These are the best vegan oatmeal cookies ever! Perfectly soft and chewy with the classic taste of oatmeal and brown sugar. You can add raisins, chocolate chips, craisins, or nuts to make any type of oatmeal cookies you want. This recipe also makes the most delicious cookie dough, and since there are no eggs, feel free to eat it up!
Whether you want vegan oatmeal raisin cookies or vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, this is the recipe for you! I've been making this cookie recipe for over 20 years and it never fails me.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It's easy to make with no need for special vegan ingredients. (There is no need for a vegan egg replacer in this recipe.)
- These cookies bake up perfectly with regular or gluten-free flour.
- They're a family favorite and good for any holiday, special occasion, or just a Saturday afternoon.
- It's super versatile so you can add in whatever you like and make them different every time.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Vegan Butter - for the fat in the cookies. I like to use my homemade vegan butter or any dairy-free margarine that you wish. You can also swap out the butter for coconut oil.
- Brown Sugar - for sweetness and a molasses flavor. You can also use white sugar or coconut sugar.
- Plant-Based Milk - any type of plant-based milk will work like soy milk, oat milk, almond milk, or any other dairy-free milk product.
- Vanilla Extract - for flavor.
- Flour - white all-purpose flour, whole wheat, or half and half will work. You can also use any grain-based gluten-free flour mix.
- Baking Soda - to make them rise and stay soft.
- Baking Powder - to make them rise.
- Salt - for flavor.
- Cinnamon - for flavor. (Optional, but give them a nice flavor).
- Oatmeal - I like whole rolled oats, but you can also use quick oats. If you are making these gluten-free make sure to use gluten-free oats.
- Raisins - for oatmeal raisin cookies (Optional) You can also use nuts, craisins, or dark chocolate chips in your cookies.
Note - I don't use any type of vegan egg replacer in these cookies. Many recipes call for a flax egg or other egg substitute, but I have tested this recipe countless times and it doesn't need any.
🔪 Helpful tools
A Baking Sheet - Use a heavy cookie sheet or an Airbake cookie sheet to avoid burning on the bottom. You can also line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Electric Mixer - or a stand mixer to mix the cookie dough.
A Large Mixing Bowl - to mix the cookie dough.
🥄 How to make vegan oatmeal cookies
Step 1 - Set the butter out to allow it to come to room temperature and preheat your oven to 350° F.
Mix the wet ingredients
Step 2 - In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. (This whips air into it and gives your cookie more structure).
Step 3 - Add the plant milk and vanilla and mix on low for about 30 more seconds until you have a light fluffy mixture.
Mix in the dry ingredients
Step 4 - Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and mix on low for about 1 minute until all ingredients are combined.
Step 5 - Pour in the oatmeal 1 cup at a time, mixing between each cup.
Step 6 - Stir in your choice of raisins, chocolate chips, or anything else that you would like in your cookies.
Step 7 - Use a cookie scoop to spoon 1 tbsp of cookie dough balls onto an oiled cookie sheet (or line it with parchment paper).
Bake the cookies
Step 8 - Bake at 350° F for 11 minutes. (They will still look a little doughy in the middle).
Step 9 - Take out of the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to a flat surface to cool the rest of the way and store in an airtight container.
🌟 Vegan oatmeal cookie add-ins
- Chocolate Chips
- Dried Cranberries
- Vegan White Chocolate Chips
- Rice Crispy Creal - give it a great added crunch!
- Dried Cherries
- Nuts - any type of crushed nuts you want, like almonds, pistachios, or walnuts.
- Vegan M&Ms
🍞 Gluten-free instructions
To make these gluten-free, I use my homemade gluten-free flour mix or a basic store-bought gluten-free flour mix. I've tested them with many types of gluten-free flour and they always come out well.
Note - If the mix you are using doesn't have xanthan gum in it, adding a 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum will help your cookies hold together better. I don't recommend swapping out the flour for almond flour, but any grain-based flour will work.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Bake your vegan oatmeal cookies for 11 minutes. They will most likely still look doughy in the center, but take them out anyway. They will firm up and become chewy this way.
