These delicious quinoa breakfast cookies taste like zucchini bread, and have a healthy base of peanut butter, banana, honey, oats and quinoa flakes!
When your morning involves cookies, you know it’s going to be a good day.
Especially when those cookies are sweet, chewy and totally healthy. Who wouldn’t want to eat healthy cookies for breakfast?
Today I’m bringing you my latest and great breakfast recipe: Zucchini Bread Quinoa Breakfast Cookies! They're a spin of my Toasted Coconut Quinoa Breakfast cookies, but I've made them egg-free and a little bit more summery. They're a delicious (and nutritious) breakfast treat that tastes like a dessert but is actually packed with fiber, healthy fats, fruit AND vegetables. And rounded out with the warm scents of cinnamon and nutmeg, they taste just like zucchini bread only in quinoa cookie form.
The main thing I’m loving about breakfast cookies is that they’re portable. I find myself reaching for a cookie as I’m walking out the door to yoga in the morning. Or just the other day I went to a 7:30am SoulCycle class with my cousin and took a few cookies with me for the walk home.
Since I know many of you also have crazy busy mornings, making a big batch of cookies on a Sunday night (these only take one bowl and 20 minutes to make) can leave you with healthy breakfasts for the week ahead. Bonus is, you can also use these as a mid-morning snack since they’ve got tons of energizing ingredients and are sweetened naturally so won’t cause a sugar-crash.
And if you're not a fan of zucchini, no problem at all. I've got NINE other flavors for you to choose from including Chunky Monkey Quinoa Breakfast Cookies, Carrot Cake Quinoa Breakfast Cookies, Snickerdoodle Quinoa Breakfast Cookies and more. You'll never get bored!
My top five favorite ingredients in these cookies (that also make them so tasty and healthy)?
1. Peanut butter: peanut butter is one of my favorite nut butters and one that I always keep on hand. Peanut butter is high in vitamins, fiber and protein (8g per serving!). If peanuts aren’t your thang, just substitute your favorite nut/seed butter.
2. Banana: bananas are a key ingredient in these cookies not only for structure, but also for sweetness. Bananas are a wonderful ingredient to add to your breakfast – they’re high in potassium, help with digestion, great for fueling pre- or post-workout, and are a natural sweetener.
3. Raw honey: raw honey can be found at most natural food stores (or on Amazon), is absolutely amazing. It’s different than regular honey because it hasn’t been heated, therefore it retains all it’s nutritional properties. Raw honey contains vitamins, minerals and even live enzymes. Basically it’s a sweetener that truly is good for you!
4. Zucchini: one of the most popular summer squashes, is the star of the show in these cookies! It helps give the cookies a nutrition boost while still keeping them soft and moist. Zucchini is a healthy veggie that can pretty much go with anything. It’s low-calorie, high in vitamin A and potassium, and has a high water content so it’s also hydrating.
5. Quinoa flakes: one of my favorite forms of quinoa, quinoa flakes are essentially the quinoa version of oats. They’re whole quinoa which has been run through a grain flaker and are perfect in baked goods like these cookies. They soak up a little bit more liquid than oats, but have a much softer texture and provide all the nutritional benefits of quinoa. Since they are so soft, I like using them in combination with oats in this recipe which gives the whole cookie a bit more texture (and makes it feel more hearty).
I’m also loving that these cookies have a fairly simple base. I basically tweaked my last version of breakfast cookies ever so slightly, realizing that the possibilities with these babies is endless! There millions (well maybe hundreds) of different flavor options and I can’t wait to keep on experimenting.
I’d love to know… what flavor breakfast cookie would you like to see next? Leave me a comment below!
xo Alyssa
If you make this recipe, make sure to snap a pic and share it on Instagram using #SIMPLYQUINOA – I want to see your own quinoa creations!
Zucchini Bread Quinoa Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1 medium banana
- 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water), or 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup quinoa flakes
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shredded zucchini, pressed in a dish towel
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add peanut butter, honey, banana, egg and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix until combined. Add oats, quinoa flakes, baking powder, spices and salt to the bowl and stir together. Fold in shredded zucchini and chia seeds.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet and repeat until no dough remains.
