These Sweet Potato Protein Cookies don’t require protein powder! They’re gluten-free, made with real food ingredients and packed with protein and fiber. Enjoy them for breakfast or an afternoon snack!
*Originally posted 3/2016. Updated March/2020*
Hi friends!
These Sweet Potato Protein Cookies have now been a go-to of mine for 4 years. I love them for a quick snack and they came in super happy during the newborn phase when I often needed to eat quickly and with one hand. They’re very forgiving and you can easily change up the mix-ins to make them more kid-friendly or to suit your tastebuds. I also often make them with white whole wheat flour instead of oat flour and they turn out great!
Back when I first developed this recipe, I used my recipe for Sweet Potato Banana Bites as a starting point and made some adjustments to make them more cookie-like! I was going to call them breakfast cookies, but I didn’t want to limit them to just breakfast. They’d be great for a snack and could even pass as dessert to curb a sweet tooth.
I’m calling them protein cookies, but you don’t need any protein powder to make them. If you’re looking something similar that uses protein powder, check out my recipe for Sweet Potato Protein Bars!
I rarely check the nutritional info for my recipes, but these had me curious so I put the recipe into MyFitnessPal. If you make a dozen cookies, each one has 6 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber and 5 grams of sugar. If you make them a little bigger and make 8 cookies, each one has 9 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and 7 grams of sugar. That’s pretty good in my book!
Here’s how you make them:
PrintSweet Potato Protein Cookies
No protein powder required for these Sweet Potato Protein Cookies! They’re gluten-free, made with real food ingredients and packed with protein and fiber. Enjoy them for breakfast or an afternoon snack!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8-12 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
- 1/2 cup nut butter (i use peanut butter but almond butter or sunflower seed butter would be great)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2–3 Tbsp maple syrup (depending on desired level of sweetness)
- 2 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
- 1/4 cup Craisins or raisins
- 1/4 cup oat flour (white whole wheat flour also works)
- 1 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Combine sweet potato, peanut butter and eggs in a large bowl and mix well.
- Add vanilla, cinnamon, maple syrup, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and Craisins and stir to combine.
- Add oat flour and baking soda and stir.
- Scoop onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (8-12 cookies).
- Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
These are fluffy and delicious. I used white chia seeds, in case you noticed they’re not black in the photos and I used 3 Tbsp maple syrup in the first batch and 2 Tbsp in the second batch. Both tasted great to me but if you like things a little sweeter, I’d start with 3.
Eating these for breakfast works out well for me because I can eat them quickly while I’m trying to feed 3 kids. Plus, I can make a batch on Sunday and eat them all week! Food prep for the win.
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
I love the simplicity of these cookies! These would make a great snack to pack for my kids at school or me at work. Pinning to make asap!
Yum! So creative as always!
These look amazing! I’ve been trying to make more healthy snacks that I can take to work with me. These are perfect!
This recipe is SO up my alley! Cannot wait to make these next week as part of food prep! YUM!
Anything baked with sweet potatoes is amazing! Pinning 🙂
Cookies for breakfast, yup sign me up 🙂 I love using sweet potatoes in baking, they are seriously addicting!
These look so yummy! I’ve never made sweet potato cookies but looks like I need to change that.
Love these, can’t wait to make them!!! For the oat flour, do I just blend it until it’s flour consistency? Could I use a different type of flour?? Thanks!
This recipe is awesome! I’m gluten-free and dairy-free, so I can’t have regular cookies. 🙁 But these are a really good substitute, and super yummy! Just wondering, roughly how many calories do you think are in these?
★★★★★
These look delicious.
Please advise what is the serving size
Thanks
depends if you’re having them for a meal or snack. if you make 12, one would be good for snack. if you make 8, one would be good for breakfast, maybe with a glass of milk
Oh man I’ve been eating eggs every day for years. I CAN’T STOP. These also look magical and I would prob take some with me when I’m running around all day!
I’m so excited because I literally have all of these ingredients! And while I do use protein powder, a voice in my head always tells me I need to look for more natural sources of protein haha. These look and sound incredible!
I love that these don’t have protein powder in them! I don’t care for chia seeds – are they necessary for any of the binding/holding together of the cookies, or can i eliminate safely?
they should be fine without them!
