These Applesauce Cookies are the ultimate breakfast cookies. Hearty, filling, and made with only 10 wholesome ingredients, they’ll fill you up while you enjoy them on the go!

Just like overnight oats and a breakfast casserole, these Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies are a fantastic make-ahead breakfast treat. Both kids and adults will love ‘em!

What makes these oats and applesauce cookies special are their good-for-you ingredients. Applesauce and cinnamon fill them with comforting flavors; oats, almond flour, and almond butter make them extra hearty and filling; and a little maple syrup adds just the right amount of sweetness. 

You can even customize the cookies to your liking! They’re already gluten-free and vegan, but you’re more than welcome to make them with some cane sugar for a low-sugar breakfast or with chocolate chips when you’re craving a sweet dessert.

Recipe features

• These aren’t your average cookies! Made with applesauce, almond butter, almond flour, and oats, they’re a good-for-you treat that tastes great and is naturally gluten-free and vegan.
• Making the cookies for dessert? Mix chocolate chips into the batter. Need a low-sugar breakfast option? Make them with a little cane sugar instead.
• Like my no-bake breakfast cookies, they’re a ready-made breakfast treat you can eat on your way to work or school.

Ingredients

Applesauce – Any unsweetened applesauce you like will do. It binds the cookie dough together, adds subtle apple flavors, and acts as a natural sweetener.

Almond butter – Use smooth almond butter. If possible, opt for a brand with only “almonds” or “almonds and salt” listed in the ingredients. Smooth, natural peanut butter, another nut butter, or seed butter should also work as a substitute, but the flavor will be slightly different.

Maple syrup – A little maple syrup sweetness to the batter. Honey and agave both work as substitutes.

Oats – I recommend using old-fashioned rolled oats in the cookie dough, NOT quick oats. They not only help bind the cookies together but also add in some sneaky fiber, carbs, and protein, making these cookies surprisingly filling!

Almond flour – I always recommend using almond flour, not almond meal, in baked goods. I usually get mine from Costco because it’s such a good deal!

Chocolate chips or cane sugar – Use one of the other—not both! Chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark preferably) will make these cookies more cookie-like, while 1 tablespoon of cane sugar (or coconut sugar or white sugar) will help balance and sweeten the batch.

Instructions

Step 1: Make the cookie dough. Stir the applesauce, almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Next, stir in the oats, almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until just combined. To finish, either stir in the chocolate chips OR the cane sugar.

Step 2: Shape the cookies. Roll about 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball and place it on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat until you run out of dough, then gently push on each cookie dough ball to flatten them slightly.

Step 3: Bake. Bake the cookies until they’re golden and set around the edges.

Step 4: Cool, then enjoy. Let the cookies cool completely before serving. Enjoy!

Tips and FAQs

• Do not overbake the cookies. I found that 12 minutes was the sweet spot that left me with perfectly chewy cookies. If they’re baked for much longer, the cookies will be too crisp, crunchy, and more likely to crumble.
• Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They’ll be soft and fragile coming out of the oven and you don’t want them to fall apart!

Variations

• Oat flour – I haven’t tested it, but a 1:1 almond flour to oat flour replacement should work well here. 
• More mix-ins – I’m team chocolate all the way, but you’re welcome to swap the chocolate chips for an equal amount of raisins, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, pretzel pieces, or chopped nuts, like walnuts or pecans.
• Sea salt finish – A little sea salt sprinkled on top of the freshly baked cookies really takes them up a notch!

What does applesauce do in cookies?

You don’t need butter or eggs when you make cookies with applesauce! Just like mashed bananas and flax eggs, applesauce is like a vegan-friendly egg replacer in baked goods and binds these cookies together. It also adds a subtle apple flavor (apple cinnamon cookies, anyone?) and slightly sweetens the dough.

Can I make these cookies with another flour?

You can try using an equal amount of oat flour as a substitute for almond flour. 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or a gluten-free flour blend might work as well but they haven’t been tested. Let me know if you experiment with anything else!

Storage

Room temperature: Pack the baked and cooled cookies into an airtight container and store them on the kitchen counter for up to 3 days.

Refrigerator: The cookies will stay fresh and chewy for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Freezer: You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Let as many cookies as you plan on eating thaw in the fridge or on the counter before serving.

More healthy cookie recipes

• Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies
• Chocolate Avocado Cookies
• Oat Flour Cookies

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!