Packed with tender oats and gooey chocolate, these zucchini breakfast cookies have an incredible soft and chewy texture and are the best way to start the day!
Introducing your new favorite grab-and-go breakfast that you’re definitely going to want be grabbing a lot of.
These cookies are kinda like a cross between soft zucchini bread and a big loaded oatmeal cookie and it is the BEST of both worlds!
Plus the fact that you get to eat this for breakfast? Unreal.
We’re keeping things super easy and breezy today and mixing up these cookies entirely in one bowl, no chill time necessary, and they bake up in minutes.
Breakfast is won. There’s just no way around it.
These Breakfast Cookies feature…
- A soft and chewy texture
- Hearty oats and toasted walnuts
- Gooey melted chocolate chunks
Making the Breakfast Cookies
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Banana
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Oats
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Zucchini
- Walnuts
- Chocolate chunks or chips
Tips for Perfect Breakfast Cookies
- Shred zucchini on large box holes of grater – you will need about 1-1/2 cups shredded zucchini which is about 1 medium zucchini.
- Squeeze water out of zucchini – this prevents extra moisture from getting in the cookies resulting in a soft and chewy texture. Shred the zucchini, gather it in a kitchen towel, and squeeze the water from zucchini until dry.
- Measure flour correctly – we use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
- Gently fold batter – use a light hand when mixing batter and gently fold so as not to overmix.
- Toast nuts – if you choose to use nuts in this bread, take the extra few minutes to toast them on the stovetop until fragrant. This gives them much better flavor and texture.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on these cookies!
- Try different mix-ins – feel free to dry different nuts, chocolates, or dried fruit.
- Add orange zest – for a kick of citrusy flavor, try adding 1 teaspoon grated orange zest.
- Skip banana – if you’re not a fan of banana flavor, feel free to replace the mashed banana with 1/3 cup applesauce.
Storing and Freezing Cookies
These cookies store well at room temperature in an airtight container up to 3 days. For best results, we recommend reheating cookies in the microwave 10-20 seconds so the chocolate gets gooey.
To freeze cookies, allow them to cool completely, wrap well, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw cookies and reheat before serving.
If you can resist grabbing two of these cookies, please share your secrets. They’re so insanely soft and loaded with melty chocolate, you’d NEVER guess there’s zucchini hiding inside!
Meet your new favorite breakfast.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More easy grab-and-go breakfast items to try next!
Zucchini Breakfast Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 medium ripe banana, mashed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (squeezed dry in a kitchen towel)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
- 1/2 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line two medium sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix sugars with melted butter, mashed banana, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until dough is just combined.
- Fold shredded zucchini, walnuts, and chocolate chunks into dough until just combined (dough will be slightly sticky)
- Scoop dough into 1 inch balls and space 2 inches apart on sheet pans. Flatten dough balls slightly.
- Bake cookies at 350F 11-13 minutes until cookies are golden brown around the edges. Allow cookies to cool on sheet pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Enjoy cookies warm!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe tips and photos on 7/12/23.
Kelley @ Chef Savvy says
Bring on the zucchini Sarah! I love zucchini everything! These breakfast cookies looks fantastic!
Sarah says
Thanks so much Kelley! Happy Friday. 🙂
Kristen @ The Endless Meal says
This is my kind of breakfast! I just can’t get over the pic with the melty chocolate chip … yum!
Sarah says
Aww you’re too kind, Kristen! Thanks for the sweet words! 🙂
Jen says
can I make these without walnuts.?
Sarah says
Yes, you can just leave the walnuts out!
Tracy says
Could I use coconut oil to replace the butter in this recipe?
Sarah says
Coconut oil would work great as long as it’s in a softened, but not melted state. 🙂
Shannon says
What do you think might be the best replacement for egg in this recipe to accommodate an allergy?
Sarah says
Hi Shannon! I haven’t tested this recipe without the egg, however I’ve heard that 1/4 cup of applesauce can be a great replacement for one egg!
Katrina says
We have egg/dairy allergies so I subbed dairy free margarine + flax seed “eggs” and they turned out great! They were easy to make and the kids love ’em
Sarah says
Happy to hear it, Katrina! Enjoy these cookies! 🙂
Meredith says
OH I would love to make these but I’m allergic to bananas!! Do you know if there’s something I could substitute with?! ?
Sarah says
Hi Meredith! In place of the banana you could use 1/2 cup applesauce. Let me know how these cookies turn out! 🙂
Erica says
I made these yesterday and gave a bunch to my 70-something year old rancher neighbor (who DESPISES zucchini), and his wife. Twenty minutes later, he comes riding back to my house on his tractor just to tell me how GOOD these cookies are! His wife kicked him out of the house for awhile so he wouldn’t eat them all!
I used pecans instead of walnuts ’cause I’m not much of a walnut fan.
Sarah says
That is such an awesome story, Erica!! Thank you SO much for sharing it and for trying these cookies!
Jess says
I could not stop eating these. Thanks for the great recipe!
Sarah says
They’re so hard to stop eating! 🙂 Enjoy, Jess!
Stacy says
Made these today! Yum. I doubled the batch and because I’m gluten sensitive I used 1c cocunt flour,1 cup paleo mix flour and 2cups of oat flour, i also added 1 tsp of xangum. instead of semi sweet chips I used dark chocolate chips.. after I scooped them on the cookie sheet you need to press them flat.
Becky says
Can you substitute a nut and m &m trail mix instead of the walnuts and chocolate chips?
Sarah says
That would likely work just fine, Becky!
Maddie Hovanec says
I love these cookies they are my favorite small breakfast but I was wondering how many calories are in these and how many are in a serving ?
Sarah says
I’m unaware as to the calorie information for this recipe, Maddie, however, you could use an online calorie counter to find out how many!
Michele Connelly says
How many calories per cookie?
Sarah says
I am unsure of the exact nutrition info for this recipe, however, you can easily find out using this website!
Christina says
Making these tonight! How do
You freeze your zucchini? I have an abundance right now and freezing it sounds perfect!
Sarah says
Hey Christina! I usually shred my zucchini and freeze it in quart-sized plastic bags. Works really well!
coreenb baerg says
Not a complaint, because these were really good, but I added plump craisins to half the dough (without chocolate morsels) and it was also deliciousjust a suggestion.
Sarah says
That sounds so good!! Thanks for sharing that suggestion. 🙂
Melissa says
Sounds delish! Can I sub out the whole wheat flour for coconut flour?
Sarah says
I wouldn’t recommend subbing coconut flour in this particular recipe because of the structural difference between these flours.
Rachael says
What about reg all purpose flour?
Sarah says
That would work fine!