- Bake cookies on center rack for 15 – 18 minutes until edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
- Enjoy at room temp or slightly reheated in a microwave.
by Alyssa
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 146kcal Calories from fat 62 | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 7g | 11% |
| Saturated Fat 1g | 5% |
| Transfat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 83mg | 3% |
| Carbohydrate 19g | 6% |
| Dietary Fiber 3g | 12% |
| Sugars 8g | |
| Protein 4g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
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Breakfast cookies made with QUINOA that taste like zucchini bread! They're seriously amazing and come together using just 1 BOWL and a few simple ingredients. (gluten-free)
Alyssa is the quinoa-obsessed girl behind Simply Quinoa. She's passionate about helping you find health, happiness and balance with wholesome recipes and lifestyle tips.
Excited to try this as I have a few zucchini that need used ASAP!
Let me know how they turn out!! xo
Alyssa, I’ve been using Agave sweeter in my desserts due to its low glycerin index. I’m guessing it would work but it is a bit more runny than honey. My Agave has the fiber left in it from the plant (inulin)so is used for medicinal purposes and cooking.
Due to its runniness should any of the flakes or such be adapted.?
Also I am facing 10 months of dental work with implants and must find soft food. Of course quinoa is working great and these cookies should work too. I’m missing protein when I make most foods but too much protein causes digestive distress. My quinoa never upsets me but unfortunately I’m a sweet aholic and try to find tons of desserts with quinoa. Thurs nite it’s the Quinoa chocolate pudding.
Please let me know if I need any adaptations.
Thanks big time
Candice
Hi Candice!
I think the best way would be to either decrease the sweetener slightly (by maybe 2 tablespoons) or increase the quinoa flakes by about 1/4 cup. I’d love to hear what you end up trying and how it works out for you!!! Good luck with your dental work 🙂 xo!
Can you substitute the flakes for protein powder?
or add it?
Haven’t tried it, but I wouldn’t do it for the whole amount. Maybe 1/4 cup powder and 2 tablespoons flakes (use quick cooking oats if you can’t find quinoa flakes). Let me know how it goes!
I have never heard of quinoa flakes…will have to try this!
They’re amazing! I use them all the time 🙂 Would love to hear how they turn out for you if you make them! xo
I made them into muffins and they are DELICIOUS!! my non-healthy foodie family members are eating them with gusto!! i took a pic and tried to post it, but it’s too big i guess :(….my only suggestion if you make them into muffins is to SPRAY THE PAN because i used a high quality nonstick and hmmm…while still delicious, i am scraping up bits from the pan and eating them with a spoon haha!
LOVE that you tried them as muffins! How long did you have to bake them for? Totally going to try that! xoxo
For my muffins, I used about the same serving size as you did for the cookies: 2 tablespoons in regular szed muffin tin, and baked them for 18-20 minutes and they were firm but moist and delicious!! 🙂
I used about the same serving size as you did for the muffins, 2 tablespoons in regular szed muffin tin, and baked them for 18-20 minutes and they were firm but moist and delicious!! 🙂
AWESOME! Definitely going to have to give that a try 🙂 I bet they’d also make awesome “bites” using a mini muffin tin!
pumpkin spice quinoa breakfast cookies would be good! 🙂
Definitely on my list for the fall 🙂
Possible to sub out the honey for say maple syrup?
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not! 🙂
Can you just use all oats? I’m not a quinoa fan 🙁
Sure can, but I’d use quick cooking oats instead 🙂
These are so good! I used pumpkin instead of zucchini, and coconut butter instead of nut butter. I left the honey out, and added raisins and walnuts. Very tasty!
Glad your substitutions worked!
What would you suggest as a replacement for the oats? Would love to try this recipe!
