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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!
Can you help me. About how much should the potatoes weigh or how many cups of mashed sweet potatoes should there be. I realize it’s not exact but medium sweet potatoes really tells me nothing. Thanks so much for your help. I can’t wait to try these.
It should be about 2 cups worth when mashed. Great questions!
Absolutely delicious cookies! It makes a lot of dough though! Can the raw dough be frozen?
Hi Helen! I haven’t tried this before, but I think it would work. Would love to hear how it goes if you give it a shot 😀
I made these and they turned out delicious! I only had one cup of flour left so I replaced the rest with more oats and it worked just fine. Switching the egg for applesauce and replacing the butter with margarine or any nut butter turned those into great vegan cookies.
The oats made them a bit thicker than they should be, so they didn’t spread out at all but it was fine since I flattened them before putting them in the oven.
I’m loving all of these ingredient substitutions! Thanks so much for letting us know how it went 😀
I should have read the comments about 2 cups mashed. I ended up with a large amount of dough. Made some cookies with it, which were delicious. Put the rest in a loaf pan and it became super tasty sweet potato bread.
Yummm that bread sounds delish as well! 😀
Thanks for the recipe and for the calorie count. Wonder how you did it. BC when I did it, the calorie total was som much higher. I did it with kostbevakningen.se which is a swedish site based on their “national food administration”. Almost a 100 kcal more per cookie. Hope U R right! 🙂
U were RIGHT. I should have divided my count by 24 and not by 12. U rule!
Glad you worked it out! Enjoy! 😀
Would roasting the sweet potato in the oven instead of boiling be better for flavour?
It would certainly make these cookies a bit more sweet! 😀
I loved these. I used leftover roasted sweet potato that I had after making a sweet potatoe pie. They tasted delicious but they didn’t melt, just stayed in their original scoop shape. But they have a great texture and taste wonderful.
Hello, I was very happy to see this recipe for sweet potato cookies! Thank you so much! Can I know if I can substitute squash or butter pumpkin as we call it here in Sri Lanka, instead of the sweet potato?
I am asking this since most of the sweet potato varieties we get in Sri Lanka is not as sweet and starchy as what’s found in other countries.
Thank you!
Yes! Pumpkin and other similar squash would be delish! 😀
tried this recipe last week and my family absolutely loves it! I’m just wondering what’s the shelf life for these cookies?
About a week! 😀