Healthy No-Bake Cookies {Vegan & Gluten-Free}

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Healthy No Bake Cookies are the perfect treat – you don’t even have to turn on your oven! With a few substitutions, these no bake cookies are better for you, and still oh so delicious. 

Healthy No Bake Cookies laid out to cool with glass of milk

No Bake Cookies: Perfect for Summer

It’s too hot to turn on the oven to bake cookies, but it’s not too hot to eat cookies. My cookie cravings don’t go away just because it is hot outside. So what to do, what to do? Such a dilemma! Instead of turning on the oven, I made Healthy No Bake Cookies.

You don’t have to heat up the house to make these chocolate coconut almond No Bake Cookies! And good news, they are healthier than the traditional no bake cookies. These cookies are vegan, gluten-free, and oh so delicious! These Healthy No-Bake Cookies are the perfect summer cookie!

Healthy No-Bake Cookie Recipe on twopeasandtheirpod.com These easy no-bake cookies are gluten-free, vegan, and SO good!

How to Make Healthy No Bake Cookies

I love the traditional no bake cookies with butter, loads of sugar, cocoa, oats, and peanut butter. They are one of my childhood favorites. I remember eating them straight out of the pan by the spoonful. I never had the patience to let them set up before digging in. I decided to play around with my favorite no-bake cookie recipe to create a healthier cookie.

To make vegan and gluten-free no bake cookies, this is what I used:

  • agave nectar or honey
  • Dutch-processed cocoa
  • coconut oil
  • almond milk
  • gluten-free oats
  • almond butter
  • shredded coconut

Coconut, chocolate, and almond-these cookies are triple delicious! And the best part, they are beyond easy to make. You stir everything together in a saucepan and BOOM! Just like that, you have a healthy sweet treat!

Vegan no bake cookies setting up on wax paper

Healthy No Bake Cookies…Still Irresistible

Technically you need to let the cookies chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes so they can set up, but I promise I won’t tell if you eat a few big spoonfuls from the pan. I did it as a kid and I did it when I made these cookies. I couldn’t resist! I guess I am a kid at heart:)

Healthy No-Bake Cookies are the perfect cookie for summer or anytime you are craving a cookie but want a healthier version. These vegan and gluten-free no-bake cookies will for sure cure your cookie craving! They are so divine!

Get baking…oh, wait you don’t bake these! So get UN-baking? Is that a word? It is now:)

Gluten free no bake cookies set out to cool with glass of milk

I LOVE that you are all loving my healthier cookie creations. They are fun to make and eat! In case you’ve missed them, here are a few of my other favorite healthier cookie recipes! Enjoy!

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No Bake Cookies on white plate

Healthy No-Bake Cookies {Vegan & Gluten-Free}

Are you looking for an easy and healthy cookie recipe? You have to try these Healthy No-Bake Cookies. They are vegan, gluten-free, and SO delicious! And you don’t even have to turn on your oven!
4.72 from 7 votes

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup agave nectar (or honey)
  • 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup almond butter
  • 2 cups gluten-free oats
  • 1/3 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • In a medium saucepan, mix together agave and cocoa powder. Heat over medium heat until combined. Stir in almond milk and coconut oil and bring to a boil. Continue stirring and boil for one minute.
  • Remove pan from heat and stir in almond butter, oats, coconut, vanilla extract, and salt.
  • Using a spoon or cookie scoop, drop cookies onto wax paper. Let the cookies set up for about 20 minutes in the refrigerator before serving. Store the cookies in an air-tight container in refrigerator for up to one week.
  • Note-You can use honey instead of the agave if you don’t need to make vegan cookies. You can also use regular rolled oats if you don’t need the cookies to be gluten-free. You can also replace the almond milk with your favorite milk. And you can also swap peanut butter for the almond butter. These cookies are very adaptable! Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 127kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Sodium: 30mg, Potassium: 99mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 6g, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 1mg

Have you tried this recipe?

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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  1. They look so good! I love that they’re no bake and you used agave and coconut oil. I have a similar recipe but I made it a few years ago and need to re-vamp my ingredients and lighten it up a little. These look perfect, Maria!

  2. I love no bake cookies, especially in the summer! These look so delicious!!

  3. I am loving all of these no make cookie variations! So funny that we grew up with the same recipes and now there are sooooo many options out there. Plus yours look extra chocolatey and delicious!

  4. basically all my favorite foods rolled into one- perfect! I bet the coconut oil is amazing in these! Should they be kept in the freezer?

  5. Chocolate and coconut? Oh yes, my kind of cookie! These look incredible and I love how easy peasy they are. I swear easy cookies make them taste a million times better!

  6. A cookie to make on short notice and one that I can have for breakfast Brilliant!
    I love the addition of almond butter, so much more flavourful

  7. I love no-bake cookies — in fact, I just posted my own yesterday afternoon! I love that yours are not only gluten-free, but vegan. They sound great!

