I make these sugar-free oatmeal cookies whenever I have a couple of overripe bananas sitting on the counter. Instead of letting them go to waste, they turn into soft, naturally sweet cookies that everyone in my family happily reaches for.
With just a handful of simple ingredients, these cookies come together in minutes and are perfect for breakfast, snacks, or a healthier dessert. I almost always make a double batch because they disappear much faster than you'd expect.
Key Ingredient Tips
- Bananas – The riper they are, the better. I actually wait until they're covered with brown spots because that's when they're the sweetest. Whenever my bananas get too ripe, I freeze them whole so I'm always ready to bake a batch of these cookies.
- Peanut butter – I like using natural creamy peanut butter made with just peanuts and salt. If the oil has separated, give it a good stir before measuring. Crunchy peanut butter works too if you like a little extra texture.
- Rolled oats – Old-fashioned oats give these cookies the best chewy texture. Quick oats work in a pinch, while oat flour creates a much softer cookie.
- Vanilla extract – A little vanilla brings all the flavors together. Since there are so few ingredients, I think using a good-quality vanilla really makes a difference.
- Chocolate chips – I usually use dark chocolate chips, but raisins, chopped dates, cacao nibs, or dried cranberries are all delicious. If you want completely sugar-free cookies, choose sugar-free chocolate chips or simply leave them out.
👩🍳 You'll find the complete list of ingredients below the recipe card.
If you don’t like cookies chunky, use oat flour instead. You can make your oat flour at home in two easy steps. Take your favorite rolled oats and pulse them in a food processor or coffee/spice grinder until they turn into a fine powder. That’s it!
How To Make Sugarless Oatmeal Cookies
How to make sugar-free oatmeal cookies from scratch:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Step 1: Add mashed bananas, peanut butter, vanilla, and oats to a large bowl. Mix well with an electric, stand, or food processor on low speed until combined.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Step 3: Prepare a small bowl with warm water. Dip your hands in water and shape 15 balls about the (size of a walnut). Spread the cookie balls in a single layer on the cookie sheet leaving about 1 ½ inches between each cookie dough ball.
- Step 4: Press down the cookies to flatten them and shape them (these cookies won't spread as much during baking).
- Step 5: Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove and allow the cookies to cool on a cooling rack.
Store in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before eating. You can also freeze these for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and let it come to room temperature.
Rita's Best Tips
- Double the batch – These cookies freeze wonderfully, so I usually make extra for quick snacks throughout the week.
- Use very ripe bananas – I've found this is the biggest secret to naturally sweet cookies. The darker the bananas, the sweeter the cookies.
- Wet your hands before shaping – The dough is sticky, so I dip my hands in warm water between cookies to make rolling much easier.
- Flatten the cookies – These cookies don't spread very much while baking, so I always gently press them down before they go into the oven.
- Let them cool completely – They continue to firm up as they cool. I know it's tempting, but they're much easier to handle after a few minutes.
- Customize them – Raisins, chopped dates, coconut flakes, chopped nuts, cinnamon, or even a little orange zest all work beautifully here.
- Freeze ripe bananas – I almost never throw away overripe bananas anymore. I freeze them whole and simply thaw them whenever I'm ready to bake.
Peanut butter and mashed bananas are essential in this recipe as these wet ingredients act as binding agents. They are important since this recipe doesn't require an egg, vegetable oil, or milk.
Storing Leftovers
- To Store. Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Because they're made with bananas, I don't recommend leaving them at room temperature for long.
- To Freeze. Freeze the baked cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before enjoying.
- To Make Ahead. The cookie dough can be mixed a few hours ahead and refrigerated until you're ready to bake.
Easy Baking Recipes
Craving more healthy baking recipes? Try my peanut butter blossoms, cottage cheese cookies and carrot cake muffins.
Take a look at our Baking archives to find even more tasty treats.
📖Recipe
Best Sugar Free Oatmeal Cookies With Peanut Butter (5 Ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 2 large overripe bananas, mashed
- ⅓ cup peanut butter, creamy
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup sugar free chocolate chips, or cacao nibs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl add mashed bananas, peanut butter, vanilla, and oats. Mix well with an electric mixer, stand mixer, hand mixer, or food processor on low speed until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.2 large overripe bananas, ⅓ cup peanut butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 ¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats, ¼ cup sugar free chocolate chips
- Prepare a small bowl with warm water. Dip your hands in water and shape 15 balls, about the (size of a walnut).
- Spread the cookie balls in a single layer on the cookie sheet leaving about 1 ½ inches in between each cookie dough ball. Gently press down the cookies to flatten them and shape (these cookies won't spread as much during baking).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove and allow the cookies to cool on a cooling rack.
- Store in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before eating. You can also freeze these for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and let it come to room temperature.
Notes
- I wet my hands before rolling the cookie dough, which helps to prevent the dough from sticking to my hands.
- Don’t leave these cookies out for long at room temperature, as they have bananas in the cookie dough. To reduce the sticky texture, you could also chill the cookie dough before rolling it.
- For a more healthy cookie leave the chocolate chips out.
