Towards the end of elementary school and beginning of junior high, I asked Mom if I could turn my birthday parties into sleepovers. She agreed, as long as I invited fewer girls than usual. I doubt Mom wanted to be in charge of a dozen preteens all under the same roof, even if it was just for one night!
My friends arrived in the late afternoon, and we usually played badminton or pulled out the slip ’n slide in the backyard. We ate pizza for dinner, followed by cake and ice cream for dessert, and we finished the evening with a movie. Although we tried to stay awake, all of that running around in the backyard usually resulted in us falling asleep by 10 pm!
In the morning, Mom woke up before everyone else, and she quietly set out breakfast for us in the kitchen. When we stumbled in, still in our PJs, we found juice boxes, grapes and sliced oranges, and…
Donuts! Mom had picked up a box from the best local shop in town, and as the birthday girl, I got to pick mine first. My favorites were the chocolate donuts with chocolate glaze and rainbow sprinkles, plain ones coated with massive amounts of cinnamon sugar, and long twisted bars with chocolate icing. As a special occasion, I usually got to eat two… And maybe a couple of donut holes too!
Today is my birthday, but as an adult, eating multiple donuts for breakfast would probably result in a sugar crash or stomachache (or both!)… So I thought these Healthy Chocolate Chip Zucchini Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies would be a much better idea!
Cookies are just as fun of a breakfast treat as donuts, but these actually contain no refined flour or sugar… And they’re just 81 calories!
So I definitely wouldn’t feel bad eating a second, unlike those childhood donuts! 😉
Let’s go over how to make these healthy chocolate chip zucchini oatmeal breakfast cookies!
You’ll start with whole wheat flour (or gluten-free, if you prefer!) and instant oats (like these!). Instant oats are also called quick-cooking or one-minute oats. They’re smaller and thinner than traditional rolled oats, and you can find them in canisters right next to the old-fashioned oats at the grocery store.
It’s extremely important that you measure the flour and oats correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much of either will make your cookies taste cakey or dry, rather than soft and chewy. This is especially true for the oats. They act like little sponges and soak up lots of moisture from your cookie dough! So the bottom line? Measure them correctly so you end up with perfectly chewy cookies!
To sweeten your healthy chocolate chip zucchini oatmeal breakfast cookies, you’ll use pure maple syrup (like this!). It should be the kind that comes directly from maple trees, and the only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup.” It’s generally sold in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs (like this!).
However, you’ll only add half as much sweetener as in my traditional “dessert” oatmeal cookies. These chocolate chip zucchini oatmeal cookies are meant for breakfast, after all! Therefore, you’ll also mix in some milk to make sure the cookie dough has enough moisture and the correct texture.
Time for the best parts! You’ll stir freshly grated zucchini into your cookie dough, but before you do that, you must pat the zucchini dry with paper towels to remove excess water. If you skipped that step, the zucchini would release the water into the cookie dough when you put the pan in the oven to bake, and that would result in mushy cookies. Not good!
But patting the zucchini dry is super simple! Place a double-thick layer of paper towels on your cutting board, spread the grated zucchini on top, and firmly press down with a second layer of double-thick paper towels until the top and bottom paper towel layers are both completely soaked. It just takes a few minutes, and it’s totally worth it!
And we can’t forget the other best part… The mini chocolate chips! As a huge chocoholic, my birthday treats always require some! 😉 These are the kind I use because they taste really rich and turn melty in the oven. I save some to press into the tops just before baking for a pretty finishing touch!
One last thing! Before baking, you must flatten the cookie dough with a spatula to your desired thickness and width. These cookies do not spread while baking, so this flattening trick ensures they don’t end up as total spheres! These are the mini spatulas that I use. Aren’t they cute??
Cookies for breakfast make for the best kinds of mornings! 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 chocolate chip zucchini oatmeal breakfast cookies!
| Healthy Chocolate Chip Zucchini Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg white
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup
- 5 tbsp (75mL) nonfat milk
- 1 cup (90g) freshly grated zucchini, patted dry (see Notes!)
