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Home » Recipes » Desserts » Healthy Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

Healthy Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

By Taesha Butler September 3, 2020 (Updated April 27, 2022) 20 Comments

Servings18 cookies
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time30 mins
Jump to Recipe
4.87 from 15 votes

These Healthy Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies are the perfect dessert to make for fall! Made from good-for-you ingredients, lower in added sugar than most cookie recipes, these healthy cookies are soft, chewy, full of pumpkin and warm fall flavors.

Jump to Recipe
Healthy oatmeal pumpkin cookies on a white surface. Two cookies are overlapping one another. The top cookie has a bite taken out of it.

Healthy oatmeal pumpkin cookies

Fall is basically here . I mean, it’s September, after all — except it doesn’t really feel like it in San Diego. It is hot, hot, hot and will be for a while yet. That is just kinda how we do fall in Southern Cali. I suppose it is the trade off for not having to shovel our cars out of snowbanks in mid-January.

But the Maine girl in me waits for fall and pumpkin season on bated breath every year. And even though it doesn’t feel like autumn where I am yet, I am determined to make it taste and smell like fall in my house.

I’ve been waiting all year to make these pumpkin cookies. And even though it means I have to turn my oven on in my already-hot kitchen, these oatmeal pumpkin cookies totally make the sweat worth it!

What is “pumpkin pie spice?”

This oatmeal pumpkin cookie recipe (along with many other pumpkin recipes) calls for pumpkin pie spice.

Pumpkin pie spice is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a blend of spices that are commonly used together to give pumpkin pie that warm fall flavor that many of us have come to love.

You can usually find pumpkin pie spice with all the more commonly used spices at your local grocer. But, if you can’t find it or simply don’t want to run out the the store, you can easily make your own using the following:

  • 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Just combine in a jar with a lid. Secure the lid on top, shake to mix everything up and enjoy in this recipe. Plus, you will have leftovers to enjoy in your next pumpkin creation!

A 6 step image shot of how to mix the batter for kid-friendly oatmeal pumpkin cookies

Where to find pumpkin puree

Chances are, if you have ever made a pumpkin pie or pumpkin anything…you likely know a place to get some pumpkin puree. However, if you are a newbie at cooking with pumpkin, head to your nearest store and grab a can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!) to make whipping up these cookies that much easier!

You can find pureed pumpkin (and sweet potatoes and butternut squash) in most grocery stores (here in the US, at least) where they keep canned veggies or beans.

Look for purees that are JUST the pumpkin and without any added sweetener or spice.

Oatmeal pumpkin cookies on a baking sheet before cooking. The bowl of dough is next to the baking sheet.

Suggested Adaptations

  • Skip the chocolate chips all together to make these into the perfect breakfast cookies.
  • Use raisins instead of chocolate chips.
  • Replace the the pumpkin puree with butternut squash puree or sweet potato puree.
  • Make them gluten free by subbing the whole wheat flour in this oatmeal pumpkin cookies with a cup-for-cup gluten free flour blend and using certified gluten free rolled oats.
  • Make them egg-free by replacing the egg with 1 flax egg.
  • Replace the applesauce with mashed ripe banana.

Other pumpkin recipes that are going to knock your socks off!

  • Healthy Carrot Pumpkin Muffins
  • Breakfast Pumpkin Soufflé
  • Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread
  • Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (with pumpkin)
  • Pumpkin Chia Seed Pudding

Loving the oatmeal pumpkin cookies and hungry for more?

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Kid-friendly, healthy oatmeal pumpkin cookies on the white surface looking absolutely inviting and delicious.
Kid-friendly, healthy oatmeal pumpkin cookies on the white surface looking absolutely inviting and delicious.
Print Recipe
4.87 from 15 votes

Healthy Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

These Healthy Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies are the perfect dessert to make for fall! Made from good-for-you ingredients, lower in added sugar than most cookie recipes, these healthy cookies are soft, chewy, full of pumpkin and warm fall flavors.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time30 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: healthy cookies recipe, oatmeal cookies, pumpkin cookie
Servings: 18 cookies
Calories: 124kcal
Author: Taesha Butler

Ingredients  

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 3 tablespoons avocado or melted coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk together and set aside.
  • In another bowl, combine pumpkin puree, egg, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and syrup. Whisk together.
  • Pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until everything is combined and dough has an even consistency.
  • Fold in chocolate chips.
  • Using a heaping tablespoon or small cookie scoop, portion the dough out onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving room in between each cookie. Gently press down with your hand to flatten each cookie a bit.
  • Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy or cool complete before storing in an air tight container for 4 days or in freezer for months.

Notes

  • Skip the chocolate chips all together to make these into the perfect breakfast cookies.
  • Use raisins instead of chocolate chips.
  • Replace the the pumpkin puree with butternut squash puree or sweet potato puree.
  • Make them gluten free by subbing the whole wheat flour in this oatmeal pumpkin cookies with a cup-for-cup gluten free flour blend and using certified gluten free rolled oats.
  • Make them egg-free by replacing the egg with 1 flax egg.
  • Replace the applesauce with mashed ripe banana.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 124kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 41mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1613IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!

