Hearty and healthy breakfast cookies are naturally gluten free, vegan, low in sugar, and not only taste good—they taste incredible. Made in 1 bowl and ready in 30 minutes, these easy oatmeal cookies will become your new favorite healthy breakfast. I share plenty of substitution ideas below, too.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips.
We’re having cookies for breakfast! Not chocolate chip cookies, but we’re making wholesome breakfast cookies that are made with good-for-you ingredients, taste great, and are super simple to make. Knowing I’m having cookies for breakfast certainly gets me out of bed in the morning and I have a feeling you’ll be the same.
I keep a batch of these in the freezer at all times. We all love them, my toddler included! And I certainly appreciate that they’re healthful. For delicious variations, try banana chocolate chip breakfast cookies and blueberry banana breakfast cookies.
One reader, Joan, commented: “These breakfast cookies are one of my favorite recipes to make because they’re a ‘choose your own adventure’ cookie! Choose your binder, choose your add-ins, choose your sweetener! They’re also great because you can modify to address any types of allergies—nut, gluten, dairy, egg! I’ve made them so many times I’ve lost count… ★★★★★”
Another reader, Kathryn, commented: “This is one of my favorite recipes! I discovered it after having my baby (they make great lactation cookies!) and now always have some in my freezer for a quick breakfast. I love how customizable, easy, and nutritious they are. ★★★★★”
What You’ll Love About These Breakfast Cookies
- Easy 1 bowl recipe
- Naturally vegan and gluten free (if using certified GF oats)
- No refined sugar, oil, or butter
- Hearty, wholesome, & satisfying
- Plenty of room for ingredient customization
- They actually taste good
- Lots of texture in each bite
- …cookies for breakfast!!!
How to Make Breakfast Cookies
- Combine all of the ingredients together in 1 bowl. Add them all to a bowl and mix them up. It’s that easy. I like to use a mixer for ease.
- Use 1/4 cup of dough per cookie. Arrange on 2 lined baking sheets. This recipe yields 12 large cookies, so place 6 on each.
- Slightly flatten the tops of each cookie. Using the back of a spoon, slightly flatten the tops to make large discs instead of tall mounds. The cookies won’t spread, so this helps give them some shape.
- Bake. These cookies take about 15-18 minutes. But don’t use a timer, use your eyes. When the edges are lightly browned, they’re done.
*I increased the amount of apple butter/applesauce in this recipe to 1/3 cup. Ignore the 1/4 cup in the photo below! 🙂
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes, frozen and thawed bananas work in this recipe and you can read more about How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking if you’d like. Two important things to remember:
- The riper the banana, the better. When you bake with bananas, you want to use brown, spotty super-ripe ones.
- Strain off excess liquid. As bananas thaw, they let out a lot of liquid, which can throw off the wet ingredients in any baking recipe. I always recommend draining off most or all of that excess liquid before mashing and measuring them for your recipe.
Substitution Ideas
You’ll appreciate how forgiving this recipe is. Use your favorite ingredients and customize these breakfast cookies based on what you have and/or what you love. You can make A LOT of ingredient substitutions—here are a few I’ve tested with success:
- Oats: Use either type of oats—quick or whole. Over the years I’ve found that there’s no difference in the outcome. If you are gluten intolerant, make sure you are using certified gluten free oats.
- Nut Butter: Instead of almond butter, try peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter for a naturally nut-free option. I love using this homemade almond butter!
- Apple Butter: While apple butter adds unbeatable flavor, you could also use the same amount of unsweetened applesauce. You can find apple butter in the peanut butter or applesauce aisle of practically all grocery stores. Other options include mashed banana (there’s already banana in the recipe, too!), mango butter, or pumpkin butter.
- Banana: Instead of mashed banana, you can use 1/2 cup of apple butter or applesauce (or any other fruit butter).
- Sweetener: In addition to apple butter and banana, we use 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup to sweeten the cookies. You can use honey instead of maple syrup, keeping in mind these cookies would no longer be vegan. You use maple syrup to sweeten these healthy apple muffins, too.
- Add-Ins: Up to you! Use about 1 and 1/2 cups total of your favorite “extras.” Some of my go to add-ins are dried cranberries, raisins, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, honey-roasted peanuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, dried apples, or chocolate chips. In today’s recipe, I used dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and regular raisins.
Turn Them Into Lactation Cookies
When I was nursing both of my daughters, I turned these healthy cookies into lactation cookies. I added 3 Tablespoons of this (affiliate link) Brewers Yeast, kept the flaxseed in the recipe (it’s optional, but flax is excellent for lactation), and 2 Tablespoons of milk to help soak up that brewer’s yeast. Same bake time. They’re awesome and they WORK.
