No-Bake Healthy Breakfast Cookies are the perfect on-the-go breakfast or snack! They’re quick to make, require simple everyday ingredients, and are so tasty! Add an optional drizzle of chocolate on top and you’ll be heaven with these Breakfast Cookies!
Love breakfast cookies? Us too! Try our chocolate version next — these Chocolate-Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies, these Protein Breakfast Cookies, or these baked Healthy Breakfast Cookies.
No-Bake Healthy Breakfast Cookies
We love varying up fun breakfast options around these parts and cookies for breakfast is nothing I’ll ever turn down! No-Bake Healthy Breakfast Cookies are also a great on-the-go option, perfect for taking on a camping or back-packing trip and make a great afternoon pick-me-up snack.
I’ve tried to keep the recipe list and short and as simple as possible while relying on pantry staples — no stops at specialty stores needed.
These cookies are crunchy, chewy, sweet, and nutty. Pair the peanut butter base with a chocolate topping and it’s a match made in heaven!
No-Bake Healthy Breakfast Cookie Ingredients
- Creamy peanut butter adds flavor and nutrition, plus ensures the cookies are filling and satiating. As far as nut butter goes, I recommend using one you enjoy eating straight from the jar. We love using slow-roasted and lightly salted peanut butter with loads of flavor.
- Honey sweetens these cookies and helps hold everything together.
- Vanilla and salt enhance the flavor.
- Old-fashioned oats give the best results; steel-cut oats will be too coarse and hard, and quick oats don’t add enough texture.
- Rice Krispies® Cereal adds a fun crunch. Any crisp rice cereal works in these cookies.
- Oat flour is simply blended up oats (more on this in the “quick tip” box below).
- Chocolate is an optional ingredient you can melt some and drizzle over these breakfast cookies. We love the chocolate drizzle! Dark chocolate is going to be a more nutritious option, but semi-sweet or milk chocolate is great here too.
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 you’ll have everything you need!
No-Bake Healthy Breakfast Cookie Tips
- Adjust quantities. Depending on the actual ingredients used, there may be some variation. If the mixture is too wet and sticky (and not gathering 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.
- 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.
- Add some mix-ins. If you’d rather leave off the chocolate drizzle topping, I’d recommend adding a few tablespoons of a tasty mix-in; just keep it small so it doesn’t crumble the cookies. Think miniature chocolate chips, coarsely chopped dried cranberries or dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped nuts, etc. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of mix-ins to the mixture before shaping it into cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop! Not only does the cookie scoop make the process easier, but it also helps pack the mixture in tightly so these healthy breakfast cookies won’t crumble. 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.
- When melting the chocolate for the chocolate drizzle topping, microwave the chocolate chips in sturdy, heat-safe bowls (not plastic or melamine). To avoid burned chocolate chips, microwave in short bursts, stirring frequently in between the bursts.
No-Bake Healthy Breakfast Cookie Storage
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 easy no-bake recipes
- No-bake Energy Bites
- Granola bars with pistachios and a dark chocolate topping
- Parfait fruit, yogurt, and granola
- Chewy Granola Bars with miniature M&M’s and chocolate chips
- Trail Mix made five different ways
No-Bake Healthy Breakfast Cookies
No-Bake Healthy Breakfast Cookies are the perfect on-the-go breakfast or snack! They're quick to make, require simple everyday ingredients, and are so tasty! Add an optional drizzle of chocolate on top and you'll be heaven with these breakfast cookies!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter Note 1
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup Rice Krispies cereal
- 1/4 cup oat flour or flax seeds (blend up regular oats in the blender-- See Note 2)
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (dry) (not quick or steel-cut oats)
Optional Topping &/OR add-ins:
- 3 tablespoons milk or dark chocolate chips
- Add-ins: raisins, chopped nuts, dried cranberries, mini chocolate chips (about 2 tablespoons.)
Instructions
- COMBINE: In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and salt. Microwave for 20-30 seconds and stir until thoroughly combined. In that same bowl, add in the Rice Krispie cereal, flaxseed (or oat flour), and old-fashioned oats. Stir together until completely combined. It may be tricky to stir at first; keep working at it until it comes together. If it seems to be too wet, add a touch more oat flour and if it happens to be too dry, add a touch more peanut butter and/or honey.
- OPTIONAL ADD-INS: Add in 2 tablespoons of optional add-ins if desired (make sure if you add anything in here, it is finely diced up first)
- FORM BALLS: Using a cookie scoop that is 1-1/2 tablespoons (about the size of a golf ball), tightly scoop out and compress the mixture. Release the cookie onto a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Repeat with all the mixture. Once you've got tight balls of the mixture, take one ball at a time and gently flatten the ball in your hands to create a cookie shape. Repeat with the remaining balls.
- OPTIONAL CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE: If desired, melt 3 tablespoons of chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth and melted. I microwave in bursts of 10 seconds, stirring in between each burst for 10 seconds until chocolate is melted. Use a spatula to scrape the melted chocolate in a small plastic bag and cut a small hole in the tip of the bag. Drizzle the chocolate across the cookies and let the chocolate harden.
