Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies
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Published Sep 18, 2021, Updated Sep 27, 2023
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Cookies for breakfast?! Sign me up! These sweet potato breakfast cookies are super easy to make, delicious and great to have on hand for an on-the-go breakfast.
If you know me, you know that I’m all about making healthy cookies and fully support the idea that cookies can be healthy enough to have for breakfast. I’ve shared everything from oatmeal raisin protein cookies to chia cookies and now these sweet potato breakfast cookies!
These cookies are free of processed sugar and flour, vegan, gluten-free, portable and healthy enough to eat for breakfast. Now that’s my kind of cookie!
What Consists of a Healthy Breakfast?
Let’s break down what a healthy breakfast is, shall we? In my mind, I build it very similarly to lunch and dinner meals: healthy fats, fiber, and lean protein. Some days breakfast looks vastly different from lunch and dinner (ahem, like when I eat cookies) but other days, like when I enjoy a breakfast salad the meals all look very similar.
I like to include healthy fats in my diet in a variety of ways: nuts, oils, avocado, and fatty fish are my favorites! I love getting fiber in my diet through vegetables, but for breakfast I’ll often rely on oats or nuts for fiber. My protein looks different in almost every meal – some of my favorites ways to incorporate protein into meals are tempeh, eggs, chicken, nuts and protein powder.
Now if we look at this cookie recipe, and specifically at the ingredients, we can see that they check all of the boxes for a healthy meal. Healthy fats? Check! Thanks to the coconut oil. Fiber? Check! Thanks to the sweet potato and oats. Protein? Yep! Thank you, nuts.
Here’s What You Need
- rolled oats – we’re using half of the rolled oats to make homemade oat flour and half mixed in as is. Oats are naturally gluten-free, but often cross contaminated so make sure to use gluten-free oats if you have a gluten intolerance. I like using Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free rolled oats.
- almond flour – to keep this recipe gluten-free we’re using almond flour. Use finely ground almond flour instead of almond meal.
- baking powder – helps the cookies rise.
- mashed sweet potato – the mashed sweet potato helps to bind the cookies together and replaces any eggs you’d normally find in cookies. I like meal prepping a baked sweet potato and then mashing up 1 cup for this recipe, but store-bought sweet potato works as well. Just make sure you pick up a can with sweet potato as the only ingredient! You can also make sweet potato puree.
- maple syrup – I prefer maple syrup, but if you don’t need these cookies to be vegan you can use honey. Both are great natural sweeteners.
- coconut oil – a healthy fat that helps bind the wet and dry ingredients together.
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
- pecans – the perfect nut pairing for this recipe! You can swap for a different nut of choice, dried fruit or skip all together if you’d like.
- chocolate chips – I like to use Lily’s dark chocolate baking chips to keep these low-sugar and vegan.
- spices – ground cinnamon, ground ginger and sea salt.
tip! To save time on processing half of the oats into oat flour you can easily use 1 cup of store-bought oat flour instead.
How to Make Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies
Process oats – add 1 cup of oats to a blender or food processor and process until the texture is similar to oat flour.
Mix dry ingredients – in a large bowl, combine the oats, processed oats, almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and ginger. Whisk to blend.
Mix wet ingredients – in a medium bowl add mashed sweet potato, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla.
Combine – pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Gently stir in pecans and chocolate chips.
Scoop – use a large cookie scoop to scoop dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a baking stone. Use your hands to form the dough into a round, flat cookie shape. Add a few chocolate chips on top if you’d like.
Bake – bake until the cookies are golden and firm around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.
Mix-In Variations
I like the combination of pecans and chocolate chips paired with the sweet potato. It’s seriously SO good! That said, the mix-ins in this recipe can be totally customized. Here are some ideas:
- dried fruit – these sweet potato breakfast cookies would be delicious with dried cranberries or even dried blueberries.
- fresh or frozen fruit – want to try adding in some fresh or frozen fruit? Try my blueberry sweet potato breakfast cookies instead!
