Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are gluten-free, dairy-free, low in sugar, and made in one bowl with common pantry ingredients.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Healthy
After sharing these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies, I wanted to create an oatmeal chocolate-chip version with similar goals in mind:
- Simple Ingredients: No need for specialty stores—you likely have everything in your pantry!
- Nutritious: These cookies use ingredients packed with benefits. There’s a small amount of sugar, much less than typical oatmeal cookies.
- Easy Prep: Just one bowl, a hand whisk, and a wooden spoon are all you need for freshly baked Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
What To Expect From This Recipe
This recipe isn’t for classic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Without loads of butter, sugar, and chocolate, these cookies taste different. They’re crunchy with a sandy texture, dry, and a bit crumbly.
Flavor-wise, they’re oat-y with a bit of dark chocolate, and not very sweet. If you like oats, you’ll enjoy them; if not, this might not be for you. For extra sweetness, add more brown sugar. A pinch of sea salt on top adds the perfect touch of salty-sweetness!
Ingredients In Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
| Ingredient | Tips or Swaps |
|---|---|
| Oats (old-fashioned and quick) | Use both types of oats for the best texture and structure. Double check everything was made in a gluten-free facility. |
| Oat flour | Blend regular oats into a fine powder and measure after blending. |
| Coconut oil | Use a mild-flavored brand for the best flavor. |
| Brown sugar | Coconut sugar works as a swap. |
| Egg | Use at room temperature for best mixing. |
| Dark chocolate chips | Milk or semi-sweet chips can be used instead. |
Quick Tip
Measure the oats after blending into a powder, not before. Gently pack the oat flour into the cup and level the top for best results.
How To Make Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Melt coconut oil: Microwave until liquid, then let it cool to room temperature.
- Make oat flour: Blend oats into a fine powder and measure after blending.
- Mix wet ingredients: Whisk coconut oil, egg, vanilla, and brown sugar until smooth.
- Dry ingredients: Stir in oat flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and chocolate.
- Chill dough: Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, roll into balls, then chill again.
- Bake: Bake at 350°F for 7–9 minutes. Slightly underbake for best texture.
- Cool: Let cookies cool on the tray before moving. They’re delicate while warm.
Featured Comment
“Wow these cookies were amazing and this recipe is outstanding I have been looking for a healthy option to sub out flour butter and white sugar. All of my expectations were met plus more definitely my new go to cookie recipe”
– Dani
Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Tips
- Measure Carefully: Baking needs precise measurements. Level the tops of measuring cups with a metal spatula or knife.
- Follow the Recipe: Stick to the recipe; substitutions may not work well here.
- Use Room-Temperature Ingredients: Make sure the egg and melted coconut oil are at room temperature.
- Measure Dough Balls: Each should be 1½ tablespoons or 30 grams- use a cookie scoop. Roll and slightly flatten before baking. Expect about 14-15 cookies.
- Bake on a Lined Pan: Use a silicone liner or parchment paper for even baking and easy cleanup.
- Let Cool: Cookies are crumbly when hot. Let them cool on the tray before transferring to a rack.
- Handle Carefully: Cookies are delicate; move them gently to avoid crumbling.
Storage
Storage: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing Dough Balls: Freeze dough balls on a parchment-lined sheet until solid, then transfer to an airtight container or bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
More Healthy Treat Ideas:
Muffins And Quick Breads
Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins
Desserts
Date Brownies
Breakfast
Healthy Fruit Tart
Snacks
Banana Bites (2 Ways!)
Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are gluten-free, dairy-free, low in sugar, and mixed up in just one bowl with pantry staples!
Video
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
- Sheet pan (15" x 10")
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut oil see note 1
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons light brown sugar lightly packed, see note 2
- 3/4 cup oat flour regular oats blended in a blender—see note 3
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup quick oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips see note 4
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil in the microwave until it is liquid. Measure once fully melted. Set aside to cool back to room temperature—it should not be hot when adding to the recipe.
- Add old-fashioned or quick oats to a blender or food processor. Blend or process until the oats are fine and resemble flour; stir and reblend if needed so that all the oats are a fine powder. Measure the oat flour after blending to get a level and gently packed 3/4 cup oat flour. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine cooled coconut oil, vanilla extract, egg, and brown sugar in a bowl. Briskly whisk everything together until completely smooth.
- Add oat flour, old-fashioned oats, quick oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon and stir until just combined, then stir in the chocolate chips. The dough is very wet—this is normal.
- Cover the dough tightly and chill for 30 minutes. Don’t skip chilling, but don’t chill longer than 30 minutes or the dough will be nearly impossible to shape! Remove dough and use a 1-1/2 tablespoon measuring spoon or cookie scoop to measure out cookie dough balls. Tightly roll the balls, then slightly flatten. You should get about 14 dough balls. They must be this size for correct baking. Place the balls on a parchment-paper-lined plate, then chill all the rolled dough balls for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Once dough balls have chilled, transfer them to a lined sheet pan, spacing them out 2-inches apart. Bake for 7–9 minutes (I think they’re perfect at 8 minutes) or until no longer gooey-looking on top. Slightly under-baking is best for flavor and texture. Carefully remove the tray from the oven. If desired, press a few chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies. It makes them look pretty and ensures chocolate in every bite! Once those chips have melted a bit, add a sprinkle of sea salt onto the melted chocolate if desired. Let the cookies sit on the sheet pan 5 minutes. Then use a spatula to carefully remove cookies to a cooling rack. Handle carefully; these cookies are very delicate and crumbly.
