These Sugar Free Oatmeal Cookies are chewy thanks to oats and flaxseed, and have a sweet pop of nuts and dried fruit. They prove that it is possible to avoid sugar and still bake cookies!
Other oatmeal cookies we love are these breakfast cookies, healthy oatmeal cookies and healthy banana oatmeal cookies.
Table of Contents
Here is a giant healthy cookie recipe with no added sugar and whole food ingredients!
I started making these sugar free oatmeal cookies back in 2018 when we hiked with small kids and I was extremely passionate about healthy eating. Not that I am not anymore, but as kids grew I became more understanding with “balance and moderation”.:)
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No added sugar: No maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar or low glycemic sugar substitutes. Fruit is the only sweetener!
- Easy to make: Minimal ingredients and mostly pantry staples, these cookies come together in only 40 minutes.
- Special diet approved: No eggs, dairy or wheat and when using gluten free oats, these are both vegan and gluten-free oatmeal cookies.
- Eat any time of the day: Made with wholesome ingredients these are perfect for a healthy breakfast, snack or even dessert!
- Freezer friendly: Make a big batch and store in the freezer when you need a healthy snack on the go!
Ingredients for Sugar Free Oatmeal Cookies
To make sugar free oatmeal cookies recipe you will need common pantry staples plus bananas.
- Bananas: Make sure you use very ripe bananas with many black spots to ensure sweet cookies.
- Flaxseed and water: Flax eggs keep this recipe vegan, add extra healthy fats and help to eat less animal products.
- Oats: I prefer to use rolled oats or also known as old-fashioned oats. You can use quick oats but cookies will have less chewy texture.
- Oat flour: You can use store-bought oat flour or here is a quick tutorial on DIY oat flour. Don’t use just ground up oats, they have to be sifted.
- Coconut oil: I tried this recipe with both coconut oil and Nutiva buttery flavored coconut oil. Both worked great! I think vegan butter like Earth Balance will be fine too but I am not sure how recipe will work with oil that you can’t melt.
- Nuts: Use whichever nuts you love. I use peanuts, almonds and cashews. I think sunflower seeds, Brazilian nuts, pecans and hazelnuts will go well.
- Dates: You can use regular dates or Medjool dates.
- Baking essentials: Vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
How to Make Sugar Free Oatmeal Cookies
These sugar free oatmeal cookies are so simple to make! There is also a full recipe card below.
- Prep wet ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together flaxseed and water, and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. In another large bowl, mash bananas and add melted coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add in the flaxseed mixture and whisk well.
- Add dry ingredients: Add oats and oat flour and mix well. Don’t be surprised that cookie dough will come out pretty thick. Throw in chopped nuts and dried fruit, stir.
- Form cookies: Scoop cookie batter onto baking sheet using a large ice cream scoop or a cookie scoop (a large tablespoon works too!). Flatten with the back of the scoop or a large spoon. Don’t worry, these cookies will not spread out more during baking.
- Bake: Bake cookies for 20 minutes. Then remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for a minute before transferring to a wire rack. Let them cool completely.
Tips for Best Results
- Follow the recipe: For best results, I recommend to follow this cookie recipe as written. Baking is truly a science!
- Chop dried fruit: If using larger dried fruit like apricots, dates or even prunes, chop them into dried raisin sized pieces. Also raisins or dried cranberries will work, no need to chop them. Just make sure you are not using sweetened dried fruit.
- Do not substitute flour: Oat flour is lighter than wheat flours and if you substitute it, your cookies will turn out dry or crumbly.
- Flatten the cookies: These cookies need some help to spread out. Flatten them slightly to ensure they bake all the way through.
- Cool for only 1 minute on the pan: After baking, cool for 1 minute on the pan to ensure the cookie holds shape, then move to a baking rack. Leaving them longer on the pan, might “bake” them longer and your cookies might be dry!
Additions and Variations
No matter what mix-ins you use, either as written or with add-in variations, be sure to use only 1 cup total.
- Mix-ins: Mini chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips (just remember this will change the sugar amount), unsweetened dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, dried cherries, blueberries or even crystalized ginger will work.
- Shredded coconut: Unsweetened dried coconut flakes.
- Nuts and seeds: Pumpkin seeds, chopped walnuts or pecans, pistachios, chia seeds, flax seeds or sunflower seeds. Unsalted is best!
- Warm spices: Swap cinnamon for gingerbread spice, pumpkin pie spice or a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger or allspice.
- Lemon or orange zest: Just a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon will add a delicious flavor.
- Extract: Swap vanilla extract for pure almond extract for a nutty taste.
- Peanut butter: Add just 1-2 tablespoons otherwise you will upset the balance of wet to dry ratio of ingredients. You could also use a small amount of peanut butter powder.
How to Store
Store: It is best to place sugar free oatmeal cookies in a cool, dry ventilated or partially closed container. I don’t recommend storing in an airtight container or the cookies will get soggy.
Freeze: Place in a freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter for a few hours.
Shipping? I would ship cookies only to a short destination where a receiver can pick up parcel immediately. For 5 days in transit maximum.