- coconut flakes – unsweetened coconut flakes would make for an awesome addition. If you want to add toasted coconut you can either buy pre-toasted or toast unsweetened flakes in the oven by spreading them on a baking sheet and baking at 325ºF for 5-10 minutes. Watch closely so they don’t burn!
- nuts/seeds – I like the flavor pairing of pecans and sweet potato, but feel free to swap them out for your favorite nut or seed of choice.
What to Pair These Cookies With
As mentioned, these cookies are an awesome on-the-go, portable breakfast option, but if you’re looking to get a bit more protein at breakfast here are some pairing suggestions:
- Hard boiled eggs: I will typically eat 1 or 2 hard boiled eggs with a breakfast cookie.
- Protein shake: a protein shake is a great option when it comes to amping up the protein in your breakfast. I have a few different protein shake flavor variations you can check out.
- Egg dish: serve these cookies with these egg white bites or baked egg muffins for another quick, easy and portable breakfast option.
How to Store Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies
I prefer to store these cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They’ll keep for about 5 days in the fridge, 2-3 days stored at room temp or up to 3 months in the freezer. Make sure you allow them to cool completely before storing.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet Potato Pie
- Sweet Potato Salad
- Sweet Potato Smoothie
- Mexicali Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Curry
- Sweet Potato Baked Oatmeal
- Sweet Potato Cupcakes
- Sweet Potato Muffins
More Breakfast Cookie Recipes
- Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
- No Bake Protein Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Protein Cookies
- Blueberry Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies
- Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup mashed baked sweet potato
- ⅓ cup maple syrup or honey
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup chocolate chips, dairy-free, if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add 1 cup of oats to a blender or food processor and process until the texture is similar to oat flour.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, processed oats, almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and ginger. Whisk to blend.
- In a medium bowl, add mashed sweet potato, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Gently stir in pecans and chocolate chips.
- Use a large cookie scoop to scoop dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a baking stone. Use your hands to form the dough into a round, flat cookie shape. Add a few chocolate chips on top if you’d like.
- Bake until the cookies are golden and firm around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.
- Keep leftover cookies at room temperature for up to 2-3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
- Inspired and adapted from Run Fast Eat Slow.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Curious if you tested it with any other flours besides almond? Would love to make these to send with my kiddos to school in their lunches but nuts aren’t allowed.
I haven’t tested with any other flours besides almond but you could always make these carrot cake breakfast cookies instead.
Any excuse to eat cookies for breakfast and I’m in! I will have to make these.
Do you think you could swap in pumpkin instead of sweet potato? Or should I make your pumpkin cookies? (I like the sound of the oats and almonds in this recipe.)
I haven’t tried it with pumpkin so I’m not sure but I have a feeling that you’d want to use less pumpkin because it has more liquid than sweet potato. And the sweet potato helps bind the cookies (since they don’t have an egg). One thing that would probable work is using roasted and mashed kabocha squash instead of the sweet potato since it has a similar texture. Let me know if you try to experiment, but my pumpkin cookies are really good too so you can’t go wrong with those.
I had the same question. I am canning up our halloween/thanksgiving pumpkins and want new ways to use it up. i plan on draining it very well first but will keep the moisture level/binding action in mind when I mix these up!
Hi Brittany,
I can’t rate yet as I haven’t eaten my cookies, they are still baking but just letting you know that you forgot to put the almond flour in the instructions…but I guess it goes in with the other dry ingredients. The raw dough tastes good! Also moistening hands make it easier to mould the cookies 🙂
cheers
Alan j
Oh no! Yes, the almond flour goes in with the other dry ingredients. Just added it back in. I’m not sure how it got deleted. Thanks so much for letting me know and I hope you enjoy the cookies.
