My one-bowl Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are hearty, sweet, and so chewy. Filled with chocolatey goodness, you can bake the cookies fresh or freeze the dough for later.
A hearty and rustic oatmeal cookie is so classic. Similar to my Iced Oatmeal Cookies, these Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies have all of the flavors you love from the classic recipe but with added chocolate!
The cookies are sweetened with both granulated and brown sugar to give them an extra rich flavor, while a touch of cinnamon and vanilla extract makes each bite warm and comforting. They’re the best cookies to dunk into a glass of homemade oat milk!
I think you’re really going to like these cookies. The chilled cookie dough balls need less than 15 minutes to bake before transforming into a dessert that is:
- Firm on the outside
- Chewy on the inside
- Made in 1 bowl
- And perfect for dunking!
If you don’t know what to do with all of your leftover oats, use them up by making my Vegan Overnight Oats and these chocolatey and easy No Bake Cookies.
What kind of oats are best in oatmeal cookies?
Old fashioned rolled oats are best here. They’ll give the cookies a soft and chewy texture while helping all of the ingredients stick together. Quick oats will also work if that’s what you have at home.
How to make vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
First, make the flax egg. While it sits, beat the vegan butter and sugars together. Pour in the flax egg and vanilla and mix again.
Mix the dry ingredients with the wet until the dough is just combined. To finish, stir in the chocolate chips using a spatula. Cover the bowl with plastic and let the cookie dough chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (this is necessary to keep the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.)
Afterward, scoop 1.5 tablespoons of dough out of the bowl and onto a prepared cookie sheet. Leave a little room in between each cookie so they don’t touch after you press them down slightly.
Bake the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies until set and then let them cool completely. They’ll firm up on the outside and still taste sweet and soft on the inside!
More mix-ins
Get creative with your cookies! They’d be delicious with any of these fun mix-ins:
- Dried fruit – Use raisins, cranberries, or other dried fruit in place of the chocolate chips, if that’s your thing!
- Nuts – Add in 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts or any other kind of nut you like.
- Peanut butter – Replace the vegan butter in the dough with creamy peanut butter.
- Spices – Add a pinch of nutmeg to make the cookies extra comforting.
- Chocolate – I like to use vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips from Enjoy Life, Trader Joe’s, or Costco. You can also use a dairy free dark chocolate bar and chop it into chunks.
Substitutions
- Gluten free – Use a 1:1 gluten free flour blend to replace the all purpose flour and make sure your rolled or quick oats are certified gluten free.
- Oil free – Use applesauce, peanut butter, or pureed pumpkin instead of the vegan butter.
- No flaxseed? Replace it with chia seeds, a vegan egg replacer, or a mashed banana instead.
Make ahead oatmeal cookies
The cookie dough can be prepared and refrigerated for up to 4 days before baking. Leave it in your mixing bowl with a lid or covered in plastic.
Alternatively, freeze the balls of cookie dough or the baked cookies instead. Freeze the balls on your baking sheet completely before transferring them to an airtight container or sealed freezer-safe bag. When it’s time to bake the frozen dough, make sure to add 2 extra minutes to the baking time.
Want more vegan cookies?
Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
- 2.5 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened (8 tablespoons)
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dairy free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and set aside to make your flax egg.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened vegan butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar for 1-2 minutes until creamy.
- Mix in the flax egg and vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Stop the mixer and add the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Turn the mixer on low speed and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips until fully incorporated.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes before baking.
- About 10 minutes before the dough is done chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly spray with oil.
- Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop about 1.5 tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving a little room between each one. Press each ball down gently to slightly flatten them, as these cookies won't spread very much in the oven.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are set.
- Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. The cookies will firm up as they cool. Enjoy! Cookies will keep at room temperature for 3-4 days in a covered container.
Notes
-
Old fashioned rolled oats are best here, though quick oats will work. The texture is best with regular old fashioned rolled oats.