- STORAGE: Store cookies in an airtight container for 4-5 days (I keep mine in the fridge) or freeze for up to 3 months
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Peanut butter: I recommend a tasty peanut butter you enjoy eating straight from the jar. We love using slow-roasted and lightly salted peanut butter with loads of flavor.
Note 2: Oat flour: Oat flour is just regular old-fashioned oats that have been processed in a blender until they look like flour. Nothing fancy here, add some old-fashioned oats into a blender or food processor and pulse until it is fine like flour. Measure AFTER blending and not before
Nutrition information does not include the chocolate drizzle or any add-ins. Obviously, if you use these ingredients, the nutrition information will change.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 176kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 144mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 715IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are fantastic!! I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
I’ve made these a few times with some minor changes.
i found a Kraft Peanut Butter in two different flavours, Cinnamon Granola Raisin and Banana Granola Peanut. I’ve substituted each of these separately instead of the plain peanut butter for a slightly different flavour. Each are great, although not as healthy as using the natural peanut butter.
I’ll continue to make these as my hubby who claims he likes ‘the gluten in his cookies’ devours these!!
Thanks so much 🙂
I just made a bunch of these for my students. They LOVED them. Thanks for the recipe!
Any substitutes for rice kris pies? I don’t have any and don’t want to buy a whole box! Just extra oatmeal?
You know, I haven’t actually tried them without rice krispies so I’m not sure if the oats would work. Do you by chance have another type of cereal like corn flakes or cheerios? I think those would all work great if crushed up to about the size of rice krispies. If you do end up trying these with oats instead of rice krispies or another adaptation, I’d love to hear the results! Sorry to not be of any more help!
I used crushed up gram crackers and they turned out amazing!
That is so great to hear! And what a delicious idea 🙂
These are DELICIOUS!! For breakfast, snacks, or anytime!! 🙂 I tried them with crunchy natural peanut butter and they worked well (I used the oat flour, not flaxseed). The only issue is that natural peanut butter usually has salt so I should have omitted that extra pinch.
Thanks for posting!!!!
Wondering if you know the nutrition info on these? Sounds like something my son would like, but we have to count carbs due to type 1 diabetes. They look delicious!
Hi Rhea!
Here is the breakdown:
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 Recipe total Servings 9
Calories 220
Total Fat 10.45 g
Saturated Fat 3g
Monosaturated Fat 5.04g
Polysaturated Fat 2.41g
Total Carbohydrate 22.5 g
Fiber 3.7 g
Sugar 9.5 g
Protein 6.9 g
Cholesterol 1.34 mg
Calcium 36 mg
Iron 1.42 mg
Potassium 226 mg
Sodium 83 mg
Zinc 1.2 mg
Thiamin 0.2 mg
Riboflavin 0.1 mg
Niacin 2.01 mg
Folic Acid 9.8 Ug
Vitamin B6 0.18 mg
Vitamin C 1.1 mg
Vitamin B12 0.22 Ug
Vitamin A 103 IU
Vitamin E 1.52 mg
Vitamin D 0.1 Ug
Vitamin K 0.5 Ug
Points 5
Points Plus 5
*The nutritional values are determined by the total ingredients divided by the number of servings for each recipe. Serving sizes may vary. The formula used here for points was obtained from public sources and is an empirical match to Weight Watchers calculators, but it is not an “official” Weight Watcher’s calculator.
Hi Chelsea! I am trying out this recipe with a group of kids at an after school program. I was wondering how long it take after you form them for you to eat them? Does it take time to set in the refrigerator?
Thanks!
Hey Erin! No no time in the fridge! Just about 5-10 minutes to let them cool. Just make sure to pack in the dough tightly when you make the balls to bake them! Enjoy 🙂
Great! Thank you very much! 🙂
Even better with a raspberry jam drizzle over the top instead of chocolate. What a lovely afternoon treat!
Ooo what a fantastic idea! I’ll definitely give that a try the next time I make these!
Had trouble making them into balls with my hands; didn’t stick together well, and stuck to my hands. Where did I go wrong?! Thx 🙂
Hey Ashley! Hmm I haven’t had problems making them into balls! Let me see if I can help though! Did you use a natural peanut butter? And did you have the right quantities of honey and peanut butter (what holds these together)? Did you try squishing the dough first (like putting a ball amount of dough in one fist and squeezing the fist closed?)
Thanks! I didn’t use natural PB and I believe the amounts were just right and than I added a bit more honey to see if I could make them stickier. They were still so yummy that I’ll certainly be making them again! Hopefully they’ll form a little better this time.
Cookies for breakfast? Count me in!!
Thanks for linking up at Tell Me About It Tuesday. We hope you hop over and share with us again this week. (Sorry for the late comment!)
Thank you Sara! 🙂
These look amazing! I’m going to make these for breakfast, my boys will go nuts over them. They LOVE peanut butter (and cookies, obviously). I love that they’re no-bake, perfect for summer. Thanks for the recipe!
You are so welcome, and thanks for stopping by and commenting Lauren!