Lemon Oatmeal No Bake Cookies are simple oatmeal cookies made with just a few ingredients. Delicious no bake cookie recipe packed with lemon flavor!
I’ve been making traditional No Bake Cookies with chocolate, peanut butter and oats for many years and we all love them. I recently found this recipe for Lemon No Bakes and was a little bit unsure about how they would turn out. They are absolutely amazing! Amazing enough that we were all eating the mixture by the spoonful before the cookies were even formed.
What are Lemon No Bake Cookies?
Lemon No Bake Cookies only need 6 ingredients and about 10 minutes of prep time. The lemon pudding mix in the recipe adds the perfect amount of lemon flavor! The cookies take just a few minutes to set up and then they are ready to eat.
Do you love No Bake Cookies as much as we do? We have gathered all of our favorite No Bake Cookie recipes together here! I love no bake cookies because they are so fast and easy to make!
Different No Bake Cookie flavors
Most No Bake Cookies are made with chocolate and peanut butter, but I really love these lemon ones. The good news is that because all of the lemon flavor comes from a pudding mix, you can easily try some other flavors by swapping out the flavor of pudding. Any type of pudding you can find…you can use to make this cookie recipe! Vanilla pudding, pistachio pudding, chocolate pudding, butterscotch pudding…all of them work great and make delicious no bake cookies.
Ingredients in Lemon Oatmeal No Bake Cookies
Sugar – Yep, you need sugar to make cookies. You will need 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar.
Butter – Another key ingredient in most cookie recipes. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup of butter (1 1/2 sticks). For best results, use real butter.
Milk – Any type of milk will work fine. I usually use 2% because that’s what I have on hand, but you can even use a non-dairy alternative if you’d like.
Lemon pudding mix – You need a small box (3.4 oz) of instant lemon pudding.
Oats – Quick oats work best in no bake cookies. You will need 3 1/2 cups.
Vanilla – The higher the quality of the vanilla, the better. You could even add a little bit of lemon extract if you really want to intensify the lemon flavor in the cookies. Be careful not to add too much though – extracts are pretty strong!
How to make Lemon Oatmeal No Bake Cookies
In a large saucepan, mix sugar, butter and milk over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, melt and bring to a boil.
Let the mixture boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the vanilla and then whisk in the pudding until mixture is smooth. Stir in the oats.
Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Let the cookies cool before removing from the wax paper. Can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
CAN NO BAKE COOKIES BE FROZEN?
Yes, these cookies can absolutely be frozen. It will help them firm up, and in my opinion, taste better! Especially in the summer. Although, mine are always eaten before I even open the freezer!
WHICH OATS ARE BEST FOR NO BAKE COOKIE RECIPE?
Different recipes will call for different kinds of oats, but to make the best No Bake Cookies, you should use quick oats. Using different kinds of oats will change the texture of the cookies, and you risk them not setting up right. Being the main ingredient in this recipe, it’s important to get the right kind of oats.
WILL NO BAKE COOKIES STICK TO FOIL?
I’ve seen these cookies stick to aluminum foil before, but it doesn’t always. To avoid the hassle and the risk I would recommend using wax paper or parchment paper as that’s what’s always worked for me!
DO NO BAKE COOKIES NEED TO BE REFRIGERATED?
Putting No Bakes in the fridge will help the cookies to hold a firmer shape. They also will last longer if you keep them in the fridge.
However, they technically don’t need to be refrigerated. You can store them in an airtight container in room temperature and they will be fine.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR NO BAKE COOKIES TO SET UP?
These cookies only take about 15-20 minutes to cool and set up at room temperature, but you can reduce that time by at least half if you let them set up in the refrigerator. If you prefer the taste and texture of these cookies at room temperature just make sure to remove them from the refrigerator once set. You can definitely eat them while cold though too!
Love lemon? Here are some of our favorite lemon recipes!
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies
- Meyer Lemon Cookies
- Mini Lemon Drop Cupcakes
- Lemon Cake Mix Cool Whip Cookies
- Soft Glazed Lemon Cookies
- Lemon Oatmeal Cookies
- Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
- Lemon Meltaway Cookies
- Double Lemon Cookies
- Lemon Cream Pie Cookies
- Lemon Jello Sugar Cookies
- Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
- Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
- Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Lemon Oatmeal No Bake Cookies are simple oatmeal cookies made with just a few ingredients. Delicious no bake cookie recipe packed with lemon flavor!
Cheryl Pender says
I these for my family and followed the recipe directions; they were really good but sweet. Since I’m diabetic, I’d like to know if they can be made using an artificial sweetener, ie Splenda, etc?
Tammy Knott says
Doing these today. Something my husband loves.
carol e hawley says
I made your Lemon Oatmeal No Bake Cookies & I must say they were delicious. I am looking for the recipe that is similar to this one but can’t find it now, It has butter,sugar oatmeal & chocolate chips in it. I would like to make this recipe, could you e-mail it to me please. Thankyou so much.
Jessica says
It looks like you found it Carol! (I saw your other comment!)
carol e hawley says
I made these cookies, they were delicious & so quick & easy to make, Keep these recipes coming.
Nellie says
Aren’t no-bake cookies the best?!
Shelley M Freeman says
I made these, but added some white chocolate chips – yum
Nellie says
What a great idea!
Terry says
Can you use ready made pudding in a can instead?
Nellie says
There may be a way to use ready made pudding, but I’m not sure what the amounts for the other ingredients would be.
Lorie Robertson says
Question with the lemon no bakes can jello lemon pudding be sued instead of the mix and no extra milk.. I dont have transportation and he local dollar store doesnt carry the lemon pudding mix. TIA
Nellie says
I’m not sure that ready made pudding will work for this recipe, but please let us know if you experiment!
Susan Collins says
I made these cookies exactly as the recipe says but has been 2 hours and still not set up.
Nellie says
Sounds like something definitely went wrong. Maybe cook for a little longer if you try again?
Robin Kelley says
Wow these are so yummy
Jessica says
So glad you like them!
Cheryl says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Nellie says
I always use salted! Many bakers swear by unsalted, but I don’t like buying two kinds of butter so I just stick with salted for everything. And I’ve never had any complaints! 😉
Heather says
Lemon turned out ok, but I’ve tried butterscotch twice and they won’t set up. I cooked the second batch a full 6 minutes and still they won’t set. 🙁
Nellie says
Hmmm, I’m not sure why the butterscotch isn’t working. I’ve tried all kinds of pudding and they have all turned out the same way…maybe you need to boil that flavor a little longer?