I think you could use more quinoa flakes 🙂
Made these today. Didn’t have enough zucchini so I supplemented with 1/4 cup grated carrot. I also added coconut and pumpkin seeds cause that’s what I do. So tasty!!
Yay! So happy you liked them 🙂 One of my absolute faves! xo
So glad you enjoyed them!
🙁 when I read banana was the most important ingredient my hopes were dashed! I’m allergic
Maybe you can use applesauce instead?
You could definitely try! I think you’re going to need more chia seeds to help them stick together since applesauce isn’t as “sticky” as bananas 🙂 Keep us posted! xo
I used about 1/3 cup of applesauce instead of banana and did not increase the chia. I also used maple syrup instead of honey and about half of the amount. They came out great!
Thanks for sharing!! Glad they were still delicious 🙂
Can I use regular quinoa instead?
I put quinoa in my coffee grinder and zupped them for 30 -45 seconds. Seemed to work fine. I couldn’t find flakes…
So glad to hear that worked. Thanks for the suggestion!! xo
Is that the way to make quinoa flake? I try to buy my food as less process as it can be…
Unless you have a grain flaker, I’m afraid there isn’t!
these look AMAZING!!!
How/where can I find the nutrition facts on this recipe? I know that everyone will make them slightly different and thus making it vary per person that makes them, but a rough idea would be really helpful.
I don’t currently have that option on my site, but am looking into it. For now you can use a free recipe analysis tool that allows you to paste the ingredients and serving size and it will give you the nutritional analysis 🙂 This is the one I usually use: http://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Any way to sub out the banana in this recipe, as I am allergic to it? Would applesauce work? Thanks
You could try it, but I’m not sure they’d hold together properly. And the sweetness factor wouldn’t be as high either. If you do try applesauce, I’d suggest adding in some more chia seeds and allowing the batter to rest for a little while so it gets a little thicker/stickier. Let me know if you end up trying it! xo
Hi, I skimmed through the posts to see if anyone else asked this but didn’t see an answer. Sorry, if this is redundant: I wanted to whip something out tonight for breakfast tomorrow but don’t have quinoa flakes. I only have regular quinoa and tricolor quinoa. Can I use this? Should I grind it or cook it first?
I haven’t tried these with cooked quinoa, but you can replace the quinoa flakes with quick cooking oats if you have those available. If you want to try cooked quinoa, I would say go for at least 3/4 of a cup, but I’m not sure they will hold together properly. Let me know what you end up trying! xo
I can’t eat oats so can I replace them with more Quinoa flakes?
Absolutely!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I can’t wait to try them out. I can’t seem to find the nutional info per cookie. Is that listed on this site? 🙂
It’s not, but you can always plug the ingredients into an online calculator which will give you that info 🙂
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 44 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 113Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6.0g9%
Saturated Fat 1.3g7%
Cholesterol 14mg5%
Sodium 56mg2%
Potassium 151mg4%
Total Carbohydrates 12.9g4%
Dietary Fiber 1.4g5%
Sugars 8.2g
Protein 3.8g
Vitamin A 1% • Vitamin C 4%
Calcium 1% • Iron 7%
Nutrition Grade B-
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet
Hi! What do you think the possibilities are for removing that one egg? I’d love a version of this that didn’t use any animal products.
You could totally use a flax egg instead of the egg 🙂
Could I use quinoa flour instead of quinoa flakes?
Haven’t tested it with quinoa flour – you could try halving the amount and see how that goes 🙂 Let me know if it works out! xo
Hi! Is it possible to substitute the quinoa flakes with regular uncooked quinoa? Or perhaps cooked quinoa?
You could try quick cooking oats, but I haven’t tried cooked quinoa yet – the texture is quite different so I’m not sure if it would work. Keep me posted!
These sound lovely however there’s absolutely no point in using raw honey if they are going to be baked and even less point if you’re going to put them in the microwave afterwards!
Holy Jesus balls I don’t usually post on blogs or leave a digital trail but I have to say thank you for giving me a new breakfast staple.
Is this your recipe? I love them. Used 2 tbsp light agave syrup and mixed up the chia with some flax.
