Healthy Pumpkin Oat Cookies
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.
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
- Oats. Rolled oats, old-fashioned oats, and quick oats are all suitable.
- Pumpkin. Use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. I suggest canned pumpkin but homemade also works.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Related Recipes
- 3-Ingredient Tahini Date Cookies
- Carrot Walnut Oatmeal Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies
- Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies
For more pumpkin recipes, check out this collection of the best vegan pumpkin recipes. Extra pumpkin? This coconut pumpkin pasta is a must.
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.
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Healthy Pumpkin Oat Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies
- Category: Snack
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
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!
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 Size: 1
- Calories: 79
- Sugar: 2.7 g
- Sodium: 1.5 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 2.3 g
UPDATE NOTE: This recipe was originally published on October 16, 2015. It was updated in April 2020 with new photos and text.
These are goooood. Very comforting, not too sweet. I used 2 cups of oats and a little over a cup of pumpkin, and a ginormous shake of pumpkin pie seasoning, along with maple syrup and dark chocolate. Next time, I will add some salt. I’m looking forward to eating these with coffee in the mornings, and throwing one at my kid as she heads out the door to school.
So glad you enjoyed them, Amber! Thanks for adding your feedback.
These are DELICIOUS healthy cookies! I made my own pumpkin puree and added dark chocolate chunks and pumpkin pie spice as suggested, although next time I’ll probably add a little more cinnamon just to add a bit more flavor.
While I can understand how some people say they are bland because they are not super sweet as most cookies are, that’s why I like them so much; these chewy cookies taste so natural and wholesome ♡
Tastes kind of bland. (I didn’t add vegan chips). Will make again, but will add chopped walnuts.
Chocolate chips and/or additional sweetener and add-ins are definitely recommended to make them more of a treat. As noted in the recipe card, they are quite plain without the extras. Thanks!
I love this simple nutritious recipe packed with comforting Fall flavours! Definitely a family favourite, thanks for the recipe!
I have steel cut oats that you cook with water and some salt…can i use the steel cut oats as is?
I think cooked oats would be too moist unfortunately. Sorry!
No sorry..I meant can I use the uncooked dry steel cut oats for this recipe..
Can I use honey instead of the maple syrup?
Yep.
Nice and simple ingredient cookie recipe! I eat pretty clean and healthy so these cookies fit nicely into my program. I will definitely be making them again! I used dark chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and they were perfect.
Great and simple recipe. Thanks!
Hi! I was wondering, can I add a blended banana to the mix instead of maple syrup, to make the recipe a bit healthier? Thanks in advance:)
You could replace some of the pumpkin with banana. They won’t be very sweet and they’ll be very soft…but it’s up to you!
Delicious. I doubled the recipe to use the entire can of pumpkin adding 1/4 c of unsweetened applesauce to make up for the bit of missing pumpkin. I added pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and raisins. Will definitely be making more.
Awesome…those changes sound great! So glad you enjoyed them and thanks for leaving a review, I appreciate it!