- You can easily double the ingredients to make an extra batch of oatmeal cookies and store them in the freezer to enjoy whenever you like.
- These cookies will become firmer as they cool. I like to warm up the cookies in the microwave or low temp warm oven, just to make them softer.
- These cookies should be stored at room temperature in an airtight for up to a week. You can even freeze the cookies for a couple of months.
- Why are my sugar-free cookies not soft and chewy?
These cookies are not meant to be chewy because they contain 0 refined sugar which is the ingredient that makes the cookies chewy during baking.
Nutrition
If you like raisins, try our moist banana bread (with raisins) and oatmeal raisin cookies next time.
FAQ
These sugarless cookies are approximately 99kcal per serving.
The best way to make your oatmeal sweet is to add mashed bananas, sugar-free chocolate chips, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and dried fruit (without sugar addition).
Homemade sugar-free cookies are healthier than store-bought ones -it's a fact. Packaged cookies are loaded with unhealthy artificial sweeteners and flavor enhancers.
Baking without sugar is easy, with little trial and error. Add natural sweeteners, applesauce, and mashed bananas to your baked goods.
You'll Also Like
Rita
Delicious nutty oatmeal cookies without the flour or sugar!
Maribel
How many calories per cookie? What's the serving size?
Rita
apologies Maribel, I am working on adding nutritional value to the recipe card in near future.
Trina Griffin
Hey I'm wanting to try this recipe. Have you calculated the nutritional information?
Rita
it's about 95 calories per cookie
Pam
Will quick oats work?
Rita
the texture will be more smooth and not chunky, but it could work.
Brandi
I entered the recipe on my fitness pal, minus the chocolate as I can't eat it. It was 61 calories per serving.
Kari Rae
I wouldn't think this would be good for a diabetic like I am, that's alot of carbs for one cookie.... when most doctors say keep snacks to 15 carbs. And one cookie is that many carbs. Hmmm. The banana itself can be a huge spike for some people
Rita
Kari, every person is different and of course, if following a specific diet, being mindful of the nutrition of a specific recipe is indeed important. This recipe was not designed for people with diabetes, this recipe is sugar free because it has no refined sugar.
Sherrie
I agree with you. The bananas and the oatmeal still makes it high in carbs.
Stephanie Harjo
I made these today thAnkyou there yummy I did have 3 bananas I needed to use and so I added a little extra oatmeal and left out the chocolate chips and boy oh boy I shoulda added raisins these are fantastic 🤩
Rita
yes raisins are great addition! thank you Stephanie!
Dee
So easy and delicious. A great use of those bananas just hanging out! Yes, I will most certainly make these cookies again.
Rita
thank you Dee!
Vanessa
Absolutely delicious. I'm prediabetic and been looking for a recipe that hits the sweet spot. I added in 72% dark chocolate chips and walnuts into half the batch also. I like that they can be frozen to make the treat last longer.
Thank you for the recipe
Rita
thank you so much, for peanut butter use unsweetened one if you're prediabetic.
Benjamin S.
I appreciate the recipe you made! I am going to attempt to give constructive feedback here. I followed the recipe, and then chilled the dough for 24 hours. Then made 1.5 inch diameter balls and spread them about 1 inch apart. I then cooked them at 360 degrees for 20 minutes, and the cookies stayed in their dough shape. Were these cookies supposed to spread on their own, or were we supposed to flatten them first? I’m wondering what your thoughts are. Thanks!
Rita
Hi Benjamin, these cookies don't have dairy butter so they won't spread as such. You have to gently press to flatten them. Thanks for noticing and I have adjusted the recipe with more clear instructions.
Denise Pizarro
Even though these cookies are yummy. They are not sugar-free if you use regular peanut butter. Peanut butter has a very high volume of sugar. If you want these to remain sugar-free, use natural peanut butter, and no chocolate chips.
Rita
yes, always read the labels 🙂
Loreanne Pelmont
The recipe lists 2 bananas ,however, there are no instructions as to how much oatmeal, vanilla extract or peanut butter used to make the cookies.
Rita
Loreanne, please scroll down to recipe card or use the jump to recipe button 🙂
Kathy
Please note that these are "no granulated sugar added". they are certainly not "sugar free".
Joseph St. Daniel
Didn't state the calorie content, carb percentage, protein percentage or the like.
I think that is necessary.
Thank for thinking health first.
Rita
thank you Joseph, nutrition is coming!
Sue Fetzer
I've been making them in my airfryer. Mine has racks just like the oven. Actually like them better in airfryer, they get brown, and are soooo good!
Rita
interesting! How long and what temperature do you use for your air fryer?
Angeles Sanchez
Thank you for this delicious recipe. Do you know the nutritional facts?
Rita
coming soon!
Michele
What do you mean no sugar, they have chocolate chips in them!
Rita
I used natural peanut butter with no fillers and sugar free chocolate chips (there are quite a few brands that have these!)
Linda A Isaac
I'm going to try this recipe can I use Teddy's natural peanut butter??
Rita
thank you, just check the ingredient labels.
