Healthy Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Start your day with these healthy strawberry oatmeal breakfast cookies! This easy recipe comes together quickly with common baking ingredients, yielding perfectly soft and chewy cookies filled with oats, juicy berries, and hints of cozy cinnamon. They’re great for breakfasts, snacks, and meal prepping too! Leftovers will keep for at least four days (if not closer to a week!) if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They also freeze really well!
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 ground cinnamon (see Notes!)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly (see Notes!)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup (room temperature)
- 6 tbsp (90mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk (room temperature)
- ¾ cup (105g) fresh whole strawberries, diced (see Notes!)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the pure maple syrup. Stir in the milk. Add in the oat mixture, and stir until just incorporated. Gentlyfold in the diced strawberries. 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 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet. Flatten to ⅜”-thick using a spatula. Bake at 325°F for 8-11 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 make 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 an additional 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, and reduce the milk by 2 tablespoons to compensate.) Alternatively, use my true “dessert” strawberry oatmeal cookie recipe instead.
These cookies taste better if you let them rest for 24+ hours after they’ve been baked! That gives the flavors time to meld and marry, so the cozy background cinnamon will be more pronounced on the second day.
For a stronger spice flavor, increase the ground cinnamon by ¼ to ½ teaspoon.
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 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.
OATS NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: Instant oats are also known as “quick cooking” or “one-minute” oats. They’re smaller and thinner than old-fashioned rolled oats and generally come in large canisters or bags, 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 or blender, 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 NOTES: I experimented with various amounts, and my taste testers and I enjoyed the versions made with at least 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon the most. Its flavor is also more pronounced 24+ hours after the cookies have been baked. For a stronger spice flavor, increase the cinnamon by ¼ to ½ teaspoon.
I highly recommend Saigon cinnamon too! ← I buy it online there, and it’s really affordable. It tastes slightly stronger, richer, and sweeter than regular cinnamon. It’s practically the only kind I now use in my baking!
BUTTER + COCONUT OIL ALTERNATIVE: Stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one) may be substituted for the unsalted butter or coconut oil. I don’t recommend substituting tub-style butter or vegan butter.
SWEETENER ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup. Alternatively, substitute ¼ cup (48g) coconut sugar or light brown sugar AND 2 ½ tablespoons (38mL) milk 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 don’t recommend substituting sugar-free maple syrup. Because it’s often water-based, it makes the cookies cakey or bready.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
STRAWBERRIES NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: How ripe, sweet, and strong of a flavor your strawberries have greatly impacts the overall flavor of these breakfast cookies. If your berries don’t taste very ripe or strong, your cookies end up tasting bland and boring too. Look for fresh strawberries that appear exceptionally juicy and ripe for the best results!
The ¾ cup of whole strawberries should yield about ½ cup of diced strawberries. To ensure they’re evenly distributed and every bite contains multiple fruity morsels, I like to cut the strawberries into ⅛” to ¼” cubes. You’re welcome to slice yours into larger pieces, if you prefer. Just remember that can sometimes affect how your cookies bake.
Frozen strawberries may be substituted for the fresh. Thaw them first, and thoroughly pat them dry with paper towels to remove any excess thawing liquid before dicing and adding to the cookie dough.
GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: Use certified gluten-free instant oats and certified gluten-free oat flour. Alternatively, for a non-oat-flour version, 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 VERSION: Use the coconut oil option or substitute stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one).
NUT-FREE VERSION: Use the unsalted butter option. Substitute your preferred nut-free milk (ie soy milk, rice milk, nonfat milk, etc) for the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
HOW TO STORE: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They’ll keep for at least a day or two at room temperature or at least four days (if not closer to a week!) when refrigerated. 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, dairy-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, nut-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.