These vegan peanut butter cookies are the best cookies ever! Wonderfully crunchy and packed with peanut butter flavor. Quick and easy to make using everyday ingredients.
Oh YUM! Crunchy vegan peanut butter cookies!
If you love peanut butter as much as I do, then you want to put it in as many things as possible, and baking it into cookies is nothing but a very fine idea.
And these peanut butter cookies are simply divine.
And if you love peanut butter cookies then also check out our peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and our vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies. You’ll also love our vegan almond butter cookies.
How To Make Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add sugar and vegan butter to a mixer and beat them together until creamy. Add peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix in.
- In a separate bowl, add all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix in until crumbly. Mix by hand, don’t use your electric mixer for this part.
- Add soy milk and mix into a cookie dough.
- Roll the dough into balls, and then roll the balls in sugar and place them evenly onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Flatten slightly with a fork.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden on top. They will be soft when they come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
Recipe Tips
Vegan butter can vary a lot by brand. Depending on the brand of vegan butter (and peanut butter) you use, you may need a little more non-dairy milk than the 1 Tbsp stated in the recipe OR you may not need to add any non-dairy milk at all. Firm stick versions of vegan butter have a lower water content than softer tub styles of vegan butter. And some peanut butter brands are oilier than others.
If you try to roll some of the cookie dough into a ball and it doesn’t want to stick together and just crumbles, then add 1 Tbsp non-dairy milk and try again to roll into a ball. If needed, add another 1 Tbsp non-dairy milk and so on. If you’re in any doubt, see our photo of the cookie dough (above) or watch the video to see the consistency that the cookie dough should be.
Bake for 10 minutes for a softer cookie. If you want a softer cookie then bake for 10 minutes. If you want it a little crunchier then bake for 12 minutes. For a really crunchy cookie, you can bake for 14-15 minutes. But keep a close eye on them so that they don’t burn.
Make them gluten-free. If you’d like these cookies to be gluten-free then simply use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to replace the regular flour in these cookies. We’ve had great success doing this simple switch with our cookies to make them gluten-free.
Storing and Freezing
These cookies keep perfectly at room temperature for up to a week in an airtight container. You can also store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
They are also freezer friendly and baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Vegan Lemon Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 1 cup Smooth Salted Peanut Butter (250g)
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour (190g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
For Rolling:
- ¼ cup White Granulated Sugar (50g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Add the sugar and vegan butter to a mixer and beat them together until creamy. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix in.
- In a separate bowl, add the all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix in until crumbly. Mix by hand, don’t use your electric mixer for this part.
- Add the soy milk and mix into a cookie dough. (See notes)*
- Roll the dough into balls, and then roll the balls in sugar and place them evenly onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Flatten slightly with a fork.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes* until golden on top. They will be soft when they come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
Video
Notes
- Depending on the brand of vegan butter and peanut butter you use, you may need a little more soy milk than the 1 Tbsp stated OR you might not need any added milk at all. If you try to roll some of the cookie dough into a ball and it doesn’t want to stick together and just crumbles, then add 1 Tbsp soy milk and try again to roll into a ball. If it’s still too crumbly then add another 1 Tbsp and try again. With certain brands of vegan butter I’ve tested (very hard stick variety), I’ve sometimes needed as much as 3 Tbsp of soy milk. And I’ve also made these cookies and not needed to add in any soy milk at all. Usually 1 Tbsp is sufficient. If you’re in any doubt, then see our process photos and/or watch the video to see the consistency that the cookie dough should be.
- If you want a softer cookie then bake for 10 minutes. If you want it a little crunchier then bake for 12 minutes. For a really crunchy cookie, you can bake for 14-15 minutes. But keep a close eye on them so that they don’t burn.
- Make them gluten-free. If you’d like these cookies to be gluten-free then simply use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to replace the regular flour in these cookies. We’ve had great success doing this simple switch with our cookies to make them gluten-free.
- Storing: Keep your cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. They can also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- This recipe was first published in June 2016.