- Gluten free – Use a gluten free all purpose mix and make sure your oats are certified gluten free.
- Oil free – Substitute peanut butter for the vegan butter, or pumpkin puree or even applesauce.
-
Make ahead – The dough can be prepared and refrigerated up to 4 days before rolling and baking.
-
Freeze – You can freeze balls of cookie dough or the baked cookies. To bake from frozen, simply add an additional few minutes of baking time, about 2 minutes extra.
-
Use raisins, cranberries or other dried fruit in place of the chocolate chips, if desired. You could also add in 3/4 cup chopped walnuts.
These are so delicious! I’m dairy and egg currently due to my son’s allergies. These are even better than any Omni version I’ve ever made. Will definitely be making more of these. Thank you!
You are welcome, Sarah! I’m so glad that you and your son are able to enjoy the cookies! Thanks for sharing your wonderful feedback!
My family’s new favorite (second to your PB cookies)! Anytime I need a dish or treat that everyone will enjoy I turn to your site Nora.
Thanks!
Hi Jessica. You are welcome! Thank you for sharing your fabulous feedback about the cookies! I’m glad that you guys are loving them! I appreciate you using my site for your cooking needs!
Can I use cocounut oil instead of vegan butter?
Hi Julie. Coconut oil should work with this recipe. Enjoy!
Hello Nora!
If I would prefer to use mashed banana instead of flaxseed, how much banana should I use? One whole large? And still add it in with the vanilla as step #3?
Thank you so much!
I would not use a whole banana, no. Probably just a few tablespoons. I think the cookies will be much different though, very soft and taste like banana.
Thank you for your response! One more question if you don’t mind… If I were going to use real eggs in this recipe, could I? Two? Everything else would be the same?
I believe you would only need 1 egg, but I’ve never tried using real eggs in this recipe, so I’m not 100% sure. Sorry!
Nora, thank you for your feedback!
We just found out my daughter can tolerate baked egg, so I will try this and let you know how it goes haha
I always know your recipes will be good, every single time!!
So glad I found you went I went vegan 3+ years ago, your site is the most used on my browser, by far :-).
Thank you.
Hi Moira. It is so encouraging to know that you have great confidence in my recipes, and that you love them! Thank you for your great and positive feedback!
These cookies were soooo good!!
I wanted cookies at 1AM and they came together so quickly, taste amazing!
Because it was 1AM and I’m impatient; I rolled out the cookies while the oven was preheating and then put them in the freezer for about 10-15 mins to chill. I thought they came out great 😊😊 soft on the inside, crisp on the bottom.
Great recipe! I used whole wheat flour, half coconut sugar half brown sugar, 2/3 of a cup of chocolate chips and no cinnamon and they were perfect! I also made them bigger so they made 11 cookies and I cooked them for 15 minutes. Nora, another wonderful recipe!
Hi Kenna. Thanks for sharing your fantastic feedback and tips! I’m so glad you loved the cookies!
The best vegan cookies I ever made!
I used applesauce instead of flax seed but totally the best 💚
Well, thank you! I am so glad you loved the cookies! Thank you for sharing your additions and your great feedback!
I have no idea what happened. I followed the recipe exactly, but at 13 minutes the cookies had spread and morphed into one large cookie blob, and they were completely soft. I kept adding 3 minutes at a time and even increased the temperature, hoping they’d firm up enough for me to cut them into pieces and spatula them onto a cooling rack, but after an additional 12 minutes, they were still just mush. 😭
Was the dough stiff or cold when you first put the cookies in the oven? Was the butter melted rather than softened? Refrigerating the cookie dough or even popping it in the freezer for 15-30 minutes usually prevents them from spreading. There isn’t much liquid in the dough so I’m not sure why they would have spread so much, sorry!
Love the way they taste but I found 11mins was too long it made them hard.could it be the vegan butter it’s called melt.did the last batch 8 mins
Hi Mary. I’m glad you found the right amount of baking time for your oven, and that you loved the taste of the cookies! Thanks for sharing!
