Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

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.

Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

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!

Breakfast Cookies recipe ingredients How to make breakfast cookies

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.

Quinoa Breakfast Cookies recipe

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).

Quinoa Breakfast Cookies on a baking tray

More Favorite Breakfast Treats

If you love these quinoa breakfast cookies, try one of these breakfast treats next:

For more healthy breakfast ideas, check out this post!


4.9 from 65 reviews

Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
These vegan quinoa cookies are a great quick breakfast or healthy snack! Made with carrots, quinoa, and oats, they're naturally sweetened and gluten-free.
Author:
Recipe type: breakfast, snack
Serves: 12 large cookies
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and fold until just combined. Stir in the walnuts, pepitas, and cranberries.
  5. 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.
  6. When cookies are completely cool, they can be stored in an airtight container or frozen.
Notes
*Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats to make these gluten-free.

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215 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it):  

  1. Marlene
    01.17.2021

    Hi, I didn’t have any almond butter so I substituted (on a whim) 1/4 c melted butter and 1/2 cup applesauce. and a bit of almond flour and ground coconut flakes, If anyone is looking to make these nut-free, I am pretty sure the bit of almost flour that I added for flavor is optional.

  2. Amy
    01.15.2021

    Absolutely delicious! I am avoiding most flours, and love that these are made from gluten free oat flour. The texture is so moist, fluffy and slightly chewy. To me this is the perfect texture. The flavor is spot on. I enjoyed with coffee and went back for seconds while my husband enjoyed 3. Don’t think they will make it to the freezer. Can’t wait to try the pumpkin chocolate chip version! Thank you for another amazing recipe that is still on the healthy side.

    • Amy
      01.15.2021

      Leaving 5 stars as I forgot to hit the stars from my last post. If I could, I would give this recipe 10 stars

      • Jeanine Donofrio
        01.16.2021

        Thanks Amy! I’m so glad you loved them!

      • Marlene
        01.17.2021

        They are great at any meal! Thanks so much. Can’t wait to try the pumpkin/choc chip cookies!

  3. Marilyn
    12.01.2020

    Would like nutrition information for your recipes.

  4. Tina
    11.21.2020

    These are AMAZINGLY delicious. It is really hard to only eat one… Or two… 😁

    Do we know the nutritional info for these yums?

  5. Kiara from positivescripts.com
    10.22.2020

    Holy cow, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this recipe came out amazing! I didn’t add any nuts, and replaced almond butter with peanut butter, and added a splash of vanilla. So delicious, healthy, and glad it’s vegan! Thank you for the recipe! I’ll be trying more of yours 🙂

  6. Kristy
    10.12.2020

    I’ve heard great things about this recipe – do they freeze easily for grab and go breakfasts?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.12.2020

      Yep, they freezer great! My favorite thing to have stashed away in my freezer.

  7. Bakergrrl
    10.10.2020

    Have made these twice so far. Subbed cooked diced sweet potato for carrot, pb for almond butter, applesauce for coconut oil, all whole rolled oats instead of half oat flour, and one jumbo egg instead of flax egg and I formed them into ‘meatball’ shapes by hand and they were BEAUTIFUL! Thanks 😊

  8. Tania
    09.11.2020

    Yum city! These really lived up to the hype. I followed advice to shred the carrots in the food processor after making the oat flour, and I subbed olive oil and a regular egg, and used pepitas, pecans and dark chocolate chips. My partner said, “I”m just going to eat all of these OK?” of the 6 cookies left on the sheet😂 And they’re practically a health food! They did fall apart a little while still warm (we couldn’t wait) but firmed up nicely when fully cooled. Make them!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.12.2020

      Hi Tania, I’m so glad you both loved them!

  9. Acelya
    09.03.2020

    These cookies look delicious. I cannot wait to try them! Would it be ok to use quinoa flour instead of cooked quinoa?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.03.2020

      Hi Acelya, no I’m sorry that wouldn’t be a 1:1 swap.

