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Looking for vegan no bake cookies? These chocolate no bake cookies without peanut butter will win over the whole family!

Say hello to these delicious healthy cookies that are perfect for summer: these vegan no bake cookies with tahini! Perhaps you know of our popular bliss bites recipe, a peanut butter and chocolate no bake cookie that everyone we serve them to loves. A friend of ours has a tree nut allergy, so we wanted to create a recipe that would work for her too. Turns out tahini is perfect for making chocolate no bake cookies without peanut butter!
Also try: No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
How to make vegan no bake cookies
Making vegan no bake cookies is pretty simple, but of course Alex and I wanted to make it even simpler! For our vegan no bake cookies, you’ll simply combine all ingredients into liquid measuring cup, then microwave them for a few seconds until they came together into a smooth batter. Then I mixed in the oatmeal, poured it into cupcake liners, and garnished with sesame and flaky sea salt. What results is a delicious dark chocolate cookie with a salty sweet flavor.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for these vegan no bake cookies:
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- Tahini
- Dutch process cocoa powder (or regular cocoa powder)
- Coconut oil
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Rolled oats
- Salt
- Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional
You can see these cookie have no refined sugar. Maple syrup makes them naturally sweet and coconut oil makes them plant based. Because of the coconut oil, these cookies are not shelf stable, so store them in the refrigerator or freezer.
I love a dark chocolate flavor to my no bake cookies, so I use Dutch process cocoa powder or baking cocoa to get a dark chocolate flavor. You also can use regular cocoa powder if desired. We served these to a big party including kids, and they ate them all up in a flash! So even kiddos enjoyed the dark chocolate flavor here.
Related: 12 Top Gluten Free Desserts | 10 Best Vegan Desserts

Chocolate no bake cookies without peanut butter?
We created these chocolate no bake cookies without peanut butter especially for our friend who has a peanut allergy–or really, a tree nut allergy! Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. If you or your guests have a sesame allergy, you should stay away from this recipe! However, if you’re allergic to tree nuts and can tolerate sesame, this is the recipe for you!
Tahini is an ingredient we use all the time in our kitchen! If you don’t use it, consider getting a jar. First and foremost, we use it to make our Perfect Hummus. It’s also fabulous in creamy sauces (it makes them dairy-free), like this Tahini Sauce we use on Buddha bowls. And, of course you can use it to make vegan no bake cookies! Score.

Perfect for kids
It’s pretty obvious that cookies go over well with kids (duh). Our son Larson absolutely LOVES these no bake cookies, he calls them “chocolate!” But here are a few reasons these cookies are particularly perfect for kids:
- They fit lots of diets. These no bake cookies are gluten free, dairy-free, vegan, soy free, and peanut free, so they fit lots of dietary restrictions.
- They’re easy for kids to make. This is not true of every cookie recipe. These no bake cookies are almost impossible to screw up. They’re perfect for a “baking” activity with kids. Er, a “no bake” activity? (Here are all our easy cookie recipes.)
- Kids love them. We served these to a big party that included kids, and they ate them all up in a flash! They all kept running up to the snack table and sneaking them. So, we can safely conclude these are a hit.
What do you think of these vegan no bake cookies? Would you try them out? Let us know in the comments below.
This vegan no bake cookies recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant based, dairy free, naturally sweet, and refined sugar free.
Vegan No Bake Cookies with Tahini
Looking for vegan no bake cookies? These chocolate no bake cookies without peanut butter will win over the whole family!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- ¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder (or regular cocoa powder)
- 5 tablespoons coconut oil
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 cup rolled oats
- Flaked sea salt, for garnish
- Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a glass measuring cup, place the tahini, cocoa powder, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon and kosher salt. Microwave 20 seconds, then stir until full combined and smooth but not hot. Stir in the rolled oats.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons each into the cupcake liners and spread if necessary to make flat cookies in the bottom of the cups. Top with sesame seeds and flaked sea salt. Freeze for 20 minutes. Store refrigerated or frozen. Keep refrigerated as close as possible to serving.
More vegan dessert recipes
Here are a few other vegan dessert recipes from A Couple Cooks:
- Vegan Mug Cake
- Bliss Bites (Healthy No-Bake Cookies)
- Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
- Maple Vegan Blondies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Blackberry Vegan Cheesecake Bites
- Fudgy Vegan Brownie Recipe
Instead for Dutch process or regular cocoa powder, can I use cacao powder?
Cocoa powder is best here for melding into the texture and providing the right flavor. We’d recommend using cocoa powder, not cacao here! Great question.
Love tahini and can’t wait to make these! Is there a healthier alternative to the coconut oil?
Sorry, the coconut oil is essential for this recipe :)
I’m on a very limited income, and I don’t have maple syrup at the moment. I’m not too terribly concerned about the sugar aspect, so could I just use natural cane sugar (which is what I have on hand). I’ll probably buy the maple syrup next month.
I have never made no bake cookies before and these were a game changer. I ended up adding chopped walnuts as well and they worked perfectly with the recipe.
I do not have a cupcake pan or paper cups liners. Would these mound on a cookie sheet or would they spread too much?
We haven’t tried, but it would probably work! They aren’t too terribly runny.