3-Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies

These 3 ingredient oatmeal cookies with no banana are perfect for a quick, easy and customizable treat you can whip up in minutes!

If you’re looking for an easy cookie made with just a few ingredients, this recipe is for you.

Bonus: They taste amazing and are perfectly crispy on the outside with a soft, gooey interior!

This recipe is based off of my 3-ingredient banana oatmeal cookies but are made without banana and instead call for maple syrup, nut or seed butter and oats.

From there, they’re endlessly customizable with different add-ins such as nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, spices or whatever else you enjoy in cookies (chocolate chips are obviously recommended!).

Recipe Features

• Dietary Needs: These cookies are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free and can be made nut-free.
• Made with no egg or banana.
• Nutrition Features: Each cookie is just 122 calories with 15 g carbohydrates and 3 g protein.
• Quick and Easy: You can make these in 1 bowl in under 20 minutes with just 3 everyday ingredients.
• Customizable: Switch is up every time you make them! Try chocolate chip oatmeal, raisin oatmeal, tahini date, cranberry walnut, etc.
• The best texture..crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside!
• Great for snack time, lunchbox-friendly (use tahini or sunflower seed butter for nut-free) and a healthier dessert option.

Ingredient & Substitution Notes

A complete list of ingredients with amounts and full instructions is located in the printable recipe card below. This section covers ingredient and substitution considerations.

• Oats: You can use rolled oats, large flake oats, old fashioned oats or quick oats. I like rolled oats best for these.
• Nut or Seed Butter: You can use any nut or seed butter as long as it’s not overly dry. For best results, the butter you use should be creamy, drippy and almost pourable. I love tahini in these but almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter and peanut butter all work great!
• Maple Syrup: Can be substituted with agave syrup.

Step-by-Step Photos

You’ll find the full written recipe at the bottom of this page. The section below shows step-by-step photos for visual reference and includes any helpful tips and suggestions. Have a quick browse before you begin.

Before You Start: Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. The parchment paper isn’t required though, so feel free to bake directly on the pan if you prefer.

Step 1: Mix together the nut or seed butter and maple syrup until smooth and completely combined. If you’re adding vanilla, add that now as well.

Step 2: Add the oats to the bowl and mix together until you have a thick, sticky cookie dough.

If you’re adding any other ingredients, stir them in now as well. I’ve included a list of add-in suggestions below.

Step 3: Using a spoon or small cookie scoop, create 12 equal sized clumps on the baking tray. Press each cookie down a little to create a cookie shape.

Quick Tip: The cookies won’t spread during baking so create the shape you want before baking. You can leave them in a haystack-style cookie or press them down to create more of a traditional cookie shape. You can also make them thinner and flatter if you like.

Bake the cookies for 15 minutes then let cool before handling to allow them to firm up. Enjoy!

Add-In Ideas

The cookies are really yummy just as is but you can really go wild with different add-ins to switch them up.

• Nuts: Try chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds.
• Dried Fruit: Try chopped dates, chopped dried apricots, raisins or cranberries.
• Seeds: Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds work well.
• Chocolate: Chocolate chips, chopped dark chocolate, cacao nibs or vegan white chocolate.
• Spices: Try cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger or pumpkin pie spice.
• Other: Crushed pretzels, vegan marshmallows.
• Orange zest is yummy for a holiday-inspired cookie (or try these cranberry orange cookies).

Storing

Let the cookies cool completely before storing. This is important so they stay crispy!

After they cool, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container or food storage bag at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 4 months.

If frozen, thaw briefly at room temperature before serving.

Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review.

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Originally published January 28, 2019.