Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe

These are probably the best vegan oatmeal raisin cookies ever. They are healthy, low fat, low sugar, and come with gooey chocolate and a chewy texture. These biscuits taste delicious dipped in a cup of tea, coffee or served with some wholesome plant based yogurt. For breakfast, as a nutritious snack, or as a healthy dessert!

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No "flax-eggs" or other strange ingredients needed!

Sometimes life can get so busy that we have no time to cook a proper meal. And when we get hungry, we end up eating packaged snacks and other unhealthy foods, full of salts, sugars and fats. But after this recipe, it won't be the case anymore. These are not simple cookies, they are the best vegan oatmeal raisin cookies ever! They are quick and easy to prepare, and you can easily make a batch of those on the weekend and meal prep a full week of snacks! These oatmeal raisin cookies are vegan, and come with little sugars and fats. Much healthier than most other biscuits!

The Ingredients

Did somebody say oatmeal? These cookies come loaded with plenty of rolled oats, for a crunchy and nutty texture. The rolled oats are mixed with flour, because the perfect balance of oats and flour will give your oatmeal raisin cookies the perfect texture. Crunchy but soft and chewy at the same time! Is there anything better?

This recipe uses applesauce to partly replace the sugar and sweeten in a more natural and healthy way. But if you do not have applesauce, feel free to use a large ripe banana instead. After mashing the banana, the mixture will be very much like applesauce. The applesauce (or the banana) is great also for other two reasons:

It replaces the eggs or any other strange vegan substitute. Yes, I am talking about "flax-egg". I have nothing against it and also use it in some other recipes. But I remember hating any recipe calling for flax-egg when I first got started with vegan baking, so I try to get around it as much as I can. I don't want to make things more complicated than they actually are.
Applesauce substitutes part of the coconut oil or any other oil or butter.

All the ingredients

And if you want to learn more about all the ingredients you will need, keep on reading!

Dry Ingredients

Old fashioned Oats. The best type of oats for those vegan oatmeal raisin cookies is old fashioned or rolled oats. Perfect texture and nutty flavor! Quick oats, instead, are not the best for getting thick, nutty and hearty cookies.
Wholewheat Flour. Using a good balance between flour and oats is important for the best texture. For this recipe I used wholewheat all purposes flour, but you can also use simple all-purposes flour. I haven't already tested with gluten-free flours, but if you follow a gluten-free diet, make sure to use a suitable one. There should be no particular change in terms of texture. I haven't tested this recipe with oat flour either, but it should work as well. You will probably have to adjust with some more applesauce if the dough gets too dry or some more flour if it gets too wet.
Brown Sugar. Brown sugar is healthier than refined white sugar and it is also more flavorsome. Even though these biscuits come with less sugar than many other recipes, a minimum of sweetener is required for tasty biscuits. Moreover, the sugar also helps with the texture.
Cinnamon. A teaspoon of cinnamon is what will make those cookies "The Best Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" ever. This spice will enhance the flavors of all other ingredients and give your cookies the perfect aroma. Plus, what is better than the combination raisin, cinnamon and applesauce? Obviously this combination with oats!
Salt. You may wonder why you always find salt in savory recipe. Well, let me tell you this. Salt has two main functions. First, it enhances the flavors of all other ingredients, and second, it perfectly balances the sweetness of these cookies.
Pure Vanilla Extract. Who doesn't love vanilla? The vanilla flavor is the small hack that will bring your dessert to the next level.
Baking Powder. No flat cookies anymore, please!

Wet Ingredients

Applesauce or Ripe Banana. Applesauce will help sweeten your cookies naturally, and it substitutes the eggs (or any other vegan alternative) and part of the coconut oil too. I always make sure to buy unsweetened applesauce, for even healthier recipes.
Virgin Coconut Oil. Melted coconut oil is the perfect ingredient for this recipe because it gives the cookies a unique delicate and tropical flavor. The coconut oil I always use is the "pure" or "virgin" version, as it is made from cold-pressed fresh coconut meat. This is my favorite because it has more flavor and a delicious aroma.

