4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut butter oatmeal cookies made with just 4 ingredients and one bowl. All you need is oatmeal, peanut butter, bananas, and chocolate chips! These cookies are moist, chewy, naturally gluten-free, and easily made vegan. They are great as a grab-n-go breakfast, after-school treat, or sweet treat in the morning or afternoon.

If you know me, you know that I’m all about healthy cookies and fully support the idea that cookies can be a nutritious option for breakfast when you’re short on time. This recipe was inspired by my  3-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies! They were such a big hit, that I decided to do a version with peanut butter (I just love the combination of oatmeal and peanut butter – I even have an oatmeal breakfast smoothie with peanut butter to prove it, lol!).

Like our no-bake oatmeal energy balls, these cookies are free of processed sugar and flour, gluten-free, portable, and perfect as a pre or post-workout snack.

They were also a major hit with my family (which always makes me happy)! They’re super easy to make, only require 4 ingredients, one bowl and they are the perfect snacks to have on hand when you’re craving something sweet. The flavor combination of bananas, peanut butter, and chocolate is classic and one of my favorites. Even your kiddos will love these!

Ingredients Needed:

There’s a good chance you have everything you need for this easy recipe! Here’s the lineup:

• Bananas – Use super ripe bananas to naturally sweeten and add moisture to these cookies.
• Peanut butter – Adds delicious flavor and healthy fats. Feel free to use almond butter or sunflower seed butter (or any nut butter you have on hand). You can even use homemade peanut butter!
• Oats – For these cookies, you need regular old-fashioned rolled oats. If you want to keep them gluten-free, I suggest using certified gluten-free rolled oats.
• Chocolate chips – I like to use semi-sweet morsels in these cookies, but feel free to use your favorite baking chips. Use dairy-free baking chips, like these to keep this recipe dairy-free and vegan.

How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Making this peanut butter oatmeal cookies recipe couldn’t be easier! Here’s a quick rundown of the process, but for full, printable instructions, reference the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• Prep – Go ahead and grab all of the ingredients and required tools. Preheat the oven and line a baking pan with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.
• Combine ingredients – Mash bananas in a medium bowl using the back of a fork until you have a banana puree. Add the peanut butter and stir the banana/peanut butter mixture. Stir in the oats and mix everything together. Now, fold in the chocolate chips.
• Scoop dough – Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough into your palms and shape into a cookie. Place on baking sheet and repeat with all of the batter.
• Bake – Place cookie sheet pan into the oven and bake cookies for about 10 minutes and until set. Cool and enjoy!

Tip – The cookies don’t spread when baking, so you’ll need to form them into a cookie before baking.

Customize Your Cookies

These peanut butter oatmeal cookies are healthy, kid-friendly, and totally customizable. Here are a few ideas for making them your own:

• Chocolate chips – You can use mini or regular baking chips. You can also experiment with semi-sweet, milk or dark chocolate chips.
• Nuts – Try adding chopped pecans, almonds or walnuts for extra texture and crunch.
• Dried fruit – You could swap the chocolate chips for raisins, craisins or any other dried fruit.
• Shredded coconut – If you’re a coconut fan, adding in some unsweetened shredded coconut would be a tasty option.

What makes these peanut butter oatmeal cookies healthy?

• These cookies contain high-fiber, whole grain oats for a hearty treat with no flour. If you use gluten-free oats, the cookies are naturally gluten-free.
• There’s no butter or eggs needed to make them, so they’re vegan and dairy-free just be sure to buy vegan chocolate chips).
• No need to add oil – the peanut butter keeps these cookies moist with natural oils and healthy fats.
• They’re naturally sweetened with just ripe bananas. The riper and more brown-speckled the bananas, the sweeter and more delicious your cookies will turn out.

Storage Tips

• Storage – Keep cookies stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
• Freezing Instructions – Cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months, then thawed overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.

More Healthier Cookie Recipes

• Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pulp Cookies
• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

If you make these delicious peanut butter oatmeal cookies, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how they turned out. Your feedback is so helpful for me and our Clean & Delicious community (thank you!).