If you're a fan of carrot cake, then you'll LOVE these soft, nutty & healthy breakfast cookies! Make a big batch and freeze them for on-the-go treats.
For a while, I went through a frittata phase, then there was the chia bowl phase, followed by a bit of a smoothie kick… which brings us to my current morning trend: cookies for breakfast!
But before you think I’ve completely given up on myself, hear me out – I make these cookies with lots of good things – carrots, oats, flax, walnuts, pepitas, cranberries, and QUINOA. Yes, carrots and quinoa – it almost sounds like a salad, but I promise you these “healthier” cookies are so delicious and energizing in the morning. They’re also vegan, gluten-free, and sweetened with maple syrup instead of refined sugars. They’re about halfway in between a muffin and a cookie – big, hearty, and filling, but also sweet and nutty – they’re almost like eating carrot cake for breakfast!
Quinoa Cookies Tips
Let’s talk for a second about quinoa in cookies. I recommend that you use leftover quinoa here. I like to make a big batch of quinoa early in the week for easy toss-together lunches and dinners. Store your cooked quinoa in the fridge so that when you’re ready to bake these breakfast cookies, it’s ready for you.
If you haven’t baked with oat flour before – it’s so easy. No need to go shopping for fancy flours, just blend your oats in a food processor for about a minute, and you have oat flour. It’s gluten-free, but be sure to seek out certified gluten-free oats if gluten is a problem for you.
Over here, my family is obsessed with these. They’re best straight out of the oven, but they also freeze incredibly well (hence, my 1 cookie per day breakfast obsession).
More Favorite Breakfast Treats
If you love these quinoa breakfast cookies, try one of these breakfast treats next:
- Carrot Cake Cookies
- Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- Healthy Banana Muffins
- Chocolate Chip MuffinsÂ
- Blueberry Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Healthy Banana Bread
For more healthy breakfast ideas, check out this post!
Quinoa Breakfast Cookies
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup (additional) whole rolled oats* (see note)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- 1 cup finely shredded carrots
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 5 tablespoons warm water
- ½ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup nuts and/or seeds (I used walnuts + pepitas)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a food processor or a blender to process the 1¼ cups rolled oats into a fine flour and measure out one level cup. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, the remaining 1 cup whole oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt. Fold in the quinoa and then the shredded carrots, stirring until the carrots are completely coated with flour.
- In a small bowl, combine the flaxseed and warm water and set aside to thicken for about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the almond butter, coconut oil, and maple syrup and stir well to incorporate. Stir in the flaxseed mixture.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and fold until just combined. Stir in the walnuts, pepitas, and cranberries.
- Scoop about ¼ cup of batter for each cookie onto the baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- When cookies are completely cool, they can be stored in an airtight container or frozen.
Hey there! Amazing recipe, just what I had been looking for! Cheers!
Was just wondering how long they’d last if kept in an air tight container at room temperature?
Thanks!
Hi Ishani, 3 to 4 days, they also freeze well!
These are amazing! I did make some less healthy substitutions based on my preferences.
I didn’t have enough rolled oats so I subbed the oat flour for regular flour which i reduced by a 1/4 cup.
I also subbed chocolate chips instead of cranberries to make these more appealing to my husband ha ha!
This will definitely be a repeat recipe. I’m glad I made a double batch 😛
Yay! I’m so glad you loved the cookies! Ha ha, I hope he loved the chocolate chips 🙂
Made them today and I couldn’t stop licking the bowl before they went into the oven. That’s when I knew that they gonna be amazing and they are! Absolutely love them. So delicious and sweet. Might make them less sweet by adding less maple syrup next time, cause the carrots and almond butter add a bit of sweetness as well. I used canola oil instead of coconut oil and left out the cranberries and seeds, due to a fussy little one at home. But I’m sure she’ll love them as much as I do.
Hi Dani, I’m so glad you loved the cookies!!
I’m so glad they loved them! Yes, they freeze really well!