- Cooking for more than the recommended 11 minutes will make them more brittle and crispy.
- Spray your cookie sheet will a little oil (or rub a thin layer of oil on it) to avoid sticking.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before taking them off.
- Place the cookies on a flat surface to cool completely.
- Don't add too much to the cookies. About 1/2 cup of raisins, chocolate chips, or nuts is enough to add flavor. If you add too much, you won't have enough dough to hold them together.
🥡 How to store oatmeal cookies
Store your vegan oatmeal cookies in a sealed container on the countertop for up to 5 days or freeze them in an air-tight bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
🍪 More vegan cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Sugar Cookies - Cut-Out Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Easy Vegan Shortbread Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan oatmeal cookie recipe
Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup vegan butter
- 2 cups brown sugar or white sugar, coconut sugar, or Sucanat.
- 1/3 cup soy milk or any other type of plant-based milk.
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour white, whole wheat, or half and half will work. You can also use any grain-based gluten-free flour mix.
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3 cups oats I like to use whole oats but you can also use quick oats. If you are making these gluten-free make sure to use gluten-free oats.
- 1/2 cup raisins chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, or anything you would like to add to the cookies.
Instructions
- Set the butter out to allow it to come to room temperature and preheat your oven to 350° F.
Mix the wet ingredients
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. (This whips air into it and gives your cookie more structure).
- Add the plant milk and vanilla and mix on low for about 30 more seconds until you have a light fluffy mixture.
Mix in the dry ingredients
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and mix on low for about 1 minute until all ingredients are combined.
- Pour in the oatmeal 1 cup at a time, mixing between each cup.
- Stir in your choice of raisins, chocolate chips, or anything else that you would like in your cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop to spoon 1 tbsp of cookie dough balls onto an oiled cookie sheet (or line it with parchment paper).
Bake the cookies
- Bake at 350° F for 11 minutes. (They will still look a little doughy in the middle).
- Take out of the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to a flat surface to cool the rest of the way.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Bake for 11 minutes. They will most likely still look doughy in the center, but take them out anyway. They will firm up and become chewy.
- Cooking for more than the recommended 11 minutes will make them more brittle and crispy.
- Spray your cookie sheet will a little oil (or rub a thin layer of oil on it) to avoid sticking.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them.
- Place the cookies on a flat surface to cool completely.
- Don't add too much to the cookies. About 1/2 cup of raisins, chocolate chips, or nuts is enough to add flavor. If you add too much, you won't have enough dough to hold them together.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
Hi,
I make these cookies a lot because there great but will they freeze well? I want to make them ahead of time and freeze until needed.
Thanks
Serina D
Yes, they freeze well in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Enjoy!
I love this recipe. I’ve made this 4 times already. I did reduce the cups of oats from 3 cups, to two cups. I also let my dough set in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before baking.
I'm happy that you are enjoying the recipe, Henrietta. 🙂
These were SO good! I added chopped apples to the batter for an apple pie flavor and a dash of ginger, and they turned out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe!
I'm so happy that you liked the recipe, Amy.
These cookies are fabulous! I used half brown sugar and half coconut sugar and a tablespoon of egg replacer. Since I live at a high altitude I cooked them for 13 minutes and they came out perfectly. My additions were chopped dried apricots, roasted salted pistachios and some dried hibiscus. Such a good recipe!! Thank you!
I'm so happy that you liked them, Mary. They're definitely a favorite in my house! 🙂
My cookies didn’t flatten, why would that be? I did make some substitutions, I used coconut oil instead of butter, I used coconut sugar instead of regular or brown. But, overall, we LOVED THESE COOKIES!!!!! I just am not sure why they did flatten if I followed the recipe , other than the couple of substitutions. Thank you! The BATTER IS DELICIOUS!!!
