun to customize.
Love no bake cookie recipes? Try my unicorn cookies and chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies.
Key Ingredients
- Rolled oats. Also called old-fashioned oats, they provide the chewy texture we love in a good oatmeal cookie! If you’d prefer a softer texture, quick oats work well.
- Peanut butter. Smooth and drippy peanut butter works best, as it is the easiest to mix into the dough. Try to avoid peanut butter with added sugar or ones with a crunchy texture.
- Maple syrup. A refined sugar free sweetener that not only adds sweetness but helps bind the cookies together. I’ve tested this with honey and agave syrup and both worked just as well.
How to make no bake oatmeal cookies
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Make the batter. Start by adding your oats into a large mixing bowl. Add the peanut butter and syrup and mix well until combined. Fold through your mix-ins of choice using a rubber spatula.
Shape. Next, lightly wet your hands. Form small balls of the cookie mixture and place them on a lined plate. Press down to form a cookie shape and refrigerate them for 20 minutes to firm up.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Boil the mixture. Sometimes, peanut butter can be a little firm, so I like to combine that and the maple syrup in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add the oats, mix, and shape into drop cookies.
- Add mix-ins. Like any good no bake cookie, be creative by adding in nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, coconut flakes, or even candy buttons.
- Wet your hands. My secret trick to shaping the cookies and preventing the oats and syrup from sticking to your fingers!
More no bake desserts to try
No Bake Oatmeal Cookies (3 Ingredients!)
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats Can use quick oats
- 1 cup peanut butter * See notes
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips of choice optional
Instructions
- Line a large plate with parpchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all your ingredients and mix well, until combined. Fold through your mix-ins of choice.
- Using your hands, form into 12 small balls and place on the lined plate. Press each ball into a cookie shape.
- Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, before enjoying.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published January 2016, updated April 2023, and republished April 2024
These are easy and delicious
Sounds wonderful
Thank you Janice! Let us know how you go 🙂
Cookies are very easy to make and very good thank you
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Nancy!
Yummo cannot wait to make these thanks!
Please do, Eileen- let me know how you go 🙂
Easy and delicious! That’s a win!
Thank you, Donna!
These are amazing & always a hit!
I add Vanilla & cinnamon to the mixture w/chopped up nuts & dried fruit.
I use a small cookie scoop to form the ball & then top w/a little bit of Maldon Salt. It takes the flavor to a different level.
I ran out of peanut butter & there was a jar of mixed nut butter & was supper delicious.
Great snack that is much healthier than regular cookies.
Thanks for the base recipe!!!!
You are welcome, Lynn- love the additions you’ve made!
These are now a staple item in our freezer!
I often double the recipe. I do 1/2 quick oats and 1/2 rolled oats. The quick oats seem to help it ‘bind’ together better.
My husband recommended to melt the chocolate and do a thin layer on top and its a must do, now.
We also have better access to local honey so we often use that instead of maple syrup.
I plan to add some variety like nuts and dried fruits, but havent gotten to it, yet.
Sounds like you have perfected this one Corina! So glad you enjoy them. Let us know how you go with the additions!
Very simple delicious and easy to follow.
Hi Arman<
Venturing out to try a whole load of your recipes as our family moves to healthier eating, counts calories but want the treats.
For this recipe how do the calories change if I use non GF oats? quick or rolled.
TIA
Hi Bushra- thanks for the comment. No, not at all. GF and regular oats have the same nutritional content.
Love these cookies. The flavour is sweet but also a bit salty because of the peanut butter and the consistency is chewy, overall very nice!
When I see the mini “Perfect Bars” on BOGO, I pick them up. But they have gotten too pricey & go fast. I loved this recipe! ….These were gone in 24 hours between my husband, me and 9 year old. I ended up grinding 1 cup of the oats & left the other 1 cup of rolled oats whole for the mix. I liked the texture w/ the ground oats (along with while oats) & it still held together well. Melting the PB was a great tip prior to mixing in the maple syrup & oats/oat flour.
I then used a 24 silicone mini muffin pan. The batter filled each one to the top and made 24 perfect bits in the shape of mini muffins. It was so quick and easy with no rolling :). And we really liked the shape & it was an easy 2, 3 bites! I will be making another batch today. What a deal and yummy treat! PS. This would even make easy/cheap dog cookies (maple syrup ok w dogs in moderation)
I normally make a healthy no bake chocolate oatmeal cookie recipe but today I am cooking for someone who cannot tolerate chocolate so I tried this recipe. Even though I used natural peanut butter which tends to be more wet this mixture came out so dry. I didn’t even put all of the oats in. I will go back to my other recipe and just omit the chocolate next time . It really needs the coconut oil.
Hi Tammy- no worries, I understand. Although I’m not sure why it came out dry- unless you omitted some of the syrup, or used sugar coarse oats, they should have the ideal texture. I did test these using coconut oil and found the peanut butter did sufficient binding and added enough richness to them.
these are great cookies. I make them a bit smaller, roll them in protein powder before putting them if the refrigerator. My husband loves them.bac