If you’ve been looking for the consummate healthy cookie recipe, this is it! These thick, chewy, and goodie-packed low calorie Oatmeal Cookies are made from wholesome ingredients, yet they taste like a true treat!

Soft, chewy, and made with whole grains and a slew of chunky mix-ins, these are the best healthy cookies you’ll ever bake.

I highly recommend them for all of your sweet treat and pick-me-up snack moments.

While I am all for the full-on indulgence of a regular oatmeal cookie every now and then (these perfect classic Oatmeal Cookies are my favorite recipe), it’s nice to have a trusted collection of healthy desserts on hand for when you need them.

These nutritious oatmeal cookies are one of the most popular healthy cookie recipes online and have become a tried-and-true reader favorite.

They’re great anytime you need healthy cookies for kids, are trying to lose weight but don’t want to give up cookies (I hear you!), or you just want to feel a little bit better reaching for that second (or third) cookie.

Plus, they taste absolutely scrumptious!

Secrets to Baking the Best Healthy Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

It doesn’t get much more delightfully old school than an old fashioned oatmeal cookie.

Thus, it feels especially appropriate that I used one of the oldest healthy baking tricks in the book when developing the recipe: applesauce.

• Replacing half the usual amount of butter with applesauce still keeps the oatmeal cookies plenty moist, without the need for extra fat.

Next, I wanted to see if I could sweeten the healthy oatmeal cookies without sugar. Honey did the trick!

• In addition to being a more wholesome alternative, honey’s homey, comforting flavor is a classic and lovely combination with the oatmeal.

Oatmeal Cookie Mix-Ins

Now, we need to talk about one of the more divisive oatmeal cookie topics: raisins.

I know that a healthy oatmeal raisin cookie recipe would have been the *most* traditional route, but I simply could not do it.

Far better is a healthy oatmeal raisin cookie WITH CHOCOLATE.

I love my oatmeal cookies fully loaded, which is why to go along with the raisins, you’ll find melty dark chocolate chips and chunky toasted nuts too.

I adore the overall effect the range of mix-ins gives these healthy oatmeal cookies.

We have the crunch and warmth of the nuts and the sweet chew of the raisins, and I don’t think I need to tell you that if you stack an oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips next to an oatmeal cookie without, one of them is going to be the clear crowd favorite.

Recipe Variations

• For healthy oatmeal cookies banana edition, don’t miss my Banana Oatmeal Cookies, this recipe’s different but equally delicious cousin.
• For healthy oatmeal peanut butter cookies, you can bake Monster Cookies, which have a peanut butter oatmeal cookie base, but use raisins, chocolate chips, and chopped nuts for the mix-ins instead. Or, try these Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. YUM!
• For oatmeal cookies with a festive twist, try these Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies, Apple Oatmeal Cookies, or Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies.

Dietary & Substitution Notes

• Do not swap all of the fat in this recipe for applesauce. The modest amount of butter is key to the healthy oatmeal cookies’ texture and keeps the cookies from being excessively cakey.
• If you are seeking healthy oatmeal cookies no flour (meaning no wheat flour in order to make the cookies gluten free), I’d suggest using a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend like this one in place of the wheat flour. Make sure your oats are certified GF also.
• If you’d like the healthy oatmeal cookies vegan, you can swap said butter for a vegan butter substitute (my recommendation for that buttah flava) or coconut oil. Use maple syrup in place of the honey

How to Freeze These Cookies

These healthy oatmeal cookies are highly freezer friendly.

If you anticipate craving cookies in the future (who doesn’t?), you can either double the recipe and freeze half or bake only the oatmeal cookies you think you’ll eat in the next day or two right away, then freeze the remaining dough for fresh-baked healthy oatmeal cookies on demand.

^^Between you and me, I can’t believe that I actually had enough self control to freeze some of the dough versus baking and eating every single cookie immediately, but I am certainly happy that I did!