I recommend to place cookies in a ventilated container big enough to fit all cookies but so they don’t tumble in it and break.
FAQs
I have not tried this swap, so can’t vouch for results. You will need to skip flaxseed and water and try to add 2 large eggs. That’s what seems to work out for some readers. Please let me know how cookies turn out.
I don’t recommend it. Bananas are quite unique, binding and make the base of this recipe. Maybe pumpkin puree or applesauce will work.
I have not tested this recipe with any oil that you can’t melt like avocado oil, olive oil etc. A reader made these cookies with grapeseed oil and they turned out well.
Dried fruit makes cookies sweeter. If you are OK with not sweet cookies, you can omit dates.
Sugar free cookies will not be chewy because it is sugar that causes cookies to be soft as it melts while baking. These cookies will be soft, but not chewy.
More Healthy Cookies Recipes to Try
- Healthy oatmeal cranberry cookies
- Healthy no bake cookies
- Cottage cheese cookies
- Protein cookies
- Oat flour cookies
- Oat flour monster cookies
- Healthy pumpkin cookies
Sugar Free Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons flaxseed ground
- 9 tablespoons water
- 2 large over ripen bananas
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1 cup mixed nuts & seeds chopped, if too large
- 10 Medjool dates pitted & chopped, or 1 cup raisins
- Cooking spray I use Misto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line large baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk flaxseed and water. Let sit for about 10 minutes while you are getting other ingredients ready.
- In a large bowl, mash bananas. Add coconut oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add flaxseed mixture and whisk really well.
- Add oats and oat flour; stir to combine. Add nuts and dried fruit; mix well. Dough will be very thick.
- Using large ice cream scoop, place batter on previously prepared sheet and flatten with the back of a scoop into large size cookies. Cookies do not spread. I had about 6 cookies per sheet. Bake in batches for 20 minutes or until nuts start to brown a bit.
- Remove from the oven and let cookies cool for a minute, then transfer onto a cooling rack to cool off completely. Enjoy for breakfast, snack or a healthy dessert!
Notes
- Store: Store in a cool dry place open. Do not wrap or place cookies in a jar. The more air, the better. That way cookies do not get soggy. Remember there is no sugar.
- Freeze: In an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter for a few hours.
I make these for my grandchildren and husband – I can not make enough- the way you explain everything is wonderful and the recipes always turn out so well. I am a proficient cook but enjoy your recipes immensely especially as I can convert into metric as I’m in UK. Thank you Olena.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
The favour of these cookies is good but the dough, which you say will be thick, is actually quite runny and all 3 times I’ve made them according to instructions I have to add an additional 1/2 cup of oat flour just so they will form a cookie. Otherwise I would be spooning goo onto a cookie sheet. And they look nothing like your pictures 🙁
Hard for me to tell what is going wrong as I am not in a kitchen with you but definitely something is off. There is a quite a bit of dry ingredients for quite a small amount of liquid ingredients which causes normal dough. Maybe you add 3/4 cup of oats instead of 1 3/4 cups? Definitely it’s about measuring correctly. And be sure to let flaxseeds sit in water.
If we do not have oat flour, can normal wheat flour be used?
Is it 280 calories per cookie?
Yes.
I have made this twice now using eggs. Once with just raisins and one with almond flakes and almonds. Amazing. Thank you. My first choice as a treat for my toddler.
I am so happy to hear this Narelle! Thanks for sharing.
Delicious!
Thank you for this nourishing cookies. I didn’t have bananas so I used 1/2 c strained applesauce (put applesauce in a fine sieve, drain for 15 min.). Great for travel food, too, as they’re sturdy.
Thanks for sharing your positive feedback!
I’ve just made these cookies and I am amazed how delicious they are.These are a big fat thumbs up.
My husband couldn’t believe how fantastic they tasted. I am gluten free and this recipe is a keeper. I gave away 6 of them to a neighbour before I had tried them and I’m questioning now why I did that! I will have to make a second batch tomorrow…
Olena explains everything in a clear concise fashion
I didn’t have all the nuts so used a combination of cashews, flaked almonds and walnuts and they taste wonderful.
I did a lot of research beforehand and having read such glowing reviews decided to thankfully choose yours.
Thank you for the recipes but is it at all possible you could allow me to print off in Metric instead (I’m in the UK) of USA cups please? I know I can change it to read the recipe but to print off it doesn’t have that facility. If not it’s no big deal.
Reposting to add rating. Definitely 5 star!!
SO.VERY.GOOD. The ingredients fit in with my eating style as a grab and go breakfast or as a treat with coffee. I love that I can have them without guilt about what I am putting into my body. The recipe is great as written. I love some of Olena’s other suggestions that I have tried also, including using eggs and raisins and I also love it with all walnuts substituted for the mixed.
Thanks again for helping me to love health food!
You’re welcome Kimberly!
Hi. Thank you for this recipe. I love it and so does my family. I have a question. Can I use citric acid to preserve it for like a month? If so, how much do I use for this recipe?
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Maria. I have never used citric acid to preserve anything, so can’t tell. You can freeze cookies and thaw within hours.
Thanks, Olena! I’ll look forward to more of your plant based dessert recipes. Stay safe.