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If you’re looking for easy breakfast ideas, you’ll love these healthy chocolate chip zucchini oatmeal breakfast cookies! Soft, chewy, and full of oats, these zucchini cookies are clean eating with a gluten free option. No bananas required for this healthy breakfast recipe! They’re naturally sweetened with an irresistible spice flavor. These healthy oatmeal cookies are great for kids — and adults love them too! They’re the BEST healthy breakfast cookies!

Healthy Chocolate Chip Zucchini Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

© Amy's Healthy Baking
Yields: 15 cookies
These breakfast cookies are always a big hit with my family! They’re really soft and chewy with plenty of cozy spices, and the chocolate chips make them even more irresistible. Such a delicious combination of flavors! The cookies will keep for at least four days (if not one week!) if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and they freeze really well, too!
5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients 

  • 1 cup (100g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
  • ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat flour 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 (room temperature)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup (room temperature)
  • 5 tbsp (75mL) nonfat milk (room temperature)
  • 1 cup (90g) freshly grated zucchini, patted dry (see Notes!)
  • 2 ½ tbsp (35g) miniature chocolate chips (divided)

Instructions

  • 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 ⅜"-thick 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.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure both the oats and flour correctly using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much of either will dry out the cookies and leave them cakey, bready, or dry, instead of soft and chewy.
 
IMPORTANT FLAVOR NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: These breakfast cookies aren’t overly sweet — and that’s intentional! They have a sweetness level similar to muffins or breakfast scones. For sweeter cookies, substitute pure maple syrup, honey, or agave for an equal amount of milk. (For example, add 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, and reduce the milk by 2 tablespoons to compensate.) Alternatively, use my true “dessert” chocolate chip zucchini oatmeal cookie recipe instead.
 
IMPORTANT BAKING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: These cookies don’t spread. They’ll look the same before and after baking (just no longer raw!).
 
Do not over-bake these cookies! They’re ready to come out of the oven when the centers still feel slightly soft and underdone. The residual heat from the warm baking sheet will continue to cook the centers all the way through while you let the cookies rest for 10 minutes after pulling the pan from the oven.
 
IMPORTANT ZUCCHINI NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Measure the zucchini before patting it dry. You must thoroughly pat it dry to remove the excess moisture because that excess moisture will prevent the cookies from baking properly and can sometimes make them fall apart. To pat the zucchini dry, lay a double-thick layer of paper towels onto a cutting board, and arrange the freshly grated zucchini on top. Place another double-thick layer of paper towels on the zucchini, and firmly press down until the top towel layer turns completely wet. Continue to repeat with a fresh set of double thick paper towels on top until you can’t press any more moisture out of the zucchini.
 
Do NOT add more zucchini! Just like not thoroughly drying your zucchini, additional zucchini will cause your cookies to fall apart or fail to bake properly.
 
OATS NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: Instant oats are also known as “quick cooking” and “one-minute” oats. They often come in large canisters, just like old-fashioned rolled oats. They are not the ones in the small flavored packets of oatmeal.
 
In a pinch, to make your own, add the same amount of old-fashioned rolled oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times or until the oats are about ¼ to ⅛ of their original size.
 
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour. Oat flour (gluten-free if needed) may also be substituted, but be very careful when measuring it because it tends to be more absorbent than wheat-based flours!
 
CINNAMON NOTE: I highly recommend Saigon cinnamon. It has a slightly stronger, richer, and sweeter flavor compared to “regular” cinnamon. This is the one that I use, and it's really affordable. (It's basically the only kind I use in my baking now!)
 
COCONUT OIL + BUTTER ALTERNATIVES: Melted stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one) or stick-style margarine may be substituted for the coconut oil or unsalted butter.
 
EGG WHITE ALTERNATIVE: If you prefer to use whole eggs, then use 1 large egg AND reduce the milk by ½ tablespoon to compensate for the added volume from the yolk.
 
PURE MAPLE SYRUP ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup. Regardless of which you use, make sure it’s at room temperature. If chilled, it will re-solidify the melted butter or coconut oil.
 
I generally don't recommend substituting sugar-free maple syrup. It's often water-based, which makes your oatmeal cookies turn out more cakey or bready.
 
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
 
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, use the following: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will also work, if measured like this.
 
DAIRY-FREE OPTION: Use the coconut oil option or stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one), your favorite dairy-free milk in place of the nonfat milk, and dairy-free mini chocolate chips (I like these).
 
NUT-FREE OPTION: Use the unsalted butter option and your preferred nut-free milk (ie nonfat milk, oat milk, soy milk, etc).
 
HOW TO STORE: Store leftover cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should keep for at least four days (if not closer to a week or more!). Once baked and fully cooled, these oatmeal cookies also freeze really well!
 
For answers to all other questions regarding substitutions and tips, see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ page.
 
{gluten-free, nut-free, clean eating, low fat, dairy-free option}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.