TK
Plz post the nutritional info with your recipes
Taz
I'm just one who bakes, creates recipes etc. After reading comments/review with the constant barrage of demands for nutritional value, which I get the way society is with the numerous types of diets, etc. But allow the person time to add values as we never know whats going on in someones life. Personally I would feel to know if others enjoyed recipe enough to make the work of research adding values. So allow this person to hear about flavurs, texture, ease in making, etc. and have some patience. A cookie is a cookie, Hello! Do the work and create a recipe that suits you. My dilemma is that no one clearly understands how difficult it is to break it down, and the pressure placed on the creator for recipe is over the top. Enjoy it for the fact that its sugar free, vegan, etc. Does anyone appreciate the cookie? Only 1 comment of inspiration to the creator they enjoyed it & will make again. 👏 I will be making them this weekend but if your worried so much about carbs, GO WITHOUT! There are countless fruits & vegetables high in carbs you'd need to cut out too. Body needs them for energy and enjoying this food before bed or a dessert in evenings will cause another disurbance with sleep. I had to speak up on this subject so take it as you may choose. I read comments on recipes and these type of comments are getting boring. Take a calculater, look up values of each ingredient and divide by how many your making. Ok? If you want to cheat & enjoy a treat then get out and walk more steps!
Rita
thank you so much Taz for this! Adding a nutritional calculator to recipes is not a cheap thing and it actually cost money, just like running this blog. I appreciate YOU. And meanwhile, everyone can use a simple online nutritional calculator like this - https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Mila
Rita - I would just post that link to the nutrition calculator (if you are allowed to do so) as the numbers can vary widely based on what ingredients individuals choose. Like you said, you use "no sugar added" products & I would never (lol), so my nutritional info would be vary different to what you would post anyway.
Rita
the post is now updated with nutrition info 🙂
Kathryn Berdin Creekmore
Love your reply! Planning to make these, and just happy for another sugar free cookie recipe for my prediabetic husband. Thank you, Rita!!
Rita
thank you! what chocolate chips do you use?
Paula Woolf
Would like to know the calorie intake, carb amount and protein amount in each cookie.
Rita
apologies Paula, I am working on adding nutritional value to the recipe card in near future. For now, you can use this simple online calculator: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Cindie
What is the estimated nutritional breakdown per cookie, I.e. carbs,protein,fiber?
Rita
apologies Cindy, I am working on adding nutrition value to the recipe card in near future. For now, I like to use this online calculator: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Taz
Ok, I just finished these cookies and felt they are very good. These actually could be eaten as a pre-workout snack for energy to get those muscles moving. Thank you Rita as it was my first time using a recipe from you and am eager to try some more of your recipes.
Rita
thank you so much Taz!
Jason R
It's not actually sugar free, though the sugar in the bananas and oat flour is natural there's added sugar in the version of peanut you prefer & the chocolate.
Rita
you can go for natural peanut butter, it's just salt and peanuts or just peanuts, and chocolate chips are also widely available without sugar.
Maggie
These sound scrumptious! What do you think of adding a whey-based protein powder? Would you have any advice on how much to add?
Thank you!
Rita
I don't use protein powders, so can't recommend this sorry
Sam
Had no chocolate chips on hand and yet the cookies are soft and delicious!
Rita
thank you!
Tasha93
Just tried the No Sugar Added Oatmeal Cookies, and they were a hit with the kids! Love finding recipes like this that are easy and healthy. Thanks for sharing, Rita!
mark_the_baker
Excited to try these sugar free oatmeal cookies! Anyone got tips for making them extra chewy? I’m all in for a soft texture.
JennyS
Are these sugar-free oatmeal cookies keto-friendly? Trying to stick to my diet but still enjoy sweets. Thanks!
Karen
Hi Jenny, i am not sure, i believe oatmeal is not recommended on keto.
MaxShoots
The pictures of the oatmeal cookies look amazing! Makes me want to try baking them myself.
Karen
Hope you try this Max!
Samantha J.
Just tried the sugar-free oatmeal cookie recipe, and I'm impressed! It's hard to find snacks that are both healthy and kid-approved, but these were a hit. Love the emphasis on sugar alternatives, Rita.
Rita
Hi Samantha, thank you for your comment. They are fabulous!
Gillian
I'm always on the lookout for recipes that can incorporate ingredients from my garden. The sugar-free oatmeal cookies seem like a perfect place to start, maybe even adding some fresh berries!
KeVIn
Perfect.
Rita
Hi Kevin, thank you for your comment, glad you liked these!
Slick_Rick
Been trying to cut down on sugar without going broke, and these oatmeal cookies are just the ticket. Easy to make with stuff I already have, which is great for my student budget.
Lauren
Rita, your no sugar added oatmeal cookies recipe is a delightful find for those of us watching our sugar intake. I appreciate the clear instructions and helpful tips. For future recipes, considering alternative flours might also benefit your readers with gluten sensitivities. Keep up the wonderful work!
Rita
thank you so much Lauren!
Elliot Smith
Wow, these cookie were delicious. one of my favorite recipes now!
Rita
Thank you Elliot for your comment, I'm glad you liked these!