4 Ingredient Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
These healthy carrot cake oatmeal cookies are soft, chewy and taste like carrot cake in oatmeal cookie form. The cookies need just 4 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, eggs, dairy, refined sugar, butter or oil. The cookies can easily be customized and store well.
These carrot cake oatmeal cookies are easy to make and you can customize them with your favorite carrot cake mix-ins like raisins, pecans, or walnuts. You can even top them with a healthy frosting. I love eating them for breakfast, snack or dessert.
Ingredients
- Carrot puree
- Quick oats
- Maple syrup
- Cinnamon
Carrot puree: These cookies get their carrot flavor from carrot puree. Carrot puree also acts as a binding agent. You can use homemade carrot puree or use store bought to save time. If using store bought, you will want to choose a brand that has a consistency that is similar to applesauce. Avoid using brands that are too liquidy. I also share a homemade carrot puree recipe in the notes section at the end of this post.
Quick oats: Quick oats are rolled oats that have been further broken down so they are thinner and smaller than rolled oats. They will cook faster than rolled oats and you don’t need as much liquid to soften quick oats.
Maple syrup: The cookies are lightly sweetened with maple syrup. You can use another sweetener in place of maple syrup, but I like using maple syrup because it pairs well with carrot cake.
Cinnamon: I added a little cinnamon which is a spice that is commonly added to carrot cake. If you don’t like cinnamon flavor, you can leave it out.
How to Make Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
- The carrot puree, maple syrup and cinnamon are first mixed together. The quick oats are then stirred in. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes to thicken up.
- Scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie batter for each cookie. I used a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop and did 2 scoops per cookie.
- Use the back of a metal spoon to flatten and shape the cookie to a thick round disk (about 1/2 inch thick). You can make the cookies thicker or thinner depending on your personal preference.
- Bake cookies for about 15-20 minutes or until done. Allow cookies to cool before eating.
Cookie Texture
These cookies have a soft and chewy texture. They do not have the same texture as traditional oatmeal cookies made with flour, butter and sugar. These are healthy baked oatmeal cookies and have a texture similar to baked oatmeal but in cookie form.
Expert Tips
- The cookies are also only lightly sweetened. If you prefer sweeter cookies, you can add a little more syrup, or add sweet mix-ins like raisins or chocolate chips. You can also top them with a sweet frosting.
- You can use rolled oats instead of quick oats, but I would recommend pulsing them a few times in a food processor first so they become the size of quick oats.
- You can make this with homemade or store bought carrot puree. I prefer using homemade puree but you will end up with leftover puree since it is difficult to make just a small amount of carrot puree. If you don’t want extra puree or want to save time, you can use store bought carrot puree.
More Carrot Cake Recipes
- 4 Ingredient Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bars
- 2 Ingredient Dough Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls
- 3 Ingredient Carrot Bread
4 Ingredient Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (252 g) carrot puree, see note before starting
- 3 tbsp (1.5 fl oz/44 ml) maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp is less than 1 gram so I recommend using measuring spoon for this
- 1 3/4 cups (164 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 carrot puree, maple syrup and cinnamon 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. Let the batter sit for about 5 minutes so it thickens slightly. If you want to add mix-ins like chopped nuts, chocolate chips or raisins, stir them in.
- Use a 1 tbsp cookie scoop to scoop 2 tbsp of cookie batter per cookie. Release the cookie batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies about 1.5 inches apart.
- Use the back of a metal spoon to flatten dough slightly and shape the sides so that they form thick round disks (between 1/2 -3/4 inch thick). You can make your cookies thicker or thinner if you desire but know that your baking time may need to be adjusted. 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.
- Bake cookies for about 15-20 minutes or until done (mine took 18 minutes). When cookies are done, they should no longer look wet. They should also peel easily off of the parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Let cookies cool before removing and eating. You can also top the cookies with frosting before eating. Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- Carrot Puree note: If using store bought carrot puree, you want to choose one with a consistency similar to applesauce. I like Happy Baby carrot puree.* Avoid brands like Gerber where the consistency is too thin and watery. You can also make homemade puree with the recipe below.
- Homemade carrot puree:
- 1/2 lb baby cut carrots or peeled chopped regular carrots (try to choose thin tender ones if using regular carrots)
- 3/4 cup water
- Steam carrots until fork tender. Add carrots and water to a blender and blend until smooth. Measure out 1 cup for the recipe. The recipe yields around 1.5 cups of puree so don't use the full amount.
- For a good and not expensive maple syrup, I like using Member's Mark Organic Maple syrup.*
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Sweetness note: These cookies are only lightly sweetened as they are meant to be healthy cookies. If you prefer sweeter cookies, you can add another 1-2 tbsp of syrup to the cookie batter, or add sweet mix-ins like raisins or chocolate chips. You can also add a sweet frosting on top.
- Optional Healthy Frosting: The cookies in the photos are topped with a healthier "frosting" which is actually just vanilla Greek yogurt and some maple syrup. You can substitute with a dairy-free thick yogurt if you need these to be dairy-free. The frosting adds a little sweetness and creates a creamy topping for those who want frosting on their cookies but want a healthier alternative.
- 2 cups vanilla Greek yogurt
- maple syrup, if needed
- To make the frosting, add the yogurt to a medium bowl and whisk until it is smooth and creamy. If needed, you can add a little bit of maple syrup to thin it out if you need a runnier consistency. It should have a consistency similar to cream cheese frosting. Frost cookies with yogurt and garnish with some finely chopped pecans if desired.
- Estimated nutrition does not include optional frosting.
I am not real excellent with English but I line up this very easy to read .
We’re so glad to hear that!
Mine did not come out at all like yours ? The texture is somewhat rubbery if that makes sense. Baked for about 18 minutes. The color also is a darker brown rather than orange. I used all the ingredients listed and made the carrot puree myself. Added dark chocolate chips for extra sweetness but I can’t get over the rubbery texture. Any ideas on what went wrong? Thank you.
Sorry, we’re not sure what would cause the rubbery texture. With regards to color, it could be the carrots you are using or how much spices you added. We used baby cut carrots which have a brighter lighter orange color puree. We also added just a scant 1/4 tsp cinnamon to these. Add a little extra will definitely make the bars darker in color.
Can you use a sugar free cake carrot or spice cake mix for any of the recipes that call for carrot puree?
Cake mix would not be a good substitute for carrot puree