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My 5-ingredient oat protein cookies are the healthy, satisfying, quick & easy snack you need to make! They are vegan, oil-free gluten-free, and have 70 calories and 4.1 grams protein each.
I’m swamped. And so is our backyard.
To clarify, I’m not drowning in work, but deadlines. Add to that, dark days of torrential thunderstorms making dashes to the store for dinner supplies tricky. Dinners have been quick & easy fare, and lunches are breakfasts are hasty.
Nevertheless, I’m a pretty happy camper. I like rain. Reviewing the past decades of my life also indicates that I enjoy the tension of deadlines. Both the rain and work have me at home with my two favorite people, too, so, all in all, it’s a harmonious situation. Now, if I could just find a machine that magically cleans my house, I’d be near bliss.
As substitute, I made cookies. Not just any cookies, but a type of cookies my husband has been asking me to concoct for some time: 5-Ingredient Oat Protein Cookies.
Ingredients for 5-Ingredient Oat Protein Cookies
To be honest, my husband did not ask for the cookies to be 5 ingredients, or made from oats. He asked for healthy protein cookies, of any kind. He’s so flexible :).
I looked through the pantry and found that I had a mostly unused container of my favorite vegan protein powder. Check. That’s the only out of the ordinary ingredient necessary. The remaining items on the complete list are very familiar:
- Plant-based (vegan) vanilla protein powder
- Quick-cooking rolled oats (or old-fashioned, slightly chopped in food processor)
- Smooth, drippy natural nut or seed butter (e.g., peanut butter, almond butter, tahini)
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar (or granulated sweetener of choice)
- Choice of nondairy milk, mashed ripe banana or unsweetened applesauce
Use any of the following to help moisten the cookies: mashed very ripe banana, unsweetened applesauce, or nondairy milk. The cookies are great no matter which you choose!
How to Make 5-Ingredient Oat Protein Cookies
Begin by mixing the nut butter, applesauce (or milk or banana), and coconut sugar in a medium bowl until smooth.
To finish the cookie dough, stir in the oats and protein powder until completley blended.
Protein powders vary in composition. If the dough looks wetter than pictured below, add another tablespoon or more of oats. If it looks dry, drizzle in a bit of water.
Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons (I like to use my small cookie scoop) onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Dip your fingertips into water and flatten (slightly) the mounds of dough.
Bake the cookies in a preheated 350F (175C) oven for 9 to 12 minutes until the cookies look just set (do not overbake or they will dry out). The cookies will firm up as they cool.
Not too sweet, slightly chewy, and so satisfying, these cookies are perfect for a sweet treat, healthy snack, or part of healthy breakfast on the go!
You can add in spices, dried fruit and chocolate chips, too. Or, my favorite, add a drizzle of melted chocolate on top.
Happy baking!
Other healthy, delicious oat cookies to try:
Oatmeal Raisin Protein Cookies
Chocolate Banana Oat Cookies (vegan, oil-free, GF)
Copycat ZBAR Cookies (vegan, date-sweetened, GF, Oil-Free)
Flourless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
2-Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies (vegan, refined sugar-free, oilfree)
5-Ingredient Oat Protein Cookies {vegan, oil-free, gluten-free}
My 5-ingredient oat protein cookies are the healthy, satisfying, easy-to-make snack you need to make! They are vegan, oil-free gluten-free, and have 70 calories and 4.1 grams protein each.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) smooth, drippy natural peanut butter (see notes for options)
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsweetened applesauce, nondairy milk, or mashed very ripe banana
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) coconut sugar (see notes for options)
- 50 grams (about 2/3 cup) plant-based vanilla protein powder
- 1 and 1/4 cups quick cooking rolled oats (see note for options)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, applesauce and coconut sugar until blended and smooth. Add the protein powder and oats; stir until combined.
- Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon measure, drop tablespoons of rounded dough onto prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches (5 cm) apart. With moistened fingertips, flatten each mound.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 12 minutes until just set at the centers. Remove from oven and cool on sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely.
Notes
Storage: Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, the refrigerator for 2 weeks or the freezer for up to 6 months.
Sugar Options: An equal amount of brown sugar or the granulated sweetener of choice can be used in place of the coconut sugar.
Gluten-Free Tips: If you need these cookies to be certified gluten-free, be sure to use oats and plant protein powder that are certified gluten-free on the label.
Rolled Oats Options: These cookies work best with quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats. If you have old-fashioned rolled oats, simply chop slightly (e.g., a few pulses in a food processor).
Nutrition Information
Serving Size 1 cookieAmount Per Serving Calories 70Total Fat 3.8gSaturated Fat 0.4gCholesterol 0mgSodium 46.5mgCarbohydrates 6.6gFiber 1.3gSugar 2.2gProtein 4.1g
Love these. My go to homemade “protein bars”
There is not one thing I do not like about these cookies! The added chocolate drizzle on top is beyond delicious in my opinion.
I made these with sunbutter. The sunflower seeds made them look kinda green (I learned afterwards that this happens when you bake with sunflower seed butter), but they were awesome. Maybe I’ll make them again for St Pattys Day!
My go-to cookie recipe. It’s great with any of the options listed (banana, applesauce, milk) and you can customize with spices and adding stuff in like craisins and chocolate.
Excellent recipe. Use this to make healthy cookies for my swim team kids. It’s easy to change to modify the recipe with different nut butters, flavors, stir-ins, and the options for banana, milk or applesauce given. My two teens love them!
Made these last night and absolutely LOVE them! So quick, easy and delicious! I didnt take the time to drizzle with chocolate, instead I added some mini chocolate chips to dough. – yum yum yum
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I am vegan and gluten-free so this recipe brings me joy! I’ve made them with nondairy milk and with the applesauce, both are fantastic. I add extras, too, like chopped dried fruit, chocolate chips, and chia seeds sometimes. The results are fantastic, my CrossFit healthnut BF enjoyed them, too. Can’t wait to try again with the banana.
so good! I am vegetarian, not vegan, so I used whey protein powder and they came out so good.
These are delicious. I used a protein powder I had in the pantry (that I did not like in smoothies) and these came out so good, so thanks for a great way to use up the protein powder. I used the banana option.
Unique as always. I love the addition of pumpkin and imagine it would be equally good with butternut squash. It adds such unusual color and I am guessing the flavor would be good as well.