- Enjoy hot, warm, or at room temperature (I like them best right out of the oven!). Cookies are best the same day they’re made—they get harder and less sweet every day following.
Final step! Please let us know how it was by leaving a review.
Recipe Notes
Gluten Free: While the ingredients in these cookies are naturally gluten-free, check all your ingredient labels to verify they weren’t processed in a facility with gluten.
Note 1: Coconut oil brands vary in strength; I use LouAna Coconut Oil. It is very important the oil is fully cooled to room temperature (if you touch it and don’t feel a temperature, it’s at room temperature) before adding to this recipe.
Note 2: If you aren’t used to healthier treats, increase the brown sugar to 5–6 tablespoons (I typically use 6 tablespoons). Most of the sweetness in these cookies comes from chocolate chips.
Note 3: Regular, old-fashioned oats or quick oats will work to blend into oat flour. Make sure the oats are completely and thoroughly blended to a powder before measuring. Gently pack in a measuring cup and level off the top.
Note 4: Why dark chocolate? Dark chocolate is known for its high antioxidant and mineral content and is a great source of healthy fats; read about the benefits of dark chocolate here. Any type of chocolate works, but milk or semi-sweet chips will be slightly less nutritious.
A few quick tips:
- Measure the ingredients carefully. As with most baked goods, loosely measuring may result in cookies that do not work out properly.
- Even tried-and-true substitutions (like flax egg for regular egg, vegetable oil for coconut oil, or almond flour for oat flour) don’t work the same in these cookies—this recipe is fairly particular.
- Use room-temperature ingredients. It’s best if the egg and melted coconut oil are at room temperature. This ensures even emulsification of ingredients instead of a cold egg seizing up in warm or hot coconut oil.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 158mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 21IU | Vitamin C: 0.05mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I measured everything correctly and they turned out flat as a pancake. Horrible. Not sure what I did wrong. I followed the recipe to a tee. Pretty bummed.
Did you chill the dough long enough? Any recipe substitutions?
I didn’t use any substitutions. And I let the dough chill for an hour. It scooped great. But when it baked it turned into a flat glob.
Hmm that’s so strange; I’ve never had that happen before or heard of that happening. I’m so sorry you had a bad experience with these cookies 🙁 I wonder if after scooping the dough they got warmed up? If you try again, I’d recommend chilling them again after scooping so they are super cold/solid going into the oven.
I’ve been searching for healthy cookies for my kids and I think I am excited to try this. Just one question- do the cookies come out crunchy? I think my kids would enjoy it more if the cookies are somehow crunchy. Thanks!
The oatmeal makes a super nice crunch! I think your kids would love this! Thanks! 🙂
I was just wondering how many cookies does this recipe yield?
Thank you for sharing the recipe, they were a big hit. My husband insists that I have to make these for him every week. I gradually kept reducing the sugar to try and make them even healthier and now I substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips and I use less than half a cup for double the recipe and it is more than enough. I also deleted the sugar completely, found that I didn’t need it at all, and the cookies still tasted very sweet. The coconut oil is very sweet and has lots of flavor so you actually don’t need any sugar. They are soft and gooey when they come out of the oven and not very impressive. But if you refrigerate the cookies overnight they firm up nicely and the flavor improves too.
I already made them and loved ir, the texture Is great o would want to así, what if i put half of the oil and double of sugar? Since sugar Is usually what gives that chewy texture. Has anyone donde it?
Congrats for the great récipe!
Hi! I’m super new to baking and I know next to nothing about it so this is probably a dumb question, but can you substitute Stevia extract for sugar?
I haven’t tried that before, but wouldn’t recommend that substitute
Hi Chelsea, I’m wondering what I did so wrong – my cookies just spread out like liquid on the tray in the oven. They came out after 8 mins flat and all joined into one. I chilled the dough for an hour and then when I rolled them into balls I re-chilled them for 15 mins. Any idea other than the chilling that could cause this ? They still taste delicious, just cooling them now to see what the consistency will be like. Super keen to get it right though. Any thoughts would be amazing ??
Just made a double batch of these babies, they turned out delicious but a bit too crumbly on the inside. The only thing I added was some ground almonds, and to be honest my egg wasn’t exactly a large one. Could that be the reason of the excess crumblyness?
How much ground almonds did you add? That could have been the main contributor to the crumbliness, but definitely try a large egg next time too! I’m so glad you still enjoyed them though! Thanks! 🙂
Made these exactly. Turned out great. I made a second batch and mixed in sliced almonds, unsweetened coconut and dark chocolate chips. I put in fridge for 30 minuets to set up. Baked for 10 minutes. They were wonderful! Slightly crunchy on edges. Would definitely recommend this recipe! Thanks for sharing with us.
I’m so glad you loved them Lisa! 🙂
So I made this exactly as instructed with the exception that I substituted butter for the coconut oil because I had none on hand.
I split one batch up prior to the mix-ins and did one half chocolate chips and the other half rasins & craisins.
I needed to let these cook at least 10 minutes each (especially if you were refrigerating the dough before hand).
While the cookies taste good, they are extremely crumbly even after cooling. I was able to remove them from the tray to a drying rack with a spatula, but you can barely hold them without them crumbling.
Would this have been prevented with the oil? Honestly I’m not willing to try another batch unless I know for sure because they simply are too fragile to store and even though they are good we won’t eat them all at once!