Two weekends ago, my mom started craving carrot cake. She talked about it at lunch, mentioned it at dinner, and finally caved at 9 pm and drove to Safeway to pick up a slice. When she arrived home, she grabbed a fork, plopped down in her favorite armchair, and slowly savored every bite, stopping with enough left to finish the following day.
Although Mom bought me a slice of my favorite 6-layer chocolate cake at the same time, I couldn’t help but stare and hope with all of my fingers crossed behind my back that she’d offer me a taste. That cream cheese frosting… Those soft streaks of carrot… The tender cinnamon cake… It looked mesmerizing!
Despite enjoying every last morsel of my chocolate dessert, I couldn’t get carrot cake off of my mind. I pictured that square during every run (since my path went past the same grocery store) and whenever I stuck my head into the fridge for fresh fruit and veggie snacks.
I seriously contemplated baking my own again, but knowing that my self-control sometimes flies straight out the window with any type of cake, I went with the next best thing…
Cookies! These Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies blew me away, and not just from their built-in portion control. The cozy oats, the comforting cinnamon, the soft carrots… They truly tasted just like carrot cake. Pure bliss in every bite!
Even better? These cookies are really easy to make — and faster than regular carrot cake too!
KEY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE HEALTHY CARROT CAKE OATMEAL COOKIES
Let’s talk about the key ingredients that you’ll need to make these healthy carrot cake oatmeal cookies! I based them off of the most popular recipe on my site: my oatmeal raisin cookies. Have you tried those yet? Hands down, they’re the BEST oatmeal cookies I’ve ever eaten. They’re soft, tender, chewy — everything a cookie should be — and countless readers have said nobody believes that they’re lightened up and made without refined flour or refined sugar!
Oats. Like many of my other healthy oatmeal cookie recipes, you’ll use instant oats to make these. They’re also called “quick cooking” and “one minute” oats. They’re not the ones that come in packets with flavors like maple brown sugar and apple cinnamon!
Just like old-fashioned rolled oats, instant oats contain just one ingredient: oats! However, they differ in one key way. Instant oats are smaller and thinner than old-fashioned rolled oats. This smaller size means they soften faster, and that yields the best soft and chewy texture in your oatmeal cookies.
Tip: If you’d like to make your healthy carrot cake oatmeal cookies gluten-free, then substitute certified gluten-free instant oats. They work perfectly!
Flour. I opted for whole wheat flour to make these oatmeal cookies. I love how it has more fiber and micronutrients!
Tip: If you’d like to make your carrot cake oatmeal cookies gluten-free, then see the Notes section of the recipe. I’ve included how to do so there!
Cinnamon. It’s a carrot cake staple! I love the cozy flavor it adds to both regular carrot cake and these healthy oatmeal cookies. If you’re a big cinnamon fan (like I am!), I highly recommend this variety. It tastes a bit stronger, sweeter, and richer than regular cinnamon. Many stores have started stocking it, but I generally buy it online here. It’s really affordable — and basically the only kind I now use in my baking!
Unsalted butter or coconut oil. Just a bit! Unlike more traditional cookie recipes that call for ½ cup or more, you only need 2 tablespoons. That really helps keep your healthy carrot cake oatmeal cookies low calorie and low fat!
Tip: Both work equally well, so feel free to use whichever one you normally keep on hand. If you use coconut oil, your healthy carrot cake oatmeal cookies will be dairy-free!
Egg. A common oatmeal cookie ingredient! The egg binds everything together, and it also yields a beautifully chewy texture.
Sweetener. For this version, I swapped out the honey from my oatmeal raisin cookie recipe for pure maple syrup. I love its sweet and cozy flavor in my carrot cake recipe, and I had a feeling it’d work well in these cookies too. Spoiler alert: It was perfect!
Pure maple syrup often comes in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs (like this). It only contains one ingredient: maple syrup!
