Leftover oatmeal becomes breakfast again in cookie form! Soft, chewy, and blood sugar friendly, these are balanced enough to start your day.
If you've ever cooked up a batch of oatmeal and found yourself with leftovers, this recipe is an easy way to repurpose it (instead of slowly watching it get old in the fridge before getting tossed.)
But you can't just add cooked oats to your favorite oatmeal cookie recipe. All that extra moisture throws off the ingredient ratios, and the cookies won't turn out right. I built this recipe from scratch to solve both problems: no more wasted oatmeal, and a convenient way to get my daily dose of oats in cookie form.
Fun Oats Fact: Oats are packed with soluble fiber that helps slow glucose absorption. Just one of the reasons they're a fave for blood-sugar-friendly eating.
Ingredients Breakdown
Unsalted Butter – Softened, not melted. Creaming the butter helps give these cookies structure and lift without making them spread too much.
Sugar Alternative – My favorite sweetener for baking is an allulose and monkfruit blend. It tastes and bakes like sugar at a 1 to 1 ratio. If sugar isn’t a concern, then feel free to use regular granulated here.
Almond butter – Adds richness, protein, and helps bind everything together. I prefer brands made without palm oil.
Egg – One whole egg at room temperature. Provides structure and helps bind the dough.
Vanilla – Just a teaspoon for warmth and depth of flavor.
Baking soda – The only leavener you need. Helps with spread and gives the cookies a slight chew.
Kosher salt – Balances the sweetness and brings all the flavors together. If you use salted butter instead, omit this ingredient.
Almond flour – The base of these cookies. Adds structure, healthy fats, and keeps them gluten-free. You can also use it to make my protein cookie dough!
Coconut flour – This is key because it absorbs the extra moisture from the cooked oatmeal so the cookies hold together without getting gummy. Coconut flour is fairly easy to find at local grocery stores. I buy it at Sprouts, Kroger and Whole Foods in the US.
Cold cooked oatmeal – Cooled cooked oatmeal or day old from the fridge, as long as it’s not hot you’re good to go. Instant, old-fashioned and even steel cut all work.
Mix-ins – Feel free to use what you like. Dried fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips all work great. My favorite for blood sugar balance is coconut sweetened chocolate chips.
How to Make Leftover Oatmeal Cookies
- Step 1: Cream the butter, sweetener, and almond butter. Beat until light and smooth. This is the foundation of your cookie texture.
- Step 2: Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until fully incorporated. The mixture should be smooth.
- Step 3: Mix in the cold cooked oatmeal. It may come out of the fridge as one congealed blob. If so, use the back of a spatula or a hand mixer to break it up and combine evenly.
- Step 4: Whisk the dry ingredients separately. Combine the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
- Step 5: Add dry to wet and mix fully. Then fold in the mix-ins. Then be sure to Rest the dough 10 minutes. This lets the coconut flour absorb moisture.
- Step 6: Scoop and flatten. Use 1.5 tablespoon portions, then press to about 1.5 inches wide and ½ inch thick.
I top them with additional chocolate chips and whole uncooked oats but that's mostly just for looks.
- Step 5: Bake at 325°F for 10-12 minutes. Pull when slightly golden but not browned. Cool completely on the pan before removing. Gluten-free cookies are fragile when warm but firm up as they cool.
Recipe Notes & Troubleshooting
What if they spread too much or they're gummy inside? Your oatmeal may have been too wet if you had saved it with extra liquid added. For example, if you prepared the oats according to the package directions, but then added more milk or water to them.
What if they're crumbly? Be sure to let them cool completely on the pan before testing. Gluten-free cookies famously firm up significantly as they cool.
Storage Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They also freeze well for up to 3 months! Just thaw at room temperature when you're ready to enjoy.
What types of oatmeal work? Rolled oats, steel cut, instant, any type works as long as it's cooked and not hot. The texture will vary slightly, but the recipe is forgiving.
Joanie's Balanced Bites for Blood Sugar Balance
These cookies are built with blood sugar balance in mind.
The almond flour and coconut flour base keeps them lower in carbs, while the almond butter adds protein and healthy fats that slow digestion. I tested them with my CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) and my blood sugar stayed completely flat!
When I have them for breakfast, I love pairing a cookie or two with a chia yogurt parfait and fresh fruit. It's a fully rounded, filling meal that feels like a treat but keeps me steady all morning.
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Description
Tender, chewy cookies made with leftover oatmeal and blood sugar friendly ingredients. A delicious way to use up extra oatmeal while keeping your glucose stable.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (100g) 1 to 1 sugar alternative
- ¼ cup (64g) almond butter
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp (5g) vanilla
- ½ tsp (3g) baking soda
- ¼ tsp (1.5g) kosher salt
- 2¼ cups (220g) almond flour
- 3 Tbsp (28g) coconut flour
- ¾ cup (180g) cooked oatmeal, cold
- ½ cup (85g) mix-in of choice like dark chocolate chips, raisins or other dried fruit
Instructions
- Cream together softened butter, sweetener, and almond butter until light and smooth.
- Add egg and vanilla, beat until fully incorporated.
