Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

The best soft and chewy healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies! These cookies are packed with pumpkin flavor and bake up in under 20 minutes. Great as a snack, or for breakfast or dessert!

When it comes to baking, I love making cookies. From chocolate chip cookies to my infamous almond flour sugar cookies, I have so much fun developing healthy cookie recipes for all seasons. In fact, I’ve even created a free cookie recipe ebook!

While cookies get all the love during the holidays, they typically take a backseat during the fall… until today! If you can’t get enough of pumpkin spice, these healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies will have you falling in love! They’ve got all the components of the perfect oatmeal cookie. Chewy edges, soft in the center, and golden brown on the bottom. And a unique twist with pumpkin and warm and sweet spices.

Best of all, these cookies are made with simple and healthy ingredients. Grab and go for breakfast, or gobble them up as a snack or for dessert! While I like mixing in chocolate chips, you can also make them plain, or fold in raisins, cranberries, or chopped nuts. The entire family will be begging for more!

Ingredient Notes

• Old fashioned rolled oats – For the perfect, chewy texture, old-fashioned rolled oats are best. You can use quick cooking rolled oats, but the texture of the cookie will change. Do not use instant oats. I like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Old Fashioned Oats.
• Blanched almond flour – I recommend using a fine blanched almond flour for the best texture.
• Tapioca flour – While you only need a small amount, this is the secret ingredient that makes the texture soft and delicious. You can easily find this in the baking flour section!
• Coconut sugar – This is a natural granulated sweetener that adds a nice maple-sweet taste.
• Pumpkin puree – Make sure to get pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling! Check out this canned pumpkin comparison for more info about which brands offer the best flavor.1 large egg yolk 
• Butter – You can also use ghee if you want a more buttery taste but can’t do dairy. Ghee is butter with all the milk solids removed. You can use coconut oil as well!
• Dark Chocolate chips (optional) – I like using dark chocolate chips without added sugar.

Substitutions

Rolled oats: You can use quick cooking rolled oats, but the texture of the cookie will change.

Almond flour: You can use another nut flour, like cashew flour.

Maple syrup: Use raw honey instead

Coconut sugar: You can swap this for any granulated sugar, including brown sugar. Check out the best coconut sugar substitutes for more info.
Butter: Use ghee or coconut oil

Recipe Variations

Not into chocolate chips? You can leave them out completely, or swap them for the following:

• White chocolate chips
• Dried raisins
• Dried cranberries
• Chopped nuts

How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. Whisk: In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and sea salt.
3. Mix: Add the maple syrup, coconut sugar, pumpkin puree, egg yolk, and ghee and mix until just combined.
4. Fold: Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Transfer the batter: Use a two-tablespoon cookie scoop, drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Slightly flatten the tops of each dough ball with your fingers.  Add a couple of chocolate chips on top of each dough ball to give the cookies a visual pop if desired. 
6. Bake: Bake for 14-17 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Be patient and look for color! It’s the secret to a nice chewy texture.

Baking Tips

• Make sure to use canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
• If you don’t have a cookie scoop, just scoop out two tablespoons of dough and gently roll it into a ball.
• Let the cookies cool completely before you eat them—they will firm up at room temperature.
• Leave out the chocolate chips if you’re not a fan of chocolate or want to turn these into breakfast cookies.

Recipe FAQs

Storage and Freezing

STORE: These pumpkin oatmeal cookies will last at room temperature for 2-3 days and up to a week in the fridge.

FREEZE: These cookies freeze well! To freeze, just let them cool to room temperature and place them in a freezer safe zip-top storage bag. They will keep in the freezer up to three months.

More Pumpkin Recipes

• Paleo Pumpkin Bread
• Healthy Pumpkin Bars
• Paleo Pumpkin Blondies
• Paleo Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel
• Healthy Apple Pie Bars

Recipe by: Noelle Tarr and Kelsey Hite / Coconuts and Kettlebells | Photography by: Casey Colodny / The Mindful Hapa