3 Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies

Anyone else’s kids obsessed with cookies? Just mine?! Oh, okay, good, yours too! Well, I set out on a mission to scratch the incessant itch that my kids have for cookies and sweet treats with these 3 ingredient oatmeal cookies.

Why I Love These 3 Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies

I love this recipe because…three ingredients. THREE! That’s it! No baking soda, baking powder, room temperature butter, etc. They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, the best combo, in my opinion.

These cookies are also nutrient dense, lower in sugar than most cookies, and good for toddlers, kids, teens, and you, too!

My family loved these fresh out of the oven! (I then hoarded the leftovers to myself to crumble over Greek yogurt for my afternoon snack for the next few days.)

3 Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies

As you can probably guess, oats are the main ingredient in these cookies. I love using oats because they’re shelf stable and easy to keep on hand, and they’re a pretty nutritious food, believe it or not. Yes, they’re mainly a carbohydrate, but they also have some protein and fiber in them too! Pair them with a nut butter for some fat and a little extra protein and you have all the macronutrients represented in this snack!

This cookie recipe is SO quick and simple to throw together that you need to keep it bookmarked when a late night dessert craving hits but you want to stick to something on the healthier side!

Ingredients Needed

• 1.5 cups rolled oats
• ½ cup nut butter of your choice- I like to use almond butter
• ¼ cup maple syrup

You can also opt for a seed butter like sunflower seed butter or even granola butter for a nut-free option, but they will change the nutrition/sugar content a bit!

I have made them with salted peanut butter too, which was delicious. If you’re using unsalted nut butter, feel free to toss in a pinch of salt (no measuring needed)!

Optional: a small handful of chocolate chips

How to Make This Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix together the nut butter and maple syrup in a large mixing bowl. If your nut butter is on the dry side, you may need to add an extra little splash of maple syrup.
3. Add in the rolled oats and mix until combined, and stir in any extras you’re using.
4. Spoon 12 golf ball sized dough balls onto your parchment lined baking sheet.
5. Press them into disc shapes as these cookies will not spread much during baking. I used the bottom of my measuring cup to do this.
6. Bake for 12 minutes, remove from the oven, and cool for an additional 10 minutes before removing from the baking sheet to cool completely.

Recipe FAQs

What is the best nut butter to use in these 3 ingredient oatmeal cookies?

In my opinion, there isn’t really a *best* nut butter. From a flavor perspective, peanut butter will be the strongest flavor, and almond and cashew will be a bit more mild. Just depends what you are in the mood for.

Any of them would work great in these 3 ingredient oatmeal cookies! They all have a little bit of a different nutritional profile, but they all mostly fill the category of “fats” in the recipe. Almond butter has a little more calcium than other nut butters. Cashew butter has a creamier mouthfeel and is a little more iron-rich. Peanut butter is the most accessible and affordable. There are pros to all the nut butters, so I’m great with you using any of them!

But one very important note! You will want a nut butter that is more oily or drippy. If it’s dry in texture, it will not hold the batter together well. I do think something like JIF or Skippy would work too – I just only tested the recipe using natural nut butters so I can’t say for sure.

You mentioned making these nut-free?

Yes! What a world we live in! There are some good nut-free….nut butters, ha! Well, they’re either seed butters or made from other foods like- drum roll please- OATS! You could use sunflower seed butter or make this a super oat-y recipe and use granola butter that’s made from oats. Oat Haus granola butter is a delicious, nut-free alternative. It has a little bit of added sugar,  but not a ton! We’re big fans in my house! 

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If your kid ONLY wants sweets…

There’s a few things you can do to help! Grab my free ebook to dive into a plan right now.

3 Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies Recipe