Tip: Skip the pancake syrup and sugar-free maple syrup! These contain other ingredients, which can change the way they behave in baking recipes. This is particularly true of sugar-free maple syrup! It’s usually water-based, and that will make your cookies cakey or bready, rather than chewy.
Carrots. Lots and lots of carrots. I love my regular carrot cake positively packed with them — not just a plain spice cake with the occasional fleck of orange — so I took the same approach with these healthy oatmeal cookies. That turned out so well!
For the best taste and texture, use peeled and freshly grated carrots. Don’t substitute store-bought, pre-shredded carrots! They’re also called “matchstick carrots.” They’re thicker and drier, so they don’t soften properly. It only takes a few moments to grate your own, and I promise the results are completely worth it!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CARROT CAKE OATMEAL COOKIES
Let’s quickly go over how to make the best carrot cake oatmeal cookies! This recipe is easy and straightforward — I promise! — and I also have some tips to ensure your cookies turn out beautifully soft, chewy, and flavorful.
Measure correctly. This is one of the most crucial parts of this recipe! It’s extremely important to measure the oats and flour correctly. Do NOT scoop them directly from the container! Instead, use this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Scooping or improperly measuring can result in up to 1 ½ times as much of either ingredient. That extra amount of flour or oats will change the texture of your cookies, especially the oats! They act like little sponges by soaking up lots of moisture in the dough. Too much of either will dry out your cookies and make them cakey, bready, or dry — but if you measure them correctly, your cookies will be perfectly soft and chewy!
Chill the dough. Chilling is mandatory! It gives the oats time to soak up some moisture and helps reduce spreading. If you skipped chilling, the cookie dough would flatten thinner than a pancake while in the oven and create one huge cookie blob on the baking sheet. Not good! So avoid cookie blobs and chill your dough. Just 30 minutes — that’s it!
Drop + shape. The cookie dough will still be somewhat soft and sticky after chilling, so use a spoon and spatula to drop it onto the baking sheet. Because it only spreads some — but not a lot — you’ll also flatten it a bit to give your cookies a “head start” on spreading.
Tip: These are the spatulas I use. They’re so handy — and really cute too!
Bake + cool. It’s time! Slide that baking sheet in the oven. To ensure these cookies stay soft and chewy, you’ll underbake them ever so slightly. Just by a hair! Pull them out when the centers still feel a little soft and squidgy. You’ll let the cookies cool for a full 10-15 minutes on the warm baking sheet, and the residual heat will finish cooking those centers all the way through without the outsides turning cakey, bready, or crunchy. This is my #1 tip for the best soft and chewy oatmeal cookies! They’ll stay soft for an entire week… If they last that long!
Reshape (optional). If your cookies look a little lopsided and not completely round when you remove them from the oven, then immediately grab a butter knife and gently nudge any misshapen bits back into place. Their sides are still a bit malleable when they’re hot and fresh from the oven, but since these cookies set and firm up within minutes, work really quickly!
I secretly tried hoarding these healthy carrot cake oatmeal cookies, but that plan didn’t stand a chance around my hungry sweet-toothed family. Every time I walked by the counter, another one had mysteriously disappeared from the jar!
Oh well, at least we’re getting some extra veggies in… Right? 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy carrot cake oatmeal cookies!
Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup (room temperature)
- ¾ cup (68g) freshly grated carrots (about 1 smallish medium, peeled first!)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup until thoroughly incorporated. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the carrots. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Using a spoon and spatula, drop the cookie dough into 14 rounded scoops on the baking sheet. Flatten slightly using a spatula. (These cookies don't spread very much!) Bake at 325°F for 12-15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Ultimate Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
♡ Healthy Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Banana Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Flourless Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Ultimate Healthy Carrot Cake
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Cupcakes
…and the rest of Amy’s healthy oatmeal cookie recipes and healthy carrot cake flavored recipes!
