BEST Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (Oat flour!)
This is truly THE best vegan gluten free chocolate chip cookies recipe you’ve ever had. Chewy, soft, and melt in your mouth, these vegan chocolate chips cookies are made with JUST oat flour and nothing else! Super easy and perfect for all eaters, vegan or not!
Why this is the best vegan gluten free chocolate chip cookies recipe:
If you’re looking for a vegan gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe that tastes just like a classic chocolate chip cookie in both taste and texture, then look no further.
This vegan gluten free cookie recipe is it!
I’ve tested these oat flour chocolate chip cookies over and over, and they just come out perfectly each time. They’ve even been tested and approved by some non-vegan (and gluten eating!) taste testers, who were shocked by the results.
Perfectly crisp edges with molten middles, just sweet enough with a lovely chewy texture, and full of vegan chocolate. And the best part? You’d never know that these gluten free chocolate chip cookies are gluten free!
Plus, these cookies are just so incredibly easy to make (read: if you’ve made chocolate chip cookies before, then you’ll be just fine!). And they go perfectly with a glass of soy milk or oat milk!
What ingredients are needed to make oat flour chocolate chip cookies?
These amazing vegan chocolate chip cookies require just a few simple gluten free and dairy-free ingredients. Here’s what you need:
- Oat flour: Of course, if you’re making oat flourchocolate chip cookies, you’re going to need oat flour! I recommend using store bought oat flour, but I give tips below on how to use homemade. I have specifically developed these gluten free cookies for oat flour, and not a gluten free flourblend. However, my easy vegan chocolate chip cookies have been developed for gluten-free 1:1 baking flour, so you may swap that in if you’d prefer for that recipe (the recipes are very similar!).
- Arrowroot starch: You can easily swap in cornstarch if you need, but this just helps give a bit more of a chewytexture to these gluten free chocolate chip cookies.
- Leavening agents: This will help create a bit more of a puffier cookies rather than flat and crisp.
- Vegan butter
- Granulated sugar & brown sugar: Make sure that you’re using organic granulated sugar, as this will ensure that it’s vegan. Not all sugar is vegan, so if you want to ensure your vegan gluten free cookies are truly vegan, use organic and double check with your brand!
- Dairy-free yogurt: This replaces eggs in traditional cookie recipes.
- Vanilla extract: You can also use vanilla powder.
- Vegan chocolate chips: I recommend using Pascha Chocolate, Enjoy Life, or Valrhona’s new Amatika vegan milk chocolate. Any of your favorite dark chocolate brands will work!
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Oat flour: Unfortunately, this recipe is specifically designed for oat flourchocolate chip cookies. Almond flour and coconut flour will not work here. If you’d like to use a different flour, you can try the best vegan chocolate chip cookies recipe here where you can swap in all-purpose flour or gluten-free 1:1 baking flour.
- Vegan butter: I recommend using Miyoko’s, Earth balance sticks, or Flora Plant Butter. Coconut oil won’t yield the best results, as they might not spread as much (and you will have a bit of a coconut after-taste!).
- Sugar: I have tested these vegan oat flourchocolate chip cookies with coconut sugar, and they definitely work! If you’d like to make these vegan gluten free cookies with all coconut sugar, you definitely can!
- Dairy-free yogurt: You can swap in unsweetened applesauce here if you can’t find a good dairy free yogurt. However, I don’t recommend using a ground flax egg here, as the texture won’t be the same.
How to make vegan gluten free chocolate chip cookies (overview)
For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.
If you’ve ever made classic chocolate chip cookies, then rest assured, the process is very similar (nearly identical!).
Here’s how to make these amazing vegan oat flour chocolate chip cookies:
- Start by creaming together the vegan butter and sugar.
I recommend mixing the two together for about 3 minutes, until the vegan butter starts to lighten in color. This is really quite similar to making classic chocolate chip cookies. This is a great article detailing how to know when to stop creaming together your vegan butter and sugar.
- Next, add in the dairy free yogurt and vanilla.
Mix again just until the two are combined into the creamed vegan butter.
- Add in the dry ingredients.
Use a silicone or rubber spatula to fold in the dry ingredients. Using a spatula rather than a spoon is much easier to mix flour into wet ingredients, and will ensure you’re not overworking the cookie dough. I recommend stopping mixing the ingredients BEFORE the dry are fully incorporated. This is because we’re going to fold in the vegan chocolate chips in the next step.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
Mix the chocolate chips into the dough just until they’re evenly distributed. The flour should fully be incorporated at this point.
- Chill the vegan cookie dough.
