Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are gluten-free, dairy-free, low in sugar, and made in one bowl with common pantry ingredients.
Try other nutritious baked goods next: Banana Bread With Greek Yogurt, chocolate-frosted Healthy Brownies, or Healthy Ice Cream (no bananas!).
Table of Contents
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Healthy
After sharing these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies, I wanted to create an oatmeal chocolate-chip version with similar goals in mind:
- Simple Ingredients: No need for specialty stores—you likely have everything in your pantry!
- Nutritious: These cookies use ingredients packed with benefits. There’s a small amount of sugar, much less than typical oatmeal cookies.
- Easy Prep: Just one bowl, a hand whisk, and a wooden spoon are all you need for freshly baked Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
What To Expect From This Recipe
This recipe isn’t for classic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Without loads of butter, sugar, and chocolate, these cookies taste different. They’re crunchy with a sandy texture, dry, and a bit crumbly.
Flavor-wise, they’re oat-y with a bit of dark chocolate, and not very sweet. If you like oats, you’ll enjoy them; if not, this might not be for you. For extra sweetness, add more brown sugar. A pinch of sea salt on top adds the perfect touch of salty-sweetness!
Let’s Talk Oats
Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies use oats in three different forms:
- Old-fashioned oats
- Quick oats
- Oat flour
Before you get overwhelmed (Didn’t I say no specialty ingredients after all?!), if you have oats, you can have oat flour in a matter of minutes.
How to make powdered oats: Add the old-fashioned oats or quick oats to a food processor or small blender jar. Pulse or blend the oats until they are ground into a powder-like consistency that resembles flour. Stir the oats around to be sure that all the oats have been finely ground and there aren’t any whole oats left. (This affects the texture and liquid absorption of these cookies.)
Quick Tip
Make sure to measure the oats once they’ve been blended into a powder and not before. Gently pack the oats into the measuring cup and level the top off. It’s important to measure the oat flour correctly for the recipe to work properly.
How To Make Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Melt Coconut Oil: Microwave until liquid, then cool. Measure after melting.
- Blend Oats: Process into fine flour. Measure after blending.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: Whisk together wet ingredients. Use room-temperature ingredients.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Mix in oat flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and chocolate chips. Stir until combined.
- Chill Dough: Chill for 30 minutes, shape into balls, then chill again for 30 minutes.
- Bake: At 350°F for 7-9 minutes. Slightly under bake for best texture.
- Cool and Serve: Let stand before transferring to a cooling rack. Handle gently; they’re fragile.
Other Ingredients In Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Below are some notes about the ingredients in this recipe.
- Oats: You need both quick and old-fashioned oats for the right texture and structure.
- Vanilla extract, salt, and cinnamon: These add important flavor. If you don’t like cinnamon, you can use less, but it will change the taste.
- Egg: Helps bind the cookies and gives them a little rise.
- Baking soda: Important for the structure of the cookies—make sure it’s fresh.
- Coconut oil: Adds flavor and texture. Measure it in liquid form and let it cool to room temperature before adding. Other oils won’t work the same.
- Brown sugar (or coconut sugar): Adds necessary sweetness with just 4-6 tablespoons, much less than most cookie recipes.
- Dark chocolate chips: These add sweetness and flavor. Any type of chocolate chip works, but milk or semi-sweet chips have more sugar. Check the labels for fewer additives.
Quick Tip
While the ingredients in these bars are naturally gluten-free, make sure to check all your ingredient labels to verify they weren’t processed in a facility with gluten.
Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Tips
- Measure Carefully: Baking needs precise measurements. Level the tops of measuring cups with a metal spatula or knife.
- Follow the Recipe: Stick to the recipe; substitutions may not work well here.
- Use Room-Temperature Ingredients: Make sure the egg and melted coconut oil are at room temperature.
- Measure Dough Balls: Each should be 1½ tablespoons or 30 grams- use a cookie scoop. Roll and slightly flatten before baking. Expect about 14-15 cookies.
- Bake on a Lined Pan: Use a silicone liner or parchment paper for even baking and easy cleanup.
- Let Cool: Cookies are crumbly when hot. Let them cool on the tray before transferring to a rack.
- Handle Carefully: Cookies are delicate; move them gently to avoid crumbling.
