Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies

Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies made with almond butter, mashed sweet potatoes, oats, pure maple syrup, cinnamon, and more! Mix in your favorite additions, like chocolate chips, nuts and seeds for your perfect breakfast cookie.

These easy Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies are inspired by my classic Healthy Breakfast Cookies recipe, with a fall twist!

I simply add mashed sweet potatoes to bring that classic naturally sweet flavor and to inject a little vegetable nutrition into the mix. The end result? A hearty oatmeal cookie that’s jam packed with warmly-spiced fall flavors and all sorts of texture.

Remarkably versatile, these cookies can be used as a base recipe for all sorts of customizations. Simply toss in your favorite kind of chocolate chips (or get wild and crazy with butterscotch chips!), nuts, seeds, and/or dried fruit to keep the breakfast cookie love alive.

Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for healthy sweet potato breakfast cookies!

Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookie Ingredients:

Sweet Potato: We need ½ cup of mashed sweet potato, which equates to one small sweet potato or a portion of a larger sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin A, antioxidants including beta carotene, potassium, and Vitamin C. Plus, the natural sweetness enables us to use less added sugar.

Unsweetened Almond Butter: Bringing healthy fats to the cookies, we need almond butter or any kind of nut butter. Peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, and cashew butter are all great options. Just note that if you use peanut butter, you will be able to taste it.

Eggs: A couple of eggs help bind all of the ingredients together through the baking process. 

Pure Maple Syrup: Used to sweeten the cookies, we need a touch of pure maple syrup. 

Quick Oats: Taking the place of all-purpose flour, we use quick oats. These whole grains add complex carbohydrates and delicious oat flavor to the cookies.

For a gluten-free sweet potato cookie recipe, use certified gluten-free oats. I use gluten-free sprouted oats in all of my oat recipes.

Choice of Add-Ins: Pick your choice of chocolate chips, dried fruit (such as dried cranberries, raisins or chopped dried apricots or dates), chopped pecans or walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, ground flaxseed, hemp seeds, chia seeds, unsweetened coconut, etc. I use chocolate chips, hemp seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

Pure Vanilla Extract and Ground Cinnamon: Both add warm nuance to these healthy cookies.

Sea Salt: A big flavor enhancer! Don’t skip the salt. 

Recipe Customizations:

• For an egg-free version replace the with two ripe mashed bananas or two flax egg. 
• Swap the mashed sweet potatoes for pumpkin puree to make pumpkin cookies.
• The recipe as written is not very sweet, so add 1 to 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, white sugar, or coconut sugar for sweeter cookies.
• If you love fall spices, swap the ground cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice, or toss in some ground nutmeg or ground ginger.
• Trade out 1/2 cup of the oats for 1/4 cup of protein powder to add a protein boost.

Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients, let’s bake some delicious cinnamon sweet potato breakfast cookies.

How to Make Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies:

Begin by cooking the sweet potato according to your preferred method. I poke mine several times, then wrap it in a wet paper towel, stick it on a plate, and microwave it for 5 minutes per side, until very soft when poked with a fork.

Allow the sweet potato to cool to room temperature. I like to cook the potato ahead of time and refrigerate it before use.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

When cooled, remove the skin and mash ½ cup worth of sweet potato in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the eggs, almond butter, pure maple syrup, and vanilla extract.

Add the oats, ground cinnamon, and sea salt (the dry ingredients) to the wet ingredients and stir well until a thick, sticky dough forms.

Stir in 1 to 1.5 cups of your choice of additions, including chocolate chips, chopped nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. 

Use a spoon to dollop the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet. The dough doesn’t spread or change form during the baking process, so shape it as you wish. I go with large round cookies. If you’d like, add extra chocolate chips or nuts to the tops of the cookies.

Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 9-12 minutes, or until the cookies have set up and the edges are lightly golden brown.

Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before serving. I find these cookies taste even better the next day when the flavors have had time to develop. For this reason, feel free to make them in advance!

Storage Options:

1. Room Temperature: Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days.
2. Refrigerator: Refrigerate cookies in a large zip lock bag or an airtight container for up to 1 week.
3. Freezer: Freeze leftover sweet potato cookies in a freezer bag or regular ziplock  bag for up to 3 months.

The next time you’re craving a healthy snack to tide you over between meals or an excuse to eat cookies for breakfast, let this magical recipe be your guiding light. My favorite part is that they quench the sweet tooth without being overly sweet, leaving you feeling energized.

No dairy, refined sugars, flour, or funny business in these healthy sweet potato cookies! Make a double batch for meal prep to always have an afternoon snack on hand!

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Cookies for breakfast, cookies any time of day!