A whole foods, plant-based chocolate chip cookie? Could it really be true?!?! Yes! This awesome cookie recipe uses dates and bananas for natural sweetness. Creamy peanut butter adds rich vegan flavor. You cookie dreams have become a reality.
Dates, Banana, Applesauce, Peanut Butter: Plant-Based Ingredients for Moisture
Traditional cookies will often use butter, eggs, and sugar for moisture and sweetness. Even most vegan recipes call for maple syrup or another refined sweetener. However, for this plant-based recipe, I ditched all of those for whole foods ingredients.
Dates, bananas, and applesauce create the wet base for moisture and sweetness. All of these ingredients are natural, whole foods, and plant-based. Plus, they’re full of healthy nutrition including fiber, potassium, and other vitamins.
Roasted peanut butter adds creamy richness to this recipe. Instead of adding fat, the natural fat in the peanut butter helps create a satisfying cookie. Be sure to use a peanut butter with no other ingredients. You want to avoid added oils, sugars, and even salt.
Whole Grain Oat Flour: Plant-Based and Gluten-Free
For the dry component of these cookies, I opted for the nutty flavor of oat flour. Oat flour is made from grinding whole grain oats. It has a light, fluffy texture. With the flaxseed meal, it creates a cookie that has a subtle chewy texture. However, because oat flour is gluten-free, these cookies still have a delicate crumb.
Gluten-Free, Plant-Based Cookie Satisfaction
Eating a plant-based diet can be challenging. However, having satisfying treats like these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies can make it easier. By using whole foods, plant-based ingredients, you can enjoy these cookies without the sugar crash from most sweets.
How to Store and Enjoy these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Once these cookies have baked and cooled, you should store them in the refrigerator. They contain no preservatives and are made from whole food ingredients. Therefor, they are more prone to spoiling quickly. Avoid storing them on the counter or any place warm and moist.
My preference is to keep a batch of these cookies in the freezer. When I want one (or two), I simply pop it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. This helps keeps the cookies longer. Plus, it helps me with portion control. I don’t want to eat the entire batch in one sitting!
Tightly wrapped in foil and a zipper plastic bag, these cookies can stay frozen for up to 3 months…if you can resist them that long!
Chef Katie’s Plant-Based Baking Tips
Double-Check the Peanut Butter Label: Use roasted peanut butter that has no added ingredients. Check the ingredients list to make sure there’s no added oil, sugar, or syrup.
What is Oat Flour: Oat flour is made from ground whole grain oats. It has a nutty flavor and light, fluffy texture. It is naturally gluten-free. However, it can be processed in facilities near wheat, so check for “Certified GF” if you need to avoid gluten. You can add oat flour to many of your muffin and bread recipes for lighter texture.
Vegan Chocolate Chips: You can find dairy-free vegan chocolate chips in the baking section of most grocery stores. My favorite brand is Enjoy Life, which offers a variety of chips, mini chips, and chunks. You may also find dark chocolate chips that are dairy-free. However, you should check the ingredients label and avoid any that say “Contains Milk”. Another option is to buy a dairy-free dark chocolate bar and cut it into small, bite-sized chunks.
Less sugar: There is likely some refined sugar or cane syrup used to sweeten the vegan chocolate chips. However, ifyou wish to avoid this, you can substitute the chocolate chips with cocoa nibs, dried currants, or dried cherries.
Peanut Butter Allergy: For a peanut-free version of this recipe, you can substitute with another nut or seed butter. Roasted almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter would all work.
Cookies Without Refined Flour, Oil, or Sugar: I’m on a mission to get rid of empty calories. These cookies don’t use any refined sugar, maple syrup, or other refined sweetener. Instead of refined white flour, I use whole grain flour. No oil or butter is needed for moisture.
Oil-Free: I’m on a mission to get rid of empty calories, like those found in refined oils. This recipe skips oil and uses parchment paper to keep the bars from sticking to the pan. This makes a healthy, low-calorie recipe.
Whole grain oat flour and flaxseed meal creates the dry mix 
Chef’s Ingredient Tip: Double-check the Peanut Butter label. Look for a brand that has no extra oils, sugars, or syrups listed. These are often called peanut butter “spread” 
Enjoy Life makes vegan, gluten-free chocolate chips. 
A portion scoop makes it easy to create perfectly-sized cookies quickly 
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Oil-Free, Plant-Based Whole Foods, Vegan Dessert Recipe from Plants-Rule 
Bake the cookies until golden brown on the bottom.
Watch the Recipe Video on Instagram:
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Oil-Free, Plant-Based Recipe
- Medium
- Ready In: 30 minutes
- Servings: 12
- Yield: 24 bite-sized cookies
If you like this recipe, you’ll also crave: Peanut Butter and Jelly Energy Bites, Peanut Butter Quinoa Flake Cookies, Cocoa Peanut Butter Energy Bites . and Chocolate Walnut Brownies.
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Oil-Free, Plant-Based Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup 100 g dates
- 1 banana peeled (about 110g)
- ½ cup 114g unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup 64g peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons 13g ground flaxseed meal
- 1 ¼ cup 118g oat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch salt
- ½ cup Vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
To make the Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat.
For the Oil-Free wet ingredients:
- In a blender or food processor, combine the dates, banana, applesauce, and vanilla. Puree until smooth. Scrape down the sides as needed.
For the Gluten-Free plant-based dry ingredients:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, ground flaxseed meal, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the pureed wet mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Also add the peanut butter. Stir well until combined. Add the chocolate chips and combine.
- Portion about 2 tablespoons of batter per cooking, spacing them about 2 inches apart. The cookies won’t spread at all during baking.
- Bake for 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.
- Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet.
- Enjoy right away or store, refrigerated, in an air-tight container.
Notes
Ready In: 30 minutes
Yield: 24 bite-sized cookies
Servings: 12
Nutrition Facts
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 12.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 173 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 8 g | 12 % |
| Saturated Fat 3 g | 13 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 55 mg | 2 % |
| Potassium 189 mg | 5 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 26 g | 9 % |
| Dietary Fiber 3 g | 11 % |
| Sugars 13 g | |
| Protein 4 g | 8 % |
| Vitamin A | 0 % |
| Vitamin C | 10 % |
| Calcium | 17 % |
| Iron | 6 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Shopping List
- Spread The Love NAKED Organic Peanut Butter
- Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet, Dairy Free, Nut Free Vegan Chocolate Chips
- Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oat Flour, 22-ounce (Pack of 4)
- Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Deglet Dates
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These look great! Can you taste the peanut butter? I was thinking of using almond butter if so
They are great! Yes, you can taste the peanut butter. Feel free to swap out with almond butter or something like sunflower seed butter or cashew butter.
Yum!! Thanks.
Will you share your vegan latke recipe with me?
Happy Holidays. Thankful for you!
Harriett
Katie,
Could I use a different flour other than oat?
I’m curious to try a different variation, if possible.
Thank you for all these great recipes!
Kim
Instead of oat flour, my next go-to would be spelt flour. I like the light, fluffy texture of spelt. However, be careful not to overmix because spelt has gluten.