Dear Brittany,
I was going to make your chia breakfast cookies (a staple in our household) with my four year old daughter this afternoon and am so thrilled I came across this recipe. We still had some unused sweet potatoes leftover from Thanksgiving so I thought I would give these cookies a try. Our wet ingredients didn’t seem quite wet enough (admittedly I estimated the quantity of sweet potato), so we added 1/3 cup of plain, whole milk yogurt. We then doubled the pecans and substituted 1/2 cup of raisins for the chocolate chips. My daughter said they were the best cookies she’s ever had! The whole family agrees they are fantastic. Thank you so much for another amazing, healthy recipe! Warmest wishes to you and yours this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Sarah
I am wondering if you could eliminate the coconut oil or perhaps substitute something for the oil?
I haven’t tried it with anything but coconut oil, but feel free to play around with the recipe and experiment with something as a sub for the oil… maybe applesauce or banana?
I cut the maple syrup and coconut oil in half, added a mashed banana (or could have subbed homemade unsweetened applesauce instead), 1/2 cup raisins instead of chips and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts in place of pecans…oh yeah, and I added an egg to hold it all together – came out great!
These cookies are truly incredible! So delicious and forgiving if you want to try and customize. I’ve made them ~10 times and they I’m surprised every time by how good they come out. Thank you!
Hey, I’d like to make these for my kids without having to buy special ingredients. I have coconut flour on hand. Do you think I could sub for almond flour?
OMG! THANK YOU! We had something similar at the Farmers Market and had been trying to replicate them. My adaptations: I added some cardamom, and instead of pecans and chocolate chips I added a mixture of chopped hazelnuts, chopped almonds, coconut flakes, golden raisins, dried cranberries, and chopped giant raisins (which taste like figs). I then rolled them in sesame seeds before putting them on the cookie sheet. We now have 2 batches in our freezer – and several people asking for your recipe! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Alex! And I’m glad that your substitutions worked out well, the combo sounds delicious! And thank you so much for coming back to comment and leave a star rating. The feedback and ratings are super helpful!
First review of my second round and they both came out delicious! My first batch had dried cranberries as the add-in and yesterday I went all-in with chocolate chips. Maybe it is the change in weather but chocolate with sweet potato now does sound like a breakfast celebration I can endulge in!
All the best to you and yours 😋
Yayyy!! So glad you enjoyed these cookies, Cat. I’m sure the dried cranberries with the sweet potato was a delicious combo. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment and star rating, I so appreciate it! <3
Delicious and toddler approved!
Yay!! I’m glad these cookies are a hit with your babe. 🙂 Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. It means the world to me, Jasmin!
The cookies are so tasty! The only thing is that they fell apart when they cooled. Trying to figure out what I did wrong or maybe add some binder of some kind.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Oh no!! I’m so sorry to hear that they fell apart, Darla. I haven’t heard that before with these cookies. Did you change anything about the recipe? Did they seem too dry?
These were so good. I did some with chocolate chips and some with raisins and I had trouble choosing my favorite!
Hello, thank you so much for this amazing recipe. I just finished my first trial, but unfortunately the cookies got burned from the bottom! Although I baked it for less than 25 mins. Is there any reason for this to happen?!
Oh no!! So sorry to hear that. Did you change anything about the recipe? And how many cookies did you end up making? If you didn’t change anything or make your cookies smaller, your oven could be hotter than mine, so the cookies cooked faster. You could always set the oven at a lower temp or cook them for only 18-20 minutes and just keep an eye on them.
Too dry. My husbands comment was”definitely healthy”. That’s his way of saying he does not like it.
So sorry these cookies weren’t a hit, Irene. Did you change anything about the recipe? I’m wondering if they got cooked too long as they shouldn’t have turned out dry.
Turned out amazing, thanks for the recipe. I made a mix of spices though, felt I needed something like pumpkin spices so I added nutmeg and all spice as well. It cooked pretty fast though, in about 12 minutes, is it because my cookies were much smaller?
