My chocolate oatmeal no bake cookies without peanut butter are a quick and easy twist on the classic.

Ingredients for Chocolate No Bake Cookies without Peanut Butter
So these cookies are an easy six-ingredient recipe:
- Unsalted butter - this can be softened or straight from the refrigerator as you will be melting this as part of the recipe.
- Sugar - I prefer to use white caster (or granulated) sugar.
- Cocoa powder - always use good quality unsweetened for baking.
- Milk - you can use any milk for this recipe, but I'd recommend at least 2% (semi-skim) or whole full fat milk.
- Tahini
- Rolled oats - my favourite brand is Quaker, since this is what I grew up with. That said, any rolled oat will work in this recipe!
Tahini Substitute for Peanut Butter
Tahini is a popular product in Middle Eastern cuisine and one of the main ingredients in hummus. Made by toasting and grinding hulled sesame, it is similar to a nut butter, but with a more subtle flavour. It relatively easy to find in grocery stores - either with oils and condiments or in dedicated ethnic food aisles.
Thanks to its similarities to nut butters, tahini is a great substitute for peanut butter in these no bake cookies. Whether you need an alternative to peanut due to an allergy or taste preference, or simply want to try something different - try out tahini!
Making No Bake Cookies without Peanut Butter
This is a one-pot recipe. Simple and easy, for equipment, you'll just need
- One saucepan
- A spoon
- A piece of parchment paper
Begin by melting the butter over a medium heat.
Then add the cocoa powder, sugar and milk. Stir to combine and continue heating until the mixture is brought to a boil. Allow this to boil for about 1 minute.
Take off the heat and add the tahini. Stir this into the chocolate mixture until smooth. Depending on the consistency of the tahini, this may take a minute or two (mine was very thick!).
Add the oats!
Once the oats are added, the mixture will start to set up more firm and will become a bit more difficult to handle. So, you want to dollop spoonfuls of cookie dough out onto your piece of parchment paper relatively quickly.
The size and shape of these spoonfuls will depend on you! But, I like to use a soup spoon to make roughly 2.5" rounds.
Once the cookies are spooned out, leave them to set on the parchment paper for about an hour. This will help them to firm up.
FAQs for Chocolate No Bake Cookies without Peanut Butter
Yes, as these no bake cookies don't include flour, it is easy to make them gluten free simply by ensuring that you use gluten free oats, such as Bob's Red Mill. As usual, always check your products for allergen labels.
Chocolate no bake cookies can keep for several days in an airtight container at room temperature. I can confirm that they stay fresh for about a week (though rarely do they last that long in my house!).
Yes, you can freeze these no bake cookies. Wait until they have cooled completely at room temperature before freezing. For easiest storage, freeze first on a lined baking tray for about an hour (until frozen through), before transferring to a ziploc bag. This should help prevent them from sticking together in the freezer, making it easier to defrost one or two at a time.
If you like this recipe, try some other cookies:
Chocolate No Bake Cookies without Peanut Butter
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1¾ cup rolled oats
Instructions
- Prepare a surface with a piece of parchment paper, for spooning out the cookies at the end.
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat.
- Add the sugar, cocoa powder and milk to the melted butter, stirring until smooth. Continue cooking over a medium heat until the mixture boils. Allow it to boil for about 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat and add the tahini. Stir this until the mixture is smooth.
- Finally add the oats. Stir these to combine and then immediately begin dolloping out spoonfuls of the cookie mixture onto the prepared parchment paper. Work quickly as this will begin to set. This makes roughly 12-15 cookies depending on the size of the spoonfuls.
- Allow to cool for about an hour, to allow these to firm up.
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