These easy chocolate oatmeal nut free no bake cookies are made without peanut butter or nuts. They are also flourless, eggless, butterless and refined sugar-free. They store well and make a great snack.
I’ve shared a few no bake cookie recipes so far this year, but almost all of them involve peanut butter or nuts. I’ve been wanting to share a nut-free no bake cookies recipe, so here it is.
These cookies are easy to make and can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. This version is free of peanuts and tree nuts and they’re a naturally sweet treat for dessert or snacks.
Ingredients
- Medjool Dates
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Quick Oats
Medjool Dates
The cookies are naturally sweetened with Medjool dates. You must use Medjool dates for this recipe to work. Other date varieties do not have as much soft flesh and will not work. When blended in a food processor, the dates become a sweet sticky paste that also binds everything together and gives these no bake cookies a chewy texture.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
You can use either dutch process or natural. You can also use cacao powder. I used dutch process cocoa powder for these. The cocoa powder provides the chocolate flavor for the cookies and also cuts into the sweetness of the dates.
Quick Oats
This recipe works best with quick oats. The small oats soften when they absorb the moisture from the dates. The oats add texture and provide structure for these cookies.
Decoration
The cookies can be left as is but if you want to make them look a little nicer, you can add some melted chocolate. To keep these refined sugar free, I used unsweetened chocolate. The cookies are sweet enough that they work well with unsweetened chocolate.
However, you can use dark chocolate if you prefer some sweetness in your melted chocolate. You can either drizzle the cookies with melted chocolate or dip half of them in melted chocolate.
Storage
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for a few months. I prefer storing them in the freezer. They are soft and chewy straight out of the freezer but you can also let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes which will let them soften a little.
Recipe Tips
- Unlike most baking recipes, there is a lot of flexibility with the measurements with these nut free no bake cookies. If you end up adding a little too much of one ingredient, you can easily fix it by increasing the other ingredients. You can also adjust the ingredient quantities to suit your personal taste preferences.
- You do need a food processor for this recipe. It is needed to break up the dates to form a paste. If you try to stir by hand it will be a lot of work, so use the processor to make it easy.
- Your dough should be dry but sticky enough that if you press some of it together between your fingers, it sticks. However, you don’t want it to be so sticky that you are unable to roll it into a ball or shape it. Keep in mind that the oats will soak in the moisture from the dates and soften further. When this happens, your dough will become softer and stickier.
More No Bake Recipes without Peanut Butter
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
- 2 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Cookies
- 2 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Cake
- No Bake Chocolate Cookies
If you are able to consume nuts, I recommend checking out my other 3 Ingredient Healthy No Bake Cookies made with nuts instead of oats.
3 Ingredient No Bake Healthy Cookies (Nut free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (approx 180 grams) pitted medjool dates 1 cup is around 10 dates
- 2 ½ tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup quick oats
Instructions
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Pulse dates in food processor until they are fully blended and the mixture becomes a sticky paste.
- Add in cocoa powder. Pulse again until cocoa powder is completely incorporated into the date paste. The cocoa powder should cause your paste to break up into small clumps.
- Add quick oats and pulse again until oats are completely incorporated. The mixture should still be small clumps but if you pinch the clumps together between your fingers, they should stick. If your mixture appears to be a little too dry, add 1-2 tbsp water and pulse again. Taste and adjust dough as needed. You can add a little more cocoa powder if you want a stronger chocolate flavor. If your mixture is so sticky that you can't hold and roll it, add 1-2 more tbsp oats.
- Using a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough and release onto prepared cookie sheet. Roll each dough ball between your palms to compact it further. Place cookie balls back onto sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Press down on balls to form round disks/cookie shape. You can do this with the palm of your hand or the back of a spoon.
- If desired, you decorate the cookies with melted unsweetened chocolate. You can drizzle it over the cookies or dip half of each cookie in the melted chocolate. Place cookies either in the fridge or freezer for chocolate to set. Store uneaten cookies in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- For detailed storage tips, please see storage section of the post.
- The 180 grams measurement for the dates is after they are pitted.
- I decorated my cookies with melted unsweetened chocolate. You can leave them plain as well.
- Please review recipe tips section of the post for more details on making the cookie dough.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Do you have any diabetic breakfast cookie/bar recipes with few ingredients? Of course watching carbs & sugars?
We have lots of recipes with 4 ingredients or less you might like to try! As to whether they are diabetic friendly, that it something you would need to consult with your doctor
My favorites
Can you also bake any of your no bake cookies?
For this recipe, I don’t recommend baking them. For my other recipes, I usually specify in the post if you can bake them or not.
Can’t wait to try these recipes
I hope you enjoy!