These quick and easy Chocolate Chip Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies are the perfect way to use up your extra zucchini! Like zucchini bread in a delicious cookie form – they’re soft, chewy and delicious with a hint of cinnamon! This recipe is made made using certified gluten free oats and is tested with vegan options.

Originally shared this recipe on July 8, 2016 – Updated August 26, 2022 with improved photos, recipe, tips and ingredient explanations.

It had been a while since I last made these zucchini oatmeal cookies!

Happy with an excuse to bake some cookies I figured it was time to revisit my old recipe to make sure it was still up to scratch…you know…for science!

Truly there wasn’t much that needed changing in the old recipe. I tweaked a couple of minor things – added weights in addition to the cup amounts, tested with more varied ingredients and cleaned up some of the wording.

The end result? A zucchini-speckled oatmeal cookie studded with chocolate chips and kissed with a touch of cinnamon.

Who wants one?!

How to Make these Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies

Altogether the process is quite simple and straight forward.

Tools Needed:

• one large mixing bowl + a medium bowl (the smaller bowl is for evenly combining the dry ingredients)
• hand held electric mixer or a stand mixer
• cheese grater (aka box grater) or food processor with grating attachment
• wooden spoon or rubber spatula
• a large cookie sheet (or two)
• cookie scoop (optional)

Key Ingredients

• Fresh Zucchini – What are zucchini oatmeal cookies without the zucchini? No need to peel the zucchini skin. Just wash, pat dry then grate.
  • You can’t go wrong with a standard grater, but a food processor with a grating attachment will make quick work out of the shredding.
• Certified Gluten Free Oats – Make sure to check the labels on your oats if you need to keep these cookies totally gluten free! While oats are inherently gluten free, they can be problematic for celiac’s and those with gluten intolerances.

Are Oats Safe for Celiac’s?

Check out my post on how you might be able to enjoy oats safely on a gluten free diet!

Learn More

• Gluten Free All Purpose Flour – Use your favorite gluten-free flour mix! Most blends should work here.
  • By the way: if you’d like a grain free alternative for zucchini chocolate chip cookies you might be interested in trying my Almond Flour Zucchini Cookies recipe instead!
• Xanthan Gum – You can leave this ingredient out if your gluten free flour blend already contains xanthan. Xanthan gum is a binding ingredients that adds structure to gluten free baked goods.
  • I tested this recipe without the xanthan and with a cornstarch substitute with limited success. While the cookies tasted and looked the same, they were quite delicate and crumbled too easily.
• Butter or Coconut Oil – Dairy free butter will work just as well! If using coconut oil, just let it soften/warm up to room temperature so it will easily mix into the dough.

Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies Steps

1. Beat together the butter (or oil) and sugar until light and fluffy then beat in the egg (or flax egg) and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients until combined, then gradually mix into the butter mixture.
3. Mix in the shredded zucchini until evenly combined.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Bake & Cool The Zucchini Cookies

1. Scoop out about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons worth of dough and place onto a prepared baking sheet. Leave a couple of inches for spreading.
2. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Less baking time will make for chewier cookies, more time will make more cake-like cookies.
3. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool
   • Tip: cookies made with flax eggs should be left to cool about 10 minutes before moving! Flax egg cookies are usually more delicate fresh out of the oven but firm up once cooled. Move them too soon and they will fall apart.

Freeze for Later

Freeze unbaked zucchini oatmeal cookie dough: 

• Roll cookie dough into balls and place in the refrigerator for an hour or so.
• Once hardened, transfer to a freezer-safe bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Bake from frozen: add an extra 2-3 minutes to the overall bake time.
• Make sure to label the bag with the date frozen + baking time and temp.

Freeze baked zucchini oatmeal cookies: 

• Place fully cooled cookies on a baking sheet you can fit in your freezer.
• Freeze until solid then transfer to a bag or Tupperware container.
  • Tip: Place a small sheet of baking parchment in between each cookie to prevent them from freezing together.
• Cookies will keep up to 3 months in the freezer. 
• Let thaw about 5-10 minutes before eating.

These cookies are especially great to make towards the tail end of summer!

Once the heat tones down enough to turn on your oven, you can whip up a batch of these zucchini oatmeal cookies to serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a delicious summer treat.

In case you’re on the look out for more ways to use up your excess veg, you may enjoy some of my other favorite zucchini recipes:

More Ways to Bake with Zucchini

• Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread (Vegan Option)
• Gluten Free Zucchini Bread
• Banana Zucchini Muffins
• Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Zucchini Bread Pancakes
• Vegan Zucchini Brownies
• Almond Flour Paleo Zucchini Brownies

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Zucchini Cookies

Yield: 16 cookies Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes

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Like zucchini bread in a delicious cookie form - they're soft, chewy and delicious! This recipe is made made using certified gluten free oats and is tested with vegan options.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup softened butter/vegan butter stick (113g) or coconut oil (104 g)
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar (165 g)
• 1 flax egg egg* see notes if you don’t know how to make a flax egg or 1 regular egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini (170 g)
• 1 1/2 cup gluten free all-purpose flour (210 g)
• 1 cup certified gluten free quick oats (90 g)
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (leave out if your flour blend already has xanthan)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup dairy free chocolate chips (170 g)

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C and lightly grease or line your baking sheets.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flax egg until combined. Add the shredded zucchini.
3. In another mixing bowl whisk together the flour, oats, xanthan, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix together until fully combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Scoop out about 2 tablespoons worth of cookie dough onto the lined baking sheets. Leave 2-3 inches in between each dough ball. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the sides are lightly browned and crispy. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling and enjoy.

Notes

• Adapted from Nestle

• How to make a flax egg: combine 1 tablespoon ground flax seed with 2 1/2 tablespoons cold water. Whisk together and place in the fridge for about 5-10 minutes. You should end up with a gel like substance.
• Cookies made with a flax egg should cool completely on the baking sheet before moving. As they cool, the cookies will firm up, but if moved too soon they may crumble.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 16

Serving Size:

1 cookie Calories: 272Saturated Fat: 11gSodium: 68mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 3gSugar: 14gProtein: 3g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Course: Gluten Free Snacks Cuisine: American