Hey Yussra! I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies. If you made yours smaller then yes, they would have cooked faster. And also the cook times are dependent on your oven and yours might be hotter than mine. 🙂
I made these last night and subbed out whole wheat flour and butter for the almond flour & coconut oil. They were definitely delicious, but a bit dry because I forgot that wheat flour is more absorbent than almond flour. Next time, I’ll probably add an egg or more butter. I also used 1/2 cup of chocolate chips instead of 1/4 cup and 1/4 cup because I really like chocolate. 😝🤷♀️😊😊👍
Ahh yes, the whole wheat flour definitely would have dried these out a bit. I’m still glad they turned out for you and I so appreciate you coming back to leave a comment + star rating, Deborah. 🙂
These are AMAZING! I added in raisins for some extra texture, and subbed coconut sugar for maple syrup. Absolutely delicious!
So glad you loved these cookies, Jen!! Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. 🙂
These cookies were fine but the dough is where it’s at! We baked half and before they got out of the oven the other half of the dough was completely devoured. I had previously baked Japanese sweet potatoes that were divinely sweet. This recipe put the leftovers to perfect use. Saving recipe for later! And for reference, we did about 2 Tb per cookie and could have significantly reduced the bake time… but zero bake time was perfect too! 😉
So glad these cookies + dough were a hit, Carrie! Thanks so much for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I appreciate it. 🙂
I just made those without the chocolate and they are absolutely delicious! Thank you!
Woo! So glad these cookies turned out for you, Taina. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. <3
I have a nut allergy in my home – can I sub pepitas for the nuts at the same ratio? And what flour would you use if not almond? Thanks! I think my 20 YO would LOVE this quick breakfast option
Hey Allison – Yes, pepitas will work just fine! I haven’t tried these cookies with another flour, but you could try all-purpose flour instead of the almond flour. I’m just not 100% sure how they’d turn out since I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you try it and how they turn out. 🙂
So so so good!!! I know they’re called breakfast cookies, but I made them in the afternoon and I’m not sure they’ll make it to breakfast tomorrow!!! I added ground flaxseed into mine and made three different types — raisin, walnut, and chocolate chip. Absolutely delicious!
These breakfast cookies saved me today! So delicious & satisfying. I’m absolutely loving this flavor combo & the house smells amazing, Thank you, Brittany!!!
So glad you loved these cookies, Jennifer! Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. As always, I appreciate you. <3
These look delicious! Do you think it would be ok to freeze these?
Hi Alyssa! Totally, I’ve put them in the freezer before! They should last 1-3 months in the freezer.
Everyone at work loved these cookies. They were all gone by lunch time. Thank you for your recipe
So glad these cookies were a hit! Thanks for the review, Maddie. I so appreciate it. 🙂
These are so scrumptious. I should have left a comment long ago. I keep making them again and again. Thank you for this recipe.
Woo!! This makes me so happy to hear, Georgina! Thank you so much for the review. I really appreciate it!
These are super delicious and just ate 2 while waiting for them to cook! I didn’t press down on the cookies after scooping with the ice cream scooper so mine were more domed shaped, but still very good! Will definitely try them again. Ohhh, didn’t have ground ginger so I used a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger 👍
I’m so glad these cookies were a hit, Monica! Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it!
I want to make these nutritious and delicious looking sweet potato breakfast cookies but my tiny convection oven can
only bake 6 cookies at a time. I can do that but just wondering how the dough will turn out if I put it in a cake pan and
turn it into a cake?!
Hey Karen! I’m not too sure how it’d turn out as I haven’t tried it before! Let me know if you try it.
These are so perfect!! I subbed pumpkin for sweet potato because I had some to use up and they’re absolutely delish! I can’t wait to try them again with sweet potato.
So happy to hear these cookies were a hit even with the substitution! Thanks for the review, Erica. It means so much to me!
so nice
Thanks, Thomas!
Hi are these crunchy or soft please as I prefer crunchy cookies? Thanks
These are on the softer side!
