Made with only good-for-you ingredients, these superfood cookies are about to become your next favorite healthy treat. They are gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free, and don’t contain refined sugar.
The holiday season almost always ends with a few extra pounds. But a few minor diet changes should be enough to get back on track.
Does this mean giving up our favorite sweets and cookies? Luckily, you can swap your favorite cookies with healthier alternatives.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Healthy and nutritious. Due to the ingredients used to make them, these cookies are packed with fiber, protein, and some heart-healthy fats. Another good thing is that they are also gluten-free and vegan.
- No-bake cookies. While baking cookies is not a difficult task, we don’t always have time for it. This no-bake cookie recipe is perfect for days when you are not in the mood to turn on the oven.
- Made in less than 10 minutes. It takes less than 10 minutes to whip up these cookies. Once you’ve made them, wait for a little for the cookies to set.
Ingredients needed
Thanks to the carefully chosen ingredients, these cookies turn out soft and chewy yet firm enough not to fall apart. Here’s everything you’ll need to make them.
- Oats. Use rolled oats as they are healthier than instant oats and work better for achieving the right texture for the cookies. Make sure the oats you are using are gluten-free.
- Nut butter. You can use any nut butter of your choice so long as it has a smooth consistency. I recommend you use unsweetened almond butter.
- Brown rice syrup. To help sweeten the cookies and help stick all ingredients together. You can use honey, agave, or maple syrup instead.
- Coconut flakes. Unsweetened coconut flakes are superfoods rich in fiber, protein, healthy fats, and other nutrients.
- Pumpkin seeds. These seeds add crunch to the cookies and enrich them with antioxidants, minerals, and healthy fats.
- Dried cranberries. To add some color and a fruity, tangy flavor.
- Chocolate. Unsweetened chocolate chips of choice. Use dairy-free chocolate chips if you have lactose intolerance.
- Cinnamon. Cinnamon makes the flavor of these cookies a lot richer. You can skip it if you don’t like cinnamon in your desserts.
- Protein powder (optional) Adding protein powder to these cookies makes them more satiating.
- Salt. A pinch of salt to balance all flavors.
Step 1 – Mix the dry ingredients
Start by mixing the oats, cinnamon, protein powder, and salt.
Step 2 – Add the nut butter and mix
Melt the nut butter and brown rice syrup in the microwave or stovetop. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. Add the dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and coconut flakes, and mix until fully combined.
Step 3 – Shape the cookies and allow them to set
Use an ice cream scoop to shape equal-sized balls. Place them on a plate lined with parchment paper and press firmly to shape cookies. Top the cookies with chocolate chips and refrigerate them for 30 minutes or until firm.
Flavor variations
- Use date paste. If you don’t want to use syrup to sweeten your cookies, blend some dates into a paste and use it to sweeten the cookies. The paste will also bind all ingredients together.
- Cover in chocolate. For those who find it hard to swap chocolate cookies with these healthy superfood cookies, it is a good idea to cover them in melted unsweetened chocolate.
- Use your favorite dried fruit. You don’t have to stick to dried cranberries for these cookies. You can use any dried fruit of your choice. Just chop them into small pieces to mix them with the rest of the ingredients.
Storage instructions
To store: Store these no-bake cookies in an airtight container or a ziplock bag. They will last up to a week at room temperature and around two weeks in the fridge.
To freeze: Freeze these cookies for a healthy breakfast for those busy mornings. Make an extra batch of these cookies and freeze them in an airtight bag or container for up to 6 months. Put sheets of parchment paper in between the cookies to prevent them from sticking to each other.
Defrost these healthy cookies in the fridge overnight or by leaving them on the counter for a few hours.
- Chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies
- Unicorn cookies
- Coconut cookies
- No bake oatmeal cookies
- No bake chocolate chip cookies
Frequently asked questions
These superfood cookies don’t require any baking. However, you can pop them in the oven for a few minutes to get the chocolate chips melty and make the cookies less chewy.
Yes, these cookies are gluten-free. Check the nut butter, chocolate chips, and oats packages to ensure they don’t have any gluten-containing additives.
Superfood Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 cups rolled oats gluten-free, if needed
- 1 cup almond butter or any nut butter
- 1 cup brown rice syrup can sub for honey/agave/maple syrup
- 1/4 cup protein powder optional
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup dairy free chocolate chips
- 1-2 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- Line a large plate or baking dish with baking paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, cinnamon, sea salt and protein powder if using it and set aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl or stovetop, melt the nut butter with the brown rice syrup until fully combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until fully combined. Stir through the cranberries, pumpkin seeds and coconut flakes until fully incorporated.
- Using your hands, form into golf sized balls and place on lined plate/tray. Press firmly into a cookie shape and top with chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until firm.
Notes
Nutrition
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These look amazing – carb count per cookie?
Feel free to calculate it using myfitnesspal or similar! 🙂
Hi Arman. I tried this out today (just swapped chocolate chips with white chocolate chips, ’cause I love white chocolate) and it came out really well! It was exactly the right amount of crunchy and tasty. Perfect for an in-between-mealtimes snack. I love how customizable this is, with different add ins that are possible (I’m thinking chopped pecans and walnuts, chia seeds etc) I’m going to make a whole batch of these and store them for emergency hunger pangs!
Your recipes are just perfect! ?Thank you!
Did I miss the nutrition numbers?
Hi Tina! You can work them out using an online calculator like myfitnesspal 🙂
I found this recipe over a week ago and I’ve been very excited to make these. Finally did today, used honey and almond butter and already added more salt than the recipe called for but still find them to be WAY too sweet (albeit a great start that I would love to tweak to my liking) I was thinking less honey but I cant come up with a sub that would give me the same consistency with less sweetness. Do you think if I upped the nut butter and also added some melted coconut oil I could get the same results that are just slightly less sweet?
Hi Heather! I haven’t tried that, but it wouldn’t hurt to give it a go! I tend to lean towards brown rice syrup, as it isn’t anywhere as sweet as honey 🙂