These healthy, whole grain cookies are packed with bits of delicious Muesli flavor from dried fruits and seeds. Oats and almond butter give you plant-based energy without any refined flours or sugars. Make a batch of these gluten-free vegan snacks for breakfast on-the-go.
Plant-Based Muesli Cookies
Traditional cookies will often use butter, eggs, and sugar for moisture and sweetness. Even most vegan recipes call for maple syrup or another refined sweetener. However, for this plant-based recipe, I ditched all of those for whole foods ingredients.
Dates, bananas, pumpkin puree, and almond butter create the wet base for moisture and sweetness. All of these ingredients are natural, whole foods, and plant-based. Plus, they’re full of healthy nutrition including fiber, potassium, and other vitamins.
What is Muesli?
Muesli is a combination of oats, dried fruits, nuts, and seeds. It was created in the 19th century by the Swiss nutritionist Maximilian Bircher-Benner. He practiced by the philosophy “Let Food by Thy Medicine”. In turn, he wanted to help his patients by providing them with nutritious food like muesli. Bircher-Benner’s original recipe, called the “Apple Diet Dish”, focused on fresh grated apples.
Muesli is naturally vegan, containing no dairy, eggs, or other animal products. Muesli is usually gluten-free. Oats are naturally gluten-free and it’s uncommon to find wheat added to muesli. However, if Celiac is a concern, double-check for “certified gluten-free” oats. Also, double-check that the dried fruits, nuts, and seeds are also certified GF.
Is Muesli the Same as Granola?
Muesli and granola are quite similar. Both are often eaten for breakfast. Both contain a blend of healthy, plant-based foods like oats, dried fruits, nuts, and seeds. Common ingredients for both muesli and granola are pumpkin seeds, raisins, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds. Also, both can be eaten with or without milk.
However, muesli usually has less sugar and no refined oil or syrup than granola. Muesli can be prepared raw, while granola is usually baked. You can add raw muesli to Coconut Chia Pudding. Or, you can use it to make cookies – like this recipe!
Is Muesli Healthy?
Yes, Muesli is very healthy! There is a ton of whole foods, plant-based nutrition in those dried fruits, nuts, and seeds. Nuts and seeds are a healthy source of fat (including omega-3), protein, and fiber. Plus, they have Vitamin E and magnesium. Dried fruits offer more nutrition with potassium, fiber, vitamin E, C, and B12.
However, both nuts and dried fruits are calorie-dense foods. While they offer lots of nutrition, they also are higher in calories. In turn, it’s best to moderate how much of these foods you eat. In other words, 1 or 2 muesli cookies is fine. Eating the whole batch might not be the best idea.
Healthy Muesli Variations
The best part about Muesli is that you have lots of options for adding your own variations. Once you have the basic concept of oats, dried fruits, and nuts or seeds, you can mix and match. Swap out the pumpkin seeds for sunflower. Use dried cherries instead of cranberries. Throw in a spoonful of chia seeds. Finally, you can use up those pantry items!
Chef Katie’s Plant-Based Baking Tips
No Refined Sugar or Syrup? I’m on a mission to get rid of empty calories. These cookies don’t use any refined sugar, maple syrup, or other refined sweetener. Dried dates, banana, and dried fruits provide sweetness, along with healthy fiber and essential nutrients.
Gluten-Free Celiac: Oats are naturally gluten-free, but they can processed in a facility near wheat. If this is a concern, check for “Certified Gluten-Free” oats.
Weigh Your Ingredients: For precise measuring and consistent results, always weigh your ingredients. A small kitchen scale makes this easy to do. This will save you time and give you more delicious muffins and breads.
Portion Scoop: A portion scoop makes it easy to quickly portion out consistent cookies
Watch the Recipe Video:
Gluten-Free Muesli Breakfast Cookies – Oil-Free, No Refined Sugar or Syrup
- Easy
- Servings: 18
- Ready In: 30 minutes
- Yield: 18 cookies
Gluten-Free Muesli Breakfast Cookies – Oil-Free, No Refined Sugar or Syrup
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pitted dried dates (500 g)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large bananas about 1 cup or 220 g
- 1/2 cup roasted almond butter 175g, no added oil or sweetener
- 2 cups quick oats* not whole oats
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flake
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper on a non-stick Silicon baking mat.
- To make the wet mixture: In a bowl, combine the dates, pumpkin puree, and bananas. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Add the almond butter and puree to combine. You can also use a food processor or a regular blender to puree this wet mixture.
- Stir in all of the remaining ingredients.
- Portion about 2 tablespoons of batter per cookie and place on the lined baking sheet. Leave a little bit of space between the cookies. They won’t spread much, though.
- Bake 25-28 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Rotate halfway through.
- Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before storing or eating.
- Whole Foods, Plant-Based Ingredients come together in these healthy, satisfying, gluten-free vegan breakfast cookies
Video
Notes
Nutrition Facts
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 18.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 203 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 8 g | 12 % |
| Saturated Fat 2 g | 8 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 2 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 38 mg | 2 % |
| Potassium 139 mg | 4 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 30 g | 10 % |
| Dietary Fiber 4 g | 18 % |
| Sugars 12 g | |
| Protein 8 g | 17 % |
| Vitamin A | 16 % |
| Vitamin C | 5 % |
| Calcium | 4 % |
| Iron | 10 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Shopping and Gear List
- Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Cooking Oats, 32-Ounce Bag
- Raw Pumpkin Seeds “44oz” (Papitas)
- Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Deglet Noor Dates (Pitted), 2 Pounds
- Steve’s PaleoGoods, Dried Fruit Cranberries, 6 oz
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