Hi. We have nut allergies. Is it possible to sub white flour for the almond flour?
I haven’t tried this recipe with white flour, but I bet it’d work just fine! Let me know if you try it and how the cookies turn out.
I little dry for me, but the flavor is there. I added some craisins to half my recipe and can’t wait to try those as well.
I’ll did these with maple syrup and next run will alternate to honey.
Sorry to hear that these cookies were a little dry for you, Allison. Did you change anything about the recipe?
Absolutely love these cookies. Make them once a month!
Woo!! Happy to hear you’ve been enjoying them. Thanks for the review, Kristy!
I’ve made these at least 5 times since discovering this recipe and these cookies are my favorite! They’re good for breakfast of course, but also as a mid-afternoon snack (or really anytime). I make them a little bigger and feel like I’m giving myself a decadent treat! Thanks for the recipe.
Yay!! So pumped these sweet potato breakfast cookies have been a hit, Sallie. Thanks for the review!!
I have made these numerous times and they are a hit with everyone who tries them.
I also found the recipe easy to modify depending on what I have on hand and feel like.
If I don’t have sweet potatoes, pumpkin works too!
Perfect treat packed with healthy goodness.
Thank you! Love these!
Woo!! So happy to hear you’ve been enjoying these sweet potato breakfast cookies, Seetal. Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!
These are super almost decadent cookies. I made the recipe as is EXCEPT I used regular flour instead of almond, and I pressed each one into some coarse sugar and flattened it out slightly before baking, they were just sweet enough and the sugar added a nice crunch.
So thrilled you enjoyed this breakfast cookies and happy to hear regular flour worked out for you. Thanks for the review, Angie. I really appreciate it!
I made these with cacao nibs instead of chocolate chips; so perfect! I love the balance of crunchy and soft. The sweetness level was just right! Since my pregnancy my taste for sweets is a lot picker than before. I love these 😋 Thank you for sharing
Yay! I’m so glad to hear you love these breakfast cookies, Heidi! Thanks for making them and coming back to leave a review and star rating! I really appreciate it.
Love these guilt free cookies! As a mom of littles I’m always looking for healthy “anytime” snacks…these are a total win! Even my hubby loves them! Thank you!
Yay! I’m glad everyone is loving these cookies, Kelli. Thank you for sharing!
These are super tasty and toddler approved!!! I’m very impressed by how delicious and soft these turned out!!!
Thank you so much, Niru! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and review.
Wow these were really good breakfast cookies ate them with my fruit for breakfast. Love the spices in these cookies.
Hi LeighAnn, that’s great! Thank you for coming back to share your thoughts and leave a review. I so appreciate it!
These were really tasty and super simple for me to make! 🙂 I did 8 big cookies instead of 16, and they were crunchy outside and still moist/soft inside which I really enjoyed.
One thing though, the calories seemed to be a bit off! If you are counting your calories or macros I’d suggest calculating it yourself just in case. Thanks for the recipe!
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Nikki! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. What were you getting for the macros? And was it based off the 16 cookies or 8?
These were great! I did what I don’t like it when other people do and then comment-modified the recipe 😉 My local coffee shop carries a vegan sweet potato cookie, but when they get them they sell out fast. So I thought I would figure out how to make them myself. I wanted to start with a the recipe and these were in alignment with my diet. Theirs are very dark so I thought they probably are using molasses. So I made this recipe using molasses instead of the other sweeteners. And I left out the pecans and chocolate, again because I was trying to duplicate. I didn’t achieve an exact copy of the cookies I bought, but I have to say this recipe is better! Theirs are a nice sweet treat, but I think these are a more wholesome breakfast option. I will be making again and again and again!
I appreciate you sharing the subs you made, Daniella! I’m glad these cookies turned out for you. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
The cookies turned out very dry and tasteless. I can’t figure out why? My other cookies recipes came out fine. What do you think happened?
Hi Kimberly – So sorry to hear this! Did you change anything about the recipe?