- 2 ½ tbsp (35g) miniature chocolate chips
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup and milk. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the zucchini and 2 tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips. Chill the cookie dough for 20 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 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten to the desired thickness and width using a spatula. Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 325°F for 9-11 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will also work, if measured like this.
Instant oats are also known as quick-cooking or minute oats. They come in large canisters, just like old-fashioned oats. They are not the ones in the small flavored packets of oatmeal. To make your own, add the same amount of old-fashioned oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times or until the oats are about ¼ to ⅛ of their original size.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Measure the zucchini before patting it dry. You must pat it dry to remove the excess moisture because that excess moisture will cause the muffins to collapse while cooling. To pat the zucchini dry, lay a double-thick layer of paper towels onto a cutting board, and arrange the freshly shredded zucchini on top. Place another double-thick layer of paper towels on the zucchini, and firmly press down until the top towel turns completely wet.
For answers to all other questions regarding substitutions and tips, see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ page.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Apple Pie Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy oatmeal cookie recipes!
Happy Birthday, Amy!! I hope you have the best day filled with lots of chocolate!! 🙂 PS: These cookies will make the best summer breakfast! They look amazing!
Thank you SO much Megan!! You’re just the sweetest!! ♡ (And you know me and my chocolate obsession so well… 😉 )
These look tasty. I usually think of the microwavable oats when I think of instant. Which I don’t buy. These seem to be more quick cooking oats. Is that correct?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Charlotte! I go over this in the Notes section of the recipe, directly underneath the Instructions. It can be easy to miss! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these breakfast cookies if you try them!
Happy belated birthday. I think you have the wrong nutrition info. It says 36 mini muffins at 37 calories each. These are cookies. They look good, was wondering about the sugar content.
Thanks so much, Gloria! All fixed — the nutrition information is now correct! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these breakfast cookies if you try them!
WOW these cookies are stunning! Looks absolutely gorgeous and such a great healthy snack!
Thanks so much, Natalie! I’d love to hear what you think if you try them! 🙂
I thought this sounded like a good recipe. While the flavors are pretty good, the texture was horrible. I followed the recipe and the cookies I got were chewy… but in a gummy and rubbery way. Very disappointing 🙁
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Elle! That sounds disappointing about the texture — and not how the cookies are supposed to turn out at all! So I’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. 🙂 There are a few things could’ve caused that texture! Did you use an electric or stand mixer, or did you use a whisk where instructed and a spoon or fork for everything else? How much moisture did you squeeze out of your zucchini with the paper towels? How did you measure the flour and oats, with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? How long did you bake the cookies, and did you flatten them before baking? Lastly, did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those in the Notes section? We’ll figure out what happened so your cookies turn out perfectly soft and chewy if you decide to try them again! 🙂
Hi Amy,
To your questions: I used a stand mixer, a fork, I squeezed a good bit of liquid from the zucchini, I measured as carefully as I could without a kitchen scale, I baked the cookies the recommended amount of time and yes I flattened them. The only modifications was that I used whole milk. Thanks
Thanks so much for the information Elle! Really helpful! 🙂 The gummy texture was actually caused by using your stand mixer. When overmixed, the cookies turn out gummy, rubbery, and/or tough — rather than soft and chewy. For the best results, use a whisk where instructed and a fork for everything else. (I will always explicitly state when you need an electric or stand mixer in my recipes!)
Also, if you don’t own a kitchen scale, here’s what I recommend doing for measuring flour (and cocoa powder, oats, etc!): use a fork to “scoop” up flour from the container, and lightly shake the fork back and forth over the top of your measuring cup to transfer the flour into it. Once there’s a small mound of flour extending past the rim of the measuring cup, then place the flat back of a knife against the top of the measuring cup, and gently scrape it across the top to get rid of the excess flour. Never “pat” the flour down with the knife or fork. This fork method acts like a sifter (without dirtying another dish!) and guarantees you’ll add less flour to the batter, so you’ll end up with soft and chewy cookies. Does that make sense? 🙂