Storage
Storage: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing Dough Balls: Freeze dough balls on a parchment-lined sheet until solid, then transfer to an airtight container or bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
More Nutritious Treats:
- Healthy No-Bake Cookies chocolate and peanut butter flavored
- Monster Cookies with a healthy twist
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins with Greek yogurt
- Chocolate Granola Bar with dark chocolate and coconut oil
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins with dark chocolate
Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
- Sheet pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut oil see note 1
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons light brown sugar lightly packed, see note 2
- 3/4 cup oat flour regular oats blended in a blender—see note 3
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup quick oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips see note 4
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil in the microwave until it is liquid. Measure once fully melted. Set aside to cool back to room temperature—it should not be hot when adding to the recipe.
- Add old-fashioned or quick oats to a blender or food processor. Blend or process until the oats are fine and resemble flour; stir and reblend if needed so that all the oats are a fine powder. Measure the oat flour after blending to get a level and gently packed 3/4 cup oat flour. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine cooled coconut oil, vanilla extract, egg, and brown sugar in a bowl. Briskly whisk everything together until completely smooth.
- Add oat flour, old-fashioned oats, quick oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon and stir until just combined, then stir in the chocolate chips. The dough is very wet—this is normal.
- Cover the dough tightly and chill for 30 minutes. Don’t skip chilling, but don’t chill longer than 30 minutes or the dough will be nearly impossible to shape! Remove dough and use a 1-1/2 tablespoon measuring spoon or cookie scoop to measure out cookie dough balls. Tightly roll the balls, then slightly flatten. You should get about 14 dough balls. They must be this size for correct baking. Place the balls on a parchment-paper-lined plate, then chill all the rolled dough balls for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Once dough balls have chilled, transfer them to a lined sheet pan, spacing them out 2-inches apart. Bake for 7–9 minutes (I think they’re perfect at 8 minutes) or until no longer gooey-looking on top. Slightly under-baking is best for flavor and texture. Carefully remove the tray from the oven. If desired, press a few chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies. It makes them look pretty and ensures chocolate in every bite! Once those chips have melted a bit, add a sprinkle of sea salt onto the melted chocolate if desired. Let the cookies sit on the sheet pan 5 minutes. Then use a spatula to carefully remove cookies to a cooling rack. Handle carefully; these cookies are very delicate and crumbly.
- Enjoy hot, warm, or at room temperature (I like them best right out of the oven!). Cookies are best the same day they’re made—they get harder and less sweet every day following.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Measure the ingredients carefully. As with most baked goods, loosely measuring may result in cookies that do not work out properly.
- Even tried-and-true substitutions (like flax egg for regular egg, vegetable oil for coconut oil, or almond flour for oat flour) don’t work the same in these cookies—this recipe is fairly particular.
- Use room-temperature ingredients. It’s best if the egg and melted coconut oil are at room temperature. This ensures even emulsification of ingredients instead of a cold egg seizing up in warm or hot coconut oil.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I totally substituted the coconut oil. I use coconut oil all the time, but didn’t have enough for the recipe. And these cookies had to happen, so I used lard. You’re not seeing things. LARD. And they were amazing. Mwah hah hah.
Sugar screws me up more than fat, so I substituted a few other things. I made a raisin walnut version. I doubled the recipe, so all the amounts are for the doubled batch. I kept the oats, vanilla, and eggs the same, just doubled them. For the sweeteners, I used a total of 4T baking stevia, about 6 packets monkfruit in the raw, about 1/8c raw local honey, and about 1T molasses. I used 3/4t baking soda plus 1.5t baking powder (because I taste the baking soda easily), 3t cinnamon, 1c. of raisins, and around 3/4 cup rough-chopped walnut pieces. Oh, and a cup of melted lard, because it stays solid at room temperature. LOL.
Haha!! This comment made me laugh!! 🙂 So happy to hear that lard worked well in these 🙂 Your version sounds amazing, thank you for sharing it for others that want to try a refined sugar free version 🙂
My husband is a diabetic so I’m always looking for healthy cookies. I made these today with a few changes. I used brown sugar Splenda, added 1 scoop protein powder, 1/4 cup hemp hearts, 1/2 cup raw coconut, a few raisons, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/3 cup ground roasted pecans. I put in fridge for 1 1/2 hours and used tablespoon packed and rounded by hand. I didn’t flatten but may next time. It made 23 cookies and they were a nice consistency. I cooked them about 12 minutes I think and they were brown on the bottom but just right as far as texture went. My husband was very happy with them so will be making them again I’m sure.
