Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies With Coconut
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These Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are so delicious, refined sugar-free, and are lower in sugar overall than your typical oatmeal chocolate chip cookie! I hope you love them just as much as my family does!
My family also loves these Peanut Butter Date Cookies and Healthier Lemon Blueberry Cookies (Soft + Low Sugar!)!
5th Time’s The Charm
I originally created these vegan cookies in an effort to recreate Trader Joe’s Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies With Coconut, which I used to be obsessed with. I worked on trying to recreate this recipe for weeks in order to make a healthier version of my fav cookie!
Well, after my third attempt and still not getting them quite right, my husband pleaded, “Please don’t make any more cookies.” Wanting to be respectful of his wishes, but also feeling very determined to get the recipe right, I chose the latter…with the thought that I could try freezing our abundance in cookies and make everyone happy.
The fourth attempt – another fail. The flavor was great. The structure? Not so much.
Okay, now I knew I really couldn’t make any more cookies since our house was overflowing with them. So I decided to outsource them to the best baker I know. My sister.
The caveat? She has never made “healthy” cookies before. She also had none of the ingredients for the recipe, but she very willingly went to the store and bought all of the supplies. I sent over the tweaks I needed her to make to the recipe for her to try it out for me.
My Sister’s Cookie Review
My sister’s feedback is the ultimate test, as she is a cookie aficionado and is not in favor of vegan baked goods.
This is the series of texts my sister sent me:
- “They look like they’re baking well!”
- “They look like real cookies lol and they smell really good.”
- “OMG these are SO GOOD”
- “They’re like a perfect cookie! I love it!”
- “They’re sweet with the chocolate chips and the oatmeal is a nice side flavor. No flavor is too overwhelming. It’s a really good balance.”
Ummm….crying over here. This is the highest compliment she’s ever given me. 😉
Overall, the recipe didn’t turn out quite like the Trader Joe’s Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, however, I think this recipe deserves to be shared because these cookies are still really delicious!
If you stuck with me this long, now you’ll learn that I actually tweaked the recipe a FIFTH time and am bringing it to you now, new and improved….and SUPER delicious! Can’t wait for you to try them.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
- So Delicious! – These vegan oatmeal cookies are truly so hard to stop eating!! I hope you love them as much as my family does!
- Healthy(ish) – These cookies are healthier than your average oatmeal chocolate chip cookie!
- Customizable – There are lots of different ways you can adapt this recipe to meet the needs of your family and any dietary needs or if you don’t have some of these ingredients in your house.
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Oatmeal Cookie Recipe:
Ingredient Notes
- Coconut Sugar: If you don’t have coconut sugar, you can replace it with brown sugar or white sugar, but this will mean the recipe is no longer refined sugar free.
- Almond Milk: If needing to make this recipe nut-free, you can use soy milk or another non-dairy milk. If regular milk is okay for your diet, feel free to use regular milk as well if you don’t have almond milk.
- Instant Oats: You could try using old fashioned oats or gluten-free rolled oats here, I’m just not exactly sure how it will impact the texture. You may have to add slightly more rolled oats if replacing.
- Flaxseed Meal: If you don’t have flaxseed meal, you could try replacing the flax with two chia eggs (made the same way, but with chia seeds) or with two regular eggs (meaning the recipe would no longer be vegan).
- Chocolate Chips: Make sure you’re using vegan chocolate chips to keep this recipe vegan.
How to Make Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: STEP-BY-STEP
For the full recipe with the exact ingredients, scroll down to the printable recipe card below!
STEP 1:
In a medium bowl, prepare flax eggs by mixing flaxseed meal and water and letting it sit for 5 minutes.
STEP 2:
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix olive oil and coconut sugar until well combined. Transfer olive oil and coconut sugar mixture to the bowl with the flax eggs. Stir in almond milk and maple syrup until well combined.
STEP 3:
In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, oats, shredded coconut, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Add chocolate chips and gently stir.
STEP 4:
Using a cookie scoop or spoon, form cookie dough balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. You may need to use two baking sheets. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Once you remove them from the oven, leave them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack or eating.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Top cookies with coconut shreds – I love topping my cookies with coconut shreds before baking them in the oven. Alternatively, you could top them with more chocolate chips!
- Cookies will look/feel underbaked – When you take the cookies out of the oven after 10 minutes (know that your oven baking time may be slightly different than my oven!), the cookies will feel a little soft to the touch, but the bottoms will be firm. Allow them to set on the baking sheet for another 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Coconut shreds – Make sure the coconut shreds you get are not sweetened! Sometimes this is an added ingredient that you have to be on the lookout for.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2-3 days and in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Substitutions
- Coconut Sugar: If you don’t have coconut sugar, you can replace it with brown sugar or white sugar, but this will mean the recipe is no longer refined sugar free.
- Almond Milk: If needing to make this recipe nut-free, you can use soy milk or another dairy-free alternative. If regular milk is okay for your diet, feel free to use regular milk as well if you don’t have almond milk.
- Instant Oats: You could try using rolled oats or gluten-free rolled oats here, I’m just not exactly sure how it will impact the texture. You may have to add slightly more rolled oats if replacing.
- Flaxseed Meal: If you don’t have flaxseed meal, you could try replacing the flax with two chia eggs (made the same way, but with chia seeds) or with two regular eggs (meaning the recipe would no longer be vegan).
- Flour: You can replace the whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour or a 1:1 gluten-free flour if you want to make the cookies gluten-free. You’ll also need to make sure you’re using gluten-free oats and chocolate chips.
- Olive Oil: You can sub coconut oil (melted) for olive oil.
- Chocolate Chips: Swap out the chocolate chips for raisins to make vegan oatmeal raisin cookies!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yep! You can use 1:1 gluten-free flour and gluten-free oats to make these cookies gluten-free. You’ll also need to ensure the chocolate chips you use are gluten-free. Enjoy Life makes yummy chocolate chips that are allergen-friendly.
Sure! This just may change the texture to some extent.
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I hope you love these Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! If you make them, be sure to leave a rating below so I know how you liked it! Enjoy!
Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies With Coconut
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 5 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup almond milk, plain and unsweetened (or other dairy-free milk)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup instant oats
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, prepare flax eggs by mixing flaxseed meal and water and letting it sit for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix olive oil and coconut sugar until well combined. Transfer olive oil and coconut sugar mixture to the bowl with the flax eggs. Stir in almond milk and maple syrup until well combined.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, shredded coconut, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Add chocolate chips and gently stir.
- Using a cookie scoop or spoon, form cookie dough balls and place on the lined baking sheets, slightly spread out from one another.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. They will feel soft to the touch on the tops and slightly underdone. Once you remove them from the oven, leave them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes to continue cooling before transferring to a wire rack or eating.