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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These are tasty but PLEASE do not label them as healthy! Whole wheat flour doesnโt forgive the loads of sugar in here.
These cookies are excellent! I have been trying several ‘healthy’ oatmeal cookie recipes lately and they were too dry or to soft . These have the perfect taste and texture and they spread just the right amount. I didn’t get quite 24 cookies so I will add a bit of unsweetened applesauce next time to extend the dough. (I’m trying to keep them to 3 points each for weight watchers. I did not find them too sweet but to cut the calories from sugar a little, I used part Sukrin Gold and Monk fruit. I used the quick cooking oats. I also used part barley flour but I think any flour (combo) would work. Thank you!
These cookies are generally satisfying (the cinnamon is a nice touch), but are way too sweet. In fact, many typical chocolate chip cookies call for 1 cup of sugar, so I’m not quite sure what qualifies these as “healthy.” I’d suggest reducing the sugar by a substantial amount – I haven’t experimented so I can’t make a specific suggestion – but 1 cup is overkill.
These cookies are fantastic! I used regular size dark chocolate chips since thatโs what I had and added raisins, which I hydrated like another person suggested. My only tip would be to double the recipe because they are so delicious! Bookmark this recipe!
Exactly what I was looking for! I made mine vegan by using Earth Balance butter and a flax egg. I did everything else per instruction, cooked for 11m, and they are PERFECT. The dough is delicious too- I saved half the batch to eat uncooked! Thank you!
So glad your vegan substitutions worked!
This recipe was awesome. It was my first time EVER making cookies so I read the recipe and a lot of the comments and it turned out so good. I added 2.5 tbsp of soy milk because the dough ended up being dry and I added an extra tsp of cinnamon. Also I had to bake it for 20 mins for it to be done, but I think it was because I made really big cookies. Thank you so much for the easy steps. I will no longer be buying things that I can easily bake myself :).
So glad you loved these cookies!!
Delicious!!! What can i do to keep them in good conditions without fridge i want to leave some at work
I would let them cool completely and then store them in a container in a cool, dark place!
These were delicious! Used old fashion oats so my dough was a bit dry but after flattening just a bit they baked up beautifully. Added chopped cherries and unsweetened coconut to half the batch and they ww amazing too!
Can the dough be frozen before cooking? I make this every week for my daughterโs lunchbox (I use spelt flour and a bit less sugar) and would love to freeze the mixture to only have to bake it each week rather than make the dough as well ๐
Hey Kat! We haven’t personally tried freezing the dough, but I bet it would be just fine!
I shaped half the dough into balls and froze in a zipper freezer bag. They lasted several months
and I would just remove as needed from freezer to enjoy fresh baked cookies when the craving hit. Just added a few minutes to baking time. Delicious every time!
Great recipe. Easy and quick. I used half the sugar and raisins and some toasted nuts. Dough was dry so added little buttermilk. These Cookies are Now my favourite with morning tea!