So yummy, convenient, and flexible to make! These healthy treats will be a constant in the household and on the golf course (my partner is a professional golfer).
so glad you enjoyed them!
These cookies are so delicious!! Even my toddler loves them! One issue I had was that they fall apart very quickly in little hands, would it be possible to add eggs to these? Could I add an egg in addition to the flax, or do I need to remove the flax?
I’m so glad your toddler loves them! I haven’t tried these with an egg so I can’t say for sure for sure, but I’d skip the flax + water and use 1 large egg instead. And/or, try baking them a little longer – closer to the 18 minute mark and see if that does the trick.
Made these to the recipe, and they are a hit with the whole family. Only change I would make next time is to omit the chunky things – cranberries (as the cookies are on the crumbly side anything big in them just encourages them to break up, also my son thought cranberries baked were ‘too chewy”) and chopped nuts. I think keeping the mix finer (seeds, finely chopped nuts) will make them bond better. I might try doing a thumbprint of jam in the centre next time. Brilliant recipe, thank you!
Hi Amy, I’m so glad you liked the recipe! Also, if you try baking them a tad longer they aren’t as crumbly.
Hi, I made these and the texture is very crumbly when you bite into it. They fall apart. I made them as the recipe states, baking 18 minutes and using dried cherries and pepitas for the fruit but combo. Any ideas? Should inhale them longer?
Hi Sherri, these are on the crumbly side – but I would recommend baking them a little longer and/or letting them sit on the pan longer to cool before trying to pick one up. Hope that helps!
Hi, I’m just wondering how exactly you are cooking your quinoa for this recipe and if you could specify, it might help as it could have some impact on the texture (crumbly vs VERY crumbly) of the cookie that some people are experiencing. Personally, when I cook my quinoa for salads, etc., I use a 1:1 ratio of Water to quinoa so that my grains come out separate vs more on the mushy side. However, for this recipe, I’m guessing you want it more mushy so that everything binds together and hence are probably using what many folks do, a 2:1 ratio of 2 cups water to one of quinoa. Could you please clarify? Thank you. P.S. Since my previous post I have made three double batches of these cookies. Love!
First of all, this is NOT my kind of cookie. And yet, I was drawn to the recipe over and over since its post. So, I made them today. Holy mother of deliciousness, they are GREAT!! The only sub I made was to use sprouted watermelon seeds in place of pepitas. I did bake them longer than specified, perhaps another 15 minutes for crispy edges and then cranked it to 375 for another 5 minutes. Outsides crispy, still soft-ish in the centre. Just the right amount of sweetness for my taste. I’ve never been happier to be wrong. Extra quinoa in the fridge so I see another bake in the near future. Thank you so much!
Made these today and my 6 year old son decided he couldn’t wait for breakfast and had one for dessert. They are a big hit, thank you!!! He’s looking forward to a Decafe Nespresso with the Hazelnut Milk in the morning to go with his breakfast cookie 🙂
Aw, yay, I’m so glad to hear that he approved :). Hope you both enjoy the Hazelnut Milk as well!
These looks perfect! If I don’t have flax, how do I replace with egg? Thanks!
Made these last night for the first time. Very yummy and not too sweet. I used normal butter (melted) instead of almond butter so not vegan but like the idea of trying peanut butter or tahini next time. They tasted even better after a night in the fridge.
I had to convert the American cups into metric measurements so it took a bit of time and I’m sure I was very approximate on quantities but it seemed to work.
Love the idea of oat flour from oat flakes – I had no idea it was so simple!
These are so amazingly delicious! I made them for my daughter who is gluten and dairy free. She loved them, as did the rest of the family!! I used peanut butter instead of almond butter b/c it was what I had on hand. Also, did need to cook them longer than recipe stated to get them firm, but hardly a problem. My daughter is begging me to make these again. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m sorry, but this recipe is terrible!
How healthy can a recipe be when you eat half of the batch???!! Lol!