  8. My sister and I used to make a version of these when we were little! They’re so so good! mmmmm. I cant get enough

  9. I made these today using silan for the sweetener, and although I enjoyed the taste, they just didn’t hold their shape. I don’t think it could have been the silan because it has the same consistency as honey, etc. The mixture was so wet that I couldn’t have packed it together…any tips?

    1. I haven’t tried them with silan. Did you boil them long enough? Did you let them set up in the fridge? Mine stuck together nicely.

  10. I’m always up for a no bake cookie challenge, these look great! I have got to try them.

  11. Maria, I love these cookies! I make them with banana inside, too. I have to try yours with almond butter!

  12. No bake cookies have always been one of my favorites, ever since a young child! I am totally loving this ‘healthier’ version!

  13. I love those chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies, and so I know I’m going to love your healthy spin!

  14. The heat definitely does NOT quench my dessert cravings though it DOES make me not want to turn on the oven. These are the perfect solution to my sweet tooth problems!

  15. I love no bake cookies. We used to make a kind similar to these growing up. It was one of those cookies we knew how to make.

  16. I tried out a no-bake cookie recipe last year and they didn’t look nearly as good as these!

  17. I always loved no-bake cookies too, straight from the pan! I’d ask my mom to make them just so I could gobble them up as quickly as she was plopping them onto the wax paper to set. She never made them with peanut butter, just chocolate and coconut. I love them!

  18. I love this! However, I would love to know the conversion for agave nectar back to sugar? I prefer the organic turbinado sugar from Costco – I find it less processed than the nectar and it’s easier for me to keep in the house. Love all of the other changes though – and we love coconut oil! Costco has that now, too!

  19. No Bake cookies are super special for me since I could never have them as a child. My mom is allergic to peanuts. Your version sounds marvelous with the extra coconut.

  20. Just made these as written except subbed quinoa flakes for the oats. They are really tasty. Very rich and satisfying, but not really sweet like the original no-bake cookie recipe that uses 3 c. of sugar.

  21. I used to LOVE no bake cookies before I became a vegan! I have been looking for a healthier but still “traditional” vegan version of these cookies for a long time. To make them even more like the original do you think I could sub out the shredded coconut with more oats or chopped nuts?

  22. I think this is my favorite post of yours. Ever! I’m so sharing this one everywhere. I get all excited when I see other bloggers post healthy stuff like this. 🙂

    And I’m definitely going to try them soon! I’ve seen similar healthy no bake cookies before but they never looked this appealing!

  23. Oh and I just realized these are dairy-free too. Just throwing that in there for search engine reasons. 😉

  24. I just made these with peanut butter (which I doubled :)) and honey. I think honey is sweeter than agave so it helped cut the sweetness a little. They are awesome! Thank you so much for the recipe. It’s been to hot to bake (or really do anything) and I’ve been craving something like this. Yay! Thanks again. 🙂

  25. These little cookies look great. Thanks for the links to your other healthier cookies. Will definitely give them all a try.

  26. I just made these and they are delicious! I used regular quick oats and half almond butter/half peanut butter. I also boiled it for 3 minutes just in case ( I know that boiling them for long enough is key to regular no-bake cookies). They were so easy to make! Love the coconut flavor.

  27. great recepie , like this one must be maintained so I’ll put this one on my bookmark list of popcorn. Thanks for this wonderful post and hoping to post more of this. Have Great Day.

  28. Great recipe. I modified it a little, using what I had but basically sticking to the core of this and they turned out wonderfully! Also used peanut butter chocolate chips and melted them in place of the cocoa powder for another batch (wife cannot eat chocolate right now) and that worked great.

    My only changes were going with 1/6c agave and 1/6c honey plus 1T sugar (shaving a little cost from the expensive sweeteners). Also I didn’t have vanilla on hand so just went without. Lastly, we only had the original sweetened almond milk and peanut butter as we ran out of almond butter.

    For the peanut butter recipe I did everything the same, just used the Reese’s peanut butter chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder.

    Thanks so much for posting.

  29. I made these last night with raw honey rather than agave, peanut butter rather than almond butter, subtracted the coconut oil because I was out, added a little more almond milk and also added pea protein powder. They turned out fabulously! Thanks so much

  30. I substituted mashed banana for the coconut oil to cut down on the fat and these are awesome! Thanks for such a great recipe.

  31. I am allergic to almonds. Any substitutions for the almond butter? I can use coconut milk instead of almond milk?

  32. I doubled the recipe and spread out in a 9 x 13 pan lined with parchment, will cut into squares later.
    It is easier for me to place in the fridge this way and also I eat too much batter when I have to drop by the spoonful, one for the sheet, one for me. This reduces my hands on time scooping.
    Can’t wait to share with my kids when they get off the bus!