- Add cold cooked oatmeal. It may be congealed—use the back of a spatula or a hand mixer to break it up and combine evenly.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Rest dough 10 minutes to allow coconut flour to hydrate.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Scoop 1.5 tablespoon balls of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Flatten each ball to approximately 1.5 inches wide and ½ inch thick.
- Bake 10-12 minutes until slightly golden but not browned. Overbaking will cause them to dry out.
- Cool completely on pan before removing. Cookies will firm up as they cool.
Notes
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Dairy-free: Swap butter for coconut oil or dairy-free butter.
Not strict keto: These are blood sugar friendly but the oatmeal means they're not keto. Great for low-glycemic, not for strict carb counting.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 166
- Sugar: 0.9 g
- Sodium: 93.2 mg
- Fat: 6.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.5 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 4.7 g
- Cholesterol: 15.4 mg
Sohnia says
Hello! I was despairing over my leftover porridge because i made a bunch with canderel and soya milk, suited to my mothers diet and there was too much left over. Happily i came across this recipe and successfully manage to bake cookies out if it! They aren't as aesthetically pleasing but I'm happy i didn't have to waste food. My thanks!
Joanie Simon says
I'm so glad to hear you were able to use up the leftovers! Hugs to you and your mother <3
Gwen Squires says
Can I just say a big, enthusiastic and super genuine THANK YOU for not covering your blog in ads? I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!
Medley Strickland says
I had leftover oatmeal that I did not want to throw away. I thought maybe there was a leftover oatmeal cookie recipe and voilá!
How fun was that to find.
I added chopped walnuts and raisins. Also, in my oatmeal I added (as I usually do) soaked Chia seeds, wheat bran, golden flaxseed, and hemp seeds.
I cooked them a bit longer to give them a golden top because they looked a little too pale to me.
They were delicious, but more like scones than a cookie. My husband and I love them as scones!.😁
Joanie Simon says
love those fiber and omega 3 additions to the oatmeal! Glad they were a hit!
Paula M says
My daughter just made these cookies with our leftover oatmeal. She added craisins, raisins, and semi sweet morsels to batter. Pleased with the outcome. This recipe is a keeper.
Joanie Simon says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Valerie E says
Have you tried these with gluten free or almond flour? I am wondering if they turned out.
Joanie Simon says
I haven't, but I do find the Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free flour to be a reliable swap and would think that would work fine for this recipe. I wouldn't use almond flour here, though, as that absorbs moisture differently and would significantly affect the texture of the cookies.
Gricel says
I made two different batches with your recipe. No lemon juice. One batch with chocolate chips and raisins and the other batch with cranberries and the juice of an orange. They came out delicious. 17 minutes in my convection oven. I would show you pictures but I don’t know how to add them here.
Joanie Simon says
AWESOME!
Daniel Tan says
I was excited to do your recipe since I had lots of leftover oatmeal from church breakfast. I double the recipe and followed it closely. After making the cookies I realized that the measurement doesn't adjust on the instruction. So my 4 cups of flour was only 2 cups in the instruction. Same thing with the eggs.
Anyway, the cookies turned out softer than usual and would not brown anymore without burning the bottom. I will just pay attention to the change next time. It still taste good!
MJ says
A simple enough recipe. But I cooked them for 25 minutes in a 350 oven and they are still not thoroughly cooked inside. I'm trying a second batch that I've made into much flatter cookies to see what happens. Maybe they were too thick.
Bonnie says
These are wonderful! Was looking for a way to use up some leftover breakfast oatmeal when I bumped into your recipe. My hubby likes oatmeal cookies, but I was never a big fan. When I read your recipe, I thought it sounded like a nice change to the standard. Wow, it's really, really yummy!! Hubby ate like 6, and I admit I have had several myself. I followed your recipe as written with the only exceptions being I added a half cup of craisins, a half cup of walnuts and some vanilla.
They are so fluffy and light that the flavors all shine thru. Thanks so much or sharing.
Joanie Simon says
That's great to hear! And love the addition of craisins!
Yolanda says
My grand girls like their oatmeal loaded with apples raisins honey and cinnamon so I was concerned about the end result. But I did it anyway following your recipe. And they turned out fabulous. Love it because they are super tasty and not too sweet. And the grated lemon added a lovely accent! Thank you so much!
Joanie Simon says
Yahoo!!! I'm so glad it was a hit. I love a little lemon in nearly everything <3 Hugs to you and your girls!
Julie JOY! says
For my GF grandsons, I whizzed up oats to make oat flour and 1:1 replaced the white flour. Our daughter kept these on hand as they're traveling to provide them with a treat when others could eat what various hosts offered them. A lifesaver!
Joanie Simon says
That's so great to hear! And so smart blending the oats! I'll have to try that out.
Cindy says
Have made these several times with leftover steel oats oatmeal. Great for everyone, especially new Moms’ milk supply and super tasty !
Joanie Simon says
oooh, glad to know it worked well with steel oats! Hugs to you!
Jo says
This is the worst oatmeal cookie I’ve ever tasted! It is blah! No flavor at all! What a waste of ingredients!