These Gluten-Free Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are:
- soft and chewy
- fragrant and fruity
- much healthier than the traditional version!
I was really craving some cookies the other day, and wondered what type would be easiest to make vegan and gluten-free…I almost instantly thought of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. As they’re already made using oats, which can be gluten-free, I knew I wouldn’t have to stray too far from the original recipe to make a gluten-free and vegan version.
These Gluten-Free Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are made using a mixture of rolled oats (ensure these are gluten-free certified if necessary) and ground almonds. The ground almonds help to bind the mixture together without flax or chia eggs, and they also create a soft and chewy texture.
The cinnamon and vanilla together create a fragrant, warm and toasty flavour, and I made sure to add plenty of raisins for sweetness. If you’re not a fan of raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries or even dried blueberries would be a great alternative!
These Gluten-Free Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are much healthier than the traditional version (maybe even healthy enough to eat for breakfast?) as they’re naturally sweetened. The raisins are already pretty sweet, so I added just a little maple syrup. If you don’t have too much of a sweet tooth then you could probably even omit the maple syrup completely and just use the raisins.
The recipe is pretty versatile as you can substitute the maple syrup with any other similar liquid sweetener such as agave syrup or brown rice syrup. The coconut oil can also be substituted with olive or vegetable oil. These cookies are also super easy to make and require just one bowl!
For more delicious vegan cookies, check out my:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Black Bean Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make these Gluten-Free Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies:
glass mixing bowl
measuring jug
rectangular baking tray
baking paper
These Gluten-Free Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are soft and chewy, fragrant and fruity and much healthier than the traditional version!
- 30 g (1/8 cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 60 g (1/2 cup) ground almonds* (almond meal)
- 150 g (1 1/2 cups) rolled oats (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 100 g (2/3 cup) raisins
- 160 ml (2/3 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
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Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
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Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil)
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Once melted, add all the other ingredients to the same bowl
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Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry
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Take a heaped tablespoon of the mixture and use your hands to form it into little patties
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Lay it out onto a baking tray lined with greased baking paper
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Repeat until the rest of the batter is used up - you should be able to make 12 cookies
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Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes until golden brown
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Leave to cool completely before storing in an airtight container - keeps for a good few days
*You can alternatively use 
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of the products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Sarah Dean
These look SO tasty! I definitely have to give them a try. 🙂
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!
Annette
I bake cookies for the church youth, is there a way i can double or even triple this recipe.
Rhian Williams
Yes definitely – just double or triple the ingredients and bake either in batches or at once on 2 or 3 baking trays. Hope that helps!
naimita jagasia
hi, i have made ths recipe but i added 100 ml milk and it got too watery and wet looking. will it affect the recipe if i dont add all the milk or will it absorb in the baking process? thanks
Rhian Williams
Hi, thank you for your feedback! I suppose how liquidy the mixture gets will depend on how much liquid your oats absorb (or don’t absorb) whilst mixing. I found 100ml was a good amount for me but if the mixture looks too watery to form then I would suggest adding less, perhaps 75ml. The mixture should be on the soft side, as long as it’s hard enough to form into cookies. I made sure the mixture was on the soft side so that the cookies wouldn’t dry out too much in the oven as oats can absorb a lot of liquid…hope that helps and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Anna
What would be a good substitute for almonds? You mentioned chia seeds… would it affect the taste?
Rhian Williams
Chia seeds shouldn’t affect the taste, but it might affect the texture slightly. You could substitute the ground almonds with ground walnuts or ground sunflower seeds. Hope that helps!
Lolita G.
I made these cookies this morning and they were very tasty. So much so that I am going to take some to work so that I will not pig out and eat the whole batch.😁
Followed the recipe except I add a teaspoon of butter flavored extract. It made them smell like butter deliciousness and gave my mouth and nose a hint of butter without the dairy.
Rhian Williams
Hi, that’s amazing, so happy to hear that thank you for sharing!!
May
Turned out amazing!
Rhian Williams
Thank you!
Tracy
Hi is there a substitute for rolled oats?
Rhian Williams
I think you could use brown rice flakes but not 100% sure as haven’t tested it this way sorry!
Chris
These are good. Considering they are gluten free and vegan, I’m impressed with how they taste, and they’re easy to make. Thanks!
Rhian Williams
Aw that’s amazing to hear, thank you so much!
Catherine
I made these tonight and followed the ingredient quantities as listed. When I saw how watery the batter turned out, I look in the comments and noticed you mentioned “100ml” as the perfect amount but your ingredients list 160ml? I added coconut flour to soak up the extra liquid and am waiting on results now 🙂
Rhian Williams
Hi thank you for making these and for your feedback! In the ingredients list I mentioned 100ml as a potential amount to use for people who were struggling with the batter being too wet. I’ve personally made this recipe lots of times with 160ml and haven’t had any problems. I will re-test it again with less liquid and see how I get on as it seems a few people have found it too wet. I’m sorry about the problems you had and really hope they turned out ok in the end. Thank you for letting me know.