Raisins and Chocolate

Raisins. How can they be oatmeal raisin cookies without this ingredient?! Well, my biscuits come with plenty of delicious raisins that will taste like candy. For a healthier version, make sure you buy natural raisins with no added sugar. Many times dried fruits are not so wholesome anymore because they have tons of refined white sugar.
Dark Chocolate. This ingredient is optional, but I LOVE the presence of anything gooey and chocolatey when biting a soft cookie. You can decide to use chocolate chips or simply cut the chocolate into chunks and add it to the dough.

Additional ingredients

For even tastier cookies, you can add other ingredients to your dough. Some delicious ideas are:

Dark Chocolate
Walnuts
Almonds
Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds

Or, why not combining some of them? Some tasty recommendations are:

Walnuts and chocolate
Pumpkin seeds and chocolate
A mix of nuts and seeds (and chocolate)

How to Make those Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

First, in a large bowl combine the flour with the rolled oats, the brown sugar, the cinnamon, the salt and the baking powder. Stir to combine the dry ingredients.

Then, add to the dry ingredients the melted coconut oil, the applesauce and the vanilla extract. Alternatively, to replace the applesauce you can use a large ripe mashed banana. Stir to combine the dry and wet ingredients together, and once the dough gets firm, knead with your hands. Add to the cookie dough the raisins and the dark chocolate chips, and stir to combine with the dough. This will ensure each single cookie will be loaded with plenty of raisins and gooey chocolate.

When the dough is ready, take a spoonful of dough and form the cookies. Flatten and align the cookies over a parchment paper covered baking tray, by making sure to leave some space between the cookies (they will flatten a bit while baking, so separating them will prevent you from getting a single giant cookie).

Bake your vegan oatmeal raisin cookies in hot oven for 10 to 12/15 minutes at 180 Cº (360 Fº). Before serving, I recommend letting them cool down. They will get softer and more flavorsome!

And if you want to see how to make these cookies in detail, watch my YouTube video recipe!

How to store the cookies

These vegan oatmeal raisin cookies should be stored and properly sealed in an airtight container. Make sure to let them cool down completely before packing. The cookies will last for 3 to 4 days. If you plan to freeze your biscuits, pack them and they will last up to 3 months. Before eating, reheat the cookies in hot oven for a couple of minutes.

Do you like oatmeal? Here's some more oats inspiration for you!

Oatmeal Bowls
Baked Oatmeals
Overnight Oats

The Best Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These are probably the best vegan oatmeal raisin cookies ever. They are healthy, low fat, low sugar, and come with gooey chocolate and a chewy texture.

Prep Time 10 mins

Baking Time 12 mins

Total Time 22 mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Low Fat, Low Lactose, Low Salt, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: breakfast, chocolate, cookies, dessert, healthy, low fat, low sugar, oatmeal, raisin, snack, vegan

Servings: 15 cookies

Calories: 131 kcal

150 grams (1 ½ cup) old fashioned (rolled) oats
135 grams (1 cup) flour gluten-free if necessary
65 grams (⅓ cup) brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
⅓ tsp salt
150 grams (½ cup) applesauce (or 1 large mashed banana)
40 grams (¼ cup) coconut oil melted
80 grams (½ cup) raisins
50 grams (⅓ cup) dark chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks)

Preheat the oven to 180 Cº (360 Fº), using static mode.
In a large bowl combine the flour with the rolled oats, the brown sugar, the cinnamon, the salt and the baking powder. Stir to combine the dry ingredients.
Add to the dry ingredients the melted coconut oil and the applesauce. Alternatively, to replace the applesauce, you can use a large ripe mashed banana. Stir to combine the dry and wet ingredients together, and once the dough gets firm, knead with your hands.
Add to the cookie dough the raisins and the dark chocolate chips, and stir to combine with the dough. This will make sure each single cookie is loaded with plenty of raisins and gooey chocolate.
Take a spoonful of dough and form the cookies. Align the cookies over a parchment paper covered baking tray, by making sure to leave some space between the cookies.
Bake in hot oven for 10 to 12/15 minutes at 180 Cº (360 Fº).