They’re back. The most delicious healthy peanut butter cookies that taste like a peanut butter cup and peanut butter cookie dough had a baby. Plus, they just so happen to be grain free, gluten free, dairy free, naturally sweetened and made in one bowl. BOOM!
I made these grain free peanut butter cookies back in 2020 and they became instant AK classic. I mean, these cookies are just RIDICULOUSLY GOOD and filled with peanut butter flavor. I love that they’re thick, fudgy and doughy in the middle with a chewy texture. You’re going to fall in love, I promise.
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What makes these peanut butter cookies more nutrient-dense?
Traditional peanut butter cookies, while delicious, are usually baked with butter and refined sugars. We’re making these peanut butter cookies a little healthier by:
- Using all natural peanut butter and a bit of coconut oil for moisture. This makes them dairy free.
- Baking with almond and coconut flour to make them grain free, gluten free and packed with healthy fats.
- Keeping them low carb with the nut flour blend, rather than using white flour.
Ingredients in grain free peanut butter cookies
The great thing about these healthy peanut butter cookies is that they’re naturally sweetened and only need a bit of oil for the perfect amount of moisture. They’re puffy, slightly soft & chewy and absolutely delicious without any dairy or gluten. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Natural creamy peanut butter: make sure the peanut butter you use is nice and drippy and has just peanuts + salt as the ingredients.
- Coconut oil: you’ll just need a bit of coconut oil to add moisture to your cookies to get the doughy middle. You can also use melted butter or melted vegan butter if you prefer.
- Coconut sugar: naturally sweeten these peanut butter cookies with coconut sugar. Brown sugar will also work but I love how coconut sugar gives these a hint of caramel flavor.
- Egg: you’ll only need one egg for these cookies. I have not tested them with a flax egg but let me know if you give it a try.
- Almond flour & coconut flour: we’re using a mix of almond flour and coconut flour to keep these peanut butter cookies grain and gluten free. They also give the cookies a boost of healthy fats! Be sure to use a fine, blanched almond flour (not almond meal).
- Baking staples: don’t forget the baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract. Learn how to make your own with this tutorial!
- Dark chocolate: feel free to chop up your favorite, 2.5 oz dark chocolate bar, or dark chocolate chips (dairy free or vegan if desired!)
- Optional: Fancy Maldon salt (or sea salt), for sprinkling on top.
Try new delicious mix-ins
I love these grain free peanut butter cookies with chocolate chunks or chips, but feel free to mix in:
- Chopped walnuts
- M&M’s or your favorite chocolate candies
- Chopped peanut butter cups
Or you could opt for a drizzle of melted chocolate on each cookie instead! It’s really up to you.
Healthy peanut butter cookies in 5 steps
- Prep your pan. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Mix together the peanut butter, melted and cooled coconut oil, coconut sugar, egg and vanilla extract until well combined, smooth and creamy.
- Add the dry. Next, add in the flours, baking soda, and salt; stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
- Scoop & bake. Use a cookie scoop to drop dough onto the prepared baking sheet, then bake them up.
- Top, cool & enjoy! As soon as cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle them with a little sea salt. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Then devour!
Don’t forget these cooking baking tips
As always, the best way to ensure that these healthy peanut butter cookies turn out amazing is to follow the recipe exactly. Here are some tips for making them perfect every time:
- Do not use substitutes. Almond flour should not be replaced with any other flour, nor should you attempt to replace the coconut flour. These healthy peanut butter cookies are perfect as-is!
- Use a room temperature egg. This will ensure that the coconut oil does not coagulate and cause the cookie dough to be super lumpy. Just place your egg in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes, or run warm water over the egg for a minute to bring it to room temp.
Storing & freezing tips
- To store: feel free to keep these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, then transfer them to the fridge or freezer.
- To freeze: learn exactly how to freeze the cookie dough or the baked peanut butter cookies using this tutorial!
More grain free treats you’ll love
- Damn Good Peanut Butter Banana Cake (gluten free, grain free)
- Vegan Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Bars
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Tahini Blondies
- Grain Free Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie (vegan + paleo)
- Grain Free Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Get all of our amazing grain free desserts here!
