Healthy Pumpkin Oat Cookies

By Deryn Macey

4.62 from 107 votes

on Apr 15, 2020, Updated Jul 24, 2024

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These healthy pumpkin oat cookies are more of a nutritious snack than a decadent cookie but they’re still delicious and satisfying. You’ll need less than 20 minutes and just 3 ingredients to make them.

A stack of chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.

Table of Contents

Why Make this Recipe

  • low-calorie – without the extras, these cookies are less than 80 calories each
  • 3-ingredient – the most basic version of this recipe calls for just 3 simple ingredients
  • dietary restriction and allergy-friendly – this recipe is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and can be sugar-free

What You’ll Need

Pumpkin, oats and maple syrup in containers.
  1. Oats. Rolled oats, old-fashioned oats, and quick oats are all suitable.
  2. Pumpkin. Use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. I suggest canned pumpkin but homemade also works.
  3. Sweetener. The cookies can be sweetened with coconut sugar, maple syrup or agave. For a sugar-free cookie, use liquid or powder stevia or monk fruit sweetener.

Quick Note: Optional but recommended ingredients include cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice and chocolate chips.

Pumpkin, oats, chocolate chips and cinnamon in a glass mixing bowl.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1. Mix all of the ingredients together to form a thick dough. There’s no need to worry about over-mixing, just keep working it together until you have a uniform dough.

Raw pumpkin cookie dough batter in a glass mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.

Step 2. Form the batter into 12 cookie shapes using your hands and place them on a baking sheet.

Quick Note: These cookies will not spread or change shape during baking so be sure to create the shape you want before baking.

Chocolate chip pumpkin cookies on a baking tray.

Step 3. Bake the cookies!

They need just 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. Let them cool on the pan for a few minutes then enjoy warm or let cool before storing.

A stack of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with a bite out of the one on top.

Tips and FAQs

  • Pumpkin. Good quality pumpkin puree will make a big difference in these cookies. I recommend Farmer’s Market Organic Pumpkin and if you can’t find that, E.D. Smith will do the trick.
  • Add-ins. These cookies are easily customizable with your favorite add-ins. Mix and match up to 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans, pumpkin seeds, coconut, chocolate chips and raisins.
  • Spices. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use 1 tsp of cinnamon plus a pinch of ground ginger and nutmeg if you have them. If not, just cinnamon is good too!

What do they taste like?

These taste more like a health food cookie than a dessert but they’re still hearty, yummy and satisfying. The texture is soft and somewhat like baked oatmeal or a hearty muffin.

If you’re looking for a super sweet, decadent dessert, this isn’t it but these are great for a pre or post-workout snack or healthier option to satisfy a craving. I recommend adding the chocolate chips to make these more of a treat!

How should I store them?

Let the cookies cool after baking then store at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 6 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Close up of a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.

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.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A stack of chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.
4.62 from 107 votes

Healthy Pumpkin Oat Cookies

By: Deryn Macey
While tasty and satisfying, these healthy pumpkin oat cookies are more of a simple, healthy snack than a decadent dessert or sweet cookie. Chocolate chips are recommended!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 12 cookies
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Ingredients 

  • 2.5 cups 250 g rolled oats or quick oats
  • 1 cup 240 g pure pumpkin puree
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup, agave syrup or coconut sugar
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon, optional but recommended
  • 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips, optional but recommended
  • pinch of salt, optional but recommended

Instructions 

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Mix all ingredients, including the optional ingredients if using, in a bowl to form a thick dough. If your’e adding any additional ingredients like nuts, seeds or coconut, add those as well. Start with 3 tbsp of sweetener and adjust sweetness as desired. The cookies are not very sweet with 3 tbsp and this can be increased if desired. 
  • Use your hands to create 12 cookie shapes. The cookies will not spread or change shape during baking so be sure to create the shape you want before baking.
  • Prepare a baking pan with parchment paper or place cookies directly on the pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and enjoy warm after a few minutes. Let cool completely before storing. Store at in a sealed container at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

Notes

These are a soft cookie, the texture is like baked oatmeal. They are not a decadent dessert or sweet cookie but more of a functional and healthy treat/snack. I would highly recommend adding the chocolate chips, cinnamon/pumpkin pie spice and you may want to add a pinch of salt as well, as they’re fairly bland without. You may also want to increase the sweetener as they’re not very sweet as is. They’re still good with just the 3 ingredients but just a heads up if you’re used to sweeter treats or looking for a dessert, you may find these plain and I’d suggest trying a different recipe.
Other add-ins that work well for a more flavourful cookie are up to 1 cup total of: shredded coconut, walnuts or chopped pecans, pumpkin seeds. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use cinnamon plus a pinch of ginger and nutmeg if you have them. If you only have cinnamon that’s fine.
I recommend using the best pumpkin puree you can find as it will make a difference in the texture and sweetness of the cookies. The best one I’ve found and my go-to for all my pumpkin recipes is Farmer’s Market Organic Pumpkin. It’s super smooth and creamy and has a delicious, subtly sweet pumpkin flavor that works wonderfully in recipes.
Nutrition facts include oats, pumpkin and 3 tbsp of maple syrup. If using a sugar-free sweetener, they will be 70 calories each. If using maple syrup (or agave or coconut sugar) and adding chocolate chips, they will be 172 calories each.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 79kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 2.3g, Fat: 0.1g, Sodium: 1.5mg, Fiber: 2.3g, Sugar: 2.7g
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

UPDATE NOTE: This recipe was originally published on October 16, 2015. It was updated in April 2020 with new photos and text.

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260 Comments

  3. 5 stars
    So grateful you recommended the chocolate chips, it really does make these 10x better. While making them I did manage to dump pumpkin puree all over my floors when I literally just had a tile cleaning last week, but I just ate a handful of chocolate chips to stop the tears haha. Thanks for the healthy treat!

    Reply

  4. 3 stars
    Too much oatmeal in these. I like healthier sweets but these were not good. Made them for family that was in town and everyone spit them out. Pretty embarrassing

    Reply

  6. 1 star
    Not sure what to say about the results. I followed the instructions and after 30 minutes there were still uncooked sections of the cookies.

    Reply