This is super important, and we’ll discuss this more below! But you’ll need to chill this cookie dough for at least 30 minutes, or up to an hour (I like the results from chilling the dough for 60 minutes actually more!).
- Bake the oat flour chocolate chip cookies:
Use a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons but you can use a smaller scoop or a larger scoop, depending on how many cookies you want to make!) to scoop the dough. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart to make sure they don’t spread into each other while baking. Then bake the cookies!
The importance of chilling the cookie dough
I really recommend chilling the cookie dough before baking. We’re all guilty of impatience and just wanting to bake cookies right after the dough is made. However, your cookies will spread too much, and lose the puffiness.
By chilling the cookie dough, you’re helping to solidify the fats that have softened (which made it easier for us during the baking process to mix the ingredients). This means that they’ll spread much more slowly while in the oven.
The best results come from chilling the cookie dough for at least 40 minutes, but chilling the dough even longer (even an hour) will yield absolutely fantastic results. The oat flour cookies will be just puffy enough while having spread, and have those perfectly crisp edges!
Can I use homemade oat flour?
You can definitely make your own oat flour for these amazing oat flour chocolate chip cookies. That being said, they will have a bit more of a rustic appearance and texture to them, and might taste more oat-y since the flour is super fresh.
Can you eat the cookie dough?
While technically this gluten free cookie dough does not contain any all purpose flour, which can contain E. coli, I still would advice against eating raw cookie dough. Raw oat flour still unfortunately runs the risk of containing E. coli as well, as it is not cooked.
If you’re tempted to eat your cookie dough raw, I recommend heat-treating your flour, even if you’re just using oat flour!
How long to bake these vegan cookies:
I recommend baking these oat flour cookies for around 12-13 minutes. In my oven, baking these cookies at 12 minutes exactly is perfect. However, each oven is different, so use this time recommendation as a guideline, and judge the cookies by how they’re actually baking in your own oven.
How to know when your gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies are done? The edges will be completely set and just lightly browned. And the middle will be set as well, but it will still feel soft!
How to perfectly shape chocolate chip cookies:
Ever wonder how food bloggers get those perfectly rounded chocolate chip cookies? It’s a well known tip in the baking world, but it’s not as widely known outside of that.
The trick is to use a round cookie cutter (very large, so that it’ll fit over your cookies). Then simply swirl the cookie cutter around the cookie to round out the edges!
You’re just going to absolutely love these amazing vegan oat flour chocolate chip cookies! Make them for a Christmas cookie exchange, Mother’s Day, birthdays, Fourth of July parties, and more! They even work if you want to try out a vegan ice cream sandwich!
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
PrintBEST Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (Oat flour!)
- Prep Time: 10
- 30 minutes, chill:
- Cook Time: 12
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This is truly THE best vegan gluten free chocolate chip cookies recipe you’ve ever had. Chewy, soft, and melt in your mouth, these vegan chocolate chips cookies are made with JUST oat flour and nothing else! Super easy and perfect for all eaters, vegan or not!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (180 g) oat flour, sifted
- 1 tbsp (10 g) arrowroot starch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup (113 g) salted vegan butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 g) organic granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (80 g) dairy free unsweetened vanilla yogurt (such as Forager Project), room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (180 g) vegan chocolate chips or vegan milk chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Please read through all instructions before beginning.
- Prep: Line two (2) medium baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Measure out all ingredients.
- Whisk the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, arrowroot starch, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Make the cookie dough: In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the vegan butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy and lighter in color, about 3 minutes. Add in the dairy free yogurt and vanilla, and mix again until combined. Then add in the flour mixture, and use a silicone spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stop mixing just before the dry is fully incorporated into the wet.
- Fold in the chocolate chips: Pour the chocolate chips into the dough and fold them into the dough just until they’re evenly distributed.
- Chill the dough: Cover the dough and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour. While the dough is chilling, you can preheat the oven to 350F.
- Bake the oat flour cookies: Once the dough is chilled, use a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 tbsp) to scoop the cookies and place them onto the baking sheet. Space the cookies at least 2″ apart. You should yield 18 cookies with this measurement. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, or until the edges are set and lightly golden, and the middle isn’t wiggly.
- Shape the cookies: Take a large round cookie cutter and gently circle the cookies to create a rounded shape again. Place extra chocolate chips on top if desired, along with a sprinkle of sea salt.
- Cool the cookies and enjoy: Allow the cookies to rest for 10 minutes on the baking sheet. Then enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for put to 3 months.