I hope you love these healthy, grain free peanut butter cookies as much as we do. If you make them, be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe below! We appreciate you. xo.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup (128g) natural creamy peanut butter (just peanuts and salt as the ingredients)
- 2 ½ tablespoons melted and cooled coconut oil (or sub melted butter or melted vegan butter)
- ½ cup (77g) coconut sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients:
- ½ cup (56g) fine blanched almond flour
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour (do not pack)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 (2.5 ounce) dark chocolate bar (at least 72%), coarsely chopped* (or about 1/3 cup chocolate chips)
- Fancy Maldon salt (or sea salt), for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add peanut butter, melted and cooled coconut oil, coconut sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined, smooth and creamy.
- Add in the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt; mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop dough onto the prepared baking sheet, placing dough 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-12 minutes. As soon as cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle them with a little sea salt. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing them. Makes 10 cookies.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on July 2nd, 2020, republished on January 10th, 2022, and republished with new photos and a video on June 2nd, 2025.
I made them yesterday and kids loooved them.i only added 2tbs coconut flour because myne is very dry and they were awsome!!!!! thank you
Ah yes and i used oat flour instead almond flour and were delish
Perfect! So glad they were a hit!
These are my favourite cookies to make! So easy & quick, & so delicious!
Thank you!! 🙂
So happy to hear that!
My dough was dry and crumbly – not sure what went wrong. I followed the measurements. Had to add extra PB to make dough stick together.
Did you measure in grams? This recipe was tested 3 separate times by different people so we are confident it works when measured properly. The only thing I can think of is perhaps if the peanut butter was on the drier side? Also, did you use natural peanut butter?
Making these for Santa Clause. Hope he likes them 🍪 🎅🏻 I sure did! 😋
Hope he loved them, too!
I substituted coconut flour with flax meal and used chunky peanut butter. They turned out fantastic!
I’m glad that swap worked out well! One of our fav treats 🙂
Any chance we can sub maple syrup for coconut sugar?
I wouldn’t recommend it – sorry! The texture will change going from a dry to a liquid sugar.
I have not made these yet but they look Yummylicious. Can I substitute the coconut sugar for Swerve? I am looking to keep the carb count down.
I wouldn’t recommend it – sorry! Swerve and other alternative sweeteners will make these cookies WAY too sweet, unfortunately.
Used a flax egg and they turned out perfectly! Our new favorite cookies and my toddler asked if we could make them every day!
Amazing! So happy to hear that!
i AM TRYING TO REVERSE MY DIABETES. i AM ANXIOUS TO TRY YOUR GRAIN FREE RECIPES.
Yum. I made these even more low-carb/low-sugar by cutting the coconut sugar to just a little over 1/4 cup and also using keto chocolate chips that are sweetened with monk fruit. I used grass-fed butter (instead of coconut oil) and also added 1/2 tsp cinnamon. I must have made mine much smaller than intended in the recipe, as I ended up with 19 cookies I think. Baked for 10min and they have a great texture and love the Maldon salt on them! I love how easy these were to make and clean up from.
I’m glad that worked out well! Perfect treat 🙂
“These Grain-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies are a sweet delight without the grains. A tasty treat that caters to various dietary preferences. Enjoy every guilt-free bite!” 🍪🥜🍫😋
Thanks for this information. I love it.
Sunflower seed flour can also be used as a 1:1 replacement for almond flour.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Had an emergency cookie craving, but also wanted something slightly healthy and also that didn’t leave me a lot of leftovers LOL I’m so glad I found these! Make half with dark chocolate chips and half without– both were delicious!
These are the best! Glad they hit the spot for you and you were able to enjoy a healthier treat!
Fantastic! I whipped these up so fast, I had delicious cookies in no time. Everyone thought I had run to the bakery!
Yum!! I made with a flax egg and it worked great for me.
Wow! I never comment on recipes but had to this time. 🙂 Just made these for a planned roadtrip but I am afraid it won’t last that long! Soooo yummy! I am vegan so replaced the egg with a flax egg. Also added a little almond milk as the dough seemed too stiff. Cookies came out perfect – with a crustier outside and soft inside. Will definitely make these again! Thank you so much!
Ah yay! Love that this recipe is such a hit ❤️
i love this post i gave 5 star ratings
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Excellent flavor, very balanced, good texture as well. I substitute sugar with stevia blend, and sugar-free chocolate.
Glad you loved them!
