These carrot oatmeal cookies don’t require any baking or cooking. The cookies need just 4 ingredients and don’t require any flour, eggs, dairy, refined sugar, butter or oil. The cookies can easily be customized.
A stack of four frosted Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

These healthier carrot flavored oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy. You can enjoy them as they are or add mix-ins like chopped nuts, dried fruit, spices and more. You can also add a frosting on top.

Ingredients

  • Carrots
  • Quick oats
  • Maple syrup
  • Peanut butter

Carrots: The carrot cookies use finely shredded carrots. Make sure to finely shred them so that the carrot pieces are not difficult to eat. When using a box grater, you want to use the side with the small holes meant for shredding. A box grater has four sides. One side is meant for thin slices. There are three sides that have holes. The very smallest set of holes is meant for zesting or fine grating. The second set of small holes is meant for fine shreds. This is the side you want to use for the carrots. The remaining side is large holes meant for coarser/bigger shreds.

Quick oats: Quick oats are rolled oats that are smaller and thinner. This recipe works best with quick oats because they soften easier and bind better.

Maple syrup: The cookies are sweetened with maple syrup. Maple syrup also helps everything bind together. You can use other liquid sweeteners, like honey, but the amount may need to be adjusted.

Peanut butter: Make sure to use natural peanut butter with no added oils. The cookies will not set if you use peanut butter with added oils. You can substitute with natural almond butter with no added oils or natural cashew butter with no added oils.

How to Make No Bake Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

  • The carrots are finely shredded and lightly patted dry with a paper towel.Shredded carrots in a glass bowl
  • The quick oats, peanut butter, maple syrup and carrots are added together. Mix until a thick dough forms. You can taste and adjust sweetness as needed. You can also add more oats or more peanut butter to help the mixture form a thick dough. If desired, you can also add mix-ins like cinnamon, chopped walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips and more.
  • Use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough. Roll it into a smooth ball and then flatten to a thick round disk onto your prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the cookies into the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up further.
  • The cookies are then ready to eat. You can also add a frosting on top if desired. I did a simple yogurt frosting on mine.

A stack of five Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

Texture

These cookies do not have the texture of a classic baked cookie. They are soft and chewy and have a texture more similar to an energy bar in cookie form. The cookies are only lightly sweetened because they are meant to be healthier cookies. You can adjust the sweetness to suit your personal preference.
A Carrot Oatmeal Cookie with a bite taken from it

Expert Tips

  • These cookies are meant to be healthier carrot flavored cookies and not carrot cake cookies which is why they are not flavored with spices and other ingredients usually found in carrot cake. You can definitely add cinnamon, other spices, raisins, chopped walnuts or pecans or other ingredients to add more flavor and texture and to make them taste more like carrot cake cookies.
  • Make sure to use finely shredded carrots. Coarser carrot shreds will be more difficult to chew and eat.
  • Because the cookies are made with fresh carrots, you will need to store them in the fridge in an airtight container.

Carrot Oatmeal Cookies with frosting and chopped nuts on top

More Carrot Recipes

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5 from 3 votes

4 Ingredient No Bake Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

These no bake carrot flavored oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy. They don't require any cooking or baking. The cookies don't need any flour, eggs, refined sugar, dairy, butter or oil.
Servings: 12 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup (97g) quick oats
  • 1/2 cup (128g) natural peanut butter with no added oils
  • 3 tbsp (1.5floz/44ml) maple syrup, or more as needed to taste
  • 1/4 cup (19g) finely shredded carrots, lightly patted dry with paper towel, see note

Instructions
 

  • Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl in the following order: quick oats, peanut butter, maple syrup and finely shredded carrots. Mix with a spatula until everything is evenly combined. Your mixture should be thick, like cookie dough. Taste and adjust sweetness if needed. If you are adding in any mix-ins, add them in now. You should be able to shape the mixture with your hands without it sticking to your hands. If your mixture is too wet or sticky, you can add a little more oats. If it's too dry, you can add a little more peanut butter or maple syrup.
  • Using a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough. Roll scooped dough between the palm of your hands until it forms a smooth ball. Place dough ball onto prepared cookie sheet. Press down on the dough ball with the palm of your hand until it forms a smooth round disk, between 3/8 and 1/2 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining dough. This will be the final shape of your cookie so smooth the edges and reshape as needed.
  • Place cookies into fridge for about 30-60 minutes to firm up. The cookies will not change much but they will be firmer, making them easier to hold and eat. Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container in the fridge. If desired, you can add frosting to the cookies before serving.

Notes

  • Please note, these are meant to be carrot flavored oatmeal cookies and not carrot cake oatmeal cookies, which is why there are no spices, chopped nuts, etc. You can add spices, chopped nuts, dried fruit and more as mix-ins.
  • Carrot note: Make sure to finely shred the carrots otherwise they will be difficult to eat. I used a box grater to make finely shredded carrots. A box grater has four sides. One side is meant for thin slices. There are three sides that have holes. The very smallest set of holes is meant for zesting or fine grating. The second set of small holes is meant for fine shreds. This is the side you want to use for the carrots. The remaining side is large holes meant for coarser/bigger shreds.
  • Mix-ins note: If adding mix-ins, I recommend adding about 4 tbsp of mix-ins of your choice.
  • Sweetness note: These cookies are only very lightly sweetened because they are meant to be a healthier cookie. You can add a little more maple syrup or add sweet mix-ins if you prefer them to be sweeter. You can also add a sweet frosting on top.
  • This recipe works best with quick oats. Regular rolled oats do not bind as well. I used Happy Belly Quick Oats.*
  • Make sure to use natural peanut butter with no added oils. The dough will not set if you use peanut butter with added oils. I used Kirkland natural peanut butter.* You can substitute with natural almond butter or natural cashew butter with no added oils. 
  • *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
  • Optional Healthy Frosting: The cookies in the photos are topped with a healthier "frosting" which is actually just whisked vanilla Greek yogurt. 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.
    • 1 cup 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 or to add sweetness. Frost cookies with yogurt and garnish with some finely chopped walnuts and finely shredded carrots if desired.
  • Estimated nutrition does not include optional frosting.
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 99kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 23mg, Fiber: 2g, 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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