Give your oven a break and whip up a batch of these 8-ingredient chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies. This family-favorite recipe is super simple, and ready to eat after 30 minutes of refrigerating.
I originally published this recipe in 2015, and I’ve since updated it with new photos and extra success tips for consistently excellent results. We also slightly increased the amount of butter, which is reflected in the recipe card below.
For today’s cookies, we’re swapping the oven for the refrigerator! Chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies are made on the stove with oats, cocoa powder, peanut butter, sugar, and milk. Instead of baking, the mixture firms up in the refrigerator, creating that signature fudgy consistency.
I married into a food-loving family. My husband grew up making zucchini bread, soft pretzels, and these no-bake cookies with his siblings. He said he made these no-bakes so many times growing up that he could mix them together in his sleep. Partly because they’re so easy and partly because everyone craves chocolate and peanut butter at bedtime, right?!
Simply put, these are awesome cookies. They’re as classic as a good batch of chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, or rice krispie treats. And after one bite, you’ll understand exactly what the fuss is about. Go ahead and start preheating your ov—oh wait, never mind! 😉
What Makes These No-Bake Cookies So Good:
- No mixer and no oven required
- Chocolate + peanut butter = the GOAT of dessert combos
- Only 8 basic ingredients—you likely have them on hand right now!
- Shockingly quick and easy, joining 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes
- Naturally egg free, and gluten free (if using certified GF oats)
- Customizable with simple nut-free or dairy-free swaps (see below)
Ingredients You Need & Why
These no-bake cookies come together quickly with a few pantry staples.
- Butter: Like all the best desserts, butter and sugar make the base of this recipe.
- Sugar: I swear by 1 and 1/2 cups of regular granulated sugar here. Over the years, I’ve tested several different amounts, even reducing it, and I’ve tried brown sugar, too. For best success, stick with the recipe below.
- Milk: You can use any kind you have on hand, including nondairy.
- Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder not only flavors the cookies, it acts as a thickener and binder. Remember this post on dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder? Fun fact: Since we’re not using a chemical leavener, you can use either in this recipe. I really like this brand of dutch-process cocoa powder.
- Peanut Butter: For best taste and texture in baking recipes, I usually push you to use standard commercially processed peanut butter. While I typically use creamy Jif here, you can substitute your favorite natural peanut butter. Same option goes for these flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies, too. Give it a good stir before measuring and using. Nut-free? Scroll below.
- Vanilla Extract & Salt: A little salt and a splash of vanilla extract adds flavor. You can use homemade vanilla extract if you have it!
- Oats: I prefer to use quick oats in this easy cookie recipe, but you can also make these no-bake cookies with whole rolled oats. Though whole oats work wonderfully, we find the cookies hold shape a bit better with quick oats. Surprisingly, this recipe works with either type. (Just another reason to love this recipe!)
If using certified gluten-free oats, these cookies are gluten free. For my gluten-free readers, you’ll also appreciate this recipe for no-bake chocolate fudge oat bars. You can also browse all my favorite gluten-free dessert recipes here.
Since the ingredient list is so short, the cookies are perfect for busy days and last-minute desserts. They’re my go-to when we need something quick and easy. (And kids love to help!)
Overview: How to Make Easy No-Bake Cookies
Besides using super basic ingredients, the method couldn’t be simpler.
Whisk the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder together in a medium (about 3-quart) pot until the butter melts.
Once boiling in the center, stop stirring and start a timer. Let it boil for 1 minute. Though you can make the recipe without one, an instant-read thermometer is helpful to determine doneness. The mixture on the stove should reach 225°F (107°C).
After that, immediately remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract, then the oats and salt.
Grab your timer again and let the mixture cool for 5 minutes. This gives the oats some time to absorb the liquid, which makes scooping and shaping much easier. If you used a super-thin natural-style peanut butter, let it sit for about 10 minutes.
Drop a Tablespoon-sized mound about 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets. Feel free to slightly flatten down the cookies with the back of a spoon. Let the cookies set in the refrigerator for about 30–60 minutes. Ding! Cookies are ready!
If you haven’t caught on by now, there’s no turning on the oven for no-bake cookies. Instead, the cookies firm up in the refrigerator. I love that! They’re perfect if you’re having a marathon baking day and need the oven for other baking, or if it’s just too hot to justify baking anything!
Variations & Subsitutions
- Nut-Free No Bakes: Swap peanut butter for sunflower seed butter or Biscoff spread.
- Almond Butter No Bakes: Swap peanut butter for almond butter.
- Nutella No Bakes: You can find that recipe in my Sally’s Cookie Addiction cookbook.
- Sprinkles or Flaky Sea Salt: Add sprinkles or sea salt flakes to the tops of each wet cookie before refrigerating.