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Filed Under: Desserts, Vegetarian Tagged With: squash

Previous Post: « 10 Ways to Add Vegetables to Breakfast
Next Post: Easy Lentil Veggie Quesadillas »

Reader Interactions

    Leave a comment & rate this recipe Cancel reply

    Did you make this recipe? So good, right? It would mean the world to me if you left a comment and star rating so that more people can see how delicious veggie-loading can be. Plus, it helps me to see what recipes you are all loving so I can make more like them.

    Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback.

    Recipe Rating




    Comments

  1. Sandy

    September 4, 2020 at 12:47 pm

    5 stars
    Really good! Family loved them!

    Reply
  2. W

    September 4, 2020 at 4:36 pm

    5 stars

    Reply
  3. Colette

    September 4, 2020 at 6:39 pm

    I am looking forward to making these, and I am guessing there is one egg from the directions but I believe it may be missing from your ingredient list. Or am I missing it? That could be entirely possible…

    Reply
    • Taesha

      September 4, 2020 at 6:45 pm

      You were right! The plugin I use for making my recipe cards likes to sometimes delete eggs out of recipes. Just eggs for some reason 🤪! Thanks for catching that and letting me know! All fixed

      Reply
  4. Jen

    September 7, 2020 at 11:14 pm

    Love the taste and texture. Only thing different I did was raisins over chocolate cause I LOVE raisins. Added to the list of other recipes from here I will make

    Reply
    • Taesha

      September 8, 2020 at 4:20 pm

      I am so glad you enjoyed them! And I love the sub of raisins!

      Reply
  5. Hilary Means

    September 9, 2020 at 6:20 am

    Hello, question if I may? I can not eat wheat flour, can I use almond? Or

    Reply
    • Taesha

      September 9, 2020 at 3:16 pm

      Hi Hilary! I haven’t tried it with almond flour and it might work! I find that almond meal has some more natural oils and so the cookies might be a bit softer than the ones pictured here! If you give it a try, please let me know how it goes.

      Reply
  6. Missy

    September 14, 2020 at 9:53 pm

    5 stars

    Reply
  7. Helena

    November 5, 2020 at 1:53 pm

    5 stars
    I can start any day quick’n’easy if my cookie jar is full of these delicious cookies. I love how you’ve combined oatmeal and pumpkin – just perfect. 🙂

    Reply
    • Taesha

      November 5, 2020 at 2:27 pm

      A classic combo, inded!

      Reply
  8. MR

    November 11, 2020 at 4:39 pm

    3 stars
    Usually I love your recipes but I found this one to be pretty bland except the chocolate chips. It’s also a little too chewy to be a real cookie, in my opinion.

    Reply
    • Taesha

      November 11, 2020 at 7:35 pm

      Hi MR. Sorry to hear these were not a success. Did you make any changes? I’m surprised to hear they were bland considering the cinnamon + pumpkin pie spice in it…but we all have different tastes and preferences, so I get not every recipe will be everyone’s thing. Thanks for trying them and I’m glad to hear other recipes of mine have been a success.

      Reply
  9. Valerie

    November 30, 2021 at 12:54 pm

    Made these cookies using Almond Flour and Dark Chocolate Chips and as you mentioned in a comment above, the cookies are soft however in my opinion still delicious!

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      November 30, 2021 at 6:03 pm

      I’m so glad you liked them, Valerie!

      Reply
  10. Kam

    December 28, 2021 at 7:39 pm

    5 stars
    I really loved these cookies! I thought it was really smart to add the apple sauce to compliment the pumpkin and sweeten the batter naturally. (really liked that there wasn’t any sugar in this recipe!)I personally love a little more kick of spice so I added a 1/4 tsp. of cloves to the batter, and I really liked it. I loved the spongy texture that I always look for in pumpkin cookies! This recipe really rocked!

    Reply
  11. Shelly

    January 11, 2022 at 2:34 am

    5 stars
    Awesome …. Mixing my favourites into one and it works perfect.

    Thank you this is my new way of cooking pumpkin and oatmeal

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      January 11, 2022 at 12:39 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed these as much as we do! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!

      Reply
  12. Lucy

    February 2, 2022 at 4:10 pm

    Can I replace the apple sauce with brown sugar?

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      February 3, 2022 at 12:10 pm

      The applesauce offers both sweetness and moisture to the cookies, so I’d suggest adding extra pumpkin if you use brown sugar to sweeten it.

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Taesha! I help busy people fall in love with healthy eating with my simple, family-friendly, veggie-loaded recipes. I believe vegetables can and SHOULD be delicious. Here, let me show you how!

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