Easy to Freeze and Make Ahead
While called breakfast cookies, they’re great all day, every day! I love them as an afternoon snack, for breakfast on the go, or even dessert. Each batch yields 12 cookies depending how large you make them; sometimes I make a double batch in advance and keep them in the freezer for readily accessible healthier options.
To freeze these cookies, let the baked cookies cool completely. Place them in an airtight container or zipped-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw before serving, or microwave for a few seconds. I absolutely love them cold!
More Healthier Breakfast Recipes
So many options!
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Whole Wheat Banana Bread & Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Blueberry Almond Power Muffins
- Baked Oatmeal
- Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal Cups or Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Whole Wheat Waffles
- Applesauce Muffins
- Pumpkin Granola
- Crustless Veggie Quiche (only 110 calories per serving)
- No-Bake Chocolate Fudge Oat Bars
- Easy Frittata Recipe
And for even more inspiration, see my complete list of 30+ healthy breakfast recipes.
Breakfast Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These healthy morning cookies are so simple to throw together and taste amazing, too! They’re whole grain, all-natural, gluten-free, and vegan. Made without refined sugar, oil, or butter.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (170g) quick oats or old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (250g) almond butter, peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter
- 1/4 cup (60ml) pure maple syrup (or honey)
- 1/3 cup (60g) apple butter*
- 1/2 cup (115g) mashed banana (about 1 large banana)
- 1/2 cup (75g) dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup (70g) pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/2 cup (75g) raisins
- optional: 1/4 cup (28g) ground flaxseed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Combine all of the ingredients into a large bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer). Mix until all of the ingredients are combined. The dough is thick and heavy.
- Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, portion 1/4 cup mounds of cookie dough (about 70g each) onto prepared cookie sheet. Use the back of a spoon to slightly flatten out into a cookie shape. (The cookies will not spread in the oven.)
- Bake for 16–19 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cover leftover cookies and store at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cooled cookies can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter or in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature or warm in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | 1/4-cup Measuring Cup | Cooling Rack
- Frozen Bananas: You can use thawed frozen bananas in this recipe. Thawed bananas are extra wet, so drain off as much of the excess liquid as you can before mashing. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
- Apple Butter: I love using apple butter in these breakfast cookies, but 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce works in its place. No other changes needed to the recipe.
- Double Batch: The recipe can easily be doubled to make a bigger batch.
- Substitutions: Need more substitution ideas? See the blog post above.
- Gluten Free: Use certified GF oats for gluten free cookies.
Reader Comments and Reviews
My family loved these cookies! I added dried cranberries, chia seeds, pecans and a handful of white chocolate chips for toddler appeal. So much healthier than store bought varieties and great for snacks too!
This is my 3rd batch of these cookies! I’ve used almond butter and peanut butter. I also vary the dried fruit. Dried cherries, blueberries and peanut butter was my last batch. This batch is home ground almond butter, plum butter with dried cherries and goji berries.
We love these cookies and not for breakfast but as a regular cookies. Holidays are only time for full on butter/sugar cookies in our house!
I hate bananas. Can I substitute another ingredient for bananas or just leave them out of the recipe
Instead of mashed banana, you can use 1/2 cup of apple butter or applesauce (or any other fruit butter).
Love these and eat them as a treat rather than for breakfast. As a type 2 diabetic, they fill the bill for a sweet treat. I put blueberries in and decrease the amount of raisins and dried cranberries.
Like others, I couldn’t find apple butter but found fig butter at Trader’s Joes and it was delicious!!
Mine are in the oven now and the timer just went off… not sure how we’re supposed to tell if they’re brown at the edges because they are so brown already due to almond butter and apple butter (!) I’m baking them for the max amount of time and then will just cross my fingers
Fabulous! I omitted raisins and pepitas and added a handful of Chia seeds and mini chocolate chips. I didn’t have apple butter or applesauce, but I had pumpkin butter from Trader Joe’s and it was awesome in it. These are great start in the morning for my gluten sensitive teen. And me! Delicious.
I just made these because I had a very ripe banana that I didn’t want to waste! These are delicious! I added hemp seeds and the flaxseed meal and omitted the raisins due to allergies. These are so fantastic I’m excited to add to my rotation! I’ve sent link to a few friends already! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I just want to comment on how great your site is! Substitutions, tips you give, etc. I’m relatively new to your site, but I am making these and have my eye on so many other recipes. Very professional, organized site. Thank you!
Thanks so much for your kind feedback, Roxanne!
