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Home » Recipes » Plant-based Breakfast Recipes

Modified: Nov 22, 2024 · Published: Sep 13, 2021 by Jim Mee Sha · This post may contain affiliate links · 11 Comments

Healthy Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

Jump to Recipe

Chewy and thick, these applesauce oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips make a great breakfast or snack! This easy one-bowl recipe is ready in 20 minutes, and you can customize it to your liking.

A stack of applesauce cookies with a jar of oats and more cookies in the background.

I love using applesauce to substitute eggs and butter in baked goods. In the past, I have experimented with recipes like applesauce baked oats, applesauce carrot muffins, and eggless coffee cake. These oatmeal cookies are my current favorite! 

I usually bake a batch on the weekends to ensure that I have something nutritious to grab for breakfast throughout the week. Paired with my protein hot chocolate or protein iced coffee, it makes a simple yet satisfying meal.

Jump to:
  • 🍎Why use applesauce in cookies 
  • 🌾What you will need
  • 📃Ingredients notes and substitutions
  • 🔪How to make
  • ✔Helpful tips
  • ❄️Storing suggestions
  • 💚Why you will love this recipe
  • ❔Commonly asked questions
  • 🍽More recipes using applesauce
  • 📖 Recipe

🍎Why use applesauce in cookies 

Applesauce is commonly used in vegan or eggless recipes to substitute eggs as a binding agent.

It also adds moisture to baked goods and cookies and is widely used as a replacer for butter and oil. It helps keep low-fat cookies moist and chewy. 

Applesauce also has natural sweetness, and you can reduce the amount of added sugar used in the recipe.

🌾What you will need

Ingredients needed like flour, oats, applesauce, maple syrup and almond butter on a grey background.

📃Ingredients notes and substitutions

  • Oat flour - If you do not have it on hand, make your own by blending some oats in a high-speed blender or food processor until it turns into flour. Do not use steel cut oats in this recipe; save it for my steel cut oats cookies instead.
  • Oats - Both rolled, or quick oats will work. Rolled oats will yield a chunkier cookie compared to quick oats. 
  • Unsweetened applesauce - Both store-bought and homemade will work. Make sure it is unsweetened to prevent cookies from turning out to be too sweet. 
  • Nut butter - I am using almond butter, but feel free to substitute it with peanut butter, cashew butter, or tahini. 
  • Maple syrup - This can be substituted with other liquid sweeteners such as agave syrup, sugar-free syrup, or honey. 
  • Chocolate chips - An optional add-in. You can also substitute it with raisins to make oatmeal raisin applesauce cookies!

🔪How to make

Wet ingredients for cookies in a bowl with a fork beside on a folded blue and white striped teacloth.
  1. Step 1: In a mixing bowl, add all wet ingredients and mix well.
Cookie dough in a bowl with a fork beside on a white and blue striped teacloth.
  1. Step 2: Next, add all dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms.

💡Tip

The cookie dough will be slightly sticky. Hence, wetting your utensils and hands before handling the dough is recommended.

Unbaked cookies in a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
  1. Step 3: Using a large cookie dough scoop or spoon, scoop out 3-4 tablespoons of batter per cookie on a baking tray. Flatten them using the back of a spoon.
Baked applesauce cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
  1. Step 4: Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are brown on the edges. Allow applesauce oatmeal cookies to cool down slightly before digging in!

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✔Helpful tips

  • Flatten cookies before baking - These applesauce cookies are made without butter, so they will not spread much after baking. 
  • Do not overbake cookies - This recipe is lower in fat and tends to dry out when overbaked. Pull them out of the oven once cookies appear set with lightly golden edges. 
  • Adjust sweetness to liking - After mixing, taste the cookie dough, adding more sweetener if needed. (As this is an eggless recipe, the dough is safe to be consumed!) 
  • Switch up the mix-ins - Replace chocolate chips with raisins to make oatmeal raisin cookies. Or, add some chopped walnuts/pecans and spices such as pumpkin spice, allspice, and nutmeg. 
  • Make it gluten-free - Use certified gluten-free oat flour and oats.

❄️Storing suggestions

Fridge - You can refrigerate cookies in an airtight container for 4-5 days. 

Freezer - Freeze cookies in zip-top bags or containers for up to 3 months. You can reheat them straight from frozen.

Reheating - Heat applesauce oatmeal cookies in an oven preheated to 180C/350F for 3-5 minutes or until warm. Alternatively, heat them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Be careful not to overheat, as they will turn hard.

Plate filled with cookies with ramekin filled with chocolate chips, sea salt and jug of milk beside.

💚Why you will love this recipe

  • Thick, chunky, and absolutely delicious 
  • An eggless and dairy-free recipe that is naturally vegan (and gluten-free!)
  • Easy to make - no mixer required
  • Freezer-friendly, making it great for meal prep

❔Commonly asked questions

Why are my oatmeal cookies dry?

If your applesauce oatmeal cookies turned out dry, you have likely overbaked them. As this is a healthier recipe that is low in fat, cookies tend to dry out quickly when overbaked. Once cookies are set with slightly browned edges, they are ready to be pulled out of the oven. 

Another possibility is that you used too much dry ingredients, mainly oat flour, in this recipe. Use a kitchen scale for the best results (1 cup oat flour = 90g). 

If using the spoon and level method, spoon flour into the cup instead of scoping it directly from the bag. You will also want to avoid packing the flour into the measuring cup.

Can I replace the applesauce with bananas for these oatmeal cookies?

You can replace applesauce with an equal volume of mashed bananas to make these applesauce oatmeal cookies.

Taking out a cookie from a stack of them with jar of oats and more cookies in the background.

