These zucchini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are extra soft with chewy centers and crisp edges. Loaded with chocolate chips, each cookie is flavored with brown sugar and a hint of cinnamon. Best part of all? You can’t taste the vegetable hiding inside.
Zucchini bread & oatmeal chocolate chip cookies: two worlds beautifully collide! Consider these zucchini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies the mandatory solution to a surplus of fresh zucchini. Over the past several years, I’ve tried throwing zucchini into plenty of cookie recipes and this one is the best version I know!
Each Cookie Is:
- Soft with slightly crisp edges
- Flavored with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar
- Moist, tender, and very chewy
- Loaded with whole oats and plenty of chocolate chips
- Delicious in a totally unforgettable way (like any good version of chocolate chip cookies should be!)
Plus, should any cookies survive after a few days, they freeze and thaw like a dream. Also important to note: you cannot taste the zucchini. Vegetables have never been so sneaky.
#1 Success Tip: Blot the Zucchini
Have you ever made my brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies? In that recipe, we blot the pumpkin to rid excess moisture. The purpose of this is to reduce the amount of liquid in the cookie dough. Too much liquid = excess spreading and/or a cakey cookie. We’re applying the same technique here. Shred the zucchini using a box grater, then lightly blot it with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. No need to squeeze out all the moisture; gently blotting is plenty.
You need 1 cup of shredded, lightly blotted zucchini.
Pro Tip: Shred extra to make zucchini cake or one of these 20+ favorite zucchini recipes!
Overview: How to Make Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies
After you blot the zucchini, prepare the cookie dough. The full written recipe is below, but let me walk you through the steps so I can answer any possible questions.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. This includes oats, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Beat the wet ingredients together. Cream the butter and sugars together. Beat in 1 egg, then a little maple syrup and vanilla. The maple syrup adds flavor, but it also helps the cookies spread out and crisps up the edges. You can use honey instead or you can leave it out completely. (Though I highly recommend its addition!)
- Combine the dry ingredients, zucchini, and the wet ingredients.
- Beat in the chocolate chips.
- Chill the cookie dough. Important step! The cookies will over-spread otherwise.
- Scoop & bake. I always use a cookie scoop when I make oatmeal cookies. Oatmeal cookie dough is pretty sticky and textured, so a cookie scoop is helpful. The medium size is perfect because each dough ball should be around 1.5 Tablespoons of dough.
Other Add-Ins
Though I typically use semi-sweet in these zucchini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, you can use milk chocolate or white chocolate chips instead. Or try mini chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. For something different, try peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, or even raisins, chopped pecans, or walnuts. Some may think it’s blasphemy to replace chocolate with raisins but I’m ALL FOR IT. If you love oatmeal raisin cookies, you should definitely try raisins here or even 1/2 chocolate chips and 1/2 raisins!
One last tip: This recipe calls for room temperature butter. Remember that room temperature butter is imperative in the creaming step. If butter is too cold or if it’s melted in the slightest, it won’t properly aerate with the granulated and brown sugars in step 3. As a result, the cookies won’t hold their shape and will likely over-spread. Room temperature butter is cool to the touch and about 65ยฐF (18ยฐC), which might be colder than your kitchen. If you’d like to read further, I have an in-depth post about room temperature butter.
More Zucchini Recipes
- Zucchini Bread & Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Zucchini Casserole
- Greek Yogurt Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini Fritters or Zucchini & Sweet Potato Fritters (a favorite!)
And if you need more summertime cookie inspiration, todayโs cookies join 25+ others on my Summer Cookie Recipes collection page. 🙂
Print
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 dozen
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These zucchini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are extra soft with chewy centers and crisp edges. You can’t taste the vegetable hiding inside! Chill the dough for at least 2 hours before baking.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (130g) shredded zucchini (lightly blotted, see step 1)
- 2 cups (170g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats*
- 1 cupย (125g)ย all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoonย baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoonย salt
- 1 teaspoonย ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed dark or light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1ย largeย egg, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoonsย pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Lightly blot the shredded zucchini with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. No need to squeeze out all the moisture; gently blotting is plenty. You need 1 cup (130g) of shredded, lightly blotted zucchini. Set aside until step 4. (Or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. It can be cold when you add it to the dough.)
- Whisk the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and both sugars together on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. (Hereโs a helpful tutorial if you need guidance onย how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and mix on high until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and the zucchini to the wet ingredients, then mix on low speed until combined. With the mixer still running on low speed, beat in the chocolate chips. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (and up to 4 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Scoop or roll cookie dough, a heaping 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie (I like to use this medium cookie scoop), and place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 13-14 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft. For crispier edges, bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the topsโ this is only for looks! Cookies are extra soft out of the oven, but become chewier as they cool.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked cookies freeze well up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze wellโup to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Hereโs how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Box Grater | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Zucchini: I do not peel the zucchini before shredding, but you certainly can if you’d like.
- Oats:ย For these oatmeal cookies, I use and recommendย old-fashioned whole oats, not quick or instant oats. Whole oats provide the ultimate hearty, chewy, and thick texture.
- Maple Syrup: The maple syrup adds flavor, but it also helps the cookies spread out and crisps up the edges. You can use honey instead or even molasses for a strong flavorโor you can leave it out completely. (Though I highly recommend its addition!)