Hi,
I had peaches on hand and subbed for the mashed banana. It was a hit.
I’m making cookies to substitute for breakfast. How many calories do these cookes have?
Hi Bonnie, we don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I made this, using applesauce instead of apple butter & sunflower instead of pumpkin seeds. They took longer to bake & soon after cooling they stayed soft, almost soggy. I was looking forward to them being more crisp. How can I get them to stay together better & be crisper?
Hi JB, these cookies are intended to be soft/chewy, but it sounds like they were underbaked if they came out soggy. A few additional minutes in the oven should help next time. You could even try making the individual cookies a bit smaller and flatten them out more before baking, if you’d like crispier edges. Hope this helps for the next batch!
I made these yesterday. They are delicious. I shared the recipe with a friend that was going camping and was looking for breakfast ideas.
So simple to make & so good, a wonderfully wholesome recipe. Used chopped, toasted pecans since I didn’t have pepitas- great addition. Also added a 1/4 tsp each of vanilla & maple extracts. Recipe made 16 cookies, bonus! Will definitely make these again! Thanks Sally for another great recipe! Love your website & baking tips.
Is there a way to add protein powder?
I do not know bout protein powder BUT ck out chia seeds.They pack a great amout of both protein AND fiber…PLUS they have no taste so they can go into anything like: baked goods / yogurt/tacos or meat sauce. Etc etc Just limit the total amount you eat per day to a MAX of 2T in 24 hrs b/c of the high amout of fiber..Oh I have never added them to juices or drinks.
This is a very versatile receipe. I have subbed applesauce and/or yogurt, used whatever sweetener I have in the pantry. It always does well. I usually reconstitute PB2 to lower the fat content
Can you freeze the raw cookie dough?
We haven’t tested that but the baked cookies freeze beautifully—see recipe notes for details!
Is there a substitution for the nut/seed butters? My daughter is allergic. Can I use more banana or apple butter?
Hi Susan, If you’re looking for a nut-free cookie, you can replace with sunflower seed butter or even cookie butter (aka Biscoff spread). Banana and apple butter are different consistencies than the nut spread, so adding more would take a bit of recipe testing.
This is one of my favorite recipes! I discovered it after having my baby (they make great lactation cookies!) and now always have some in my freezer for a quick breakfast. I love how customizable, easy, and nutritious they are.
Hello! Did you make use of raw pepitas for the cookies, or roasted and salted pepitas?
Hi Kristina, we typically use raw unsalted, but you can certainly use roasted salted if you prefer.
I can’t wait to try these. I loved your oatmeal cups with blueberries. For your recipes that use dried cranberries, such as the breakfast cookies, do you use sweetened or unsweetened dried cranberries?
Hi Ilene, we typically use unsweetened, but you can use either here. Hope you enjoy the breakfast cookies!
Great “cookie” to have in the freezer. Filled with lots of goodness. Made twice. It’s my go to for mid meal snack. Another winner
I made this recipe for the first time. The cookies are crumbly and drier than I like. Did I beat them too long? Not enough? How can I get a moister cookie? Thank you.
Hi Sue! These breakfast cookies will be drier compared to other dessert cookies. But excess oats in the dough could make them too dry – Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too many oats into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Hi Sally! I’ve made these a couple times and loved them always. Only problem is that I can’t get apple butter or applesauce here in Sri Lanka and so was using extra mashed banana – I think that makes the cookie too dense. Anything else I can use instead of applesauce/apple butter? Will coconut oil work and make it a little lighter?
Hi Namali, Unless you have access to and can try mango butter or pumpkin butter, additional mashed banana is probably your best bet.
What are the nutritional facts for those cookies?
Hi Pia, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Love the recipe!
I made a mistake though, as I forgot the banana, however, the cookies turned out well.
can you also share a recipe for applesauce?
We don’t have a recipe for applesauce, but there are many online you can try. Spend With Pennies has a good one!
I’ve made these a few times. Great recipe and very filling and nutritious! I’m always looking for ways to use up spotted bananas since my husband only eats them when they’re perfectly yellow. Excellent tip to weigh the bananas. This time I used almond butter and liked it better than PB since I find the flavour of PB just overtakes the taste of everything else. Also used chopped apricots instead of raisins, and hemp hearts instead of flaxseed because that’s what I had on hand. Doubled the spice 2 tsp cinmamon and 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Doubled the batch and will freeze individually. BTW it’s worth buying the apple butter and pure maple syrup for these. The flavour is phenomenal. Enjoy!
can you share a recipe for apple butter?
Me again. I am making these for my DIL who gave birth on Thursday. How many should she eat a day?