I’m so happy to hear your husband was happy with these! Love hearing the changes you made. Thanks for the comment Shirley 🙂
Yes~ I always tweak recipes! I’m making some right now with raisin, chocolate chips, coconut, and walnuts
I don’t want to get oat flour or quick oats. I have steel cut and would prefer to use just that. How can I adjust recipe for steel cut and still use rest of the healthier ingredients to bind and bake together?
I haven’t tried steel cut oats and wouldn’t recommend it in this recipe. If you do buy quick oats you can make oat flour from those oats (don’t need to make 2 separate purchases)
Do you happen to know if these freeze well?
Hi Angela! I love freezing my dough and then cooking them up as needed. I haven’t tried freezing them already baked but all my other cookies freeze really well so I imagine these freeze well. Hope this helps. Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Do you have the nutritional facts? Im on a extremly strict healthy diet and id dieee for one of these
I just made these, and they are AMAZING!! The only thing I did different was I added a tablespoon of flax seed, tablespoon of chia seeds, and some walnuts. My husband loves them as well …. which is great because he was recently told he needs far more fiber in his diet. So I sneak in all these healthy alternatives whenever I can. I plan on making these with white chocolate, dried cranberries, and pistachio’s as well …. and another with shredded coconut, almonds, and dark chocolate …. really an all around versatile recipe that is perfect for people that have a daily sweet tooth nagging them, but your brain is saying “eat healthy”. Thank you so much for this!! My sweet tooth is usually what does me in!
Thank you so much for your sweet comment Trisha! I am so thrilled to hear you enjoyed these and so did your husband! 🙂 It’s the best when you are able to sneak in some fiber in a dessert 🙂 AND I have tried these with white chocolate and pistachios and they were awesome!! I’m excited for you to try that out as well as your other delicious sounding combination!
I loved these! Added some peanut butter powder for extra protein! Amazing thanks!
Ooo that sounds delicious! 🙂 Glad you loved these! Thanks for the comment!
Can’t wait to try these! I have two questions. Can I use all old fashion oats? What is the purpose of the quick oats? Can I use honey, Splenda or coconut sugar?
Thanks!
You actually need both kinds of oats for these cookies to hold up. The quick oats almost act like a flour giving them more structure. I wouldn’t recommend honey, but perhaps coconut sugar could work. I can’t really say since I haven’t tried those. If you substitute out the brown sugar, they may have a slightly bitter taste because the baking soda reacts with the brown sugar to get rid of the acid. Without brown sugar they could still have a slightly acidic taste.
Baking soda, a base, needs an acid to react with so that you aren’t left with that wonky taste. You can substitute with baking powder. You’d have to look up the conversion, though. (I generally just double the amount if I’m substituting baking powder for baking soda). You can also just add some cream of tartar (tartaric acid) with the baking soda. Or you can add a splash of vinegar (or anything else acidic, like lemon juice or yogurt), although I don’t know how much that would affect taste.
These are outstanding – thank you! Really easy to make – your instructions are very clear, must try other recipes from your blog!!!
Thank you!! I am so happy you enjoyed these cookies and the detailed instructions 🙂 I appreciate the comment! 🙂
Awe that makes me so happy to hear! Thank you so much! 🙂 Please let me know whatever you try next! 🙂
I guess if healthy means 134 calories per cookie than these are healthy. I don’t get what makes them healthy?
They have far healthier ingredients than most chocolate-chip cookies — no refined white flour, no butter, no 2 cups or more of sugar, healthier oils, healthier fats (dark chocolate). TONS of healthier swaps in these cookies!
Calorie count alone does not make something healthy or unhealthy. And really, it’s a subjective term as everyone has a different definition of ‘healthy’. But I do think these are a great treat for my family as we try to eliminate white flour and sugary products from our diet. Which can limit ‘sweets’. I’m just glad we have something that can be a guilt-free occasional treat.
Never had better healthier cookies! I did everything you said in the recipe except I used milk chocolate chips. I don’t have a cookie scoop so I used a 1 tablespoon scoop, packed it tight, re-chilled then baked. I had 28 GORGEOUS cookies and perfect nibble size for us dieters. Also, from my calculations (and that size) the cookies were 81cals a piece. You’re my hero!
Ah yay!!! So great to hear this! I’m so happy you enjoyed these cookies, and that is pretty good stats for cookies — thanks for calculating that! 🙂 xox
Thanks so much for figuring the calorie count! This recipe does read amazingly, but I am a little lazy when it comes to figuring the calorie count. I wish Chelsea would include that info for all the recipes!