If you're the type of person who's racing out the door with breakfast in your hand and rarely makes full-on breakfast, these healthy oatmeal breakfast cookies will become your new BFF. You can bake them in 1 bowl on Sunday and you'll be set for the week! Perfect for grab-and-go mornings or as a little pick-me-up between your morning meetings.

Hand holding a brown breakfast cookie with seeds, pink dried cranberries, and orange dried apricots.

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1 cookie = 10 plants
Key ingredients and substitutions
Elo's tips
Step-by-step instructions
My hack for perfectly round cookies
Storage tips
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The recipe

My motto is simple: "More plants, more often" and recipes like these breakfast cookies, this oat and seed bread, or these multi-seed crispbreads make it easy to stick to that.

These cookies are loaded with a range of seeds, oats, and dried fruit adding up to 10 different plants for a more varied diet.

The best part is that they are super meal prep-friendly and wrapped up in a practical portable snack.

If you're curious about why I'm all about plant-packed recipes, you can dive into my full philosophy and the research behind it in my "What is Plant-First Eating?" post.

Key ingredients and substitutions

Quick oats: Sometimes called quick-cooking oats or porridge oats work better than rolled oats in this recipe because their thinner texture helps everything stick together better. And if you're unsure about the difference, I've inserted a picture below.
Flax and chia seeds: Once in contact with water, they form a gel that binds all the ingredients together without having to use eggs.
Other seeds: Sunflower seeds add crunch, while pumpkin and sesame seeds bring in extra layers of flavor.
Nut butter: I love mixing peanut and almond butter for the best flavor combo, but any nut butter you have will work!
Coconut oil: Helps give the cookies a crispy exterior.
Maple syrup: Adds sweetness while also acting as a binder. You can replace it with agave syrup if you prefer. I've not tried substituting it with any kind of granulated sugar.
Dried fruits: I'm a fan of dried cranberries and dried apricots, but you can swap in raisins, dried cherries, dates, figs—whatever you'. Use what you've got in your pantry or can find easily at the store.

Elo's tips

Don't skip the flax and chia gel-forming step or the cookies will fall apart after baking (this is a pro tip from my recipe tests).
Prep the dried fruits. Chop the dried apricots into bite-sized pieces using a small knife or kitchen scissors. If your dried cranberries are on the bigger side, cut those in half, too. Smaller pieces mean a more even distribution of dried fruits in the cookies and make sure everything sticks together nicely.
Pack the mixture tightly into a cookie scoop when portioning to help the breakfast cookies hold their shape well.

Step-by-step instructions

Thick gel of brown and black seeds in a white ceramic bowl.

Step 1: Make the flax and chia gel. In a small bowl, mix the chia seeds, flax seeds, and lukewarm water. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes until it thickens into a gel-like consistency. This will help hold the cookies together.

Gooey light brown mixture with seeds inside, in a large glass bowl.

Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients. Grab a large mixing bowl and combine the peanut butter, almond butter, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, flax and chia gel, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Stir it all together really well, making sure the gel is fully mixed in.

Sticky brown mixture of seeds and dried fruits in a large glass bowl.

Step 3: Add the dry ingredients. Toss the quick oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and your chopped dried fruits into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix until everything is well coated and combined—you want every oat and seed to be covered with the nut butter mixture.

Golden baked cookies on a baking sheet lined with white parchment paper.

Step 4: Bake. Using a cookie scoop, portion out the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press each cookie flat with your fingers. Pop them into a preheated oven and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 15-20 minutes, or until they’re golden and slightly crispy on the edges.

Hand holding a drinking glass over a cookie.

My hack for perfectly round cookies

Want to give your breakfast cookies a face lift? Place a glass over each cookie and give it a little swirl. Et voilà, perfectly round cookies every time!

This trick also prevents the seeds and dried fruits on the edges from falling off after baking.

Storage tips

You can store these oatmeal breakfast cookies in a container at room temperature in a cool, dry spot for 4 days.

That said, I’ve noticed they can sometimes lose their crunch over time, so here are my go-to tips to keep them perfectly crisp!

Let the cookies cool completely before storing. Warm cookies release steam, which can cause them to soften when stacked on top of each other in a box.
Don't close your container airtightly. Just cover it loosely with a lid. The slight airflow will help the cookies stay crispy.
Add a paper towel at the bottom of the container and in between the layers of cookies to absorb excess moisture which, again, will help them keep their crunch.