Just pulled batch 2 out of the oven and they are SO good!!! I might have eaten two for my dinner!! 🙂 Oops! Protein, veggies, good fats….totally legit dinner!
I changed a few things b/c I didn’t have maple syrup (used 2 Tbsp raw honey) and raisins instead of crasins. I also just used oats instead of blending them and they turned out GREAT!!!! I’m so excited about these! Baby number 2 will be here Friday and now I have a great, healthy protein snack to eat!! I LOVE the quinoa breakfast bars instead of store bought protein bars, but they are pretty time intensive, so this recipe is perfect for what I need right now!!! Thanks Lindsey!!
so glad you liked them!!
I’d totally eat one of these cookies alongside my scrambled eggs 🙂
These look like a great breakfast for on the go, or when just lounging on the weekend! Breakfast is definitely my most favorite meal, so I am definitely going to have to add these to my list of things to make! 🙂
YUM YUM YUM! So many of my favorite ingredients in one! These look awesome Lindsay!
Naturally pumped up with protein! Pinning.. need to make a batch of these for on the go!
I’ve been struggling to get enough protein in the mornings, especially since I started eating a more plant based diet. So I’ll definitely be giving these a try! Thanks for sharing 😀
Yum… so many of my favorite ingredients! I think my daughter will love to take these to school so will be making soon!
Can you describe the texture? Is it cake like?
it’s definitely fluffy and cake-like, not thick and chewy like some cookies
Hi. Not sure why my cookies didn’t turn out like your. The dough was kinda runny so the cookies came out flat. I even added some more whole oats and put in freezer to try and thick them up. I was so excited to make cause I love sweet potatoes. Flavors good ,even my husband liked( he doesn’t go sweet potatoes) lol. Thanks Kelly
hmmm if your peanut butter was extra runny that might be part of it. You could try adding another 1/4 cup oat flour. Is it possible you forgot the baking soda?
Thank you for your reply back. Think it was the almond butter then. It is kinda runny
Love the cookie thou
Will make again with peanut butter
Hi! Made these for my toddler, he loved them! Do you think this recipe would work with ripe banana for all or part of the sweet potato?
i wouldn’t replace all of the sweet potato but maybe try half and half? i think the sweet potato is what gives them some structure without a lot of flour. let me know how it goes!
These look really great! Would you happen to have nutritional info on these?
Thanks!
i share some of the nutrition info in the post right above the recipe!
Made these last night with some minor changes and they’re a big hit. Thanks for posting a great whole-food protein cookie recipe! Super glad I stumbled across your site.
awesome! so glad you liked them and thanks for reading!
I’m usually skeptical of any “healthy” cookies. I have tried several recipes and never found one I truly liked, but I had to try these because I love all of the ingredients! Well I am glad I did…they are so tasty!! A great treat when I’m craving something sweet or a perfect snack in between meals to keep me satisfied! I have a feeling I will be making these again and again
so glad you liked them!!!
Do they need to be stored in the fridge? And I’m new to baking with sweet potatoes and chia seeds…should they have turned black the next day?
I don’t think they necessarily need to be stored in the fridge but because they’re a little moist they probably last longer that way. And I don’t think they should be black…they should look maybe a little darker than the pictures
Hi Linda. Thanks for the recipe – very excited to try this. Do you think I could freeze the cookies once baked?
I haven’t tried freezing them yet, sorry!
Just made some of these – WOW! Sooo yummy. I intended to have them for my pre race breakfst on Sunday, but I don’t think they’ll last until then! I didn’t use vanilla or cinammon & used oat bran instead of oat flour. I totally recommend. Thanks Lindsay!
glad you liked them!!
Great recipe! Made these tonight and my house smells amazing! I tweaked it a bit for my own tastes and used whole oats, swapped the craisins for blueberries and also added some nutmeg. Looked a little thin so I added some extra oats and scooped out with a cookie scoop. They came out delicious! Can’t wait to dig in to these in the morning with a cup of tea! Awesome recipe and takes very well to modifications. Keep the great recipes coming!
glad you liked them!
