Sweet Potato Oat Cookies (Healthy & Vegan)
on Oct 31, 2023, Updated Apr 30, 2026
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These healthy sweet potato oat cookies are crisp on the outside and soft and chewy inside. Naturally sweetened with maple syrup and made without eggs, oil or flour, they come together in one bowl with just a few simple ingredients in about 20 minutes.
Sweet potato pairs well with maple syrup, oats, warm spices and nut butter, creating a rich, tender texture without any butter.
These cookies are balanced enough for breakfast or a snack but still satisfying as a dessert, especially with chocolate chips mixed in.
5-Star Review
These cookies are amazing, they’re so addicting! Me & my toddler eat them up!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below is a quick overview of what you’ll need to make the recipe and any substitutions you can make. Use the recipe card with the full list of ingredients and measurements at the bottom of the post when you’re ready to make the recipe.
- Sweet Potato: Use cooked, cooled and mashed sweet potato. You can bake, steam or microwave it, or use canned sweet potato puree. Make sure it’s smooth and not watery, as excess moisture will affect the texture.
- Oats: Rolled oats (old-fashioned oats) or large flake oats work best for texture. Quick oats can be used but will result in a softer, less chewy cookie.
- Maple Syrup: Adds sweetness and moisture. You can substitute agave syrup. This recipe has not been tested with dry sweeteners like coconut sugar or brown sugar, which may change the texture.
- Peanut Butter: Peanut butter adds richness and structure. You can substitute almond butter, cashew butter, tahini or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option. Note that sunflower seed butter may react with baking soda and turn the cookies green, but they are still safe to eat.
- Flax: Use ground flaxseed, not whole flax. This helps bind the cookies and improves texture.
- Spices: Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg add warmth and flavour. You can adjust to taste or use a blend like pumpkin pie spice, allspice or cloves.
- Chocolate Chips: Use dairy-free chocolate chips if needed. You can also use chopped dark chocolate, cacao nibs or sugar-free chocolate.
- Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas): Add crunch and texture. You can substitute walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut or other mix-ins.
Additions and Variations
- 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.
How to Make Sweet Potato Cookies
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.
Step 1. Add the wet ingredients: vanilla, sweet potato maple, syrup and peanut butter to a large bowl and stir until completely smooth.
Step 2. Add the dry ingredients (everything else) and stir into a thick, sticky dough.
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.
Recipe FAQs
It can be! They are naturally gluten-free but just make sure you use gluten-free certified oats if needed.
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.
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.
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.
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 easy banana baked oatmeal, healthy pumpkin oat cookies or baked pumpkin oatmeal bars.
If you make this recipe, please consider leaving a comment and a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe, and I love to hear from you. Thanks for trying my recipes! – Deryn
Sweet Potato Oat Cookies (Healthy & Vegan)
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
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir into a thick, sticky cookie dough.
- 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.
- 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
Nutrition
Originally published October 21, 2016.
These are SO delicious with a soft and tender texture! I only had purple sweet potatoes so they looked a little like ‘mud cookies’, instead of Deryn’s beautiful golden ones. Got past appearances quickly though because they’re just so yummy!
Haha, glad you enjoyed them despite the colour! Thanks for letting me know.
Had some leftover sweet potato and was craving some healthy cookies. Your recipe was perfect. I dropped the choc chips ( no cacao for me atm) , didn’t have pumpkin seeds, so used a generous amount of pecans instead, and used up some remaining pumpkin spice. Very delicious, next time I will try with 1/4 cup of maple syrup and peanut butter. Thank you for a great recipe.
So very glad to hear you enjoyed them! Those adjustments sound perfect.
This was a great recipe! I’ve made sweet potato cookies before but without the nut butter they just didn’t have the right “cookie” texture – I really did like this addition to my usual recipe! I blended most of the oats for a few seconds to get a slightly finer texture and also used sunbutter so my son can take them to his nut-free school. I also used a combination of Kabocha squash and sweet potato blended because that’s what I had. With the spices, I don’t think it really matters. I did have one oddity though — I stored my cookies in a plastic bag in the fridge and the next day they had turned kind of green on top. I’m assuming something in them oxidized? Did anyone else have this same issue?? I will try storing in the freezer with the next batch!
Hi! It’s actually the sunflower seed butter (the chlorogenic acid in them) reacting with the baking soda, so specific to using Sunbutter instead of nut butter. Nothing to worry about though, it’s a harmless chemical reaction, they just look a bit funny! Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I’ve been searching for healthier snack options for quite a while since I got onto this WFPB journey, my doctor recommended, after being diagnosed with CKD among other things. Even on this new lifestyle, there are certain things I can’t eat at the moment, unless a miracle happens. But in the meantime, finding gems like this one is exciting.
I eliminated the baking soda, since it was optional, trying to avoid sodium where possible, but still added the salt. I made it with 1/2 cup of walnuts and 1/2 cup of coconut flakes, since I can’t have chocolate. Others mentioned using applesauce instead of maple syrup. Next time I’ll try that option. I ate one at room temperature, and it was delicious. I placed some in the fridge and some in the freezer, since someone mentioned eating it straight from the freezer. I bet it’s got a nice crunch. With the walnuts it gave the cookie a slight crunch even at room temperature. Thanks so much for this recipe. I’ll add it to my cookbook.
You’re very welcome, Debbie. I’m so glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for the detailed review!
Hi. I’d love to make these. Is there a way to make these grain-free? What can I use in place of oats?
Hi, I’m not sure because I haven’t tested them without a grain or grain-based flour. You could possibly use almond flour or chickpea flour but you’d probably have to adjust things a bit to get the right consistency!
I have a question about the alternate recipe you suggest: are those three ingredients (sweet potato, nut butter, and maple syrup) intended to be the whole recipe, or just replace certain parts of it? I can’t quite tell.
Thank you.
Use 1 cup sweet potato, 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup peanut butter instead of the amounts listed in the recipe and use those amounts along with all the other ingredients. Thanks!
So easy, fast, & delicious! I ran out of almond butter so I used 1/2 almond & 1/2 peanut butter. For the add-in’s I used 1/2C chopped dates & 1/2C raw pumpkin seeds. My kids had them after their swim practice & LOVED them! I did too! Thanks, Deryn!
Great recipe. I made the cookies today without any nut butter. I followed pretty much the rest of the recipe, but used 1/4 C of maple syrup and substituted the other 1/4 C with apple sauce. The cookies are soft and just lovely. Next time I make them I won’t use chocolate chips, instead maybe some raisins or chopped apricots. The toasted taste of the pumpkin seeds along with the sweet potato and spices give the cookie an interesting taste, as if it had cardamon in it. Thanks Deryn. I’ve been looking for a healthy no oil cookie.
You’re welcome. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Has anyone made these without the nut butter?
I haven’t tested them without nut butter. It adds moisture, helps bind and improves the texture so I’m not sure how they’d turn out without the added fat. You could maybe try reducing by half or substituting half with applesauce or banana. If allergies are an issue, you can use tahini or sunflower seed butter.
Sorry didn’t see your reply. Thanks. They’re great cookies even without the nut butter. They held together great. Carried some to a coffee date.
Deryn, I shared your recipe with the Well Your World Facebook group.
These were so good!! Very yummy! My kids loved them too!!!
So glad everyone enjoyed them! Thanks so much for the review.