These are surprisingly additicting! And it’s nice to know I’m getting some good stuff in while nursing my 6 month old. Also, my 2 year old loves them too!!
The only change I made was using LIVfit superfood blend in place of the flaxmeals because I had none(I know, I live under a rock). And my food processor made quick work of those carrots!
Thank you for sharing this!! I’ll be coming making thus again and again and again!!
Ha, I’m so glad you and your 2 year old loved them 🙂
These are so delicious! My twin 1.5 year olds can’t stop shoveling them in their mouths. They make the perfect healthy daycare snack. Question: can I freeze them?
I’m so glad they loved them! Yes, they freeze really well!
I made these yesterday and they are very tasty! One question though – I left them out in a ziplock bag overnight and this morning something in them had turned green. They still taste fine and I don’t see how they could have developed mold overnight, right? Does the flaxseed change color? I followed the recipe, except added sugar instead of maple syrup, and sunflower butter instead of almond butter. Any ideas?
Hi Emily – a few comments up someone else had this issue – it’s not mold (they’re safe to eat) but check out this link: http://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-when-good-carrots-52210. Apparently carrots can have this reaction with baking soda and sunflower seeds. If you use almond butter, they shouldn’t discolor.
Hello,
I love the taste of the cookies. Unfortunately they aren’t as hard as they should be even after 25 minutes in the oven. I substituted the coconut oil and the almond butter with magarine. Any tips on how to make their texture more steady?
Best wishes and thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Tino
Hi Tino,
The almond butter and coconut oil are an important part of the texture. I would suggest trying out the original recipe. Hope that helps!
Hello Jeanine!
I usually never post comments on recipes that I make from websites but I really wanted to let you know how much I love this Genius recipe. Ever since you posted it I have made it twice a month and bring two to work each day for breakfast. I have to portion it everyday or else I’ll end up eating the entire batch in one sitting.
For any future bakers out there that want to deviate from/experiment with the recipe I just wanted to share my tips/substitutions with you/them!
1) Perfectly okay to substitute shredded carrots with shredded beets! I did not notice a flavor/color difference. I also shred them with a regular cheese grater (comes out bigger, but doesn’t bother me in the finished product!)
2) I never used almond butter for this recipe. I have used natural (no salt) peanut butter and tahini/sesesame paste. As a PB love the flavor is definitely noticeable.
3) I have substituted maple syrup for (local) honey, and I prefer the sweetness of the maple syrup (more pronounced in sweetness and flavor) for this recipe. If anyone wants a subtle sweetness with no pronounced flavor, try using golden blossom honey (not the “honey bear” honey).
4) I have never used cranberries (never on hand) and have substituted it with currants (my go-to instead of raisins). Always delicious.
5) Pepitas/Pumpkin Seeds really do add to the flavor and a great texture. I always toast the nuts in a toaster over for 15 min @ 350F and let them cool before adding to the “batter”
Hi Robyn! Sorry for my slow reply – thank you for commenting :). I’m so glad these are a part of your regular routine and thank you for sharing your successful modifications!
Mine turned green… What did I do wrong?
Hi Jennifer – the only thing I can think is that maybe your pepitas were crushed/chopped and not completely whole? They’re the only thing that’s green in the recipe that might affect the color.
I also used sunflower butter!! Mystery solved!! Thanks so much, your follow through and knowledge (and delicious food) have made this my favorite food blog!
aw, thank you! So interesting (and weird) to know that sunflower seeds can have that reaction!
Hi Jennifer – I just found this info about why carrots could turn green and wanted to share: http://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-when-good-carrots-52210.
Make sure your baking soda is fully mixed in or you can try reducing it by 1/4 teaspoon. Hope this helps!
I just found this recipe while exploring you blog (I go through it whenever I’m in need for a recipe, it’s perfect:) ) and going to try these today! I’ve been looking for a breakfast cookie for a while and I have all the ingredients. Wish me luck!