Can I use almond or coconut or tapioca flour instead of oat flour
i haven’t tried it, but I would think it would work just fine.
Will be making these this weekend, right up my recipe ally !
hope you enjoy!
Just made them they taste great but turned dark green as they cooled… did swap Sunbutter since my daughter is allergic to peanuts also used black chia seeds. Lol this would only happen to me!
That’s totally normal when using sunbutter. There’s some sort of chemical reaction that occurs when sunbutter is used in baking that causes things to turn green. Still fine to eat!
Yes! This happened to me when using Sunbutter as well! As they cooled they went from pumpkin colored to a deep shade of green! It caught me off guard. I love the recipe though!
Baked these today! Omg they are delicious xx
so glad you liked them!
I made these yesterday in bar form (just dumped the bowl in a greased 9×9 pan) and they are fantastic!
They will be on repeat for sure. Thanks for the great recipe!
oooh good to know! i haven’t tried in bar form yet. might have to do that next time!
Loved these but they came out more muffin-like in texture than cookie. I made my own oat flour with just oatmeal and used almond butter. Any idea whys? Thanks!!
That sounds like their normal texture. They’re definitely lighter and fluffier, not dense and chewy like some cookies. Sorry for the confusion!
Ok thanks!I might make as a loaf next time. It turned sort of green which is hilarious. So delicious
oh let me know how that turns out!!
Would this work with canned pumpkin in place of the sweet potato?
it might. they might be a little mushier but worth a shot!
Would love to see nutritional data for your recipes. Possible?
sorry, i won’t be including it but you could plug into my fitness pal!
My cookies are green inside. Everybody else?? I was a bit surprised about that, and so were my kids!
did you use sunflower seed butter? It has a reaction with baking soda that causes the green tint but is perfectly safe!
Yes I did use sunflower butter. Wants them to be nut free for school.
Can baking powder be used instead???
I’m not sure. I don’t know if it reacts with that or not. They’re totally safe to eat even with the slight green tint.
I love this recipe! I never have protein powder so I always steer clear of the recipes that call for it but this one sounds perfect! Plus I think it would be helpful to sneak in a little protein in my son’s meal without him even realizing it! Win, Win!
yay! enjoy!
Made these this morning, used sunflower seed butter because did not have peanut butter (must get to store). They were good, not too sweet but I forgot sunflower seed butter turns green when baked. My kids may not like them, but I am going to have them handy while driving back and forth from schools/errands. Also loved your farro oatmeal with siggis yogurt. Had that this week and then froze the rest of my farro that I cooked
awesome! glad to hear it!
Hi’! Could I use white whole wheat flour in place of the oat flour? Thanks!
yep! works fine!
Can I make this without pepitas? They are usually processed with peanuts and my son is allergic!
yep! they’ll be fine!
I made these and my whole family likes them. However, they turned black shortly after leaving the oven. They are not burnt, they don’t smell or taste burnt, yet they are black. I used sunbutter and omitted cinnamon. Anyone else experience this weird phenomenon? Any ideas how to prevent this? Thanks.
If you use sunbutter, they will always turn greenish/blackish. It’s a chemical reaction when it mixes with the baking soda i believe. Perfectly safe but it will continue to happen if sunbutter is used instead of another nut butter
Thanks very much for the quick response. Nice to have an explanation!
Lindsay!! Amazing!!! Love the pumpkin seeds that give it a nice crunch. I added a tablespoon of brewers yeast to help boost my milk supply. I’m breastfeeding 1 month old twins and these cookies are a yummy healthy quick treat! Thanks soo much!
I made these but replaced the peanut butter with half sunflower seed butter & half pumpkin seed butter so my daughter could bring to school. They were very runny before entering the oven. They came out very flat and not at all like the picture. I put in the fridge once cool hoping that would firm them up but then the next morning they turned mostly dark dark green, basically black. Pretty bit disaster and not tasting good either.
hi! my guess is that the pumpkin seed butter is maybe a little thinner than peanut butter which made them runnier…although they are pretty runny usually before baking. the sunbutter is responsible for turning them green/black. It’s a chemical reaction with the baking soda that happens when you bake with sunbutter. if you try them again I would maybe try all sunbutter and add a little extra oat flour. Sorry they didn’t turn out for you!