Hello. Tried these to give treats to my toddler. I might substitute a bit of milk for maple syrup as these were a bit too sweet for my taste. I also added a lot more carrots. Finally, I only put 1 tsp of cinnamon but then added nutmeg, ground cloves and a bit of ground ginger. They turned out great! Thanks for the recipe. Recommended it to a couple of friends.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Cat! I’m truly honored that you recommend my recipe to your friends. You’re so kind to do that — thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I actually have a “breakfast” version of this recipe here, which has the same flavors and texture but uses half of the sweetener. I’m wondering if that might be a better fit for your tastes! If you decide to try that half-sweet version, I’d love to hear what you think of it!
Hi! Newbie baker here 🙂 Tried this recipe and it tasted really good, but consistency turned out to be more muffin-like than cookie.. was just wondering what I did to make it like that, and what can I do to make it more cookie-like in my next attempt? Thanks a mil! xx
I’m so honored that you tried making my recipe Eka! I’ve actually covered this exact question on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page, and there’s a link to that FAQ Page in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss! 😉
These turned out delicious! I substituted the maple syrup for jaggery and followed everything else exactly, thanks! I also tried cream cheese icing on a few and delist!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Menahil! Thank you so much for taking the time to me know — that truly means a lot! 🙂
Despite measuring the weights exactly (using scales not scoops) my cookies also turned out much more like cakes. The oven setting is also far too low or the time is too short as mine needed almost double the amount of time to gain any sort of colour and hold together. I also left them in the fridge before baking and they still spread loads and all stuck together. Only positive is that the flavour is good!
I’m honored that you tried making this recipe! That’s so strange, and I’d love to help solve the mystery. 🙂 Did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? Did you use a kitchen scale to measure the maple syrup? Did you use the standard holes of a boxer grater to grate your carrots, or did you use the really fine holes instead? How was the consistency of your cookie dough after chilling compared to mine in the video above the recipe?
I know I just asked a lot of questions, but once I know your answers to all of them, I should have a much easier time of narrowing down the culprit and figuring out how to fix it! 🙂
I am quite anxious to make these cookies. My aunt is turning 100 on May 11 and would love to mail her some. (She loves carrot cake). Can I mail these safely?
I’m incredibly honored that you’d consider making my recipe to celebrate such a special occasion, Connie! Happy birthday to your aunt!! 🙂 If you bake these the same day you mail them, then it shouldn’t be a problem! When I’ve mailed these cookies to friends, they’ve arrived safe and sound. I usually tuck a little note inside that suggests storing the cookies in an airtight container or zip-topped bag in the fridge, just to make sure they last a little longer. 😉 I’d love to hear what you and your aunt think if you decide to try making these oatmeal cookies for her!
Just made these tonight and they were FABULOUS! We used Almond flour and followed everything else to the T. We will definitely be making these again! Look forward to trying more recipes from you. 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Alissa! That’s the best kind of compliment, if you already think you’ll make them again. I’m so honored — thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of any of my other recipes that you decide to try making too!
Hi, I’m thinking of making your recipe but I would like to ask if it is okay to add walnuts and pineapple? I know this would be good to throw into if I will be making a carrot cake but I’m just curious and not so sure about it. Also, can I use olive oil instead of coconut oil? Thanks heaps!
I’m honored that you’d like to try making these cookies Jennifer! I actually have a version of this recipe with nuts and pineapple here. Perhaps that would be better suited to your tastes and what you had in mind? 🙂
For the best results, taste, and texture, I do recommend butter, coconut oil, or vegan-style butter. This is because these options will melt when the cookie dough goes in the oven, which creates tender little pockets in the cookies. Since olive oil is already a liquid, it won’t melt when it goes in the oven, so the texture will be a bit different. (It also has a much more pronounced flavor, which can be easier to detect in baked goods!) However, I know a lot of people are trying to use ingredients they have on hand right now to avoid going to the grocery store, so if that’s all that you have in your pantry, then it’s probably worth trying, as long as you keep those taste and texture things in mind. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these oatmeal cookies if you try making them!
