Chocolate Chip Healthy Oatmeal Cookies — These are without a doubt the healthiest cookies I’ve ever made. And some of the fastest and easiest. And they taste SO GOOD, making them the most miraculous.
Healthy Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
Why are these healthy oatmeal cookies miraculous? Allow me to rattle off the selling points:
- Vegan oatmeal cookies — No Eggs and No Butter
- No Oil
- No Flour
- No White or Brown Sugar Added
- No Added Salt
- Gluten-Free and Soy-Free
- No Mixer Required — Stir Together in One Bowl in 5 Minutes
- Soft, Chewy, Not Cakey, Loaded with Texture
- High Fiber
- Dense, Rich, and Satisfying
- Modest Batch Size (about 15 small cookies)
- They taste good — I don’t care how healthy something is, if it doesn’t taste good, why bother.
Pretty close to a miracle if you ask me.
I’d been wanting to make healthy oatmeal cookies for ages, but the last time I tried by baking bananas into my cookies rather than using butter, oil, or eggs, they were cakey, baked flat and thin, and the taste of bananas overpowered everything.
So I put that idea on the shelf for years, literally. Finally, I decided to try again, and this time with success.
These healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are such easy, stir-together cookies. Mash a banana, add liquid sweetener and peanut butter, stir in the dry ingredients, and add-ins. In case you’re not a huge fan of bananas, there’s just a very subtle banana taste.
The dry ingredients consist of quick-cooking oats and crispy rice cereal. I add crispy rice cereal to no-bake bars like Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars and Snickerdoodle Cookie Granola Bars because it adds texture and it soaks up moisture in the batter. You can’t really taste it and it’s more of a stealth operator.
These healthy oatmeal cookies are dense, hearty, thick, exceedingly chewy, and loaded with texture. Between the oats, crispy rice cereal, chocolate chips, and raisins, here’s a real texture party going on.
They’re also soft and moist, and not at all cakey, dry, or crumbly. They remind me a bit of a granola bar, in cookie form, but softer and not as hearty. The peanut butter adds richness and nuttiness and the combo of peanut butter, bananas, and chocolate is always a win for me.
They aren’t too sweet since just a banana and a bit of liquid sweetener is used, but the raisins and chocolate chips help boost the sweetness level.
Before people write saying the suggested liquid sweetener options are a form of sugar; yes, they are. But I’d think brown rice syrup, agave, or honey are healthier alternatives than white or brown sugar. Whenever I post any ‘claims’ related to sugar, I get oodles of passionate comments — to each her own.
It’s hard to believe that something without eggs, butter, oil, flour, or added sugar can still taste like a cookie. But I assure you, they do. I’m just doing my part to try to help you get ready for swimsuit season. Considering these cookies are so healthy and miraculous, it’s okay to have seconds. Or thirds.
What’s in Healthy Oatmeal Cookies?
To make this healthy oatmeal cookie recipe, you’ll need:
- Mashed banana
- Creamy peanut butter
- Liquid sweetener of choice (such as honey)
- Vanilla extract
- Quick cook oats
- Crispy rice cereal
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Raisins
How to Make Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
These healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are as easy to make as regular cookies! Simply stir together the wet ingredients, then add in the dry. Fold in the chocolate chips and raisins before scooping out the cookie dough.
You’ll need to chill the cookie dough balls for 2 hours before baking them off.
Once chilled, bake the cookies until the edges have set and tops are just beginning to show signs of very pale golden color. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
How to Store Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
What Type of Peanut Butter Should I Use?
I recommend using a conventional peanut butter like Jif or Skippy because they’re thick. I don’t recommend natural or homemade peanut butter since they’re often runny and too oily.
Can I Use a Nut Butter Alternative?
No, I don’t recommend using almond or sunflower seed butter or another peanut butter alternative because they’re much thinner and likely too runny to sufficiently bind this egg-less, flour-less, gluten-less dough.
Tips for Making Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
You must use quick cook oats — not rolled oats or old-fashioned oats — because quick oats are smaller and behave more like flour. Since no actual flour is used, finer ground oats are necessary. Turn your old-fashioned whole-rolled oats into quick oats in 10 seconds in a food processor or Vita-Mix.
Make sure to chill the dough so the healthy oatmeal cookies bake up nice and thick. There are no eggs or gluten to give the cookies structure, and therefore, chilling the dough is essential. That said, after being properly chilled, the cookies spread very little while baking, so flatten the dough mounds so the cookies cook through evenly.
For the add-ins, I used chocolate chips and a raisin medley, but feel free to use craisins, dried cranberries, apricots, another dried fruit, sliced nuts, white chocolate, butterscotch, or peanut butter chips.
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Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Miracle Cookie
Ingredients
- about 1/2 cup ripe mashed banana, 1 medium/large
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter, like Jif or Skippy; don’ use natural or homemade PB. I suspect almond or sunflower seed butter are too thin and runny
- ⅓ cup liquid sweetener, agave, light-colored corn syrup, brown rice syrup, honey; I suspect maple syrup is not quite sticky enough
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups quick cook oats, not old-fashioned whole rolled; must use quick cook. Use certified gluten-free if desired
- 1 cup crispy rice cereal, use certified gluten-free/vegan if desired
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, or another favorite baking chip, or omit
- ½ cup raisins, or another favorite dried fruit, or omit
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the banana and mash with a fork.
- Add the peanut butter, sweetener, vanilla, and stir to combine.
- Add the oats, crispy rice cereal, cinnamon, baking soda, and stir to incorporate. The dough should be similar in consistency to regular cookie dough; sticky but not sloppy, nor should it be crumbly or dry. If it’s too wet, add more oats. If it’s too dry, add a small squirt more sweetener or more peanut butter.
- Fold in the chocolate chips (or try cinnamon/white chocolate/peanut butter chips) and the raisins (or try craisins/dried apricots/cranberries/blueberries) and stir to incorporate.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping 2-tablespoon mounds (I made 15). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds halfway, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat, parchment, or spray with cooking spray.
- Place flattened mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet). Bake for about 15 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to show signs of very pale golden color. Cookies will firm up as they cool. Rotate trays midway though baking. **
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
- Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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