These Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies are soft, chewy, and bursting with cozy fall flavor. Naturally gluten-free and made with wholesome ingredients, they’re quick to whip up and loved by kids and adults alike. Enjoy them as a better-for-you dessert or even as a grab-and-go breakfast during pumpkin spice season.
This recipe is featured in my roundup of 15 Healthy Pumpkin Desserts.
Jump to:
Soft Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Similar to my wildly popular Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, these soft and chewy, fall-inspired and gluten-free Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies are made with 100% whole ingredients and super quick and easy - all you need is one bowl and less than 30 minutes. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the cookies to cool so you can eat them!
These soft oatmeal pumpkin cookies are right up there with my Pumpkin Banana Bread Muffins, Frosted Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Energy Balls as the perfect healthy treat for pumpkin spice season. They’re great as a simple dessert, but because they’re healthier than regular cookies, they also make the perfect grab-and-go breakfast - yes! cookies for breakfast!! - or kid-approved afterschool snacks.
Ingredients
- Canned pumpkin puree - not pumpkin pie filling.
- Almond butter - I find almond flavor goes best with the pumpkin flavor, but you can use cashew butter or peanut butter as well.
- Coconut oil - melted
- Large egg - room temp will blend into the batter better
- Vanilla extract
- Brown sugar - light or dark brown sugar will work
- Quick oats or rolled oats - Be sure to read the package for gluten free certification if needed
- Pumpkin pie spice - use a store bought blend or make your own Homemade Pumpkin Spice Mix with this great recipe from my friend Michelle over at Barefoot in the Pines
- Chocolate chips - dark or semi-sweet
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking soda
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1: Place pumpkin puree, egg, almond butter, coconut oil, sugar, vanilla, baking soda and spices in a medium mixing bowl.
- Step 2: Whisk together until smooth.
- Step 3: Stir in oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Step 4: Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Step 5: After refrigeration, use a medium cookie scoop to drop 13 cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Step 6: Flatten each cookie with the back of a spoon to ½-inch thick. Note: If the dough is sticky, wet the spoon with cold water.
- Step 7: Bake for 15 minutes and cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Storage and Freezing Tips
- Room Temperature: The cookies can be left on the counter for up to 24 hours. After that store the cookies in an airtight container or a cookie jar at room temp for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: For longer storage, keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Place completely cooled cookies on a baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour. Then transfer to a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months.
Tips & Tricks
- Double the recipe amounts for a larger batch.
- The cookies will be very soft just after baking. Let them cool for at least 20 minutes on a rack so they firm up just a bit while keeping their soft and chewy texture. Then transfer to a plate or jar.
- If you don’t like chocolate chips in your baked goods, feel free to skip them or replace them with chopped nuts.
- Almond butter can be swapped out for peanut butter or cashew butter. I use almond because I feel like it goes best with pumpkin, but go with what tastes best to you.
- If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, swap it for ½ teaspoon cinnamon and a ¼ teaspoon each of ground ginger and ground cloves or nutmeg.
- Melted coconut oil can be replaced with butter, dairy or plantbased.
- Chilling the dough makes it easier to form the cookies and they hold their shape better after baking. Don’t skip this simple but important step.
FAQ
Both will work, but it’s a matter of what you prefer. My kids like the texture of quick oats (1-minute oats) in cookies better so that’s what I use. However, I’ve made these with regular rolled oats and they also turned out great.
Yes, chilling helps the cookies hold their shape and prevents them from spreading too much in the oven. Don’t skip this step!
These cookies are soft, moist, and slightly chewy thanks to the pumpkin puree. They won’t crisp up like traditional cookies.
More healthy oatmeal cookies
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup pumpkin puree canned
- ¼ cup almond butter
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil melted
- 1 egg large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ cup quick oats or rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Place pumpkin puree, melted coconut oil, almond butter, egg, vanilla, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar in a medium mixing bowl.
- Whisk together until smooth.
- Stir in oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, drop 13 cookie dough balls onto the prepared cookie sheet.
- Flatten each cookie with the back of a spoon to form ½-inch thick round cookies. If the dough is sticky, wet the spoon with cold water.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before serving,
Notes
Nutrition
You may also like
Meet the Author
Hi, I'm Agnieszka. I'm a mom of three and recipe developer, writer and photographer behind Wholly Tasteful. I love creating comforting, delicious, family-friendly recipes that you can feel good about.
Swathi says
Healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies are delicious, my kids approved it, they are picky one, still asked me to make this again.
Lora says
These muffins look so fluffy and delicious. Pumpkin spice and chocolate chips are the best combo for fall!
Nicole says
These pumpkin oatmeal cookies are so tasty!! The perfect treat with no sacrifice.
Jaleah says
These healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies are so good! I loved how easy they were to make.
Sonja says
I adore oatmeal cookies, as they always make me feel super virtuous while having a sweet snack. These were even better than my usual recipe with the added pumpkin puree that gave such a lovely colour and gentle sweetness! Perfect for fall.
Agnieszka says
Glad you liked them!
Peter says
haven't tried recipe yet, but plan to.
recipe doesn't have the amount of choc chips.
1/4 cup, 1/2 cup?
Love the fact your in Maine restoring a farm house, we live in New Brunswick across the border from Calais Me.
Agnieszka says
Hi Peter. Thanks for catching that! You'll need 1/2 cup chocolate chips - I just updated the recipe. Thanks for sharing you're in New Brunswick - we're practically neighbors!
Tisha says
These Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies are a delightful balance. The smart substitutions make them a sweet treat that also feels nourishing.