The coconut oil probably made the dough thicker than vegan butter would have. I'm glad that you liked the recipe! 🙂
theses turned out AMAZING!!! I added finely chopped walnuts and chocolate chips and only a little raisins. Perfection. they were soft and so delicious. Thank you for this recipe! I followed to a T. 11 minutes and then 5 minutes on the cookie sheet.
I'm so happy that these cookies turned out well for you, Brianna! 🙂
I’m in the middle of making these and just realized I only have steel cut oats. Will those work?
Sorry that I didn't see the message until just now. I have never tested it, but I think steel-cut oats will be too hard to work well in these cookies.
Thanks for a great recipe ! Made these using your gluten free flour blend, and a 50:50 combination of coconut sugar and dark brown sugar. I was out of vanilla extract so left it out and they still taste amazing. Chewy and satisfying! This one is going into my keeper recipe book 🙂
You're welcome, Mo! I'm so glad that the recipe worked well for you! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
This recipe is really easy and the cookies are delicious. I added a mixture of cranberries and white raisins. I creamed the butter and sugar longer than suggested and I used pure cane sugar with two tablespoons of molasses. I ended up with about five dozen cookies. I ate a half dozen while they were still warm. Lol. Thank you for sharing.
I'm glad that you liked the recipe, Karen. I'm also glad that you enjoyed some warm out of the oven! 🙂
These are AMAZING! I had given up on finding a great cookie recipe. . I used 1/2 date syrup and 1/2 brown sugar. Thank you thank You thank you!
I'm so happy that you liked this recipe. It's one of my favorites too! Plus the cookie dough is amazing! 🙂
This is similar to my mother’s favorite recipe I make all the time with wfpb changes: 3/4 c great northern beans from the blender in place of butter, no cinnamon, and lemon extract in place of vanilla. Also instead of “milk” I do 1flax egg in 1/4 c water (that’s where I add the lemon extract); because I use only 1c flour, perhaps the water would need to be increased to 1/3c.
There are other variations, but not all too different.
I triple the recipe, bake 2 doz. And freeze the remaining batter to wait its turn.
I've seen some recipes that use great northern beans instead of butter. That's a great idea, but I've never tested it. These aren't meant to be a super healthy cookie, just a great-tasting vegan one., but I'm sure you can do some swaps to make it healthier. 🙂
Hi Monica,
Any suggestions for cutting down on the very large amount of sugar? How about a combo of sugar, stevia and a little erythritol?
Thank you.
You could probably cut the sugar in half and it would still taste okay. I haven't tested them with stevia or erythritol.
Thank you Monica.
My recipe calls for 1c. Brown sugar and 1/2 c of white for which I substitute Splenda. We can’t tell the difference.
Thank you Pam that’s very good to know.
My very first vegan baking experience...these are awesome. I made a couple alterations. 1c brown sugar and 1 cup Splenda. I used almond extract in lieu of vanilla and Iused unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I didn't use raising I used chopped almonds and half of the batch I added protein powder. I love them! Thank you for this recipe.
You're welcome, Cindy. I'm so happy that the recipe worked well for you. Vegan baking can be a little intimidating, I'm glad that you gave it a go! 🙂
The best oatmeal cookies ever! I followed the recipe exactly and they came out perfect!
I'm so happy that you liked them, Lori!
Just made these. Excellent! Made sure oven was good and preheated. I used Earth Balance in the tub butter, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 2 cups of oatmeal. I added 1/2 cup chocolate chips.Took 10 minutes 30 seconds to bake.
Can't wait to make again with a different add in!!
I'm so happy that you liked the recipe, Deborah! 🙂
Will Almond Milk work?
Yes, almond milk will work just fine. Enjoy! 🙂
Just made these and they are wonderful! I only had about half enough vegan butter, so I used coconut oil for the remaining amount. I used the Walmart brand gluten free flour. I did only use two cups of oats instead of three. I am so pleased at how well they are holding together being egg and gluten free! They have a nice buttery, brown sugar flavor. I also love the amount of cookies it makes - plenty to snack on today, and plenty to pop in the freezer to have on hand.
