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Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

These Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are extra soft, thick, chewy, and studded with gooey chocolate morsels!

top down view of a batch of healthy vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies cooling on parchment paper.

These chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are reminiscent of the old favorite oatmeal chocolate cookie recipes you may have grown up with. They are soft, tender cookies with a nice chew and tons of flavor!

You can share them with friends, family, and co-workers with confidence, and I bet they wouldn’t even guess that they’re vegan. I love introducing easy transitional recipes, especially desserts, and this is one of them.

So I hope you enjoy this recipe, making them often to share. Serve with a nice chilled glass of non-dairy milk, and watch them disappear!

And FYI, they make great gifts all boxed up with a bow!

top down view of ingredients to make healthy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s everything you’ll need, plus ideas on making substitutions when needed:

  • Oats – old-fashioned or quick oats work here.
  • Flour – light spelt flour, all-purpose, oat, pastry, and white whole wheat flour are great too.
  • Sugar – Use coconut sugar or organic cane sugar – I used coconut sugar here.
  • Cinnamon – optional, but adds great flavor.
  • Baking soda – baking powder works in a pinch too.
  • Salt – just a pinch, or make it optional
  • Coconut oil – use room temp, also vegan butter works well. For oil-free try unsweetened applesauce!
  • Banana or flax eggs – I love using banana, but the flax is good too.
  • Unsweetened almond milk or pure maple syrup – either one, use maple for a sweeter cookie.
  • Vanilla extract – adds a lovely flavor. I ♡ Ashlae of Oh Lady Cakes Vanilla!
  • Dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli 72% or Enjoy Life)

How To Make Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

There’s only a few steps needed for homemade soft, thick and chewy vegan cookies:

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Combine the wet ingredients first. In a large bowl, stir the sugar and coconut oil until creamy smooth. Stir in vanilla and banana/flax egg until light and blend well.
  • Stir in the dry ingredients. Add in flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix well (above left). Next, stir in oats and chocolate chips (below left).
side by side photo showing the process of making vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
  • Scoop and bake. Scoop up large rounded tablespoons of dough and place them on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper, about 1 1/2 – 2 inches apart (below right). Bake in the oven for 10 – 13 minutes.

Once your cookies cool, you’re ready to enjoy!

Recommended Equipment: I love this silpat or parchment paper to line my baking sheets. And using a 3 tablespoon trigger cookie scoop (<affiliate links) helps keep the cookies uniform when scooping.

Tips For Baking Cookies

  • Scoop flour with a spoon. When measuring flour, never scoop it out of the bag or container with the measuring cup. Instead, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
  • Don’t overbake! To achieve a deliciously super soft and chewy texture, slightly underbake the cookies. Over-baked oatmeal cookies tend to be dry and hard, losing their chewy texture. I usually cook these cookies for 11 -12 min max., but ovens vary, so adjust as necessary. When ready, cookies will look brown around the edges and look a bit undone on top but will change appearance after a few minutes of cooling and be perfect.
  • Use a trigger cookie scoop. The oatmeal cookie dough is soft, chunky, and pretty sticky. Use a cookie scoop to keep the mess to a minimum while also keeping the cookies uniform in shape, which helps them bake evenly.
  • This recipe can easily be cut in half or doubled if needed.
side angle view of vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies just baked on a cookie sheet.

How To Store

Oatmeal cookies can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for 5 days. They’ll keep longer if stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks and up to 2- 3 months in the freezer.

Can I Freeze Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies?

Absolutely! To freeze baked cookies, let them cool completely, then place them in the freezer on a cookie sheet until frozen. Once frozen, place the cookies in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers with parchment paper between the layers. Freeze cookies for up to 3 months.

To freeze unbaked cookies, place the shaped cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Next, place frozen dough balls in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. When ready to bake, no thawing needed, place the frozen dough on a lined baking sheet and bake for 12 – 15 minutes.

top down view of the healthy vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on a plate with glass of almond milk.

More Vegan Cookie Recipes!

If you try this vegan cookie recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.

