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Need a healthy cookie recipe that’s also chewy and delicious? This sweet potato cookies recipe has you covered! It’s packed with wholesome rolled oats and mashed sweet potatoes (plus decadent chocolate chips). With nearly 70 five-star reviews, you know it’s a winning recipe every time!
save this recipe!Secretly Healthy Cookies
Step aside, pumpkin. There’s a new healthy orange veggie in town. She’s sweet, easy to find, easy to cook, and SO GOOD in cookies.
Sweet potato cookies, friends. They’re happening! Rich, chewy, and actually a little healthy, this sweet potato cookies recipe is one of our favorite goods to bake in the fall. We’ve also got cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger in there for extra cozy measures.
I’ve been making these cookies for my family every fall for years. And I’m not alone. This healthy cookie recipe has almost 70 5-star reviews from bakers all over the world, so the proof is in the pudding (or… dough)! Let’s bake!
Reader rating
“This recipe is absolutely scrumptious! I never altered it at all & Sarahs blend of nutritious ingredients was wow & wowed by my family. Thanks for this recipe, great baking!” —Helen
You’ll Need The Following
These sweet potato cookies have the usual cookie ingredients (you know, flour and all that jazz), but a few extras make them so delicious!
- Sweet Potatoes: We’ll boil or microwave the sweet potato until soft, then mash and mix into our dough! You could also use butternut squash here.
- Baking Basics: All-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt form the structural and flavor base of the cookies.
- Rolled Oats: These add a pleasant chewiness and heartiness to the cookies. They also bring a subtle nutty flavor and extra fiber.
- Spices: Any good sweet potato cookie should also have a generous spoonful of spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ground ginger!
- Unsalted Butter: Softened butter provides moisture, richness, and a smooth texture to the cookie dough. It also contributes to the cookies’ buttery, nutty undertones.
- Brown And White Sugar: Both add a deep, caramel-like sweetness and moisture, complementing the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
- Large Egg: This acts as a binding agent, holding the cookie dough together and providing structure.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor profile, adding a fragrant, aromatic note that complements the spices and sweet potatoes.
- Chocolate Chips Or Chunks: These decadent morsels bring a delightful contrast of creamy, melty chocolate against the hearty cookie base.
Making Cookies Has Never Been Easier
- Mash the sweet potatoes.
- Mix the dry ingredients.
- Mix the wet ingredients.
- Combine the dry and wet ingredients.
- Bake!
Sarah’s Cookie Hacks
I’ve been making this sweet potato cookies recipe for years, and these are my top tips for perfect cookies every time:
- No Mixer Needed: Don’t beat the butter and sugars for this recipe—just stir or whisk them together by hand. I prefer a more dense and chewy cookie, and whipping the butter makes them too cakey.
- Squish ’em! After baking while the cookies are still warm, I gently squish each one with a spatula. This makes for a chewier, more delish cookie.
- Pizza Stone: If you have one, I love baking cookies on a pizza stone. I find the texture is always better!
Common Cookie Questions
Can I use margarine instead of butter for a dairy-free version?
Yes, you can use dairy-free margarine as a substitute for butter. Make sure it’s softened for easy mixing.
Can I freeze the cookie dough for later use?
Yes, you can. Portion the dough into cookie-sized rounds and freeze on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a sealed container or zip-top bag. When ready to bake, you can place them directly on the baking sheet from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the baking time.
Can I use different add-ins instead of chocolate chips?
Absolutely! Chopped nuts, raisins, or dried cranberries all make wonderful alternatives to chocolate chips.
P.S. Make these chewy date cookies next!
Sweet Potato Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, you'll need 2 cups mashed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 240 g
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats, 130 g
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp each ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground ginger
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened in the microwave for 20 seconds, 1 stick, 112 g
- ½ cup brown sugar, 110 g
- ½ cup white sugar, 110 g
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, 5 mL
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips or chunks, 250 g
Instructions
- Mash Potatoes: Peel and chop sweet potatoes into chunks. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add sweet potatoes, cooking for about 15 minutes, until fork tender. Drain water and mash potatoes, then set aside to cool a little. You'll need a total of 2 cups of mashed sweet potato.2 medium sweet potatoes
- Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl combine flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups rolled oats, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp each ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground ginger
- Wet Ingredients: Combine butter and sugars until smooth, then add egg and vanilla. Once sweet potato has cooled off a bit (should be warm, not hot) add it to the sugar mixture.½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup white sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Dries + Wets: Stir flour mix into sweet potato mix, then fold in chocolate chips.1 ½ cups chocolate chips or chunks
- Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Scoop dough onto a greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until slightly crisp on the outside (do not over bake! They may look soft in the center – that’s perfect!)
- Cool: Let cool on the pan for 20 minutes before transferring to a container. For best results, gently squish each cookie with a spatula while they're still warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
Truly delicious cookies! the texture was good, I baked them for 20 minutes and added some crushed almonds for an extra crunch.
Delicious!! Tagged on facebook
Once I put the dough balls on the cookie sheets I refrigerated them for 15 minutes. Came out MUCH better than the pictures here. They baked up nice and high without flattening out. Then baked as recipe says, for 12 minutes. Good recipe, tho.
The instructions say she flattens them on purpose one they come out of the oven. I assume hers looked like yours before she flattened them.
These sound so delicious! Can’t wait to make them. I will try recipe with coconut oil and alt sugars as two posters did. I like the idea of using the pizza stone. Should I still use parchment paper? Thanks for all you share!
I don’t usually use parchment when I’m cooking them on a pizza stone 🙂
Can we use yams in this recipe?
Yes that should work!
Do you know the weight of the sweet potato please?
It should be about 500 grams
Instead of the spices, could you use pumpkin pie spice, and if so, how much?
That’s a tasty idea! I think I would do 2 teaspoons 🙂
If I make thes smaller in size. How long do you think in the oven?
I would start checking on them around 8 minutes (I like a super soft cookie though!)
These are delicious and will definitely make again and again! I did change it up a little bit, based on what I had. I used 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 C light brown sugar, 1 C chopped walnuts, 1/2 C raisins and swapped out the chocolate chips for 1/2 C Ghiradelli white baking chips. So good! Thank you for this recipe!
Thrilled you loved it, thanks for the review!
I ended up baking these much longer to get them to set. They’re delicious but not sure I’d make them again. This is the only time I’ve left anything less than 5 stars on a recipe here. Perhaps my sweet potato was too wet? Not sure why they were not cooperative, lol.
My family loved this!
Perfect so delicious, it was between a cookie and muffin, loved everything about it.
Love hearing this Natty, thanks for making it!
I used purple sweet potatoes and the cookies came out of the oven GREEN!!! Like Elphaba green. My husband said, “Shrek cookies!” They tasted delicious. (Apparently it was the baking soda pH change that transformed the color.) kitchen magic!
So glad you enjoyed the (Shrek!) cookies Julie, I’m glad you still enjoyed them green!!