These easy vegan sweet potato cookies feature maple syrup and cinnamon and are easy to make in one bowl in just 20 minutes.

Stack of 4 hearty cookies with a small dish of chocolate chips in foreground and more cookies in background.

Introduction

If you’re looking for a healthy cookie recipe, you’re going to love these delicious sweet potato cookies!

The sweet potato pairs wonderfully with maple syrup, oats, fall spices, and nut butter for a wonderfully buttery texture – without the butter.

These cookies are healthy enough for breakfast or an afternoon snack but decadent enough for dessert too, especially if you add chocolate chips.

For more veggie cookies, you can these Vegan Chocolate Chip Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies or Carrot Oatmeal Cookies. For more sweet potato desserts, these Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies and Vegan Sweet Potato Pie are yummy!

These cookies are gluten-free and flourless, for similar recipes you can try these 3-Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies and Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies.

For cookies made with gluten-free flour alternatives, you can try these Almond Flour Oatmeal Cookies, Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies or Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies made with oat flour.

Ingredient Notes

Visual of ingredients needed for making sweet potato cookies. Each ingredient is labelled with text overlay.
  • Sweet Potato: The recipe calls for cooked, cooled and mashed sweet potato. You can use homemade sweet potato puree or canned sweet potato puree.
  • Oats: You can use rolled oats, large flake oats or quick oats. I like rolled oats (old fashioned oats) or large flake oats for the best texture.
  • Maple Syrup: Agave syrup may be substituted. I haven’t texted this recipe with a dry sweetened such as coconut sugar or brown sugar.
  • Peanut Butter: You can substitute any other nut butter or use tahini or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free recipe. Note that if you use sunflower seed butter and baking soda the cookies may turn green but are totally fine to eat.
  • Flax: Be sure to use ground flaxseeds, not whole flax.
  • Spices: The recipe uses a combination of warm spices like ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon but if you’re missing ginger or nutmeg that’s ok. You could also experiment with pumpkin pie spice, allspice or cloves.
  • Chocolate Chips: Use dairy-free chocolate chips like Enjoy Life or Camino. For a lower-sugar recipe, use chopped dark chocolate, cacao nibs or sugar-free chocolate chips.
  • Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas): Optional but a nice addition. Substitute walnuts, sunflower seeds, pecans, coconut or any other add-in.

The complete list of ingredients measurements and full instructions is located in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Additions

  • Chia Seeds: Add 2-3 tbsp chia seeds for healthy fats and fiber.
  • Other Veggies: Add up to 1/2 cup finely grated carrot or shredded zucchini.
  • Other Additions Add up to 1 cup combined chocolate chips or small pieces of dark chocolate, cacao nibs, raisins, cranberries, walnuts, almonds, pecans, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds or coconut.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prepare for Baking: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F.

Note that you’ll need cooled and mashed cooked sweet potato to make these cookies. If you don’t have any prepared, you can used canned sweet potato, use this recipe for how to bake sweet potatoes or use your preferred cooking method.

A creamy sweet potato mixture in a glass mixing bowl with a spoon.

Step 1. Add the wet ingredients: vanilla, sweet potato maple, syrup and peanut butter to a large bowl and stir until completely smooth.

Raw sweet potato cookie dough in a glass mixing bowl with a spoon.

Step 2. Add the dry ingredients (everything else) and stir into a thick, sticky dough.

Raw cookies scooped onto a parchment baked-lined baking tray.

Step 3. Use a spoon or small cookie scoop to divide the dough into 12-14 cookies, placing them on the prepared baking tray.

The cookies will not spread or change shape during baking, so press each down a little to create the shape you want before baking.

Bake for 16 minutes until they’re golden brown and firm around the edges then let cool on the pan for at least 20 minutes.

The cookies will be fragile when they first come out of the oven, so make sure you let them cool before handling. You can let them cool completely on the baking sheet or transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

A number of sweet potato cookies on a piece of parchment paper beside a small dish of pumpkin seeds.

Recipe FAQs

Are sweet potato cookies gluten-free?

It can be! They are naturally gluten-free but just make sure you use gluten-free certified oats if needed.

Can I use pumpkin instead of sweet potato?

You should be able to substitute canned pumpkin puree for the sweet potato but I haven’t tested it myself.

For pumpkin cookies, I do have these Vegan Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Glaze and Healthy Pumpkin Oat Cookies.

Can I used canned sweet potatoes?

Yes. These will work with any kind of cooked sweet potato puree. You can use canned, bake your own or cook the sweet potato in an Instant Pot or microwave.

For more details, check out my post on how to bake sweet potato.

How do you store sweet potato cookies?

Let cool completely before storing. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Can I freeze sweet potato cookies?

For sure! To freeze the cookies, let them cool completely then transfer to a sealable container or freezer bag and store for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and enjoy.

Recipe Note

This recipe as written was the best tasting version but it can be adjusted to suit your nutritional needs. For an even healthier cookie that uses half the amount of fat and sweetener, you can use:

  • 1 cup sweet potato
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter

This version is denser and more like baked oatmeal or a dense muffin but is lower in sugar, calories and fat. It depends what kind of cookie you’re looking for! They’d be more like my banana baked oatmeal or pumpkin oatmeal bars.

Close up of a cookie with a bite out of it to show inside texture.

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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Print
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Stack of 4 sweet potato cookies with a small dish of chocolate chips in foreground and more cookies in background.

Vegan Sweet Potato Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 16 reviews
  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 16 mins
  • Total Time: 26 minutes
  • Yield: 14
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

Flourless vegan sweet potato chocolate chip cookies with maple and warm spices that are crisp on the outside and soft in the middle for a delicious treat.


Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato (180 g)
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup (140 g)
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut or almond butter (120 g)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 2 cups rolled oats (200 g)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tbsp ground flaxseed (14 g)
  • 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (85 g)
  • 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds, optional (75 g)

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking tray with parchment paper. You can use a light coating of non-stick cooking spray if you don’t have parchment on hand.
  2. Add the wet ingredients – sweet potato, maple syrup, nut butter and vanilla to a large mixing bowl and stir well until completely smooth and combined.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir into a thick, sticky cookie dough.
  4. Use a spoon or small cookie scoop to scoop 12-14 evenly-sized clumps of dough onto the the tray. Press each cookie down a little as they will not spread or change shape during baking.
  5. Bake the cookies for 16 minutes then let cool on the pan for at least 20 minutes. The cookies will be quite fragile when they come out of the oven so it’s important to let them cool and firm up.

Notes

For help preparing sweet potato for this recipe, check out my post on how to bake sweet potato.

Storing: Let cool completely before storing. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for 3-4 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw at room temperature briefly before enjoying.

Use a digital kitchen scale to accurately measure ingredients for best results.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 162
  • Sugar: 8.6 g
  • Fat: 7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 21 g
  • Fiber: 3 g
  • Protein: 5 g

Originally published October 21, 2016.