These Chocolate-Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies are loaded with delicious and satiating ingredients! No baking required and great for on-the-go mornings!

Try our original No-bake Breakfast Cookies or these baked Breakfast Cookies next!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

We’re big breakfast people at my home and we enjoy an over-the-top, way-too-sugary breakfast or brunch usually on the weekend. So, in the name of balance, the rest of the week we reach for a little better options like a hearty bowl of oatmeal, a yogurt bowl, or overnight oats

These Chocolate-Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies are another recent go-to for a quick breakfast. They also make a delicious and portable snack the kids go crazy for. These cookies are incredibly simple to make, ultra satisfying, and made with good-for-you ingredients. 

Process shots: combining the ingredients

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies Ingredients

  • Creamy almond or peanut butter adds flavor and nutrition and ensures the cookies are filling and satiating. As far as nut butters go, I recommend using one you enjoy eating straight from the jar. We love using slow-roasted and lightly salted nut butter with loads of flavor. I prefer these cookies made with almond butter, but my kids prefer them with peanut butter!
  • Honey sweetens these cookies and helps hold everything together.
  • Vanilla and salt enhance the flavor of these cookies.
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder is the main contributor to the chocolate flavor. We like regular, unsweetened cocoa powder, but if you really love dark chocolate and a slightly bitter flavor, use Dutch-process cocoa powder instead.

Process shots: mixing ingredients and forming cookie balls

Ingredients, Continued

  • Old-fashioned oats give the best results; steel-cut oats will be too coarse and hard, and quick oats don’t add enough texture.
  • Unsweetened coconut adds flavor and texture. We like to use the unsweetened kind, so these chocolate peanut butter breakfast cookies aren’t too sweet. If you’d like to make them more of a treat (less of a nutritious snack), you can use sweetened coconut instead.
  • Cocoa Krispies® or Rice Krispies® Cereal add a fun crunch and, if you use Cocoa Krispies, additional chocolate flavor. Any crisp rice cereal works in these cookies.
  • Oat flour is simply blended up oats (more on this in the “quick tip” box below). 
  • Mini chocolate chips are the last bit of added chocolate. They add more flavor, texture, and pull everything together! Besides, you can’t have cookies without chocolate chips right?!

Quick Tip

Oat flour is just regular old-fashioned oats that have been processed in a blender until they look like flour. Nothing fancy here, so if you already have the old-fashioned oats for this recipe, you’ll have everything you need!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies being flattened into cookies

  • Adjust quantities. Depending on the actual ingredients used, there can always be some variation. If the mixture is too wet and sticky (and not rolling nicely into a ball), add a touch more oats and/or oat flour. If the mixture is too dry (and crumbling), add a bit more nut butter and/or honey.
  • Allow time for the oats to absorb the liquid. At first, these cookies may seem overly moist. After they sit for a bit, though, they firm up as the oats absorb the honey and nut butter.
  • Play around with this recipe! I wanted to keep this recipe simple (yet tasty!) so I relied on readily accessible pantry staples. That said, it’s an easy recipe to springboard lots of variations. Some ideas: add in flaxseed, chia seeds, protein powder, hemp hearts, etc. Replace some of the oats or oat flour with some of these dry ingredients if desired.
  • Use a cookie scoop! Not only does the cookie scoop make the process easier, but it also helps pack the mixture in tightly. I use a scoop that is 1-1/2 tablespoons (about the size of a golf ball). Once all the mixture has been separated into equal-sized balls, flattening the balls into cookies is quick and easy.
  • Toast the coconut: Again, I wanted these to be simple, so toasting the coconut is certainly not required. If you’re feeling a little extra, or maybe have some toasted coconut leftover after making this divine Coconut Cream Pie, throw that in the Chocolate Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookie mixture. By the way, here’s how to toast coconut.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies being held to show size and texture

Store cookies in an airtight container for 4-5 days (we like to keep them in the fridge) or freeze for up to 3 months.

More quick, on-the-go breakfast ideas

5 from 4 votes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

These no-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies are packed with tasty, satisfying ingredientsโ€”the perfect on-the-go breakfast!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 15 cookies

Equipment

  • Large bowl

Ingredients 
 

  • 1/2 cup creamy almond butter or peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/4 cup oat flour see note 1
  • 1/3 cup crispy rice cereal
  • 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl, combine almond butter and honey. Microwave for 10 seconds and then stir until completely smooth. Add in vanilla and salt. Mix until combined. Next, add the cocoa powder, oats, coconut, and oat flour (see note 1). Mix until completely combined.
  • Stir in crispy rice cereal and chocolate chips, mix. If the mixture is too wet, add more oat flour. If it's too dry add a bit more almond butter or honey. There is some variance in consistency based on the brands you use.
  • Using aย 1-1/2 tablespoonsย cookie scoop, tightly scoop out and compress the mixture. Place the cookie onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat with all the mixture. Once you've got 15 balls formed, take one at a time and gently flatten the ball in your hands to create a cookie shape. Repeat with the remaining balls. Enjoy immediately!

Recipe Notes

Note 1: To make oat flour, pulse oats in a blender or food processor until they reach a flour-like consistency. Measure the oat flourย after blending.
Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container for 4โ€“5 days at room temperature or in the fridge. You can also freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 86mg | Potassium: 256mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 12IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Meet Chelsea


Hello, and welcome to Chelseaโ€™s Messy Apron! Iโ€™m Chelsea, the recipe developer, food photographer, and writer behind the site. Iโ€™m passionate about creating simple, reliable, and delicious recipes that anyone can make.

Thanks for stopping byโ€”I hope you find something delicious to make!

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5 from 4 votes

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22 Comments

  1. Lisa g. says:

    How long do you bake these? The recipe doesn’t say. Thank you for all your healthy recipes!

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      They’re no bake cookies, so they aren’t baked! Enjoy ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Eloise says:

    Hi! I love the sound of these and the cinnamon roll ones also look amazing! However I have a problem, I’m allergic to peanuts! I’m trying to eat more protein but every recipe has peanut butter in it! Is there any thing I could substitute instead?
    ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Have you tried sunbutter? I’m not sure how it will taste since I haven’t tried it, but I do know that’s high in protein!

  3. Gladys says:

    hi Chelsea,

    So happy have started a new healhty lifestyle change, and finding these new healthy treats is such a bonus motivator. Am not to concerned about not seeing the nutritional breakdown (its really all in moderation from what am learning lol)
    but just seeing it, its 200 cal for the whole receipe- i can eat all 9-cookies – wow so wow amazing i would love to be able to eat at least 4.5 of these lil babies for just 100calories…. PLEASE PUT A SMILE ON MY FACE! thank you again and continue to share your delicious healthy creations with us w/ or w/o facts ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      I LOVE your view on healthy eating — in all my years of trying to maintain weight and a healthier lifestyle, I’ve come to the same conclusion ๐Ÿ™‚ Moderation in everything! Thank you so much! ๐Ÿ™‚ I hope you have a wonderful day!

    2. Barb says:

      you miss read it. 200 is for one cookie.