I'm so happy that they worked out well for you! 🙂
Great recipe! My family loved them!
I'm so happy that you all like them! 🙂
I used 4-5 tablespoons of coconut oil instead of vegan butter and added 4 tablespoons of unsweetened dutch processed cacao powder instead of chocolate chips to give it chocolate flavor with additional sugar calories. But a great recipe overall. loved it.
I'm so happy that the recipe worked well for you! 🙂
Deeeeeelicious! I used Gogo Quinoa All purpose GF flour, and added 1/2 cup chocolate chips and ½ cup chopped roasted macadamia nuts...wow. This was the max addition as they did get pretty crumbly. But not a problem here!
I'm so happy to have found this, as I didn't have the "flax egg" to use and some of those recipes come out too sticky.
Great recipe, thank you!
I'm so happy that you liked them, Cindy! 🙂
Are we to use oats or oatmeal? The recipe ingredient sounds as if we are to cook the oats into oatmeal and use 3 cups of oatmeal. I'm hoping it's just a typo and we can use raw oats???
You need 3 cups of oats, raw uncooked.
Just made these with my daughter who is vegan and has celiac. Her response was ‘omg they’re so good!”
I'm so happy that she liked them, Julie! 🙂
This is truly a gem of a recipe. Delicious cookies - all my non-veg friends adore them! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I have been searching for a foolproof vegan cookie recipe for quite some time.... one of the situations where you're the only veg and must share/prove that anything vegan can still be just as great (aka the best <3). Woot woot
I'm so happy to read this Jessica! Thanks so much! 🙂
Is there a big texture difference if you use quick oats?
There is not a huge difference with quick oats. If that's what you have, use them. Enjoy! 🙂
Absolutely awesome cookies. The family were asking me to make a second batch before they had finished the first!!!!
Aww, thanks so much, Terry! I'm so happy that they like them! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! I’d suggest using probably just 3/4 tsp of cinnamon, the flavor came out too strong 🙁 this is the feedback I received from friends.
I made them just as the recipe laid out and they were delicious! The whole family loved them. Thanks Monica 🙂
I'm so happy that you liked them, Lindsay! 🙂
I used regular butter and doubled the milk. They are amazing
Glad you liked them! 🙂
Hi Monica, I don’t have vegan butter so what should I use instead? Coconut oil?
Hi Maggie, yes, you can use coconut oil instead of vegan butter. If you have refined coconut oil, it will be a more neutral flavor. Enjoy! 🙂
I used half casava flour and half almond flour. They were awesome!!
Good to know that almond and cassava flour will work. So happy that you liked the recipe! 🙂
Fantastic recipe. Made them for my friend who has gone vegan for lent. You would never know they were vegan
I not have been asked to bake loads for a charity bake sale.
Have you ever tried freezing the dough? If so how did they turn out?
Many thanks.
I have never tried freezing the dough, but the cookies will freeze well in an airtight container. Glad that you liked them. 🙂
Hi, this looks like a great easy recipe to try! can I substitute organic shortening for the vegan butter which has soy in it? and if so, how much would I use for this recipe? Thanks
Hi Barbara, yes, you can swap out vegan butter for shortening if you would like in equal amounts. Enjoy! 🙂
Is it possible to use almond meal ?
I'm sorry, but I've never tried it with almond meal so I'm not sure. Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
I made these and we loved them! I wanted to add some extra healthy to them and added pecans, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds and flax seeds. Best vegan gf cookie i've ever had!
I'm so happy that you liked them, Kate. 🙂
Everyone loved these cookies, even the non vegans(they didn’t know!) i used choc chips and dried cranberries. Also I put in 1/2 c less sugar.
Thank you for the recipe.
You're welcome! So happy that you all loved them! 🙂
Fantastic cookies. Oatmeal raisin is my favourite cookie and now I’ve found this recipe can’t imagine making any other. It makes a VERY LARGE batch.
So happy that you like it! It does make a very large batch, yet my family of 4 has no trouble finishing them off in a few days. 🙂