🍽More recipes using applesauce

  • Baked oatmeal in glass dish with pecans, cinnamon sticks and a fork beside.
    Baked Oatmeal with Applesauce
  • A tray of sliced coffee cake on parchment paper with a cup of coffee beside.
    Healthy Eggless Coffee Cake
  • Baked oats topped with sea salt flakes with chocolate chips and a spoon beside.
    Fluffy Vegan Baked Oats (TikTok-inspired)
  • Stack of vegan protein pancakes topped with banana slices, blueberries and chocolate chips with a glass of milk behind it.
    Protein Pancakes without Eggs

If you made this recipe, leave a rating and comment below. We would love to hear from you! Subscribe to My Plantiful Cooking to get new recipes delivered straight to your inbox! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to get the latest updates. 😉

📖 Recipe

A stack of 5 oatmeal cookies with jar of oats and more cookies in the background.

Healthy Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

Meesha
Chewy and thick, these applesauce oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips make a great breakfast or snack! This easy one-bowl recipe is ready in 20 minutes, and you can customize it to your liking.
5 from 12 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 9 cookies
Calories 229 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Wet ingredients

  • ½ cup applesauce unsweetened
  • ¼ cup almond butter or other nut/seed butter
  • ⅓ cup maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup oat flour use gluten-free if needed*
  • 1 cup rolled oats use gluten-free if needed (or quick oats)
  • ½ cup chocolate chips optional
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
  • In a mixing bowl, add in all wet ingredients and mix well.
    ½ cup applesauce, ¼ cup almond butter, ⅓ cup maple syrup
  • Next, add in all dry ingredients. Stir until everything is well incorporated. The batter will be on the stickier side.
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 ½ cup oat flour, 1 cup rolled oats, ½ cup chocolate chips
  • Using a large trigger cookie dough scoop or spoon, scoop out 3-4 tablespoons of batter onto a baking tray, leaving some space between them. You should get about 8-9 cookies. Gently flatten them out using the back of a spoon.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown and the cookies appear set. Let them cool down slightly before digging into your applesauce oatmeal cookies!

Notes

*Oat flour - If you do not have any on hand, make your own by blending up some oats in a blender or food processor until finely ground. One cup of oat flour = 90g. 
Helpful tips 
  • Handling sticky cookie dough - The cookie dough will be slightly sticky. Hence, wetting your utensils and hands before handling the dough is recommended.
  • Do not overbake cookies - This recipe is lower in fat and tends to dry out when overbaked. Pull them out of the oven once cookies appear set with lightly golden edges. 
  • Adjust sweetness to liking - After mixing, taste the cookie dough, adding more sweetener if needed. (As this is an eggless recipe, the dough is safe to be consumed!) 
  • Switch up the mix-ins - Replace chocolate chips with raisins to make oatmeal raisin cookies. Or, add some chopped walnuts/pecans and spices such as pumpkin spice, allspice, and nutmeg.
 
Storing - Applesauce oatmeal cookies can be refrigerated for 4-5 days, or frozen for 3 months. 
Reheating - Heat cookies in an oven preheated to 180C/350F for 3-5 minutes or until warm. Alternatively, heat them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Be careful not to overheat, as they will turn hard and dry.

Save this recipe!

Email yourself a link to this page and come back later.

Also get a FREE high-protein vegan recipe eBook + weekly new recipes! Unsubscribe anytime.

Nutrition

Calories: 229kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 6gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 116mgPotassium: 196mgFiber: 3gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 4IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 79mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.

Did you make this recipe ?Tag @myplantifulcooking on Instagram !

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Comments

    5 from 12 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Amelia says

    October 06, 2023 at 8:37 am

    Could these work replacing the almond butter with reconstituted pb2?

    Reply
    • Jim Mee Sha says

      October 06, 2023 at 11:06 am

      I have yet to try it, but I think it will work!

      Reply
  2. Janine Fabro says

    June 21, 2023 at 4:10 am

    Would I be able to sub the maple syrup for more apple sauce?

    Reply
    • Meesha says

      June 21, 2023 at 12:37 pm

      You can try, but your cookies will be significantly less sweeter.😁

      Reply
  3. Effney Gardea says

    June 01, 2023 at 7:57 am

    Hi, can I add nuts and cranberries

    Reply
    • Meesha says

      June 04, 2023 at 9:09 am

      Sure! Just make sure that you are not adding in too much or your cookies might turn out crumbly.😁

      Reply
  4. Monika Cate says

    September 21, 2022 at 9:33 am

    5 stars
    A new favorite, hubby loves them too!

    Reply
    • Meesha says

      September 26, 2022 at 8:37 am

      Happy to heat that.😁

      Reply
    • Keren says

      March 20, 2025 at 10:28 am

      5 stars
      These are incredible!!! I am working on reducing my refined sugar (and overall sugar) intake and eating more whole, unprocessed foods. These cookies are a perfect sweet treat for me!!! I chopped the dark chocolate chips rather fine, which means I get little bits of dark chocolate in every bite. I can't overstate how much I enjoy these cookies!

      Reply
  5. Zuzanna says

    February 12, 2022 at 6:43 pm

    5 stars
    Love that recipe, the cookies turned out to be delicious❤️. I like that it's quick, so including cleaning, making your own oat flour, and preparing everything you can be done with them in less than an hour.

    Reply
  6. Carol says

    November 26, 2021 at 4:46 am

    5 stars
    These are PERFECT!

    Reply
A headshot of Mee Sha leaning on a handrail.

Hi, nice to meet you! I am Mee Sha, a final-year dietetic student passionate about nutrition, cooking, and food. This blog was created to share my favorite plant-powered recipe!

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