  33. Yummy!! First time making (& having) no bakes…super chocolatey (mixed cacoa powder w/chocolate protein powder), which really hit the spot. Just one problem…I seem to have lost my willpower, I’m can’t quit eating them, LOL!

  34. Just made these. Awesome variation!! I subbed peanut butter for almond butter and will add a little extra next time to get more of the flavor but these r perfect as is!

  35. These are the best “healthy” no bake cookies I’ve tried yet! I used peanut butter and they taste exactly like regular no bake cookies. There is only a texture difference between butter and coconut oil, but I don’t mind it. I may or may not have licked out the pan 😉

  36. Thinking on how to convert these to long term storage cookies. Powdered milk and then add water, but can’t get around the coconut oil and almond oil. Why not also add chopped almonds or walnuts? Anyone got any ideas? If, as some believe, someday we will be without electricity, cannot depend of freezer.

  37. Amazing!!! I added raisins and excluded coconut. Also used sunflower butter instead of peanut butter. Thank you for a super fun, toddler activity!

  38. Oh my oh my! These are so delicious! I went right by your recipe and they were amazing, hence the word “were”, I have seriously lost my will power and almost have devoured the whole batch in three days on my own. Making me wonder if you know the nutritional value? I could just add up all the calories and such from all the ingredients and divide, though. Thanks so much for posting! Definitely going
    to have to make another batch and have a little self
    control, I don’t think eating three of them in one sitting
    is all to healthy, lol. Keep posting great recipes! Thanks again!

  39. I just tried these because I had no sugar in my house and wanted to make no bakes and I googled agave no bakes and these came up! I didn’t have shredded coconut and I used whole milk instead of almond milk, but these were amazing! I think they might even be better than my regular no bake recipe that I have used for years

  40. I made these today and I used honey and maple syrup instead of agave and it turned out great! Thanks for the recipe

  41. do you use quick oats or regular oats? i’m allergic to coconut and don’t eat dairy, can i take out the shredded coconut and substitute olive oil for the coconut oil? also i find honey to be healthier than agave, can i substitute 1:1?

    thanks!

  42. Recipe looked great but I had to make them nut-free. So instead of almond butter I used tahini, which is much more liquid-y. To compensate, I cut the agave to 1/4 c. and added 1/2 c. brown sugar. (Yes, probably a little sweeter than the original but still way less than the the recipes I recall from childhood!) Really good!

  43. I am allergic to coconut. Can I still vegetable oil instead of coconut oil and will it change the taste? And, what else can I use in place of the shredded coconut?

  44. I love no bake cookies, but I am allergic to coconut! 🙁 Any suggestions for alternatives to the coconut and coconut oil that would still make these healthy?

  45. Add cinnamon to amp up the FLAVOR! Have made similar cookies since I was a kid, too. Mine are not as healthy as they use baker’s chocolate, sugar, butter, peanut butter, a little milk and cinnamon added to the oats.

  46. Oh wow, first experience actually making no bake cookies from scratch (been cooking a lot more since I went vegan), and first time using agave (bought it specifically for this recipe). They are chilling as we speak but I helped myself to the batter and tastes mighty fine. Only took about 10 minutes from prep to fridge. Thanks a bunch!

  47. What an interesting read. I love that you took the time to make these cookie shots. The concept is so simple but I don’t know if I want to go through all that work, so extra kudos to you!

  48. I absolutely love no-baked cookies, but would rarely make them because 2 CUPS OF SUGAR IS RIDICULOUS. I’ve been trying really hard in the last couple of months to clean up my eating, as well as feed my kids with healthy meals. Snacks are the worst, and I’ve been looking for good desserts.

    I just made these. And OMGOODNESS. They taste identical to the original ones I made, but are guilt free!! How can I beat that?! I did make a few tweaks, to use what I had on hand… I used honey instead of agave, natural peanut butter instead of almond, and regular 2% milk instead of almond. They are sticky, chewy & perfect! I will be making these again (and again)!

  49. I love this recipe, it’s become a staple at my place 🙂 I found the texture a bit off-putting, but there’s an easy fix ~ just roll these into balls then roll the balls in grated coconut. They look great and super special. I also substitute the almond butter with peanut butter and the agave with date syrup. I love how adaptable the recipe is. Everyone loves them!

  50. I just wanted to say that I have now been making these cookies for two years, and my family loves them! I like them better than the regular no-bake cookies, and I am ok with letting my preschooler have them! I have made them with honey, maple syrup, almond butter, peanut butter (smooth and crunchy), soy milk, cashew, milk, almond milk….and they have turned out every time! I also just use extra oats when there’s no coconut in the house. A great recipe! Thank you!

  51. I have a no bake that I used to use 1 cup Caro syrup & 1cup reg sugar brought to a boil.

    Then I add 1 cup natural peanut butter and 5 cups of cereal and oatmeal mixed together.
    I would like to use the agave sugar instead of the Caro and sugar but dont know how much to use.