Reader Comments and Reviews
I hardly ever make cookies, but an abundance of zucchini this year had me looking for new recipes. I’ve made these twice now, double batch each time. I doubled the cinnamon and added some nutmeg, and replaced half the chocolate chips with raisins. Although no one has asked me for the recipe – they all ask when they can get more! These cookies are moist and chewy – even my husband who is not particularly fond of cookies likes these. Definitely a keeper recipe! Thank you!
I accidentally bought gluten-free rolled oats (Bob’s Red Mill) and read that they can dry things out. What should I add to counteract this? I am at high altitude (6400 ft) so I’m already at risk for drier baked goods. Will yogurt add moisture? Or an extra egg? Or perhaps more zucchini? Thanks for any advice…
Hi KC, we wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude or with certified gluten-free oats. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html Let us know how you like the cookies!
Family’s favourite, always have to make tripple portion โค๏ธ
These cookies turned out delicious and beautiful. My go to zucchini cookie from now on!
These cookies are fantastic! I would even BUY zucchini (if my garden ran out) just to be able to make them all year round. Tomorrow it’s time to bake for another batch – or two.
Can I use coconut sugar in place of brown sugar, and would it work to cut the granulated sugar down, or are the sugars needed for the texture and shape?
Hi Sonia, we havenโt tested this recipe using coconut sugar, but let us know if you do. We’d suggest substituting the coconut sugar for the granulated sugar, rather than the brown sugar. Oatmeal cookies are a little more forgiving, so it may work just fine, but again we haven’t tested it.
I gave it a try, with a few more changes: GF flour, 1/3 cup coconut sugar in place of the granulated sugar, 1/3 cup brown sugar instead of 1/2, and 1 tsp of molasses, and they’re definitely a little cakey, but still a hit!
Love the cookies. Could I use frozen zucchini if I want to make these cookies over the winter? Would I need to drain the zucchini if I did? Also wondering if I could use frozen zucchini for your chocolate cake recipe. I love so many of your recipes. Thanks.
Hi Kay, frozen thawed zucchini should work okay, but be sure to drain off any excess liquid from thawing and blot the zucchini before using.
The cookies turned out great. I did not have rolled oats, only quick oats so I decided to go for it. They turned out perfectly moist.
This recipe is AMAZING!!!
I have made these several times. The maple syrup is divine. I used 2 cups of zucchini because we love it and have so much. Baked a bit longer due to the additional zucchini. This recipe is perfection either way.
Thank you Sally
The most delicious cookies ever!
Hi Sally,
These cookies sound amazing and delicious. I canโt wait to try them.
If I leave out the chocolate chips, do I need to alter the other ingredients? Thank you.
Meg
Hi Meg, you certainly can leave out the chocolate chips with no changes to the recipe. They may spread a bit more without them. These are also great with raisins!
Am i doing something wrong, I mean I’m 38 & these came out chewy like they were not even done. The edges were firm what but soft at the same time. I mean I wanted to try something new with my zucchinis I have besides making zucchini bread or muffins. The cookies are very good i will say that but just curious on if I am the only one that has ran into this issue
It sounds like they may just need another minute or two in the oven!
Well thanks I have a conventional oven so does the time and temperature differ?
All of the recipes on this site are written for conventional settings.
I made these again. I squeezed the shredded zucchini like it owed me money. Cookies held shape a little better, but still very flimsy and crumbly. I do really like the flavor, but in my kitchen zucchini needs to be set aside for muffins and loavesโฆnot cookies.
So glad that I found this recipe! I doubled it since I have so much zucchini and made half with chocolate chips and half with dried cranberries, both were delicious. My husband loved these too. Great texture and no problems at all with spreading. These were fun to make. Iโm going to make them again next week as my garden is putting out a lot of zukes.
The texture of the cookies is really good but for me they are overly sweet (and I reduced the amount of sugar by 50g).
These were SO good! They were fast and easy to make and trust me- the zucchini was a great addition! It didn’t taste weird either!!!!! In fact, it tasted AMAZING!
Any chance that I could sub half the chocolate chips for M&Ms and add some peanut butter to make these monster cookies? Or will that alter the bake?
Hi Mandy, you could certainly swap some of the chocolate chips for M&Ms, but it would take some additional testing to properly incorporate peanut butter since it can be such a drying ingredient. You might enjoy these monster cookies instead!
I baked the first batch for 14 minutes and many of them never eat up and fell apart. I baked the second batch for 19 minutes. It was better but some still never set up. Wonโt make them again
Do you have the nutrition value info for this recipe by chance? Thanks!
Hi Mary! We donโt usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Everyone that atethese gave them 5 stars. Amazing! These have just been added to the regular lineup! YUM!
Can I use frozen zucchini?
Hi Tammy, frozen thawed zucchini should work okay, but be sure to drain off any excess liquid from thawing and blot the zucchini before using.
Can I leave out the chocolate chips? Hoping I it won’t affect the other ingredients.
Hi Leslie, sure can! They may spread a bit more without them. These are also great with raisins!
Thank you so much!
I only have quick oats. Have you tried this?
Hi Cindy, For these oatmeal cookies, we use and recommend old-fashioned whole oats, not quick or instant oats. Whole oats provide the ultimate hearty, chewy, and thick texture. Quick oats could leave the cookies tasting a bit dry and powdery.