Success Tips for No-Bake Cookies
- Have your ingredients ready: Once the chocolate mixture comes off the stove, the remaining ingredients must be stirred in right away. It’s helpful to have all your ingredients on stand-by.
- Follow the recipe: Sounds like a silly success tip, but it’s worth mentioning. The cookies work because we’re using a particular wet-to-dry ingredient ratio.
- Avoid crumbly cookies: Don’t overcook the chocolate mixture. Doing so will over-thicken it, which inevitably leads to crumbly no-bake cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop or spoon: 1 Tablespoon of dough will give us perfectly portioned cookies. Use a cookie scoop, a spoon, or your Tablespoon measuring spoon.
This usually means the mixture didn’t boil long enough. The sugar needs to fully dissolve and reach the right temperature to set properly. Though you can make the recipe without one, an instant-read thermometer is helpful to determine doneness. The mixture on the stove should reach 225°F (107°C). If the cookies are still too soft, the cook time was likely a bit short or the ingredient ratios may have been a bit off.
This usually means that either the oats or peanut butter were slightly over-measured, and/or the stovetop mixture was over-cooked. Be sure to measure carefully, use a kitchen scale if you have one, and keep a close eye and timer on the stove.
You can, but make sure it’s smooth and very well stirred before using. Natural peanut butter can be thinner and oilier, so the cookies may take a bit longer to set in the refrigerator.
Yes, no-bake cookies should set up in the refrigerator. Though they’ll firm up at room temperature, a quick 30–60 minutes in the refrigerator helps them set faster and hold their shape better.
Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These 8-ingredient classic no-bake cookies are rich, fudgy, and full of chocolate peanut butter flavor. You need simple pantry ingredients and the cookies are ready in around 1 hour.
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter*
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) milk*
- 1/4 cup (21g) unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup (170g) creamy peanut butter*
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) pure vanilla extract (yes, a full Tablespoon!)
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats or quick oats*
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder together in a medium (about 3-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the butter melts. Whisking occasionally, bring to a boil. Once boiling, stop whisking and allow to boil for 1 minute. If you want to be precise and you own an instant-read thermometer, the temperature should rise to 225°F (107°C).
- Remove from heat, then immediately stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract until completely combined. Finally, stir in the oats and salt.
- Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes. This allows the oats to soak up some moisture.
- During the 5 minutes, line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, and make sure there is enough room in your refrigerator for the baking sheets.
- Using a 1-Tablespoon cookie scoop (or simply a Tablespoon), drop spoonfuls of dough onto the lined baking sheets. If desired, slightly flatten down with the back of a spoon. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Refrigerate the cookies for 30–60 minutes so they set. Remove from the refrigerator and enjoy!
- Cover and store leftover cookies in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Once completely set, the no-bake cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Saucepan | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Instant-Read Thermometer | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper
- Butter: Coconut oil works instead of butter because, like butter, it solidifies when cold.
- Peanut Butter: This recipe works best if using a non-natural-style peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. However, you can substitute your favorite natural peanut butter if desired. Give it a good stir before using and in step 3, let the oat mixture sit for about 10 minutes to thicken properly. Nut-free? Substitute sunflower seed butter or Biscoff spread.
- Milk: Use your favorite milk, dairy or nondairy.
- Oats: I usually use quick oats, but you can use old-fashioned whole rolled oats instead if that’s what you have. Surprisingly, these cookies work with either type of oat! Do not use steel-cut oats.
- Recipe Update in 2026: The original recipe called for 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp/56g) of butter, but some readers reported their cookies were overly dry, so we increased the amount.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I was thinking the same, I just don’t want that much sugar. Can they be made with just 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup and still come out ok?
Thanks!
Hi Tom, you can try reducing the sugar, but keep in mind that it plays an important role in the overall taste, texture, and spread of the cookies. We’d recommend starting small and then adjusting further for future batches.
Hi, these are delicious, any idea how many calories per cookie?
Thank you!
Hi Tom, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I was wondering if anyone has made these with rice krispies cereal instead of oats? I love the chocolate fudge taste but not the oats.
Hi Lori, we haven’t tried that substitution — you’d likely have to play with the ratio of other ingredients, as the cereal would absorb them differently than the oats. If you decide to try, let us know how it goes!
Hi Sally! To make just peanut butter no-bakes, would you just omit the cocoa powder, or would you adjust other ingredients? Thanks!
Hi Sam, we haven’t tested it ourselves, but a few readers have reported success using a peanut butter powder in place of the cocoa powder for a peanut butter cookie. Let us know if you try it!
Could you add a wee bit of espresso powder with the cocoa powder?
Absolutely!
Can I use maple syrup instead of sugar
Hi Dina, we recommend sticking with granulated sugar here for best results.
