Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies with 3 Ingredients

These vegan peanut butter cookies with 3 ingredients are an easy and healthy dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth. Chewy and peanut buttery, you will never guess these cookies are eggless, dairy-free and good for you!

If you love peanut butter, this recipe is for you. Made in a bowl with just 3 ingredients, these eggless peanut butter cookies are healthy and delicious. They are perfect as a dessert, as a snack or even for breakfast. Crumble over a yogurt bowl and it will feel like heaven.

Why are these peanut butter cookies healthy?

Besides tasting so good, these vegan cookies are also incredibly nutritious. Here’s why!

• This recipe is free from refined flours or sugars. Instead, it uses oat flour (or almond flour) and unrefined coconut sugar.
• As they are made with oats (or almonds), these cookies are rich in fibers and nutrients.
• Peanut butter is a great source of healthy fats and health-promoting nutrients, such as vitamin E, magnesium and selenium.

The ingredients

It was not a clickbait, I promise. When I say that those are vegan peanut butter cookies with 3 ingredients I mean it. You only need 3 simple ingredients, nothing more.

• Peanut butter: this recipe requires creamy peanut butter with a smooth consistency (it should not be thick). For healthier cookies, make sure it is without added sugars or oils. You can decide between unsalted or salted peanut butter, both are great. In the first case however, I recommend adding a pinch of salt.
• Oat flour: unrefined and rich in fibers, this is a healthier alternative to white flour. For vegan peanut butter cookies that are also gluten-free, make sure to use certified GF oat flour.
• Granular sweetener: this recipe can be prepared with any granular sweetener of your choice. Great options are coconut sugar, brown sugar or calorie-free sweeteners such as erythritol. For mine, I used coconut sugar.

Substitutions

You will love how versatile this recipe is. Most ingredients can be replaced quite easily, so that you can start baking also if something is missing.

• Peanut butter: if you don’t have creamy peanut butter, replace with any other nut butter (such as almond butter). As long as it is smooth and creamy it’s okay. But of course, you won’t be putting together 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies. It’s pretty obvious 😉
• Oat flour: replace with almond flour, this will also make your eggless cookies lower in carbs. I do not recommend other flours such as all purpose flour.
• Granular sweetener: coconut sugar, brown sugar, date sugar, erythritol or any other sugar-free alternative, they are all great. Maple syrup or other liquid sweeteners, instead, do NOT work.

What type of peanut butter is best for cookies?

Choosing the right type of nut butter is decisive. If you pick the wrong one, your eggless peanut butter cookies won’t come out that well. So, make sure you read through the following lines very carefully!

This recipe requires creamy peanut butter with a smooth consistency. If it’s too thick instead, the dough won’t mix. For healthy 3 ingredient cookies I recommend natural peanut butter, free from added sugars, oils or preservatives. It can be salted or unsalted, but in the second case you may want to add to the dough a pinch of salt.

Bottom line: Use smooth and creamy peanut butter, better if it is sugar-free and oil-free. A pinch of salt is okay, it will enhance the taste.

How to make vegan peanut butter cookies?

Step 1: Mix the 3 ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, stir the peanut butter together with the granular sweetener until creamy. Once smooth, add the oat flour (or almond flour). With the help of a fork, mix until the peanut butter cookie dough gets thicker. 

Step 2: Refrigerate the cookie dough

Form a smooth dough and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Make sure you do not skip this step, as the resting time prevents the vegan peanut butter cookies from falling apart.

Step 3: Bake

After refrigerating, form some smaller cookie dough balls and line over the prepared baking tray. As tradition wants, flatten each cookie with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.

Bake in hot oven for about 10 minutes. Before serving, let your 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies cool completely over a cooling rack.

How to store eggless cookies

After baking, let the cookies cool over a baking tray. Once cooled, place in an airtight food container and store at room temperature for a maximum of 5 days. For a longer storage, transfer to a ziplock bag and freeze. In the freezer, they will last for up to 3 months.

Keto peanut butter cookies

Making keto peanut butter cookies is very simple. In terms of quantities and directions the recipe remains exactly the same. But you’ll need to make two adaptations. First, use almond flour as a replacement for oat flour. As it is made from blended nuts, almond flour contains very few carbohydrates. Second, pick a sugar-free granular sweetener, such as erythritol or xylitol.

Customize your cookies

Whenever I like a recipe, I end up making it time and again. First to test, second to taste, third to eat and fourth…It’s time to chance. Not the recipe, but the game. That’s when I add some new ingredient and end up with a new version. Same happened here. So let me give you a couple of ways how you can customize these vegan peanut butter cookies with 3 ingredients.

• Fold through some vegan chocolate chips
• Add about 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Enrich the dough with a pinch of sea salt
• Stir in some raisins or dried cranberries

Recipe tips

Here are a couple of tips on how to make 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies without eggs.

• Use high quality creamy peanut butter. It should be smooth, otherwise the dough will turn out thick and dry. For the best 3 ingredient vegan cookies, choose salted peanut butter. The salt enhances all the flavors.
• Don’t skip the resting time. Refrigerating the dough before baking will allow it to set and get firmer. This way your peanut cookies won’t fall apart.
• Do not overbake or they will get dry. The baking time is about 10 minutes, but check them after 8 minutes in the oven. You know they’re done when firm to the touch and slightly brownish at the edges.
• Allow the cookies to cool before eating. This gives a better taste and texture.

FAQ – Frequently asked questions

More 3-ingredient vegan desserts

• Flourless banana brownies
• Oatmeal cookie dough bites
• Protein peanut butter balls
• 3 ingredient breakfast cookies
• No-bake banana cookie dough

Watch the video recipe