QUICK SUMMARY
Healthy No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are one of our favorite Z house treats because they are quick, freezer-friendly, gluten-free, naturally sweetened, and made with real-food ingredients like raw cacao, almond butter, coconut, and sprouted quick oats.
These cookies satisfy your sweet tooth without the refined sugar, artificial flavors, and processed ingredients found in most store-bought treats. They are perfect for holiday trays, after-school snacks, healthy dessert boards, or anytime you want a chocolate treat that still fits your healthy lifestyle.
For a bioactive boost, try the Peppermint Chocolate variation. Just 1 to 2 drops of peppermint essential oil gives these no bake cookies a fresh chocolate-mint flavor while adding the benefits of one of our favorite essential oils from The Essential Oils Diet.
Table of Contents:
Benefits of Peppermint Essential Oil
If you’ve read The Essential Oils Diet Plan, you know that peppermint is one of “The Big Four” EOs we mention. It’s a terrific investment if you like cooking, as you can use it in many different desserts and drinks.
It’s also excellent for your body! Peppermint essential oil is fresh, cooling, energizing, and practical for daily life. Here are just a few benefits of peppermint essential oil.
Peppermint Essential Oil Can Ease Nausea
Surgery is unavoidable for many of us, including Moms. A common after-effect of C-sections is nausea, which is the last thing a new Mom needs! One study chose a group of post-operative Mothers to inhale peppermint essential oil when feeling nauseous.
These Mothers showed reduced levels of nausea compared to those who inhaled a placebo. (1) More recent research has continued to evaluate peppermint aromatherapy for nausea, including postoperative and chemotherapy-related nausea, with reviews reporting that peppermint essential oil inhalation may help reduce nausea and vomiting symptoms in certain settings. (2)
This essential oil is excellent on its own, but if you want to blend it with other nausea-reducing EOs, try our Stomach Bug Remedy Roll-On. It’s a total life-saver and is an excellent solution for those struggling with motion sickness.
Peppermint Essential Oil Is Energizing
If you need a little pep in your step, add peppermint EO to your diffuser! We love combining peppermint with citrus scents for an instant mood booster. Studies show peppermint essential oil reduces fatigue and energizes the body. (3)
What a great reason to make healthy no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies! You’ll fill your entire home with the scent of fresh mint. Warning: Consuming our Peppermint No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie variation may inspire you to cross more items off your to-do list.
Peppermint Essential Oil Is Great for the Outdoorsman
Aside from being an excellent addition to cookies, peppermint essential oil has medicinal properties. It provides cooling relief to the skin, which is excellent for those who spend a lot of time outdoors. If you’re prone to painful sunburns, add peppermint essential oil to one of our sunscreen options.
I also use this EO in my bug repellant. It’s kept many bugs from bothering me in the garden!
Best Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Ingredients 101
These cookies use simple pantry staples to create a decadent treat! Here’s what you’ll need to add to your grocery list.
Butter: Butter helps the cookies firm up when refrigerated. When purchasing butter, look for organic, grass-fed varieties. If you want to make this recipe totally dairy-free, you can use raw coconut oil instead and add ¼ teaspoon of sea salt.
Unsweetened Almond Butter: This ingredient thickens the cookie batter and gives your body healthy fats, plant-based protein, and a creamy texture. Look for almond butter without sugar in the ingredients list. If you’re having difficulty finding a suitable option locally, you can always find great choices online.
You can also use Nutso nut butter, which includes seeds, or unsweetened all-natural peanut butter.
Grade A Dark Amber Syrup: Maple syrup is a fantastic natural sweetener. It adds wonderful flavor to any treat! We recommend using Grade A Dark Amber maple syrup as these syrups are darker and have a more robust flavor.
Coconut Sugar: We use coconut sugar instead of white or brown sugar. This sweetener is easier on your blood sugar than traditional options. It has a deep flavor that pairs well with maple syrup. Some say it tastes similar to brown sugar!
You can also use my Christmas Cookie Blend.
Raw Cacao Powder: Swapping cocoa powder for cacao is one of the most effortless changes you can make in your kitchen. Both have similar flavors, but cacao powder is lighter in color and minimally processed. It contains antioxidants that are wonderful for your cardiovascular health. (4)
Pure Vanilla: Imitation vanilla has nothing on the real deal! Pure vanilla may be a little pricier, but you use less as it’s more potent. Plus, you aren’t ingesting artificial vanillin, which triggers headaches for some.
Organic Shredded Coconut: This ingredient adds texture and healthy fats! Coconuts contain manganese, a compound that can boost metabolism! (5) Plus, they have medium-chain triglycerides that give your body energy.
Be sure to grab unsweetened coconut, as other kinds contain sugar!
Organic Gluten-Free Sprouted Quick Oats: Oats are a great baking option as they’re naturally gluten-free and high in protein, making them a nutritious snack! (6) Oats also contain beta-glucan, a soluble fiber that research has shown can help support healthy total and LDL cholesterol levels. (7) In this recipe, you must use quick oats because rolled oats don’t soften enough, which throws off the entire cookie.
