5-Ingredient Sweet Potato Oatmeal Cookies that are easy to make and require just one bowl and a handful of wholesome ingredients. Chewy and hearty, these flourless sweet potato cookies are a feel-good treat you can enjoy every day!
These sweet potato oatmeal cookies are my latest simple solution to honoring my sweet tooth without going overboard.
They are made with all health-minded ingredients for a treat I can really feel great about.
As seen in my Healthy Double Chocolate Sweet Potato Muffins, Healthy Sweet Potato Brownies and my Healthy Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake, I absolutely love incorporating cooked sweet potatoes into my treats.
Mashed sweet potatoes bring natural sweetness, moisture and volume to a recipe so that not as much fat and sugar is needed.
In addition, sweet potatoes are a great source of potassium, Vitamin A, antioxidants, and other health benefits for a nutritious cookie recipe.
These sweet potato cookies are made with five basic ingredients: cooked and mashed sweet potato, unsweetened almond butter, oats, pure maple syrup, and ground cinnamon.
As you’ll see later, there are plenty of other goodies you can add in, but at a baseline the above five are all that is needed.
Inspired by my 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, this sweet potato version is lower in fat and sugar.
The texture of these cookies is soft and chewy and doesn’t resemble the texture of regular cookies. You can look at them as healthy sweet potato breakfast cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
Warmly-Spiced and Delicious!: Rich fall flavors are the name of the game here. If you’re into pumpkin treats, this sweet potato cookie recipe may become your new favorite cookie.
Healthful: Lower in added sugar than standard cookies, a good source of whole grains, and a handful of Vitamins, these sweet potato oat cookies are a better for you option.
Do they have a decent amount of fat? Yes. That fat comes from almonds, which is generally recognized as a heart healthy fat, needed for a balanced diet.
Easy to Customize: There are many ways you can change up the recipe to make it fit your palate and dietary needs. See the Recipe Customizations section below for ideas.
Versatility: These hearty cookies can triple as a healthy breakfast, healthy snack, or healthy dessert. Of course if you’re enjoying them with breakfast, I recommend getting in a quality protein source as well. If you have leftover mashed sweet potato, this is a great place to put it!
Let’s go over each of the healthy ingredients in detail, as they all serve an important function.
Ingredients for Sweet Potato Oatmeal Cookies:
Sweet Potatoes: The star of the show here, one medium-sized sweet potato is our main ingredient. We need ⅔ cup of mashed sweet potato, which is roughly equivalent to the flesh from one medium-sized potato.
Unsweetened Almond Butter: The fat portion of the recipe, almond butter adds healthy fats and richness to the cookies so that they turn out nice and flavorful.
Any nut or seed butter works here, including peanut butter or sunflower seed butter. I like using almond butter because the flavor blends into the cookie so that it isn’t overshadowed by this ingredient.
You will definitely be able to taste the peanut butter if you swap it out, which may be great news for peanut butter lovers.
Pure Maple Syrup: A touch of pure maple syrup adds sweetness to the cookies without them being overly sweet.
Quick Oats: Oats take the place of regular all-purpose flour and keep the ingredients held together nicely. I recommend using quick oats or instant oats for the best texture.
Old fashioned oats or rolled oats work too but the texture will require a little more chewing.
For gluten-free cookies, use certified gluten-free oats. I use gluten-free sprouted oats.
Ground Cinnamon and Sea Salt: The simple addition of ground cinnamon brings warm flavor to these healthy sweet potato cookies. I recommend using Ceylon cinnamon for the tastiest flavor. If you love fall spices, swap the cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice.
Because these healthy cookies don’t require eggs, they are vegan friendly and suitable for those with egg allergies. Many of my oatmeal cookie recipes on this site are egg-free!
Recipe Customizations:
- I recommend adding 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon of ground ginger (if you already have it) and ½ cup to 1 cup of chocolate chips for the best results. None of these additions are mandatory but they enhance the flavors of the cookies.
- Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds, flax seeds or chia seeds for some omega 3 fatty acids.
- Mix in 2 tablespoons of protein powder for a little protein. If you use more than 2 tablespoons, you’ll likely need to make adjustments to the liquid portion of the recipe to compensate for the dry good being added.
- Add ⅔ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Swap the pure maple syrup for 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar or brown sugar.
Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients, let’s bake oatmeal sweet potato cookies!
How to Make Sweet Potato Oatmeal Cookies:
Cook the sweet potato using your preferred method up to 5 days ahead of time. The best way to cook sweet potatoes quickly is to microwave them.
To do so, wrap the sweet potato in a paper towel, douse the paper towel (and potato) with water under the kitchen faucet, then place it on a plate. Microwave for 5 minutes then flip to the other side and microwave for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the potato is very soft and fork tender.
Note that large potatoes will require up to 15 minutes in the microwave, whereas small potatoes need about 8 to 10 minutes total. You can also roast sweet potatoes in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes (depending on size) or boil them for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Allow the potato to cool to room temperature. You can speed up this process by cooling it in the refrigerator. Once cool enough to handle, mash the sweet potato with a fork or potato masher and measure out ⅔ cup.
Transfer the mashed sweet potato to a large bowl, along with the almond butter and pure maple syrup (and vanilla extract, if adding). Mix the wet ingredients together until they are well-combined.
Add the oats, cinnamon, and salt (dry ingredients) to the mixing bowl and mix until a thick, sticky cookie dough forms. The dough will be much stickier than regular cookie dough. This is normal.
If you’d like you can stir in chocolate chips.
Drop mounds of cookie dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Note that the dough won’t spread or change form during the baking process, so form it into disc shapes using your hands or press dough balls with the back of large spoon.
I make 9 cookies out of the dough but you can make any size cookies you like. Just note that the cook time can vary depending on the size of the dough mounds.
Bake cookies on the center rack of the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are golden brown around the edges.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes before moving them off of the cookie sheet. Enjoy!
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container or in a zip lock bag in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
And that’s it! A sweet treat you can feel good about incorporating into your daily routine.
A great way to minimize the prep of this healthy cookie recipe is to cook the sweet potato ahead of time.
This healthy treat is a lovely afternoon snack, a fun hiking or road trip treat, great post-workout snack, or a healthy daily dessert.
If you have leftover sweet potatoes, I know where you can put them!
If you love healthier cookie recipes like this, also try these gems.
More Healthy Cookie Recipes:
- Flourless Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- 6-Ingredient Healthy Pear Oatmeal Cookies
- Healthy Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- 5-Ingredient No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
- Healthy Strawberry Oatmeal Cookies
For all my sweet potato and oatmeal lovers out there!
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup sweet potato, cooked and mashed
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup unsweetened almond butter
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Optional Additions:
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ cup to 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cook the sweet potato using your preferred method (see post above for cooking instructions).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Allow the potato to cool to room temperature. You can speed up this process by cooling it in the refrigerator. Once cool enough to handle, mash the sweet potato with a fork or potato masher and measure out ⅔ cup.
- Transfer the mashed sweet potato to a large bowl, along with the almond butter and pure maple syrup (and vanilla extract, if adding). Mix the wet ingredients together until they are well-combined.
- Add the oats, cinnamon, and salt (dry ingredients) to the mixing bowl and mix until a thick, sticky cookie dough forms. The dough will be much stickier than regular cookie dough. This is normal.
- If you’d like you can stir in chocolate chips.
- Drop mounds of cookie dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Note that the dough won’t spread or change form during the baking process, so form it into disc shapes using your hands or press dough balls with the back of large spoon. I make 9 cookies out of the dough but you can make any size cookies you like. Just note that the cook time can vary depending on the size of the dough mounds.
- Bake cookies on the center rack of the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are golden brown around the edges.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes before moving them off of the cookie sheet. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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V
Sunday 28th of January 2024
I just made these. They turned out fantastic. I added hazelnuts along with extra dark chocolate chips and used just 2 tbs of the coconut sugar. I wonder if raw honey would be okay? Also used whole oats and they turned out soft enough for me. Of course I ate it straight out of the oven. Made 9 total as indicated in the recipe which I think makes a good serving size cookie.
I would like to serve these with some homemade vanilla ice cream.
Thank you🌷
Julia
Tuesday 30th of January 2024
Ooh, I love the idea of adding hazelnuts! Honey will work but you may need to reduce the bake time by a minute or two. Honey burns at a lower temperature than pure maple syrup so baked goods made with honey tend to brown up quite a bit unless the bake time is adjusted down. Hope you enjoy the honey version too! xo