Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies are so easy to make with just 6 ingredients and only take a few minutes of prep! You’ll love every bite of these sugary peanut butter and oatmeal cookies and the best part is you don’t even have to turn on the oven!
Check out my Rice Krispie Treats or No-Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake for another delicious dessert that also doesn’t require turning the oven on for!
The Best Recipe for Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies are a tasty dessert that will have you reaching for one right after another! There’s just something about the mix of hearty oatmeal and sweet sugar with salty peanut butter!
They’re the perfect take-along treat to bring to work or share with loved ones around the holidays! More often than not though, I just enjoy them as a weekday pick-me-up when the craving hits!
This is super easy to do since these cookies take just 20 minutes of hands-on time to make! Simply cook the ingredients on the stovetop and then scoop the cookie mixture out onto wax paper.
By the time the kitchen is cleaned up or your favorite show is over it’ll be time to bite into one!… or two, or three!
No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies ingredients
This Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies Recipe uses minimal ingredients yet still delivers tasty cookies that everyone will love! To start, you’ll need the base ingredient for these cookies, oats!
It’s important that you grab the right oats to be sure that your cookies turn out chewy and tender! Old-fashioned oats yield hard and dry cookies since they don’t cook in time with this recipe.
Whereas, instant oatmeal cooks too fast and produces cookies that are way too soft. So for the perfect chewy no bake cookies, you’ll need to grab the 1-minute oats in the canister.
From there the oats will combine with the remaining cookie ingredients:
- granulated sugar
- salted butter
- whole milk
- vanilla extract
- peanut butter
I recommend avoiding all-natural peanut butters. I like to use classic Jif cream (or crunchy) for this recipe. All-natural peanut butters may have a hard time setting up when they cool.
How to make this Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies Recipe
1. Prepare baking sheets by lining them with wax paper.
2. Heat the sugar, butter, and milk together in a large saucepan until the butter has melted.
3. Set a timer once the mixture starts to bubble in the middle. Then allow it to come to a rolling boil to cook before removing the pan from the heat.
4. Mix in oatmeal, peanut butter, and vanilla until completely incorporated.
Placing parchment or wax paper on a baking sheet makes cookies easy to move around the kitchen. It also prevents the oils from the cookies seeping through the paper and sticking to the counter.
5. Drop scoops of the cookie mixture onto the lined baking sheets. Then allow them to set and cool before enjoying!
Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies Recipe tips
- Minute Oats! Regular Old Fashioned Oats will not yield great results, you need to use 1-minute oats in order to have a more tender and chewy cookie.
- Add the vanilla AFTER boiling! You want that vanilla flavor, so don’t cook it off during the boil, add it at the end!
- Rolling Boil! You need a rolling boil for about 1 minute, not a simmer, don’t start the timer until it’s bubbly in the center of the butter mixture!
- Creamy OR Chunky! You can make this with chunky peanut butter too for extra peanut crunch!
How to store Peanut Butter Oatmeal No Bake Cookies
Place them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag with the excess air squeezed out. Then store them at room temperature for up to one week.
Can you freeze No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies?
Yes, these No Bake Oatmeal Cookies actually freeze really well! Just make the cookies as directed on the recipe card and then allow them to completely set.
Afterward, place them in a freezer bag and squeeze out the excess air. Then store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to enjoy them just leave the bag of cookies at room temperature.
No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies FAQs
No, I wouldn’t recommend using aluminum foil. There’s a high chance that the cookies will stick and rip the foil. Leading to the possibility of having tiny pieces of aluminum foil stuck to the bottom of your cookies.
If the cookies turned out dry and crumbly then the cookie mixture was likely overcooked. It’s super important to set the timer for just 60 seconds of bubbling time.
Then for another 60 seconds of rolling boil time. Also, be sure that the time starts as soon as the middle of the mixture begins to boil!
Most likely the weather was not on your side! To help the cookies set up you could pop them in the fridge.
It’s best to avoid making no bake cookies on rainy or humid days because the moisture in the air can prevent them from setting up properly.
The next time you make this recipe on a humid and rainy day just cook the mixture for an additional 5 to 10 seconds
More like this Recipe for No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
Homemade treats like these Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies are always a win in our house! Mix up another batch of Easy No Bake Cookies by grabbing another yummy recipe to try!
- Butterbeer No Bake Cookies – Harry Potter fans will drool over these butterscotch, vanilla, and toffee flavored cookies!
- Nutella No Bake Cookies – This hazelnut cookie will have friends and family coming back for seconds!
- Pumpkin No Bake Cookies – A delicious way to get your pumpkin spice fix in cookie form!
- Traditional No Bake Cookies – Filled with everyone’s favorite dessert flavor combination: peanut butter and chocolate!
