Ben and I spent the better part of this week cleaning our old house in preparation for the new owners. My scary task: clearing out the refrigerator and freezer. While there were plenty of, um, questionable discoveries, one that I was very pleased to find was a frozen container of cookie dough from my last batch of Healthy Oatmeal Cookies!
The universe must have anticipated my needs.
These soft, chewy oatmeal cookies are going to be key players in this weekendโs marathon unpacking session at our new house.
I highly recommend them for all of your sweet treat and pick-me-up snack moments too.
If youโve been looking for the consummate healthy oatmeal cookie recipe, look no further.
These thick and goodie-packed low calorie oatmeal cookies are made from wholesome ingredients, yet they taste like a true treat!
Secrets to Baking the Best Healthy Oatmeal Cookies Recipe
It doesnโt get much more delightfully old school than an old fashioned oatmeal cookie.
Thus, it feels especially appropriate that I used one of the oldest healthy baking tricks in the book when developing the recipe:ย applesauce.
- Replacing half the usual amount of butter with applesauce still keeps the oatmeal cookies plenty moist, without the need for extra fat.
Next, I wanted to see if I could sweeten the healthy oatmeal cookies without sugar. Honey did the trick!
- In addition to being a more wholesome alternative, honeyโs homey, comforting flavor is a classic and lovely combination with the oatmeal.
Now, we need to talk about one of the more divisive oatmeal cookie topics: raisins.
I know that a healthy oatmeal raisin cookie recipe would have been the *most* traditional route, but I simply could not do it.
Far better is a healthy oatmeal raisin cookie WITH CHOCOLATE.
I love my oatmeal cookies fully loaded, which is why to go along with the raisins, youโll find melty dark chocolate chips and chunky toasted nuts too.
I adore the overall effect the range of mix-ins gives these healthy oatmeal cookies.
We have the crunch and warmth of the nuts and the sweet chew of the raisins, and I donโt think I need to tell you that if you stack an oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips next to an oatmeal cookie without, one of them is going to be the clear crowd favorite.
Recipe Adaptations
- Do not swap all of the fat in this recipe for applesauce. The modest amount of butter is key to the healthy oatmeal cookiesโ texture and keeps the cookies from being excessively cakey.
- If youโd like the healthy oatmeal cookies vegan, you can swap said butter for a vegan butter substitute (my recommendation for that buttah flava) or coconut oil. Use maple syrup in place of the honey.
- For healthy oatmeal cookies banana edition, donโt miss my Banana Oatmeal Cookies, this recipeโs different but equally delicious cousin.
- If you are seeking healthy oatmeal cookies no flour (meaning no wheat flour in order to make the cookies gluten free), Iโd suggest using a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend like this one in place of the wheat flour. Make sure your oats are certified GF also.
- For healthy oatmeal peanut butter cookies, you can bake Monster Cookies, which have a peanut butter oatmeal cookie base, but use raisins, chocolate chips, and chopped nuts for the mix-ins instead. YUM!
- For oatmeal cookies with a festive twist, try these Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies.
How to Freeze These Cookies
- As I can recently attest, these healthy oatmeal cookies are highly freezer friendly.
- If you anticipate craving cookies in the future (who doesnโt?), you can either double the recipe and freeze half or bake only the oatmeal cookies you think youโll eat in the next day or two right away, then freeze the remaining dough for fresh-baked healthy oatmeal cookies on demand.
^^Between you and me, I canโt believe that I actually had enough self control to freeze some of the dough versus baking and eating every single cookie immediately, but I am certainly happy that I did!
Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups quick oats
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup well chopped raw walnuts or pecans (in this recipe, we usually go for pecans, but both are delicious) or an additional 2 tablespoons chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons raisins
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, combine the applesauce, butter, egg, vanilla, and honey. Whisk until blended. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined. The dough will be wet and sticky. Fold in the chocolate chips, raisins, and walnuts. Place in the refrigerator and let chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
- When ready to bake, place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Remove the dough from the refrigerator (if it is very stiff, you may need to let it sit out for 5 to 10 minutes). With a cookie scoop or spoon, drop the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and arrange on the baking sheet, leaving 1 inch of space around each. With your fingers, gently flatten each cookie to be about 3/4-inch thick.