  10. Amy
    05.29.2020

    I am an avid user of your cookbook and recipes on line and have never been disappointed in the taste!
    I made these cookies today and love the flavors, although they fall apart easily. Any suggestions?
    Also, if I don’t have flaxseed, can I substitute 1 egg?
    Thanks for offering healthy foods with great flavors!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.29.2020

      Hi Amy, if you bake them longer, they’ll hold together better (these don’t overbake easily). When the bottom becomes more firm, they become more cohesive. You can also try leaving them on the baking sheet until they’re cooled completely. They’ll be crumbly just out of the oven but should firm up as they cool.

      Also, be sure your almond butter is smooth and not at all chunky.

      I haven’t tried with eggs, but I would try 1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water instead of the 5 tablespoons that’s listed.

      Hope that helps!

  11. Grace
    05.26.2020

    Can I make the oat flour with quick oats for this recipe

  12. Grace
    05.03.2020

    I love these the first time I made them and want to make them again but I only have 1 cup of oats due to quarantine (not enough to make oat flour) can I sub almond flour instead?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.15.2020

      Hi Grace, so sorry for my slow reply, I’m not sure, I think it could work but it’s hard to say without trying.

  13. Emily
    04.09.2020

    Do you think you could use oat bran instead of the oat flour?

    Thanks!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.14.2020

      Hi Emily, since oat bran is more coarse, I don’t think they’d hold together.

  14. Barb
    03.20.2020

    I’ve made these cookies 3 times. Although we really like the taste, we don’t like that they crumble so easily. Not just when they’r warm, but when they’re fresh out of the refrigerator. I even tried using eggbeaters (equivalent of 1 whole egg) and it didn’t help very much. I’ve now put the batch in the freezer – we’ll see how that works! Any suggestions?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.21.2020

      Hi Barb, try baking them a little longer and try leaving them on the baking sheet to cool for a little longer before transferring to a rack. Also, make sure your almond butter is pretty smooth and not dry/chunky. Hope that helps!

  15. Doreen
    03.20.2020

    I stumbled upon the Quinoa Breakfast cookies…..sensational…love the recipe…moist and delicious….super easy.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.29.2020

      Hi Doreen, I’m so glad you loved them!

  16. Gina
    02.06.2020

    Thank you so much for your creative healthy recipes, I loved this one! Many times healthy recipes are too dry or bland but these are great, even my picky husband liked them:)
    I ran out of coconut oil so I used 3tbs melted butter instead and it worked well.
    Made half with choc chips and half without, we actually liked them without chocolate better.
    Thank you again!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.07.2020

      I’m so glad you enjoyed them!

  17. ROSEMARY ORTIZ
    02.03.2020

    OH MY GOD amazing I almost ate all the dough before I even cooked any I will make these again

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.04.2020

      Haha, I’m so glad you enjoyed them 🙂

  18. jolinda
    11.09.2019

    Just made a batch. I love them. I only had 1/4 cup of maple syrup so I used honey for the other 1/4 cup of sweet stuff. Used almond slivers and cran-pomegranate. I thought they were wonderful. The true test will be when my grandkids come this weekend. 🙂

  19. XPL
    11.07.2019

    Lovely recipe and a great way to get my kid to eat some quinoa! I used 2 eggs instead of the flaxseed as I didn’t have any flaxseed home and we are not vegan. I also didn’t add any nuts or cranberries & the biscuits were still delicious!
    My husband said they taste like carrot cake biscuits!
    Thank you for a wonderful recipe!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.08.2019

      I’m so glad you all enjoyed these!

  20. Shelikestomove
    10.20.2019

    Hi there! I have an allergy to oats so I try to avoid them. Is it ok to increase the quinoa and carrots to make up the difference? Or just increase the quinoa?

    Thanks!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.20.2019

      Hi, I’m sorry I don’t think this recipe will work without oats, they likely will fall apart with just quinoa.

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.