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Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 21 reviews

A classic chocolate chip oatmeal cookie made vegan. It’s a true crowd-pleaser that’s so easy and delicious!

  • Author: Julie | The Simple Veganista
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 20 min
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: Makes 24 cookies 1x
  • Category: Dessert, Cookie
  • Method: bake
  • Cuisine: American, Vegan

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3/4 cup (156g) coconut oil, at room temp (use vegan butter or unsweetened applesauce)
  • 3/4 cup (150g) coconut sugar or organic cane sugar
  • 1/2 large banana, mashed (or 2 flax eggs, see instructions)
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) unsweetened almond milk or pure maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups (153g) spelt flour (all-purpose, pastry, oat and white whole wheat ok too)*
  • 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda (baking powder also works)
  • generous pinch of salt
  • 2 1/2 cups (240g) oats, old fashioned or quick
  • 1 cup (175g) dark chocolate or carob chips (I love Enjoy Life)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Flax eggs: If using flax eggs, in a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal + 6 tablespoons water. Set aside for at least 10 minutes to gel up. If using banana, in small bowl mash your banana as smooth as possible, set aside.

Cream together oil & sugar: In a large mixing bowl, combine coconut oil and sugar, mix well, making sure there are no lumps of oil.

Add wet ingredients: Add in mashed banana/flax egg, non-dairy milk or maple syrup, and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients: Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, mix well to combine scraping the bottom to make sure there are no flour clumps. Add in the oats and mix well. Lastly, add in chocolate chips, mix again.

Scoop dough: Line a cookie/baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. Scoop out rounded tablespoons of mixture and place on baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake: Place baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10 – 13 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven, let cool a few minutes and enjoy.

Makes approx. 24 cookies

Store: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for 5 days. They’ll keep longer if stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. You can freeze your cookies for up to 2 months (see notes).

Notes

*If baking with grams, flours vary widely, see this guide for flour conversions: Ingredient Weight Chart

Adjust the sugar amount to suit your taste. These would still be great but a little less sweet using 1/2 – 2/3 cup sugar, especially if using the maple syrup.

Try adding 1 tablespoon molasses for another layer of flavor.

When measuring flour, never scoop it out of the bag or container with the measuring cup. Instead, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.

To achieve a delicious super soft and chewy texture, just slightly under bake the cookies. Over-baked oatmeal cookies tend to be hard, losing their chewy texture.

I usually cook these cookies for 10 min. max., but ovens vary so you may need an extra minute or two. Cookies will look slightly underdone after 10 minutes, but will change appearance after a few minutes of cooling and be perfect.

The dough is soft, chunky, and pretty sticky. Using a cookie scoop will keep the mess to a minimum. It also keeps the cookies uniform, helping them to bake evenly.

This recipe can easily be cut in half, or doubled, if needed.

How To Freeze Cookies:

To freeze baked cookies, let them cool completely, then place them in the freezer on a cookie sheet sheet until frozen. Once frozen, place the cookies in freezer bags or freezer safe container with parchment paper between the layers. Freeze cookies for up to 3 months.

To freeze unbaked cookies, simply place the shaped cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Place frozen dough balls in a freezer bag or freezer safe container. When ready to bake, no thawing needed, simply place the frozen dough on a lined baking sheet and bake for 12 – 15 minutes.

Recommended Equipment: I love this silpat or parchment paper to line my baking sheets. And using a 3 tablespoon trigger cookie scoop (affiliate links) helps keep the cookies uniform when scooping.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cookie
  • Calories: 114
  • Sugar: 3.1 g
  • Sodium: 54.6 mg
  • Fat: 8.3 g
  • Saturated Fat: 6.5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 9.2 g
  • Fiber: 1.3 g
  • Protein: 1.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

Updated: This post was first published in May 2014 and updated in Aug. 2019 with new photos and helpful tips. The recipe was modified reducing the oats to 2 1/2 cups instead of 3 cups. Enjoy the updated recipe and let me know what you think!

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87 Comments

  1. Just made these cookies and they are delicious!






  2. Just did your recipe and it’s so good.

    1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

      YAY, enjoy! Thanks for sharing, Ame!

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