- Bake until the cookies are golden and firm around the edges and set on top, about 9 to 10 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Leftover cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- I recommend quick oats for this recipe, as they yield a more tender cookie. You can use regular rolled oats, but they will have a heartier consistency.
- To make gluten free: you can experiment with oat flour (I havenโt tried this yet, but I would suggest swapping 1 1/4 cups oat flour for the white whole wheat flour) or use a 1:1 GF baking blend instead of the wheat flour.
- To make vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey. For the egg: I havenโt tried this with a flax egg instead of the regular egg yet, but Iโd love to hear how it goes if sometime does play around!
Nutrition
Join today and start saving your favorite recipes
Create an account to easily save your favorite projects and tutorials.
Register
They smelled delicious while they were cooking, but were rather bland to taste, which is strange. Will wait until they’re fully cooled to try again.
Hi Heather! So sorry this didn’t turn out as you hoped. Myself (and others) have enjoyed the cookies, so I wished they would of been a hit for you!
Erin, I have noticed at times that cookies develop more flavor after they have cooled and rested for a time. Reading your recipe I canโt see any reason why they wouldnโt have flavor. You didnโt skimp on the cinnamon! Between that and the honey they must be delicious!! Especially with all your good mix ins. ๐
Hi Susan! Hope you enjoy them!
Try adding 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of salt to the recipe. Our taste buds are used to salt in cookies with oats, especially.
Can I substitute banana for the applesauce?
Hi Lindsay, I have a similar recipe that use bananas. Here you go: https://www.wellplated.com/oatmeal-banana-cookies/
Easy peasy and my kids liked them. Love that itโs made with honey instead of sugar, and you can adjust the add-ins to your taste.
Hi Ashley! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
How many cooklies does this make?
Hi Harry! You’ll always see the servings in the recipe card. This makes 24. Hope you enjoy them!
(Raisins…..Chocolate….(Humm))…..I used chocolate covered raisins from store’s snack isle and was a nice ratio of flavors/texture without overwhelming the cookie’s structure, which is easy to do when chocolate enters my world.
Hi Mike! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
These are great! I used Cup4Cup GF flour. Since they have no sugar they are โblandโ compared to regular cookies of course but they are healthy and still taste yummy. Also they do come out soft and spongy. I separated some dough and used diced apple instead of nuts/chocolate chip for my 1.5 year old and he loved them!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Wanda! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
These are so delicious! And just the perfect thing to cure my cookie craving!
Hi Taylor! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Like the taste but need them to be less chewy and more crisper. Help
Hi Linda! Honestly I say a few times in the post that these are soft and chewy. They are not a crispy type of cookie so it would be hard to say how to change the recipe or the baking time. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes.
I have all the ingredients to for this recipe except the applesauce. What can I use as a substitute?
Hi Kristi! You can use additional melted butter or melted coconut oil in place of the applesauce. I hope you enjoy the cookies!
Just made it with half spelt and half baking flour(bob’s red mill) and they came out perfect. I also used avocado oil because it was what I had on hand and had no issue. Did half the batch coconut almond and the other half cranberry whit chocolate and they were amazing1
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Megan! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I didnโt have eggs so I just made them without and I used maple syrup instead of honey and used regular white flour. These were AMAZING!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Lauren! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Used regular oats, substituted wheat flour w/ 1/2 cup sorghum flour and 1/2 cup tigernut flour, doubled cinnamon, omitted chocolate chips and doubled nuts, using pecans, and used golden raisins. Delicious gluten free cookie!!!
Hi Julie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review and feedback on substitutions!
Sorry, these are gross. What a waste of time and ingredients.
Iโm sorry this recipe wasnโt to your tastes, Gloria. I (and many other readers) have truly enjoyed it, so I wish you wouldโve too!
We had some overripe peaches that I wanted to use and came across this recipe! I feel a little silly leaving a comment since I changed a number of things, but they turned out SO GOOD I had to come back and give credit :) My 5 and 3 year old helped me make them. We eyeballed the honey because they wanted to squeeze the bottle, used an applesauce pouch because we were out of regular, used all-purpose flour and old-fashioned oats, and then added fresh peaches instead of the other add-ins! They were SO good- thick, just sweet enough, soft and moist. Thank you for providing the perfect base recipe for our peaches!
Hi Angela! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review and feedback on changes!
super easy recipe! could be my new obsession! might play with adding some protein powder or peanut butter in the next batch
Hi Danni! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!