I made these with half peanut butter and half pistachio butter. They were delicious! I saw just now that there was a discussion in the comments about using “natural” peanut butter vs. “commercial” peanut butter. I presume this means pure nut-only PB vs one with additives (like Sunpat) – the recipe author said the latter is better. No idea what the results would have been if I’d used Sunpat or similar, but the results with the pure PB and my homemade pistachio butter were excellent. Personally I wouldn’t say you need to buy the other PB if you don’t normally. Also just seen another comment saying someone reduces the amount of sugar – I think this would be fine too as they are fairly sweet (not in a bad way but would work with less sugar too). Texture is great, they are melt in the mouth. And very moreish! An excellent recipe, I’ll definitely make again. Thank you!!
Thank you for your fantastic review Immy!
I can’t get enough of these cookies! I’ve made them so many times with crunchy and smooth PB and always add some dark chocolate chips, and they turn out perfect every time. Literally the best cookies I’ve ever eaten as a peanut butter lover 😀 Your recipes never miss! (I also use your vanilla and chocolate cake recipes to make a marble cake for my family’s birthdays every year and it’s always a hit, so thank you very much!)
Awesome! Thank you so much for your kind words and great review! So happy to hear you enjoy the recipes!
This is the second year in a row I have made these cookies and given them as Christmas gifts. They are perfect! The texture is amazing and the cookies practically melt in your mouth. Everyone who eats them, rants about how delicious they are.Thanks for a tried and true recipe! It is fantastic. I made my last batch today and ate about 6 while I was baking. They are irresistible!
Thanks so much for the amazing review Angelita!
I only have natural peanut butter. Can I make this recipe or do I have to buy regular peanut butter?
You can make it, but it tends to come out better with commercial peanut butters.
These turned out very good. I added a handful of chocolate chips at my partner’s request.
Awesome! Thanks for the great review Heather!
I love this recipe and often make it. Sometimes I reduce the amount of sugar from 200g to 150g it is still sweet enough and I use crunchy PB. I am wondering if I could replace the vegan butter with coconut oil, the solid kind, as its not always easy to get hold of vegan butter here?
Hi Anni, so glad you like the recipe! Coconut oil can work as a sub in cookies, but in my experience it just doesn’t work AS well as vegan butter. We do have a recipe for homemade vegan butter that works great in cookies. 🙂
I got this recipe from my mil and now it’s a staple. She actually uses applesauce instead of butter and the cookies come out amazing! It’s 1 cup of applesauce to substitute the butter. Any kind will do.
My mother in law shared this recipe with me bc I loved the cookies so much. She actually used apple sauce instead of butter! Same measurements. I love how they turn out, not sure if there’s a difference with vegan butter but with applesauce they’re delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing!
They were so easy and so tasty, will be making these cookies again.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
I’ve only used crunchy PB which works too and this time I drizzled dark chocolate on them. Fave recipe.
Awesome! Thanks so much Ann!
This is my ‘go to’ vegan cookie recipe. Simple yet delicious.
Best vegan peanut butter cookies. One of the best peanut butter cookies period.
Thanks so much Gayle!
I make this recipe multiple times a year except I use 1/2C peanut butter and 1/2C coconut oil instead of 1 full cup of PB, this tones down the PB taste nicely and adds a coconutty element, I love this recipe and so do all my non-vegan friends and family!
Sounds awesome, thanks for sharing Jasmine!
The bottoms burned before they finished baking. Is 375 the right temp even with an electric oven?
Hi Amanda, yes the temp is correct. My guess would be your oven may burn a bit hotter, the most handy tool that we use all the time is an oven thermometer.
Can you freeze the batter?
Hi Tatiana, yes you can!
Can we substitute coconut butter + a pinch of pink salt for the vegan butter & organic paleo flour for the exact same results?
They definitely won’t come out the same, no. Coconut butter isn’t a good sub for vegan butter – coconut oil can work, but not as well as vegan butter in view, but that would be a better option than coconut butter. I’m not sure what’s in your paleo blend so you can certainly try it, but the results will be quite different. If you want a gluten-free option then use a gluten free all purpose blend. 🙂
Love this recipe, always asked for it. Perfect every time. I used crunchy pb and golden caster the second time as it was all I had in, but still gorgeous, you cannot go wrong.