Hi Stephanie, this usually happens if the mixture has been cooked too long on the stove or if you’re using a natural style/thicker peanut butter. Also, a little more milk can help thin out the wet ingredients if you decide to try it again. Thanks for giving it a try!
I just made these. Subbed Monk fruit sweetener for sugar. I think I found another go to recipe.
Thanks very much.
The texture of the cookies are perfect. Next time I’ll try just 1 C of sugar, or maybe a 1 1/4 C, they were just a little sweeter than I expected from making these in the past.
These sound delicious but can I use a sugar substitute?
Turned out great! Other recipes I have tried just don’t set up. We used Wow butter a soy based peanut butter alternative due to a peanut allergy and it worked great with this recipe.
Will these cookies freeze well in a plastic container?
Hi Kathy, yes, these cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. You can use a plastic container, and you may even wish to individually wrap the cookies before placing in the container so that they have an extra layer of protection.
This sounds like my Grandma’s recipe!
Hers cooled and set on the counter. Is it necessary to put yours in the fridge to set up properly?
Hi Ems, we find the cookies don’t set properly without the time in the refrigerator. Just a quick 30-60 minutes does the trick!
Do they need to be kept in the fridge or can we store at room temp?
Hi Ems, we recommend storing leftover cookies in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Great recipe! I only used 1 1/4 cups of sugar, and next time I’ll try just 1 cup of sugar. I think a darker chocolate flavor would be interesting and tasty to try, but this recipe is still darn near perfect. The cookies were a real hit at knitting night! I was so glad to not turn on the oven
I love making this recipe it’s so good! I’ve made them for bake sales to earn some extra money at the apartment complex I live in. My grandchildren love them my neighbors love them my daughter loves them but the most important thing is that I love them. It’s so easy I just put my meezan plus together and one at a time deal with the directions says. I do leave the oats in the chocolate for a little bit longer than the 5 minutes I hold them in for about 10 minutes and it really breaks down the oaks for me. Thank you for putting this recipe online I will always use it!
I made these cookies & went right by the recipe. I used quick cooking oats & they turned out perfectly. Yummy!
I made these according to directions and they tasted ok but once out of the fridge for any length of time they get very soft and mushy. I don’t know what I did wrong. Maybe I should have boiled the butter, sugar, milk and cocoa for longer than one minute..
I have made these delicious treats for years. Recently I was asked if the oats could be replaced with rice Krispies. I had no idea so I thought I would ask the experts.
Hi Rebecca, we haven’t tried that substitution — you’d likely have to play with the ratio of other ingredients, as the cereal would absorb them differently than the oats. If you decide to try, let us know how it goes!
Sally, have you tried subbing the sugar for some honey? Would it change the flavor much?
Hi Alice, You can definitely try. The cookies may not set up properly without this ratio of ingredients.
Hi Autumn, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Would the work as a bar cookie? If so, what size pan would you recommend?
Hi Rachel, We haven’t tried it before, but fear they may be a bit thin in a 9×13 pan. If you have an 11×7 or 9×9 pan, that may work better. Or you might enjoy these no-bake chocolate fudge oat bars instead. Let us know what you try!
Absolutely loved your recipe which is great as is. Being a tinkerer, I altered somewhat the 2nd time trying to justify as healthier. Here’s what I added/changed. Didn’t have granulated so used 1-1/2 cups brown sugar, threw in two generous scoops of my homemade protein powder and 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. They’re so in demand that I’ve had to make weekly. Thanks for the inspiration!
I made this recipe twice! Why, because they were eaten up immediately! I ended up making a double batch the next time around! Again turned out perfectly! Fantastic recipe and raves from everyone!
Thank you for making our Christmas!
I just made these cookies to go on my Christmas trays. My family loves them
This recipe is perfect! I followed it to they letter and they came out great. I do have two additional comments though. First, in previous years the box of oatmeal contained 6 cups. Today I discovered that the amount has been decreased to 5.5 cups. Just a heads-up if you are making a double batch. Secondly, my refrigerator is already packed with ingredients for the upcoming Holiday. Instead of putting them in there to cool I placed them in the back of the car. If the weather in your area happens to be favorable for this trick, it really helps. Again, thank you for this family favorite cookie recipe.
Hi Charity! You can definitely use salted butter with no other changes to the recipe.
These turned out great! I subbed 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips for the cocoa powder (didn’t have this on hand), and used unsweetened almond milk (original) for the milk, and they are delicious!
I have to boil for 6 minutes because of the humidity where I’m at.
I’ve made no bake cookies a million times. Try this next time: Start your 60 second timer when the full surface of your mixture is at a rolling boil. They will definitely set up.
Hi Ann, we’re so glad you enjoyed them! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076