These healthy, hearty, carrot walnut oatmeal cookies are gluten-free, oil-free, naturally-sweetened and full of superfood ingredients like oats, flax, turmeric, coconut, carrot and walnuts.

A stack of cookies on a plate with more cookies placed around them.

These carrot and walnut cookies are hearty, satisfying, soft and comforting with all sorts of flavour from wholesome ingredients like walnuts, coconut, carrot, turmeric and peanut butter.

They’re a little crispy on the outside, chunky, soft and chewy on the inside and just sweet enough to be a delicious and satisfying treat.

Why Make this Recipe

  • nutrition – heart-healthy oats and carrots, anti-inflammatory turmeric and walnuts and healthy fats
  • allergy-friendly – this recipe is gluten-free, oil-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free

Ingredient Notes

  • rolled oats – rolled oats, old fashioned oats, large flake oats and quick oats are all suitable
  • turmeric – yes, these cookies call for ground turmeric! I use 2 tsp but you can experiment anywhere in between 1-2 tsp
  • carrot – use raw, finely grated carrot
  • walnuts – use raw chopped walnuts or walnut pieces
  • maple syrup – you can use maple syrup, brown rice syrup or if not vegan, raw honey
  • peanut butter – use natural peanut butter not processed peanut butter, feel free to sub almond butter or sunflower seed butter
Carrots, walnuts, oats, maple syrup and turmeric in small dishes on a counter top.

Step by Step Instructions

To make this recipe you’ll need a mixing bowl, spoon or spatula, baking pan and a blender, food processor or immersion blender to mix the oat flour. Let’s get started!

Step 1. Mix the flax egg.

What’s a flax egg?? A flax egg is made by mixing ground flaxseed with water to create a gel that helps to bind recipes. One flax egg is made by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flax with 3 tbsp of warm water.

Mix it up and let sit for 5-10 minutes. The flax will absorb the water, creating a gel-like mixture much like an egg!

Pouring water in a small dish with ground flax in it.

Step 2. Mix the dry ingredients.

This recipe calls for both oats and oat flour so before you mix the dry ingredients, use a heaping 1/2 cup of oats to make 1/2 cup of oat flour.

How do I make oat flour? Easy! Just pop rolled oats into a blender or food processor and process until they resembles a fine flour.

The dry ingredients include the oats, oat flour, baking powder, salt and turmeric. Mix them up so the baking powder is well distributed.

Adding ground turmeric to a mixing bowl with oats in it.

Step 3. Add the wet ingredients

The wet ingredients include the flax egg, peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix it all up until you have a thick batter.

Peanut butter alternatives: If you can’t do peanut butter, almond butter or sunflower seed butter both work here, as long as it’s somewhat drippy and not too dry.

Pouring peanut butter into a mixing bowl.

Step 4. Fold in the carrot, walnuts and coconut.

Next, add the rest of the ingredients and mix into the final cookie batter. You should be able to shape it into balls using your hands.

Carrots, walnuts and coconut in a mixing bowl.

Step 5. Bake and enjoy!

Last step! Roll the dough into balls, press them into cookies, bake and enjoy!

Balls of cooking dough on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Pressing balls of cooking dough into cooking shapes on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.

FAQs

Can you taste the turmeric in these?

Not really. They have a little hint of spice but it’s not overpowering.

How should I store these cookies?

These are best stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week. They can also be frozen for a couple months. That being said, they’re totally fine at room temperature for a day or so if you need to take them to-go.

A stack of carrot walnut coconut cookies on a dishcloth.

For more turmeric recipes, try my Golden Milk, Golden Apple Oatmeal and No-Bake Turmeric Coconut Balls.

Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Print
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A stack of cookies on a plate with more cookies placed around them.

Vegan Turmeric Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 12 cookies
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

Hearty, satisfying, soft and chewy, these comforting cookies are just what you need for a wholesome treat. They’re oil-free, gluten-free, vegan and sweetened naturally with pure maple syrup. Enjoy these bright orange cookies!


Ingredients

  • 2 flax eggs (mix 2 tbsp ground flax with 6 tbsp water)
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup oat flour, see notes
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup finely grated carrot
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup walnut pieces

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix the flax eggs in a small bowl and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Add the oats, oat flour, baking powder, salt and turmeric to a bowl and mix well to combine.
  4. Mix in the flax egg, maple syrup, natural peanut butter and pure vanilla extract until smooth.
  5. Fold in the carrots, walnuts and coconut until combined into a thick dough.
  6. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or give it a lightly spritz of non-stick cooking spray.
  7. Place 12 balls of dough on the baking pan and press each ball down into a cookie shape. Bake for 13-15 minutes until firm and golden brown.

Notes

Make the oat flour by blending or food processing oats, you’ll need a little more than 1/2 cup of rolled oats to make 1/2 cup of oat flour.

The peanut butter can be substituted with almond butter or sunflower seed butter as long as they’re fairly drippy and not too dry.

The walnuts can be substituted with chopped almonds or pecans.

Store cookies in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 2 months.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cookie
  • Calories: 204 calories
  • Sugar: 5.7 grams
  • Fat: 13.3 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 17.2 grams
  • Fiber: 3.8 grams
  • Protein: 4.8 grams

UPDATE NOTE: This recipe was originally published on May 8, 2017. It was updated with new photos and text in February 2020.