My go-to recipe when I’m making cookies!! This has been a huge hit at home and loved by all, plant based or not.
I always use half peanut butter half butter. Sometimes I need to add a splash of milk after it’s been in the fridge so I can form them into cookies, but my peanut butter tends to be on the drier side since it’s kept in the fridge.
Every recipe from Nora is SO GOOOD!! Thank you so much for helping me feed my sweet tooth 🙂
Hi Jen. I’m so happy that you are loving my recipes! It is so encouraging to receive positive feedback like yours! The addition to your cookies sound so good! Thank you for sharing your feedback and review!
I made these tonight for the first time. Delicious! I bake weekly for my works bbq and I’m hoping they will be a hit. Fingers crossed.
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! I’m so glad you loved the cookies!
Made these today and I’m so impressed. They came out so delicious, and had a great chewy on the side, slightly crispy on the outside texture. Recipe was very easy to follow as well, going to be trying out more dishes from this blog for sure!
Hi Kris. I’m so happy to hear you love my cookies! I think you might be new to my site, so welcome! I hope you will enjoy your journey through my recipes! Please reach out if you have any questions!
these cookies were so delicious and flavourful! I made them gluten free and they worked out very well. I highly recommend this recipe.
That’s great to hear, Alexa! I’m so glad you loved the cookies and thank you for your wonderful review!
These are the best cookies that I have EVER made. Perfect, very little spread, crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. I will definitely be making these again!!?
Thank for sharing your fantastic feedback! I’m thrilled you loved the cookies!
My dough turned out completely crumbly… I couldn’t get it to stick together. Followed the recipe exactly (used creamy peanut butter instead of the vegan butter). I didn’t have a hand mixer so I mixed it by hand.
Not sure what went wrong but it’s disappointing.. I was excited for these!
Taking the time to thoroughly whisk the peanut butter with the sugars should help you next time! It’s an important step for incorporating air and moisture into the dough and will leave you with creamy and silky cookie dough. If it still seems dry, stir in a splash of non-dairy milk at a time until it comes together.
These are the best friggin cookies ever!! My family agrees these are the best I’ve ever made. I added a half cup unsweetened fine shred coconut. I don’t buy pre-made brown sugar, just add the half cup more cane sugar plus about a half tablespoon molasses to the mix. I may have added a titch more than that and I think it’s nice. The texture after refrigeration was a little crumbly but I just formed the cookies together to a ball-ish shape and they spread just perfectly. Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
Hi Allison. You are welcome! It sounds like your family is enjoying the cookies, and I’m so glad! Thanks for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Just made these cookies and they remind me of cookies my mom used to make, and hers weren’t even vegan. It’s been so long since I’ve had good really cookies since I’ve went vegan. The cookie dough is also incredible. I could not resist some while I was baking. Thank you so much!!! I definitely recommend. 10/10
*instead of a flax egg I used Bobs Red Mill egg replacer, and it worked great!
Hi Ally. Thank you for taking time to share your feedback! I’m so glad you loved the cookies, and have found a recipe you can now enjoy! Happy cooking!
Question. Will the dough be crumbly? I’ve doubled the recipe using peanut butter, and quite crumbly. Did I miss something, or am I on the right track?
The dough tastes great!
No, the cookie dough should be soft and sticky, not crumbly. It sounds like you may need to add more liquid to help smooth it out.
I cut the vegan butter to 5 tablespoons and upped the oats to 2 cups. I tried the recipe as written and the 8 tbs of butter made them too crispy and flat the increased oats made them extra oatty which we loved
Hi Anna. Thank you for sharing your feedback and ideas! I’m glad you found the measurements that you love! Wishing you happy cooking!
Delicious. Bake time was 14 minutes – perhaps because of how cold the dough was. Also cookies spread more than I expected. Next time I’m adding dried cherries and walnuts to make then similar to a “cowboy cookie”