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.
These are fantastic!!! To make a recipe with carrots and quinoa taste like a soft cookie is so impressive.
I made two substitutions that worked well: I used egg instead of the flax mixture and I used sugar free syrup instead of maple, and both of those worked great and didn’t mess with the integrity of the cookie. So soft and yummy, this is definitely going to be a regular breakfast make!
Hi Madeleine, thanks for sharing your substitutions! It’s great to know that those worked well. I’m so glad you loved the cookies.
These were great, as is. After making a half batch and sampling them, I added an egg to the second half. Although they’re no longer vegan, the egg firmed them up a bit, and now they’ll hold together as a great snack to take on the trail!
Oh my gosh! These are so rich and dense and reminiscent of monster cookies — accept super good for you. I added 1/4 c mini chocolate chips and these were approved by two toddlers!!! Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved them!
I so wish you could make this recipe in grams!
Can I freeze the dough and bake each one fresh?
Wow! So, I just made these and they are perfect! I’m not gunna lie, I added chocolate chips 😉 They are almost all gone, everyone who has tried one is obsessed. Thanks for the tip to put the recipe in an app to get the nutritional data per serving. I just had surgery and need to track everything I eat carefully. I’ve been on a huge losing streak of trying out healthy, vegan, and gluten free sweets but, this one is amazing. Thank you!!
Hi Sally, I’m so glad you loved them!
Hi! Do you have the macros for this? Serving size, calories, protein, etc?
I’m sorry, we don’t calculate nutrition facts but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
I added recipe to MyFitnessPal and comes out to about 260 cal per cookie(depends on which nuts used, etc. I use walnuts.
Thank you! I downloaded the app as well, I had no idea it existed. And The cookies are delicious too! Xo
These cookies are so good. I’m not a huge fan of Quinoa but I had some leftover from something so I searched your site and this is where I landed. Delicious. Next time I will try the ones without quinoa though you couldn’t even see or taste it in the recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Here’s a similar recipe that we developed without the quinoa:https://www.loveandlemons.com/breakfast-cookies/
Forgot to rate the recipe with me comment. Highly recommend making these!
These were soooo good! I always eat breakfast late in the morning (after I’ve been up for a few hours) and been looking for something light to eat before our morning walk with the dogs. These are perfect! Delicious, healthy and not too heavy.
Just one question tho. Mine weren’t all that sturdy. They didn’t fall apart, but were on the delicate side. Is this as they should be? If not, what might have gone wrong?
Hi Wendy, that sounds right–these cookies are delicate. I’m so glad you’re enjoying them!
Trued your recipe tonight and it was amazing. Thank you for the simplicity but light energy you put into sharing your recipes
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies!
These look yummy. How long do the cookies last if not refrigerated?
They’ll keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days. They also freeze perfectly!
This recipe is awesome. I actually started to make a second batch and I started with the carrot cookie recipe and then I added 2 tsp of vanilla I upped the Maple syrup served up to 3/4 of a cup and then I also added one tsp of almond Flavoring pure almond flavoring.. OMG your recipe was awesome that I gotta tell you the fans are raving over at this house with the little twists.
I’m so glad they were a hit!
I would like to avoid the coconut oil in this recipe. Can I replace it with more flax? Or nut butter? Any suggestions?
Hi Ashley, we haven’t tried this, so I can’t guarantee the results, but I think mashed banana, applesauce, or additional nut butter would all be good subs.
Is it ok to omit the maple syrup and replace with almond or oat milk?
I LOVE this post. Very interesting info! Perfect just what I was looking. Nice PICS. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thank You !!!
Is it ok to use quinoa flour instead of cooked quinoa (and add a bit of liquid, like milk)?
Hi Mel, no I would stick to the quinoa here. The texture would be totally different with the flour.
Family loves these ! Great empty the pantry cookies. So many combos to substitute banana/carrots/apples with or without chocolate chips, with or without nuts. Even tried it with brown rice because no quinoa – do not recommend the brown rice.
Today I need to use up a bag of shredded carrots. But – I don’t have enough flaxseed – maybe 1 tablespoon. We are not vegan but like the ground flaxseed taste in these.
What should I do? Can I do 1 tablespoon flaxseed/2.5 tbs water and 1 egg? Or should I forgo the flaxseed and use 2 eggs?
Hi Jane, I’m sorry I didn’t get to your question sooner. I think either one would be fine – 1 egg with the flax or 2 eggs without the flax.