Make No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
These no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies come together in minutes. The hardest part is waiting for them to firm up in the freezer!
Here’s the thing: healthy treats work best when they are easy enough to make on a normal day. This recipe gives you the chocolate flavor you want, the satisfying texture of oats and coconut, and the convenience of a no bake dessert that stores beautifully in the freezer.
Chocolate Nut No-Bake Cookies (With Vegan and Nut-Free Alternative)
Servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup grass-fed organic sea-salted butter OR 1⁄2 cup coconut oil, extra-virgin and unrefined AND ¼ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt OR sea salt, ground
- ⅓ cup Grade A Dark Amber maple syrup, organic
- ⅓ cup organic coconut sugar OR Christmas Cookie Blend
- 3 tablespoons raw organic cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon organic pure vanilla OR Homemade Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ cup organic unsweetened almond butter*
- ½ cup organic unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup organic gluten-free sprouted quick oats
- ½ cup organic raw slivered almonds (optional)
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the butter, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and cacao powder to a rolling boil. Cook for 11⁄2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla and almond butter until smooth. Then add the shredded coconut, quick oats, and almonds (if using). Mix well.
- Spoon the batter in 1 tablespoon scoops onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes or until hardened. Store in a Ziploc bag in the freezer..
Step One: Bring Butter and Sweeteners to a Boil
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the butter, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and cacao powder to a rolling boil. Cook for 1 ½ minutes, stirring constantly.
Step Two: Add Remaining Ingredients
Stir in the vanilla and almond butter until smooth. Then add coconut, quick oats, and almonds (if using). Mix well.
Step Three: Freeze the Healthy No Bake Cookies
Quickly spoon the batter onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes or until hardened. Store in the freezer.
Peppermint Chocolate Variation
Peppermint essential oil adds a minty twist to a classic cookie!
Safety Note: Using essential oils in your culinary endeavors is a great way to incorporate them into daily life. It’s also totally safe; you just need to use wisdom. When including an EO in a recipe, you also need to add a dispersant.
In this recipe, butter is one ingredient that ensures the essential oils disperse evenly. Without a dispersant, your mouth would get irritated. Remember, you never want to ingest an EO neat!
Step One: Add Essential Oils
Boil the butter, sweeteners, and cacao powder for 1 ½ minutes. When removing the pot from the heat, add 1-2 drops of peppermint essential oil, then the vanilla, almond butter, coconut, and oats. Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes.
Application: Start with 1 drop of peppermint essential oil if your family prefers a mild mint flavor. Use 2 drops if you want that stronger chocolate-peppermint taste that reminds you of holiday treats. A little goes a long way!
Filling your home with healthy treats doesn’t have to be a challenge. You can make many of your old stand-bys with a few tweaks! Over the years, I’ve learned that certain swaps make healthy recipes taste just as good (if not better!) than unhealthy foods.
In Mama Z’s Recipe Makeover, I share all of my best tips and tricks for creating delicious foods. These are the ingredients that I always have on hand to transform my family’s favorites into recipes that are free of gluten, sugar, and dairy..but not free of flavor!
Healthy No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies FAQs
Are no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies healthy?
Yes, no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies can be healthy when they are made with real-food ingredients. This recipe uses raw cacao, unsweetened almond butter, shredded coconut, gluten-free sprouted quick oats, and better sweeteners instead of refined white sugar, corn syrup, and artificial flavors.
Can I make these no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies dairy-free?
Yes. Replace the butter with raw coconut oil and add ¼ teaspoon of sea salt. Coconut oil helps the cookies firm up in the freezer and keeps the recipe dairy-free.
Can I use rolled oats instead of quick oats?
Quick oats work best in this recipe. Rolled oats do not soften enough in the warm chocolate mixture, which can make the cookies too loose, chewy, or crumbly.
Can I add peppermint essential oil to cookies?
Yes, you can add peppermint essential oil to cookies when you use a high-quality oil appropriate for culinary use and disperse it properly in fat. In this recipe, add 1 to 2 drops after boiling the chocolate mixture and mix well with the butter, almond butter, and other ingredients.
Why do my no bake cookies not harden?
No bake cookies may not harden if the chocolate mixture was not boiled long enough, if rolled oats were used instead of quick oats, or if they were left at room temperature too long. Freeze these cookies for 15 to 20 minutes and store them in the freezer for the best texture.
How should I store healthy no bake cookies?
Store these healthy no bake cookies in the freezer in an airtight container. They soften quickly at room temperature, so pull them out shortly before serving.
Are these cookies gluten-free?
Yes, this recipe is gluten-free when you use certified gluten-free sprouted quick oats. Oats are naturally gluten-free, but they can be cross-contaminated during processing, so certification matters for sensitive families.
Can kids eat the peppermint chocolate variation?
Most older children can enjoy the peppermint chocolate variation when the recipe is made with only 1 drop of peppermint essential oil mixed thoroughly into the full batch. For very young children, sensitive kids, or anyone with reflux or medication concerns, skip the essential oil and use vanilla only.
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22034523/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12294836/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC5684592/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28824916/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24470093/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22530714/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35631184/