I have made these cookies several times with butter or coconut oil, almond or gf flour, agave or maple syrup, and no matter what was substituted, they always come out AMAZING! My kids gobble them up instantly and I have to fight them to steal a couple for myself. Have recommended this recipe to many friends and coworkers because they love them everytime I take them to work!
I’m SO honored that you’ve made these cookies so many times, Siobhan! That truly means a lot to me that you love them and that you’ve recommended the recipe to your friends and coworkers too. You’re so incredibly kind to do that — thank you!!! Your comment just made my entire day!! 🙂
Can I use regular all purpose flour instead of whole wheat and, if so, same amount?
I’m honored that you’d like to try making my recipe, Linda! I’ve actually covered this exact question on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page, and there’s a link to that FAQ Page in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these oatmeal cookies!
Hi! I want to try making these to add some more veggies to my kiddos diet. Problem is if they see the carrots…they won’t eat them. Can I purée the carrots instead of grating? Don’t want to waste time or ingredients so I thought I would ask first. Thank you!
I’m honored that you’d want to try my recipe Samantha! I totally understand about your kids seeing the carrots. I was basically the same way as a little girl! 😉 I think we can make this recipe work carrot purée that you’ve made with cooked carrots (or store-bought carrot purée, like baby food!). I’d recommend using ¼ cup of your carrot purée in place of the egg. If you can’t incorporate all of the oat mixture, then you can add a little more, but since the purée will add a lot more moisture to the cookie dough than grated carrots, I’m hesitant to recommend using more than that to start. Does that make sense? 🙂 I’d love to hear what you and your kids think of these oatmeal cookies if you try making them!
I baked the carrot cake oatmeal cookies today , i used honey instead of maple syrup and i used mixed flour , i added crushed walnuts on top and i blended rolled oats instead of using instant oats , it turned out really soft and tasty . Its perfect for a healthy snack during the day , i will definitely be making these again 💖👌🏻╰(*°▽°*)╯
I’m so glad you got a chance to try these cookies, and I’m even happier that you loved them, Cassandra!! That really means a lot to me that you already think that you’ll make them again. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
U are welcome , its very inspiring to see how invested u are in the opinions of people who use ur recipes and in the recipes themselves.(o゜▽゜)o☆😊😎🤗
You’re going to make me blush, Cassandra!! Thank you again — that truly means so much!! 🙂
I’ve been making double batches of these cookies for years, they always turn out great! Today I finally made a quadruple batch to see if they’d last a little longer, my entire family eats these up so fast. I add chopped walnuts and raisins (sometimes chopped apples or shredded coconut), swap the maple syrup out for brown sugar (just to keep the cost down, I think we’d go through a gallon of syrup a month of I didn’t…) and often I throw a drizzle of cream cheese icing across the top for a sweet treat. I’m lazy with the oils and use whatever I have on hand. These turn out whether you use butter, olive oil, crisco, coconut oil, or even a mix, I just throw in some extra oats of it looks too wet. I individually wrap them in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer, then whoever wants one for breakfast pulls it out the night before. They are delicious, and perfect for a busy family full of teenagers and a toddler! My baby lives on all of your different variations of bran muffins, by the way, thank you for all of the healthy recipes full of nutritious ingredients! I have picky kids who don’t love vegetables, but they sure love these soft cookies.
Oh my goodness, Jackie — you just made my ENTIRE day!! I’m so incredibly honored that you’ve been making these cookies for years… And double batches too! It means the world to me that your family loves them and makes them disappear so quickly. I love your idea of individually wrapping them to freeze so your family can pull them out whenever they feel like it. So smart! I’m glad to hear that any oils work too, and your additions of raisins, apples, and a cream cheese icing all sound so delicious. I’m so touched that your baby is enjoying my bran muffin recipes as well! Your family is incredibly lucky to have you to bake them all sorts of delicious homemade treats!! 🙂 Thank you SO much for taking the time to leave me such a sweet comment! You’re such a gem, Jackie!! ♡