Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
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Published Apr 07, 2022, Updated Aug 06, 2023
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Eat cookies for breakfast with this simple recipe for carrot cake breakfast cookies! Loaded with whole grain oats, carrots and nuts for a filling and hearty on-the-go breakfast option.
I don’t know why, but I’ve been obsessed with the idea of carrot cake cookies for a couple years now. I specifically remember having the most amazing carrot cake cookie at the Union Square Greenmarket during a trip to New York.
The whole weekend I couldn’t stop thinking about coming home to recreate the recipe. Lucky for me, my friend Kathryne of Cookie and Kate just released her first cookbook, Love Real Food which happens to have the carrot cake breakfast cookie recipe in it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They’re hearty, filling and not too sweet.
- They’re portable and perfect for busy weekday mornings. Make a batch on Sunday during meal prep and have cookies for breakfast all week… doesn’t that sound awesome?
- All you need are 11 simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!
- These cookies are dairy-free and can easily be made vegan!
Ingredients Needed
- rolled oats or quick-cooking oats – rolled oats or quick-cooking/instant oats will both work for these cookies. Instant oats are the most processed of all the oat varieties. They are pre-cooked, dried, and rolled and pressed slightly thinner than rolled oats. For rolled oats, the oat groats have been steamed and then rolled. These are my personal favorite. I like to use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free rolled oats.
- white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour – I love using whole wheat flour for added nutrition. It is packed with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals and is really easy to bake with! That said, you can definitely use all-purpose flour if that’s all you have on hand.
- shredded carrots – the star of the show here! Feel free to use store-bought grated carrots or peel and grate them yourself.
- raw walnuts – I love the crunch the nuts add, but feel free to sub in a different nut like pecans or almonds or skip the nuts all together.
- raisins – carrot + raisins = best combo ever! They add a hint of sweetness to these cookies.
- honey – the perfect natural sweetener for these cookies. If you want to keep these vegan-friendly maple syrup is a great substitute.
- coconut oil – helps keep the cookies moist! Make sure you’re using in the liquid sate!
- baking powder – to help the cookies rise.
- ground cinnamon – you can’t have carrot cake without cinnamon!
- fine sea salt – just a pinch.
- ground ginger – for a little spice!
How to Make These Cookies
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and ginger. Whisk to blend. Add the shredded carrots, pecans, and raisins and stir to combine.
Step 3: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients: honey and melted coconut oil. Whisk until blended.
Step 4: Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. The dough might be rather wet, but don’t worry.
Step 5: Drop ¼-cup scoops of dough (an ice cream scoop is perfect for this) onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving several inches of space around each one. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten each cookie to about ¾-inch thick.
Step 6: Bake until the cookies are golden and firm around the edges, about 15 to 17 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely (otherwise, the bottoms can brown too much).
Notes + Subsitutions
- Flour: All-purpose flour would work just fine as a substitute. I haven’t tried a gluten-free version of these cookies, but I bet gluten-free all-purpose 1:1 flour would work well. If you try it, let me know in the comments below!
- Honey: If you need the cookies to be vegan just use maple syrup instead of honey for the sweetener.
- Coconut oil: You can use another oil like avocado, olive or vegetable oil instead of the coconut oil. Melted butter will also work well.
- Walnuts: I prefer chopped walnuts, but you could play around with other nuts! I bet almonds or pecans would be delicious. Feel free to skip them if you need these cookies to be nut-free.
- Raisin: If you aren’t a raisin fan, you can use chopped medjool dates or skip them all together.
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover breakfast cookies, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Carrot Cake Inspired Treats
- Oatmeal Carrot Cake
- Carrot Cake Smoothie
- Healthy Carrot Cake Bars
- Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
- Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
More Breakfast Cookies
- Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- Oatmeal Chia Cookies
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies
- Blueberry Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Protein Cookies
- Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie
Be sure to check out all of the cookie recipes as well as the full collection of breakfast recipes on EBF!
Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, or quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ cups peeled grated carrots
- 1 cup raw pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup raisins
- ½ cup honey, or maple syrup
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and ginger. Whisk to blend.
- Add the carrots, pecans, and raisins and stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, combine the honey and coconut oil. Whisk until blended. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. The dough might be rather wet, but don’t worry.
- Drop ¼-cup scoops of dough (an ice cream scoop with a wire scraper is perfect for this) onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving several inches of space around each one. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten each cookie to about ¾-inch thick.
- Bake until the cookies are golden and firm around the edges, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely (otherwise, the bottoms can brown too much).
- Leftover breakfast cookies will keep, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Recipe republished from Love Real Food with permission.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wow these are soo good!! A little sweet, but they are still very yummy! I used fresh garden carrots since the ones we had in our fridge looked questionable. After seeing how much the first tray spread in the oven, I made the cookies a little smaller. I got 15 out of the whole batch
These are sooooooo good! I’m totally addicted and make them all the time 😄
Ah! I am so happy to hear that you enjoy this recipe, Rakia! Thank you for your review + star rating, I appreciate it!
These are great!! My toddler, my baby, and I all enjoyed them 🙂
I only had 1 cup of grated carrots, so I had to go with just that, and it was fine.
Instead of honey I substituted apple sauce – and it was great!! Definitely still sweet enough, and still good for baby 🙂
I’ve made these in the past and subbed Greek yogurt instead of the coconut oil for a lower fat option. It turned out well and we enjoyed them FRESH, but didn’t like the leftovers.
Yay, I’m so glad these were a hit with your family, Melinda! Thanks for sharing the different swaps you’ve made and how they’ve turned out, it’s always helpful for other readers. 🙂
These cookies just came out of the oven not only does my house smell amazing they turned out perfect thanks Brittney!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that, Niki! Thank you for making them and leaving a review, I appreciate it so much.
I would like to sub a nut flower in this recipe. Coconut or almond. Which would you recommend and in what quantity? Thank you
Hi, Barbara. I don’t recommend subsituting with coconut flour, as it is not a 1-for-1 swap. You can try using almond flour, though I haven’t tried it yet so I’m not sure how they’ll turn out. Let me know if you try it!
I just made them with Gluten free 1:1 flour. They turned out great and are so yummy.
Yay! So glad the swap worked well, Robyn. Thank you for sharing, I really appreciate it.
I love these cookies… I did a couple of additions… 1 egg, 1 tsp. Vanilla and I halved the walnuts and used a mashed banana instead of oil… plus only used a tablespoon of honey… they are good but I do need to up the honey next time. I thought the banana would add more sweetness. Oh well…still yummy. Thanks! Next on to try the carrot cake baked oatmeal!
Hi, Liz! So glad this recipe was a success for you! I like to use extra ripe bananas to ensure extra sweetness. I hope that helps next time 🙂
In general we liked these,but I am wondering if you have ever tried making this recipe with an egg added. We are wondering if that would make them a little more moist. We found them to be a tiny bit dry.
Hi, Melissa. I haven’t tried adding an egg so I’m not sure how they’ll turn out. Let me know if you try it!
Any recommendation for replacing the coconut oil (don’t like the taste) – I was thinking of using melted butter or olive oil. Thanks and looking forward to trying these out.
Either of those options would work!
May I use old fashioned oats and almond flour? I have an insulin intolerance. TIA
Hey Cori – Yes, you can use rolled oats and can cook them for the same amount of time. I haven’t tested this recipe with almond flour so I am not 100% sure how the cookies will turn out, but feel free to experiment. Let me know how they turn out if you end up making them!
Remember that all flours have different liquid needs. “For non-yeast baking (think cookies, scones, cake, biscuits, muffins), use 1/4 (25 percent) less almond flour. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of flour, use 3/4 cup of almond flour.”
Really Delicious! A treat for any time