These flourless rhubarb oatmeal cookies are sweet and tangy! With beautiful, bright pink rhubarb, this is a must-make in the rhubarb season (spring through late summer) along with my rhubarb oat bars. Soft and chewy, these are like a rhubarb crisp in cookie form!
I wanted to create a cookie recipe using oats instead of flour (just like my blackberry muffins). In this recipe, pulse rolled oats in the blender and then mix them with some oil and sugar (I like to use coconut sugar) to make a healthy cookie!
Why you will love this recipe
- Seasonal fruit: Such an awesome way to enjoy fresh-grown rhubarb! If you have more rhubarb in your garden, try this recipe for rhubarb muffins and these super fun rhubarb fruit leather roll-ups!
- Breakfast, dessert or snack: I wanted these cookies to be a traditional oatmeal cookie meets rhubarb crisp! Enjoy them for a healthy snack, simple dessert, or on-the-go breakfast.
- Healthy + dietary needs friendly: They are perfect for special dietary needs as they are gluten-free (using oat flour as the base), dairy-free, and free of highly processed sugar. You don't need to be df or gf to love these cookies!
- Tested and delicious: I tested this recipe over 5 times to get the right texture. At first they were too gummy, then they were crumbly from too much oat flour, then we got them perfect a lovely soft cookie. This results from one egg, and the right the sugar to oil to flour ratio!
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Ingredients for rhubarb cookies
Below you will see the ingredients you need for these rhubarb cookies all measured in bowls, (the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt are together in one bowl). Look in the recipe card at the very bottom of this page for the exact quantities.
- Rhubarb: For this recipe, we need small pieces of rhubarb. I found the best way to do this was to throw the rhubarb into a blender or food processor and pulse until it is small chunks, otherwise you can chop the rhubarb into small pieces. While I was testing the recipe, I also found that distributing small pieces of fruit in the cookie worked best.
- Oats: I tested this recipe with both rolled oats and quick oats. I decided I like rolled oats better (texture-wise), but they both work! For this recipe, you grind half the oats into flour in a blender to hold the cookies together.
- Brown sugar or coconut sugar: These are my go-to sugars when making cookies. I love the caramel taste of coconut sugar in these cookies, specifically, but if you don't have any, you can use brown sugar!
- Oil: You can use any kind of oil you like. I tested the recipe with both coconut oil and olive oil. You can also use melted butter.
Danika's note on rolled oats
The base of these cookies is rolled oats - we use them in two ways, just as they are, and ground-up oats (oat flour). You can use rolled oats or quick oats. The recipe will lead you through grinding the oats to make your own flour. You will need a blender or food processor.
Is oat flour gluten-free? To be sure oat flour is gluten-free, use gluten-free oats. Oats do not contain gluten; however, they are often grown close to wheat or processed in a facility where they come in contact with gluten.
If you would like to try another recipe with ground up oats as the base (oat flour), try these sweet, fruity blackberry muffins!
My step-by-step instructions
Follow these step-by-step photos from my kitchen to make these easy rhubarb cookies.
Pulse oats: Start by making half of the oats into a thin powder called oat flour, so place 1 cup of oats into the blender (or food processor) and blend on high until everything is finely ground.
Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, mix together the ground up oats from the blender, the rest of the oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Pulse rhubarb: To make the rhubarb into small pieces, place medium chunks of rhubarb into the blender (or food processor) and pulse until there are only bite size pieces. Or chop them into small pieces.
In a large mixing bowl, place the sugar, oil, water, and egg; mix well.
Add the dry oat mixture and the rhubarb to the mixing bowl with the sugar in it. Stir well. Let it sit for 5 minutes to absorb some liquid.
Use a cookie scoop or a large tablespoon to drop cookies onto a lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 Farhenhiet (190 °C) for 8-10 minutes. They will still look a little wet or moist but puffy when they are done.
Leave the cookies on the baking pan for 5 minutes after removing them from the oven. This lets the cookies continue to solidify and prevents them from breaking when removing them from the pan.
FAQ
There are many yummy tart recipes to make with rhubarb! If I have a lot of rhubarb from my mom's garden, I make rhubarb fruit leather roll-ups! It can be cooked down to make a thick stewed sauce and eaten with ice cream, or made into pie, or into jam! This pink and green fruit is also great for making rhubarb strawberry popsicles, rhubarb bars, rhubarb muffins. This is a list of all my favorite healthy rhubarb recipes.
I studied food and nutrition for 2 years, and I like to share about the ingredients I use in my snack recipes. Rhubarb is rich in vitamin K, supporting bone density, and it's also high in vitamin C, potassium and magnesium. It is high in antioxidants, protecting the body from free radicals! Rhubarb supports collagen production, enhancing your skin, and it is a good source of fiber.
More wonderful rhubarb recipes
My blog is dedicated to wholesome snacks, ones I make for my family and want to share with you because we liked them so much! Here are all the best rhubarb recipes.
⭐ Like this recipe for rhubarb oatmeal cookies? Give this recipe a star rating, and let me know what you think down below the recipe! I love hearing what you thought of my recipes!
Rhubarb Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
- 1 blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats or quick oats
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ⅓ cup rhubarb chunks
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoon oil I used melted coconut or olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Farhrenhiet (190 C).
- Grind oats + dry ingredients: Start by placing 1 cup of the oats (half of them) into a blender or food processor. Start the machine on low and turn the power to high until the oats grind into a flour like substance. Pour the blended oat flour into a medium bowl. Add the rest of the oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and stir until combine.
- Make the rhubarb smaller: Place chunks of rhubarb into the food processor or blender, pulse until they become small bite sized pieces. Or you can chop it small but you want it finely diced.
- Mix everything: In a large mixing bowl place the sugar, egg, oil, and water, mix well. Add the oat mixture to this sugar mixture, along with the small pieces of rhubarb. Mix well and let the batter sit for 5 minutes. Using a cookie scoop or a large tablespoon drop cookies onto a baking pan that is covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Bake: Put the cookies in the oven at 375 degrees Farhrenhiet (190 C) for 8-10 minutes, they will look puffy and a moist but not super wet. Let them sit on the pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.
- Storage: Keep cookies in a container for 3 days at room temperature, or place them in the fridge to stay fresh up to 5 days.
Rachel B says
So yummy!
The first batch I made was a little crumbly, so I added a banana to the next batch which worked out so good!
I’ll definitely make these again!
danikavanderpyl says
Thanks for the insight Rachel! Glad you enjoyed these. I do find if they are baked too long they aren't as moist.
Elizabeth says
These cookies turned out so good - they looked exactly as described after 10 min in the oven (slightly puffed up). For those curious about add-ins, I added 1/4 cup of chopped pecans and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips... truly heavenly! Thanks for a great - and unique - cookie recipe!
Danika Vanderpyl says
Thanks for letting us know you made these cookies and enjoyed them! I love the pecans addition, brilliant.