Notes
Oat flour: I recommend using store bought oat flour to make these vegan oat flour chocolate chip cookies. This will give you more of a classic chocolate chip cookie look. If you’d like to use homemade oat flour, be sure to really grind the oat flour into a fine powder!
Vegan butter: I recommend using either Miyoko’s vegan butter, Earth Balance baking sticks (different from the tub), or Flora Plant Butter.
Vegan dairy free yogurt: I typically just use Forager Project yogurt, and know there is a lot of variation between each dairy free yogurt brand. Try to use a yogurt brand that is more liquid-y, like Forager Project if you can’t find them in a store near you.
Vegan chocolate: I recommend using Pasch Chocolate Chips or Enjoy Life. For the vegan milk chocolate chunks, I actually used Valrhona’s new Amatika vegan milk chocolate- it’s amazing!
The cookies taste amazing!! Thank you for this recipe.
This is wonderful!! I’m so happy to hear this!! Enjoy 🙂 and thank YOU for the review!
A+ in my book! My toddlers too! Many gf cookies leave you with a sandy crumbly mess. The combination here of oat flour and df yogurt results the the perfect crisp exterior and chewy center. I used miyokos butter, siggi’s plain plant based yogurt, and subbed the arrowroot for cornstarch and it was perfect.
This is just wonderful!! SO happy to hear this!! And that the kiddos loved it too 🙂 Thanks so much for the review, and enjoy!!
Love this recipe! Oat flour is so perfect and feels very clean to eat. The yogurt flavor gives the cookies a nice zing, I even put a little extra in and reduced the butter a bit. Love them!
Aw my goodness!! So happy to hear it!! Thank you for making them 🙂
Whenever I make these, no one can tell they are gluten free or vegan! So good and chewy.
This is awesome!! So happy to hear it 🙂 Thanks for the review!
Hello. Have you tried refrigerating/freezing the dough to bake the next day? Wondering if anything will happen with the oat flour.
Yes I have! It works wonderfully 🙂 You’ll need to let it sit out at room temperature if just kept in the fridge overnight, just for 15 minutes or so to be able to scoop the cookie dough!
I only had a small amount of myokos butter so used coconut oil for the rest..but not a good idea I guess:(. They didn’t hold together after an hour in the fridge and weren’t crispy at all after being baked. Oh well, will know better next time. They tasted great!
Could I use nutiva dairy free shortening instead of vegan butter ?
I haven’t made these with shortening, but I would imagine it would cause them to not spread as much!
Thanks for your fast reply. I love this recipe! Vegan butters don’t always agree with me, so I usually use coconut oil…and although delicious, the cookies spread a lot. I may give the shortening a try!
Oh I’m so sorry to hear that!! Sometimes chilling the dough a bit longer with the coconut oil can help a bit, but let me know how the shortening goes!
The shortening turned out amazing, they spread the perfect amount and with great texture!! So good!!! Thanks for your recipes 😊
Do you think it would be ok to add walnuts to these?
Absolutely! That would be lovely!
I love the ingredients in this recipe! My son has multiple very severe food allergies, but this is the closest recipe I’ve found that MAY allow him to have a real cookie!
Do you think another oil would work in place of the vegan butter? Most vegan butters contain one of his allergens and hes anaphalactic to coconut unfortunately.
Hi Heather! I’m so sorry, but this recipe definitely won’t work with replacing only oil for the vegan butter. I’m so sorry!
I actually gave it a try before you responded and used olive oil. It worked surprisingly well! I am sure it’s not as good as using vegan butter, but my son absolutely loves them. (My husband and I do too!) He’s 20 months old and keeps saying “cookie” – it’s precious 🙂 Thanks for such a great recipe. Not to be dramatic, but it’s been somewhat life changing for us.
Omgsh!! I’m so so happy to hear it!! That’s WONDERFUL, I didn’t think it would hold together! Oh my goodness, how adorable 🥹No but truly, that’s why these recipes exist, because having your favorite food again and being able to enjoy it safely truly IS life-changing! I’m so grateful you gave them a go! Enjoy 🙂
Another win for the Banana Diaries!! These tasted amazing and turned out great. I cooked a batch to take to a neighborhood gathering and no one could believe they were gluten free! Honestly, I have tons of dessert recipes saved to Pinterest and some of them are good but every BD recipe I’ve ever made has been above and beyond delicious. 10/10 stars!
Oh my goodness, Sonia, you just made my day!! Wow! Thank you so much for these kind words, truly, this is so wonderful. Enjoy, and thank you for being here!!
Can I use apple sauce in place of yogurt?
Yes you can!