These healthy oatmeal cookies taste like carrot cake in cookie form. These cookies are just 4 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, eggs, refined sugar, butter or oil. The cookies are soft and chewy.
a stack of seven carrot cookies.

With Easter just around the corner, all I keep seeing are recipes for carrot cake. So I wanted to create a healthy recipe that lets you enjoy the flavors of carrot cake.

Ingredients

  • Carrots
  • Cinnamon applesauce
  • Quick oats
  • Maple syrup

Carrots: Make sure to use finely shredded carrots. I don’t recommend using pre-packaged shredded carrots because they will be too thick. You want to shred your own to make very fine shreds because the cookies do not bake very long.
a bowl of finely shredded carrots.
Cinnamon applesauce: These cookies use unsweetened cinnamon applesauce. The applesauce acts as a binding agent, creates the soft texture and adds natural sweetness to the cookies. I also chose to use cinnamon flavored applesauce so that it also adds cinnamon spice to the cookies. If you can’t find unsweetened cinnamon applesauce, you can also just use unsweetened applesauce and mix in some cinnamon into the cookie batter.

Quick oats: I used quick oats for these cookies though you could also use rolled oats. Quick oats are rolled oats that are thinner and smaller, so they cook faster.

Maple syrup: The cookies are lightly sweetened with maple syrup. I found that using unsweetened applesauce wasn’t quite sweet enough, but adding a touch of maple syrup helps give enough sweetness to these cookies.
carrot cookies.

How to Make Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies

The carrots, applesauce and syrup are first stirred together. The oats are then mixed in until they are evenly combined and coated. Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop to scoop the dough and place onto your prepared baking pan.

The cookies do not spread in the oven so you do need to shape them yourself. Flatten the cookie mixture with the back of a spoon and smooth the edges to form thick round disks. I like using these MIU* mats because they have circle outlines to help guide me. (*This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.)
the cookies on a baking mat ready to be baked.
The cookies are then baked for about 12 minutes or until done.

Cookie Texture and Sweetness

These cookies have a soft and chewy texture. They have a texture similar to baked oatmeal, but not as soft or cakey. The cookies are very lightly sweetened. You can add raisins or other sweet mix-ins if you want a sweeter cookie. You can also add chopped pecans or walnuts for more texture. I did add chopped pecans to the ones pictured in this post but the nuts are completely optional. If you don’t like nuts or can’t consume nuts, you can leave them out.
a stack of cookies.

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4.20 from 5 votes

4 Ingredient Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies

All the flavors of carrot cake in a healthy oatmeal cookie form! These cookies are just 4 ingredients and don't contain any flour, eggs, refined sugar, butter or oil.
Servings: 12 cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup (29 g) finely shredded carrots
  • 1/2 cup (122 g) unsweetened cinnamon applesauce
  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup
  • 1 cup (93 g) quick oats

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).  Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Add carrots, applesauce and maple syrup to a large mixing bowl. Stir until the ingredients are evenly mixed. Add in oats and stir until they are evenly mixed in and coated. Taste, and if needed, you can add another 1 tbsp syrup if you desire sweeter cookies. If you want to add mix-ins like chopped nuts, chocolate chips or raisins, stir them in.
  • Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop to scoop cookie dough and place onto prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies 1.5 inches apart.
  • Use the back of a metal spoon to flatten dough and smooth the sides of each cookie until they are thick round disks (a little less than 1/2 inch thick). If your dough is too sticky, wet the spoon lightly with water and then shape the cookies. The cookies will not spread much during baking, so shape the cookies how you want the final outcome to be. See photo in post for reference.
  • Bake cookies for about 12-13 minutes or until done. Let cookies cool before removing and eating. Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

  • I recommend shredding the carrot yourself rather than using pre-shredded carrots which are too thick. Choose a grater with small holes to make very fine shreds like in the photo in the post.
  • These cookies have a soft and chewy texture. You can also add nuts, chocolate chips or raisins to add more texture. I added 1/4 cup of chopped pecans, but it is optional.
  • If you can't find cinnamon applesauce, you can use regular unsweetened applesauce and add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon to the mixture.
  • You can also use sweetened cinnamon applesauce (you may want to reduce the maple syrup if you do).
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 42kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 0.02g, Fat: 0.4g, Saturated Fat: 0.1g, Sodium: 4mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, NET CARBS: 8
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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