Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
Published 8/21/2023 โข Updated 3/22/2024
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We’ve been blogging since 2010 and this is one of our very first healthy oatmeal cookies recipes. These have been made by hundreds of you and are truly the best healthy oatmeal cookies you’ll find on the internet.
We’ve revised and retested it many times to make it perfect for you! They are made with rolled oats, flour, maple syrup, and a little brown sugar making them perfectly sweet and slightly chewy.
These healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are lower in sugar than most other oatmeal cookies and are the perfect starting point for making them your own! I love keeping a batch of these in my freezer because they are chef’s kiss 👩🏻🍳😘 with a cup of coffee. Oh, and my toddler LOVES them too! He’s big into dunking them in a glass of milk right now.
PS: while this oatmeal cookies recipe calls for butter and a little brown sugar, we’re about food freedom and making small, nutritious swaps!
What is in these healthy oatmeal cookies?
- Rolled Oats: for these oatmeal cookies you need to pulverize them a bit! Do do this you can use a food processor or coffee grinder.
- All Purpose Flour: a little flour helps bind these cookies.
- Light Brown Sugar: brown sugar adds a bit of chewiness to these cookies.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: mini chocolate chips give you a chocolate chip in every bite.
- Eggs: don’t skip the eggs and be sure they are large eggs.
- Maple Syrup: we use a mixture of brown sugar and a mixture of maple syrup to sweeten these babies up.
- Vanilla Extract: love the bit of sweetness and flavor vanilla gives all cookies!
Ingredient Swaps
All-purpose flour-–> we’ve tested this recipe with both white whole wheat and a gluten-free flour mix.
Rolled oats—> quick cooking oats (you wouldn’t have to pulverize the oats if you use these)
Light brown sugar—> dark brow sugar or coconut sugar will work, too.
Mini chocolate chips—> regular chocolate chips
Maple syrup—> we do not recommend substituting maple for honey in this recipe.
Fun Add-Ins/Variations for Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
The sky is the limit when it comes to ingredient add-ins. You can add any of the ingredients below to these cookies or feel free to get created.
- Nuts (walnuts or pecans)
- Oatmeal Raisin
- M&Ms
- White Chocolate Cranberry
Healthy Oatmeal Cookies FAQ
Yes, you can substitute a the large egg with a flax egg. Check out how to make a flax egg.
No, but you can make them gluten free by buy certified gluten free oats and using 1:1 gluten free flour instead of all purpose flour.
Keep these cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, making sure they fully cool before storing.
Simply store in an air-tight container (large Ziplocs work great for this!), and write the date you made the cookies + the name of the cookies on the bag before placing in the freezer.
Remove a cookie from the freezer and place in the microwave for 1 minute on defrost, or until it’s chewy and delicious.
Yes, make the cookie dough as written in the recipe and the place it in a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
How to Store Oatmeal Cookies
Let the cookies cool completely. Then, transfer them into an airtight container or gallon-size bag and store them in a cool, dark place for up to 3 days.
How to Freeze these Cookies
Freeze the dough: this is a great make-ahead cookie. Make the dough as-is and then scoop it into single-serve balls. Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze for 1 hour. Once they are almost frozen, transfer them into a gallon-size bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Freeze after baking: let the cookies cool completely. Then transfer them into an airtight container (I prefer a gallon-size bag) and store them in the freeze for up t 3 months.
Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
Dry
- 1.25 cups rolled oats, lightly pulverized (or quick-cooking oats)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
Wet
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place oats into a food processor and blend for 15-20 seconds to lightly pulverize, shredding them into smaller pieces. If you’re using quick cooking oats, omit this step.
- Add oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- Using a standing mixer, cream butter and brown sugar together on medium/high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then turn the mixer on low speed and slowly add the maple syrup to the butter and sugar. Beat on medium/high until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and continue mixing. Scrape the sides of the bowl, add vanilla, and mix until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add dry ingredients (everything but the chocolate chips) to wet ingredients, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing on low. Last, fold in mini chocolate chips.
- Place the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden and to allow the flour in the cookie dough to hydrate.*
- Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, roll dough into ball and slightly flatten between your palms. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove cookies from oven, let cool, and enjoy!
Tips & Notes
- This recipe was updated on January 6th, 2022. Click here for the old recipe.
- Refrigerating the dough: don’t skip refrigerating the cookie dough or you will run the risk of the cookie dough being too thin and spreading when baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi. My boyfriend had a heart attack recently. We have been told by doctors that coconut oil is saturated fat and he shouldn’t have that in his food. We are looking for alternatives for him.
Hey! Could I use coconut oil instead of butter? Also what can I replace eggs with?
Hi Sanya! Yes, you can use coconut oil instead. We have not made this recipe without eggs!
Great recipe! i love these cookies. The dough was too dry to form into balls without falling apart so I added a couple tbsp of oat milk. They turned out great!
They were great except too sweet for my taste. And I didn’t use chocolate chips. I think next time I am going to use have the sugar. Otherwise, very nice texture and they don’t fall apart.
I meant half the sugar.
Can I substitute the butter with ghee- it is a form of melted butter used in the Indian subcontinent.
Hi Mishkat! We haven’t tried this specifically, but I think that should work!
Can i use baking soda instead of baking powder??
No. Baking powder has an acidic addition which baking soda does not. You can make baking powder by adding cream of tartar to the baking soda. Usually 1 part baking powder to 2 parts cream of tarter. Store any unused homemade baking powder in an airtight container.
This is a great recipe! I found that they were better after setting over night and I think I made bigger cookies than what was called for in the recipe because I had to cook mine for about 20 minutes but that may also be my 50 year old oven. Either way the outcome was great! Thank you!
YAY! Glad you loved these!
These cookies are amazing! Thank you for this recipe. I made them last night, with a few modifications to your recipe (due to not having things in the house): I used white sugar instead of brown sugar; all purpose flour instead of fancy flour; aluminum foil instead of parchment paper; and raisins instead of chocolate chips. And they came out so great! I made 18 cookies (vs 24) and did them in batches of 6 at a time. Took about 15-17 min per batch. Thank you for this recipe!
P.S. – Since I used dry, older raisins, I hydrated them before adding to other ingredients. Got that advice from Amy’s Healthy Baking. She writes “For the best results, use fresh raisins. Older raisins will be drier, so I recommend hydrating them first. Add the raisins to a microwave-safe bowl, cover them completely with water, and top with a tight-fitting lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 45-60 seconds. Let the raisins sit and absorb moisture until youโre ready to add them to the dough. Drain them thoroughly before folding in.” Here’s that reference: https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2014/11/30/the-ultimate-healthy-soft-chewy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/
So smart with hydrating your raisins! Thanks for the tip, I love Amy!
Love it
Fabulous!! Will be a good go to!
Delicious !! Just the right cookie consistency (from mr blob)
Made these last night and my boyfriend proceeded to eat HALF the pan while we watched tv! I ended up refrigerating the dough for a few hours before baking which I think intensified the cinnamon and other flavors. Yum! I also swapped the white wheat flour for a mix of all purpose and whole wheat. Will definitely be making again ๐
LOL. So glad you guys loved them!
These are delicious! I used quick oats and left them whole, and they turned out great. Iโll definitely be making these again!
Easy to make! Very Yummy!