Absolutely tasty! Made multiple times. Household requests often.
Great recipe easy ingredients and simply delicious
Thanks so much, Mary! Glad you loved these!
These were amazing! I had to use brown sugar because I had no coconut sugar so I used a little less. My daughter said she would never have known they were made with healthier ingredients! That’s a big win. These will be on repeat!
These were really delicious and easy to make. Mine did turn out like I added too much flour (very tall, did not spread, somewhat stodgy). Due to the particular nature of how the flour is measured (pack this one but not that one), it would be nice if weight measurements were included.
Hi, Jackie! Thanks for the feedback. They’re definitely supposed to be a thick and chewy cookie but they shouldn’t taste stodgy. Sorry to say I don’t weigh my ingredients so I can’t provide accurate weight measurements!
I’m pregnant and have been craving sweets and these were a perfect healthier option!! My 18 month old also loved them. I only wished I doubled the recipe!
Awesome! I’m so happy you both loved them. Sounds like a good idea to double them next time haha!
Saw this on AK’s IG…you had me at “thick daddies.” My grain-loving family gave me major side-eye when I announced I was making these, but judging by the amount they consumed, I’d say they are all true-believers in these cookies! I used a Hu salty dark chocolate bar & it was 💯.
Heheheh! Happy everyone loved them! And YES Hu is just the best 🙌
These cookies are tasty and a hit with my kiddos! I used the Kirkland Signature organic creamy peanut butter from Costco. Based on another comment suggestion, I used 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar. I used the chocolate chip option. I flattened the cookies slightly before baking, and they spread just right! The recipe made 13 decent sized cookies for us (I think I have the 1 inch cookie scoop). Thanks AK team for another recipe winner for my house 🙂
Happy that all worked perfectly, Mary! They sound incredible 😍
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I’m always trying to find recipes that are a little healthier but still taste amazing and these are truly delicious.
YAY! Happy you enjoyed these, Kaleena! Thanks so much for the review 🙂
Dangerously delicious! These are very tasty and have a great texture!
So glad you love them!!
I made the recipe as is and they turned out delicious!! Will definitely be making this my cookie to make going forward. Thanks for sharing another tasty recipe!
You’re so welcome, happy you loved them!
These are so so good. Very thick and hearty. Definitely recommend making them with chocolate chunks (as opposed to chips) because it just makes them that much better. I was a bit worried the dough was too oily when I put them in the oven bu they turned out great. Don’t skip the Maldon!
Just made and these are so good! Thank you!
YAY! So happy they turned out amazing 🙂
I saw these on the AK insta today, so I just had to make them… they are so good and a fabulous grain free treat!! I did sub 1/4 c regular sugar + 1/4 c light brown sugar for the coconut sugar as I didn’t have any coconut sugar on hand, and these came out great! 🙂
So glad they came out amazing! Thanks for the review, Mollie!
These cookies are amazing! I love anything chocolate and peanut butter. These satisfy my sweet tooth and are easy and quick to make.
Yay! I’m so happy you love them–they’re one of my favs too 🙂
These turned out SO. GOOD. They were perfectly chewy and soft, and there was a perfect amount of peanut butter flavor. I subbed butter for coconut oil, and it worked perfectly! I will definitely be making these again, and probably double the batch next time!
So happy you loved these, Annick!! Great to hear the butter was tasty in here (I mean how could it not be haha!) 🙂
An easy, delicious, healthy cookie! Frequently enjoyed in our house. Ambitious Kitchen has some of my favorite ratios when it comes to healthy baking. I also like to play around with the flours: oat, almond, coconut, hazelnut. Was also able to but down the sugar a bit (1/3 cup).
Aw thanks so much!! Those flours are all great ideas, and glad that it worked to cut the sugar a bit!
Great recipe! It came out well using a flax egg and tigernut flour in place of almond. I also used a monk fruit, erythritol blend in place of sugar Definitely making these again in the future!
I’m glad those swaps worked out well!
These are amazing. I make them all the time. My go to cookie!
So happy to hear that!
These were incredible! They taste so similar to how the peanut butter with Hershey kisses cookies taste…but a million times better! Super delicious served over ice cream when they are warm and gooey…and perfect for when they firm up a bit as a snack.
Absolutey! Glad you loved them!