The BEST Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
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Published Jan 01, 2019, Updated Dec 07, 2022
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These healthy oatmeal cookies are made with fiber-rich oats, coconut sugar and coconut oil and applesauce instead of butter. They are easy to whip up and are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free and paleo-friendly.
It’s crazy to think that I first shared this recipe back in 2012. I made them for a New Year’s Eve party and they were a big hit. I have a ton of awesome healthy cookie recipes, but oatmeal cookies have always been one of my favorites.
These oatmeal cookies are made healthier just by swapping a few ingredients, and they are still absolutely delicious. The combo of oatmeal, raisin and cinnamon is pure perfection.
Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies
This recipe is super easy to follow and naturally gluten-free because we’re using oats and oat flour as the base. If you’re new to using oat flour, it’s essentially just rolled oats ground up into a fine flour. You can find it at most grocery stores in the natural section (I usually buy the Bob’s Red Mill brand) or simply make your own by processing rolled oats in your food processor or high-speed blender.
Ingredients Needed
- old-fashioned rolled oats – I like Bob’s Red Mill rolled oats as they are certified gluten-free, oats can be easily cross contaminated so make sure to grab certified gluten-free oats if needed!
- oat flour – use store-bought or you can make your own using my oat flour recipe.
- baking soda and baking powder – leavening agents! You need both.
- cinnamon and ground nutmeg – the perfect spice pairing for oatmeal raisin cookies!
- sea salt – brings all of the flavors together.
- coconut oil – instead of butter we’re using coconut oil, this keeps the cookies moist!
- applesauce – you can use store-bought or you can make your own using my applesauce recipe at home.
- coconut sugar – I like using coconut sugar, but you could also use organic brown sugar.
- egg whites – a binding ingredient, see below for substitution ideas!
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
- raisins – raisins and oatmeal cookies just go together, but you could also use dark chocolate chocolate chips or your favorite mix-in!
Substitutions & Notes
- Oat flour – I haven’t tested these cookies with another flour, so I’m not sure how they’d turn out. Some people have commented letting me know that almond flour and all-purpose flour worked, but I’ve only tested these cookies with oat flour. If you try a different flour, let me know in the comments.
- Coconut oil – you can use butter (vegan or regular) in place of the coconut oil.
- Applesauce – if you don’t have applesauce on hand you can use mashed bananas instead.
- Sugar – as a sub to coconut sugar you can use brown sugar or regular sugar. I wouldn’t swap it with a liquid sweetener like maple syrup or honey.
- Egg whites – you can use 2 eggs in place of the egg whites. I haven’t tested these with flax eggs, but I bet it would work subbing the egg whites for 2 flax eggs. Let me know in the comments below if you try it.
How to Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
First, preheat your oven to 350°F and spray two baking sheets with cooking spray or line with silpat mats and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with the mixer set on medium speed, beat together oil, applesauce, sugar, egg whites and vanilla until fluffy and smooth. Slowly beat in the oat mixture. Gently stir in raisins.
Next, using a spoon or cookie scoop, drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Press each cookie down with a fork a bit. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. The cookies will seem a little soft but do not over bake or they’ll get too crisp. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes or until they start to harden up a bit. At this point you can transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
How to Store Homemade Cookies
After letting your cookies cool completely, I recommend storing them in an airtight container. They’ll last a few days on the countertop, a week in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer. I love making these in advance, freezing and then serving during the holidays!
More Holiday Cookies
- Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies (Cut-Out Cookies)
- Quinoa Gingersnap Cookies
- Healthier Snowball Cookies
- Almond Butter Espresso Cookies
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Almond Flour Snickerdoodles
- Lemon Ricotta Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Oatmeal Scotchies
- Almond Cookies
More Oatmeal Cookies
- Healthy No Bake Cookies
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Oatmeal Chia Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Oatmeal Date Cookies
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies
- S’mores Cookies
Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup oat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 6 Tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 2 Tablespoons applesauce
- 1 cup coconut sugar organic brown sugar works too
- 2 egg whites about â…“ cup*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup raisins or dark chocolate chocolate chips or your favorite mix-in
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and spray two baking sheets with cooking spray or line with silpat mats and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with the mixer set on medium speed, beat together oil, applesauce, sugar, egg whites and vanilla until fluffy and smooth. Slowly beat in the oat mixture. Lightly stir in raisins.