These protein cookies look great, how many carbs do they have?
i have no idea! sorry!
Thank you for this healthy recipe! I read all these comments before I ventured into this cookie. My batter was runny so I first added two tablespoons of almond flour and them two more. I also put it into the refrigerator for about twenty minutes stirring it a couple of times. They came out awesome! Yummy, cake like and tall. I would add a picture if I could figure out how to attach it. Thanks again!
Sandi
so glad you liked them!!
I made these this weekend and they are amazing!! I love the cakey, soft texture. I subbed sun butter and have never baked with it before: if you choose to use sunbather your cookies will turn a dark swampy green as they cool, FYI! My baby didn’t mind, but my toddler wouldn’t touch them because of the color 😛
Love these amd so do my kiddos! I recently had to come off all grains so i used hemp hearts in place of oatmeal, they were a little soft when i put them on the cookie sheet, but they turned out great!
★★★★★
It made exactly 12 using my larger ice cream scoop. Added a little more oats since it was a tiny bit runny and I had made a little more oat flour than I needed. Used my coffee grinder to make oat flour and it worked well since you only need 1/4 cup. Misread the instructions and cooked for 20 minutes which was ok. Next time I might try using pumpkin. They are very filling and just a hint of sweetness.
Great to grab and go in the morning. Froze half to see if they freez well.. will be making again.
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I’ve been craving cookies like crazy lately so this is a great way to satisfy that. I didn’t blend the oats because I don’t have a food processor and they still turned out great.
★★★★★
oh good to know! makes them even easier 🙂
Made this today. Love them! Next time, I will add a little ground ginger and some candied ginger. These will be perfect for snacking on during my long runs. (I’m training for an ultra marathon!) Thanks for posting this great recipe!
awesome! love the ginger idea!
Just made these. I admit I was sceptical ….. sweet potatoes and peanut butter scared me. BUT they are AMAZING. I made 9 and plan to make a bunch to take camping. Thank you for this recipient.
Hi. Is there any egg substitute that would work for these?
Cheers
I’ve made these cookies many times, using the recipe above and we always love them. Today I substituted mini semi-sweet chocolate chips for the craisins, and the cookies are equally wonderful.
glad to hear it!
Great recipe!!!! I made then as recipe states but did not have cranberries on hand. Loved them! Thank you!!!
★★★★★
These remind me of the top of a muffin. I’m currently spreading lots of butter on them. I have never spread butter on a cookie!!!
I made these cookies a few days ago and absolutely LOVE them! So easy to make, healthy, and tasty! Even the picky eater in my house liked them. Sadly they didn’t last long!
I used canned sweet potato puree since I didn’t have any fresh sweet potatoes to cook. I’m curious if canned pumpkin would work in place of the sweet potato and may give that a try since I’m out of sweet potato.
Thank you for sharing your great recipes! You help make cooking more enjoyable, tasty, and healthy!
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let me know if you try it!!
Really tasty! Didn’t have pepitas so I used pecans, which is delicious. I had trouble with baking though…mine flattened and spread quite a bit while baking. Any idea why that might happen? The texture was still a lot like muffins, which I enjoyed, but I’d like them to dome a bit more.
★★★★
you could try them with flour instead of oat flour. I often make them that way.
These look delicious! Do you think I could add shredded carrots to these without affecting the consistency? I came across these when looking for a sweet potato/carrot muffin recipe. Excited to try these.
i think so! i would just squeeze the shredded carrots to remove water before adding.
Thank you! I made these this morning and they were soooo good! I added about 1/3rd cup of carrot (squeezed the juice out per your suggestion) and a handful of additional non-ground oats for texture. I also realized after the first batch that they needed a touch of salt since our peanut butter is unsalted. Love them. Super easy and delicious. Will def make again.
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If I use coconut sugar, how much should I use for this recipe?
the same amount as maple syrup
I’ve made these before and my daughter loves them! Two questions:
1. Do you think almond flour would work?
2. Do you refrigerate these after baking and how long do they typically keep?
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i think almond flour would work! i store mine in the fridge for 4-5 days!