These Healthy Carrot Cake Cookies are easy to make, gluten-free, refined sugar-free and healthy enough to enjoy for breakfast!

A hand holding a carrot cake cookie

What makes these cookies healthy?

Are we in for a treat today! This recipe for Healthy Carrot Cake Cookies is perfect for enjoy for a helathier snack, or even for breakfast.

These cookies are made with similar ingredients to my Healthy Breakfast Cookies– like oats, almond flour and maple syrup. However, these carrot cake cookies have a different flavour and texture.

This recipe is made with maple syrup instead of sugar, uses almond butter instead of oil, and is made with whole-grain oats.

Ingredients and substitutions

  • Oats: I recommend using rolled oats for the best texture, but you can use quick oats if you have those on hand.
  • Almond flour: you can sub any flour you like here.
  • Maple Syrup: for a natural and healthy sweetener. Any sticky sweetener will do here. Anything from honey to agave or rice syrup.
  • Egg: If you want to make this recipe vegan, use a flax egg in place of the egg.
  • Almond butter: the runny kind works best. You can also use tahini or cashew butter here.
  • Spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg for that classic carrot cake flavour!
  • Carrots: You could technically leave these out, but they wouldn’t be carrot cake cookies if you did!

How to make these cookies

Mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl, and the dry ingredients together in another bowl. Then mix everything together until combined.

Carrot cake cookie dough in a clear mixing bowl

Scoop into cookies on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Unbaked carrot cake cookies on a baking sheet

Remove from the oven and let cool completely before adding the glaze.

baked healthy carrot cake cookies on a baking sheet

Optionally glaze the cookies and let the glaze harden before serving.

glazed carrot cake cookies on a baking sheet with parchment paper

How to store these cookies

These cookies are best stored in an air-tight container on the counter for up to 7 days. These cookies can also be frozen in a sealed container for up to 2 months.

Tips for making this recipe perfectly

  • Finely shred the carrots so you don’t have large chunks of carrots in the cookies.
  • Make sure to slightly flatten the cookies on the baking sheet with your hand before baking. These cookies won’t spread much, so if you don’t flatten them you’ll end up with cookie balls.
  • Let the cookies cool completely before glazing. Otherwise, the glaze will melt right off the cookies.

More carrot cake recipes to try:

A carrot cake cookie topped with glaze on a marble board

If you tried these Healthy Carrot Cake Cookies or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!

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A hand holding a carrot cake cookie

Healthy Carrot Cake Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Jessica Hoffman
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 16 cookies 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Description

These Healthy Carrot Cake Cookies are made with wholesome ingredients and healthy enough to enjoy for breakfast!

Ingredients

Scale

Cookies

  • 1 1/4 cup rolled oats (gluten-free if needed) 
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg 
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup shredded carrots
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup almond butter (can sub tahini) 
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla 
  • (optional) 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 

Glaze: 

  • 1/4 cup coconut butter
  • 1–2 tbsp almond milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking pan with parchment paper 
  2. Mix the oats, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and carrots together in a bowl. 
  3. In a separate bowl mix together the egg, almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla together. 
  4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until well combined. Optionally add in the chopped nuts and mix them together.
  5. Scoop the cookies onto the baking sheet and use your fingers to press down on each cookie to flatten slightly. (They won’t spread much while baking.) 
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool completely before icing. 
  7. To make the glaze, melt the coconut butter in the microwave or a pot, then mix in the almond milk until you have a thinner consistency you can drizzle onto the cookies. 
  8. Let sit until the glaze dries. 

Notes

These are soft cookies, not crunchy. So don’t expect a crunchy cookie after baking! 

Finely shred the carrots so you don’t have large chunks of carrots in the cookies.

Make sure to slightly flatten the cookies on the baking sheet with your hand before baking. These cookies won’t spread much, so if you don’t flatten them you’ll end up with cookie balls.

Let the cookies cool completely before glazing. Otherwise, the glaze will melt right off the cookies.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cookie
  • Calories: 140
  • Sugar: 5g
  • Fat: 9g
  • Carbohydrates: 12g
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Protein: 4g