- Using a spoon or cookie scoop, drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Press each cookie down with a fork a bit. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. The cookies will seem a little soft, but do not over bake or they’ll get too crisp. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for about 5 minutes or until they start to harden up a bit. At this point you can transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- You can use 2 eggs in place of the egg whites.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Super good oatmeal cookies! I used half all purpose flour and half almond flour, and it worked out great. The cookies were a little bit dense, so I think next time I will add more applesauce. Flatten them out before you put them in the oven. Since I used brown sugar, I’m not sure I would call them healthy, but definitely healthier than other recipes. Perfect for Father’s Day!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this oatmeal cookies, Madeline 🙂
I’ve made these twice and while they taste delicious I cannot get them to stay together! They crumble off the parchment paper…
Oh no!! Have you changed anything about the recipe, Morgan? Sounds like you might need some more liquid to hold the cookies together. Maybe try adding a splash of milk or even water?
Made exact recipe. Batter is plenty wet so not sure how adding more liquid would work. Needs to be thicker batter I believe.
4 of 5 stars due to batter was very wet and didn’t hold together well. Scooped cookies onto cookie sheets and baked 11 min. Did not mash them down. After baking, cookies tasted very good. Around edges are crumbly but all in all very good cookie. Thank you for the recipe.
Sorry to hear you had troubles with the cookie, Wanda! Did you use a mixer to beat the dough together? I’m trying to think what could have happened! I need to test these again!
Hey Wanda – I just made these cookies over the weekend and the batter was plenty thick for me and not too wet. Did you change anything about the recipe?
Hi Brittany,
I baked 3 times and all went well! Thanks for this healthy snack. I substituted apple sauce with half chopped fresh apple and it made my day! I skipped those cinnamon and ground nutmeg (actually there were not in my kitchen opss sorry) but stil the biscuits taste good. I added some diced almond and I cut the amount of sugar and make it just 1/3 cup (I used the organic brown sugar) it doesn’t change the taste either. Thanks Brittany. 😊
So glad these cookies were a hit, Rahazimah! Thanks for trying them out and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Brittany, thank you SO much for this beautiful recipe! My family of 5 have rated these as their all-time favourite cookies 🤗 I used mashed banana instead of applesauce and substitited raisin/choc chips for dried apricot/chopped almonds/shredded coconut/white choc and they turned out perfectly. 10 mins on the dot for baking time and the consistency of the mix was spot on 👌
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear these oatmeal cookies were a hit, Kate! I love the variations you used, so great. Thanks so much for trying out the recipe and coming back to leave a review. It means so much to me!
Yum! I also used banana in place of applesauce and used chocolate chips. Delicious!
So glad you enjoyed these cookies, Wendy. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I am wondering i do not like banana taste or apple sauce nor other purée ( including sweet potato or pumpkin ) so i am wondering what can I replace it with? Egg white?
Thanks
Hi Ranim – Unfortunately, the banana and apple sauce are used as binders in this recipe. You could try adding an extra egg into the batter, but I am also concerned that this will change the texture and consistency of the cookie.
so yummy!
how long do they keep? If I want to make for company a few days ahead of time.
Hi, Sue! They’ll last a few days on the countertop, a week in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer!
I followed all the instructions. The mixture was two wet but I added a half cup of oats and they made it the right consistency. Baked for 10 mins and boom they were done. Taste amazing. Thank you for sharing.
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Eli and that you were able to adjust the amount to oats to bring it to the correct consistence, thank you for sharing! I really appreciate you coming back and leaving your review + star rating.
I made these cookies because I’ve been trying to find a oatmeal cookie recipe I like. I’ve tried multiple recipes and they all come out with a cake like texture. I follow the recipe exactly so not sure what I’m doing wrong. This recipe tastes great.maybe you could help me figure out what’s making them so cake like?
Hi Sara – Are you using all of the exact ingredients as well? Did you mix these by hand or with a mixer?
Come out much better when I used two whole eggs instead of the applesauce and egg whites and used real butter instead of coconut oil.
I am glad to hear these cookies worked out for you, Karen. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, I appreciate it.
Hi Brittany I love these cookies! I’m working during if j could swop the vanilla extract for lemon extract or lemon zest…? I love lemon and raisins together.
do you think this would work or would it curdle the milk?
many thanks! Naomi
Hi Naomi – I am not sure if adding lemon would work for this recipe, I personally haven’t tried it. But I do have 2 delicious lemon cookies on my website: Lemon almond flour cookies and Lemon Ricotta cookies . You could probably add some raisins to either of these cookies. Let me know if you give these a try and what you think! Enjoy!