Marry me,
Bill/28/London
Glad you enjoyed them!
The nutrition information only states that a serving is 1-2 cookies. No other nutrient info or caloric info. That’s not really very helpful.
I don’t currently have nutrition info on my site. You can you use this website though to calculate it: https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php Enjoy!
Where do u but quinoa flakes ? I’ve never seen them
I get mine online mostly 🙂 You can find them on Amazon and most natural food stores!
Do you think these would freeze well? Sorry if it’s a redundant question. I have a surplus of zucchini right now and making several dozen to freeze seems like a great idea but I didn’t know if freezing them would cause them to crumble. Any thoughts?
Yep! I would say go for it 🙂
These were soooo good!!! I would love to see some tropical flavors, such as guava, YUMMY. Do you already have a pumpkin spice cookie recipe?
That’s a great idea! And yes, I have a pumpkin one 🙂 Just search breakfast cookies and you’ll get ALL the flavors (there are over 10 now I think!!) XO
I just made these last night and am sitting at my desk at work having a Paula Dean moment. These need butter or coconut oil so badly and I used some over-ripened bananas so these are WAY too sweet. I like the idea and will make another batch and hopefully work out the kinks for my liking. I also hate peanut butter so I nixed that, added extra oats, and added brewers yeast because these are both a breakfast and a lactation cookie for me.
Definitely let me know how you tweak them! Would be great for others to have a substitution 🙂
Are the cookies suppose to flatten out and be thin? They were very tasty but mine don’t look like your picture. Yours look thick. Any suggestions?
Hmm no they’re not supposed to flatten out. Did you use the same proportions and ingredients? I would say next time add more oats 🙂
does anyone have the nutritional value for these?
I haven’t calculated these yet, but you could use this tool to plug the ingredients into: https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
These were spongey and tasteless. They went stale straight away. Deleted this recipe from my board.
Haven’t had that feedback from anyone else, so I’m not sure how to help for next time. Perhaps try another version! 🙂
I have made these several times now, following the recipe exactly. I love them! With each bite I am amazed at their wonderful texture despite being flourless. Have shared them with various friends who also enjoyed them. Two of these, a hard boiled egg, and a cup of hot tea make for a delicious breakfast on the run.
I’m thrilled you’re enjoying them! You must check out all the other flavors on the site too (I think we have more than 15!) 🙂
I’ve seen you suggest applesauce as a substitute for bananas in other comments. Any suggestions for how much applesauce and chia? I don’t improvise well.
Applesauce would be about 1/4 cup! And you can just leave out the chia all together – especially if you use a real egg instead of a flas egg!
Hi, anything i can replace the quinoa flakes with? dont have those..
You can try quick cooking/instant oats instead!
YUM!!! Thank you. I added walnuts and a little carrot bc i didn;t have enough zucchini. i went a little easy on the honey. i also substituted 1/2 cup of rolled oats (i ground with a coffee grinder) for the quinoa flakes (bc i didn;t have them). Delicious!
Wonderful!! Thank you for sharing your substitutions – I’m thrilled that it worked! xo
These are so delicious! Thank you!
These are fantastic! Plus they freeze so easily! I’ve made them several times now in different forms, most recently in a muffin tin & they turned out just as good. I’m allergic to bananas so applesauce was subbed which made them a bit runny. Added some flaxseed meal to thicken it up. I could eat these at every meal!
I’m SOO happy you enjoyed them!
I just made these tonight, absolutely in love with them. I will be making more tomorrow, always looking for something new and nutrious for breakfast. Thank you for this recipe.😊
So glad you enjoyed them! I have tons more flavors on the site, so just search “breakfast cookies” to try even more!
Can I use regular butter instead of peanut butter. Allergic to that and sunflower seeds, lentils etc.
I don’t think so, sorry! I’d suggest another nut butter if you can tolerate it 🙂
Tasty cookies! These are great as a quick pre-workout snack. I’d definitely make them again. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed them Tracy! xox