- Cookie Butter No Bake Cookies – Whip up a batch using Biscoff Cookie Spread or even Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter!
Let’s Connect!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!
Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there, where you can join our recipe challenges!
This recipe was originally published in January 2016 and was updated in February 2022 with new photos and a retested recipe.
Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup salted butter
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 cups 1-minute oats
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place sheets of wax paper on two baking sheets and set aside.
- Combine sugar, butter, and milk in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stirring frequently until the butter has melted.
- As soon as the mixture starts to bubble in the middle, set a time for 60 seconds. Let the mixture come to a rolling boil and cook for 60 seconds, then remove from heat.
- Immediately stir in the oatmeal, peanut butter, and vanilla until fully incorporated.
- Quickly drop the mixture onto the wax paper-lined baking sheets using a medium cookie scoop or wooden spoon.
- Let cool for at least 30 minutes to set.
Video
Notes
- Creamy or crunchy peanut butter can be used.
- Do not overcook the butter mixture or the cookies will be dry and crumbly. 60-seconds from center bubbles forming is key. I highly recommend setting a stopwatch timer.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- Make sure you use 1-minute/quick-cooking oats in this recipe. Old fashioned oats will be too firm.
- This recipe makes about 24 to 26 cookies when portioned out with a medium cookie scoop.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
ali says
Can I use something instead of peanut butter – I can’t stand PB!!
Rebecca Hubbell says
You could use cookie butter.
Marilynn says
How much regular butter
Rebecca Hubbell says
4 tablespoons as listed in the recipe card.
Kim says
Flavor is good, but cookies are waaay too dense. I only put in 2-1/4 cups of the Quick oatmeal, but it made the cookies very dense and dry. I don’t think you could even stir the mixture with the full 3 cups of oatmeal in it that it calls for. I will probably just find a different recipe, or IF I try these again, I’ll reduce the boiling time a bit, and also reduce the amount of oatmeal to about 1-3/4 cups.
lele says
can I use instant oatmeal (oats)
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi lele, you should use 1-minute oatmeal which comes in a canister. Do not use the instant oatmeal that comes in little packets. Those won’t work.
Carolyn says
I love how these are no bake! Such a good addition to the classic!
Liz Della Croce says
These would be a hit at my house!
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
Peanut butter cookies are my fav! No Bake is perfect for this time of year!
Elizabeth @ Confessions of a Baking Queen says
These look awesome and I appreciate all your tips!
Crystal says
These are delicious!
Rebecca Hubbell says
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed them!
Ashley says
Hey! These look awesome. But I was wondering if 1 minute oatmeal and instant oats are the same thing?
Rebecca Hubbell says
As in the little packets of instant oats? No, they are different. The 1-minute oats are linked to in the post so you know exactly what to get. Just click on the ingredient in the recipe card!
sandy says
Hello fellow foodie ;
I just made this no bake recipe and so far its awesome . i had to make two batches one with no sugar for me 😉 so i substitued a cup of stevia or splenda powder to the mix instead of the sugar and omited the butter but added the same amont of penut butter instead , mixed with a cup of dried cranberries and it rocks !! Thanks so much for a nice treat to whip up in a moment
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for leaving the alternative ingredients for other readers!
Richa says
No bake cookies are such a win! And so easy too!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
Looks healthy and delicious!!
Carol says
My family has been making these for 50+ years (I’m old I know) and everyone is always surprised you can do them this way. Thank you for sharing the recipe on this format, I’m all thumbs. 🙂
Rebecca says
I know, they are so delicious and easy to make, we’ve made them for years too, though not quite 50 🙂 But I’m sure I’ll be making them 50 years from now if life allows it!
shari says
Yum
rosie says
i love these, especially because they are no bake, i always burn everything!
Rebecca says
Enjoy!
Yvonne [Tried and Tasty] says
This is blowing my mind – no bake cookies without the cocoa? Get out of here! I must make these like yesterday possibly? I’ve been wanting to take treats to work and these would be perfect AND easy!
Rebecca says
Right! They are so yummy!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
Peanut butter no bakes are my favorite! I’m going to have to make a batch soon!
Rebecca says
Yes, you do!
Amber @ Dessert Now, Dinner Later! says
No-bake cookies are the bomb! I love that these are different than the chocolate pb ones, because sometimes the pb hides behind the chocolate, and I LOVE peanut butter!
Rebecca says
I know right, with classic no bakes, you forget the peanut butter is even there! Gotta let the goodness SHINE!
aimee @ like mother like daughter says
How did I not know I could make no bake cookies without the cocoa? Although I love the original, I just know I would love these too. Can’t wait to try!
Rebecca says
Right! Finding this out as a kid was a total shock, but one of the best shocks there is!
Dylan says
Wanna really change it up? Add a 1/4 cup of Ovaltine to this recipe..