Chewy Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with the perfect crispy outside and melt-in-your-mouth caramel-y center. Ready in just 20 minutes for a quick and delicious sweet treat.
You’re going to love these BEST EVER vegan oatmeal raisin cookies! You won’t even miss the egg! They are chewy, sweet, and filled with cinnamon flavor and oat crunch in every bite.
What makes them so wonderfully chewy? The secret ingredient in applesauce. It adds moisture to these vegan cookies while making them melt-in-your mouth good.
And best of all? These cookies are highly versatile! Feel free to swap out the raisins for peanuts, chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, or omit them all together. Whatever you do you are going to love this easy vegan cookie recipe.
These cookies are sweet and chewy with the perfect caramel oatmeal flavor. And you’re going to love how simple they are. They can be made in just 20 minutes with 10 ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
Here is everything you need.
Ingredient Notes
All-Purpose Flour – I have also made these cookies with 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Baking Blend with great success. (<<affiliate link)
Old-Fashioned Oats – These cookies are best made with Thick Cut Old Fashioned Oats. For gluten-free cookies, make sure to find oats that are labeled as gluten-free.
Vegan Butter – Look for a high-quality non-hydrogenated vegan butter. I recommend either Earth Balance or Miyoko’s.
White & Brown Sugar– Check out my guide to vegan sugars and alternative sugar replacements.
Applesauce – This is the binder of the recipe. You could replace it with equal amounts of mashed bananas or a variety of other egg replacers.
Recommended Equipment
For all my cookie recipes, I recommend a stand-up mixer. These make whipping, beating, and blending so much easier. However, they are pricy and if they are not in your budget, you can make cookies with by hand or with a handheld mixer.
First combine the dry ingredients. That’s the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk them together until they are evenly mixed and set aside.
Pro Tip: The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
Step Two – Cream the Butter and Sugar
In a stand-up mixer, whip both the sugars and butter until they are thick and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Turn off the motor and add the applesauce and vanilla extract. Once these are added, the dough will start to look curdled. Don’t worry about this. When the dry ingredients are added, the dough will sort itself out.
Add the dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Lastly, add the raisins and mix until the raisins are well incorporated. Remove the dough from the mixer.
Pro Tip: You may need to mix the last of the raisins by hand as they tend to stick to the bottom of the bowl.
Step Three – Chill and Bake
Before baking the cookies, place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. This prevents them from spreading too much in the oven.
Once the dough is chilled, roll it into balls about 2 tablespoons in size. Place them on a baking sheet and press them down ever so slightly with the palm of your hand.
Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, pulling them out when they are slightly underdone. They continue to harden as they cool. This is the secret to getting chewy, melt-in-your-mouth cookies.
Serving and Storing
Serving – Let the cookies cool slightly before serving. They will continue to harden as they cool.
Storing – Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Tips and Tricks
The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
Do not overmix your batter. Overmixing allows the gluten to develop and too much gluten will give you a gummy and dense cookie.
For cakier cookies, add an extra 1/4 cup of flour and bake for 2 minutes longer. For chewier cookies, use all brown sugar and remove from the oven when slightly underdone.
Let cookies cool on baking sheets 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. This prevents cookies from falling apart as they cool.
Try some variations. Add about 1 cup of peanuts, chocolate chips, or pumpkin seeds to this recipe for a new flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add nuts?
Yes! If you would like, I recommend adding 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to this recipe.
Can I add chocolate chips?
Yep! Add between 1 and 1 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. I recommend mini chips.
Can I make these cookies in advance?
These cookies are great as a make-ahead dessert or snack. If you only want to make only a few at a time, you can store the remaining dough in the freezer.
To do this, roll all the dough into balls. Place them on a baking sheet in the freezer to freeze all the way through. Once frozen, transfer your cookie dough into a large ziplock bag and return to the freezer. You can store the cookies this way for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake, remove from freezer and bake. Note: they may need a few extra minutes in the oven if they are chilled.
Can I make these cookies gluten free?
Yep! For a gluten free option use a 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Baking Blend(<<affiliate link). Make sure also to find oats that are marked gluten free.
Chewy Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with the perfect crispy outside and melt-in-your-mouth caramel-y center. Ready in just 20 minutes for a quick and delicious sweet treat.
In a stand-up mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream together the vegan butter with brown and granulated sugars until thick and creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add applesauce and vanilla extract and beat to combine. The dough may look curdled at this point.
In a large bowl combine oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixer in 3 batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each batch. Mix until a uniform dough has formed. Add the raisins and mix until they are well incorporated.
Wrap bowl in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes before baking.
Once chilled, scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough at a time and round them between your hands. Place rounded cookies on the prepared baking sheet, about 3 inches apart from one another. Repeat until both cookie sheets are filled up. You will likely have extra dough for a 3rd sheet. Press each cookie down slightly with the palm of your hand and bake for 9-10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. They will appear slightly underdone when you pull them out of the oven but will continue cooking on the baking sheet.
Notes
Serving and Storing – Serve these cookies once they are cool. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze leftover cookie dough for up to two months. To do this, roll all the dough into balls. Place them on a baking sheet in the freezer to freeze all the way through. Once frozen, transfer your cookie dough into a large Ziplock bag and return to the freezer. When you’re ready to bake, remove from freezer, let thaw slightly, and bake!Recipe Tips
The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
For cakier cookies, add an extra 1/4 cup of flour and bake for 2 minutes longer. For chewier cookies, use all brown sugar and remove from the oven when slightly underdone.
Let cookies cool on baking sheets 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. This prevents cookies from falling apart as they cool.
Variations – Add about 1 cup of peanuts, chocolate chips, or pumpkin seeds to this recipe for a new flavor.
If you give this recipe recipe a try, snap a photo and share it on Instagram. Make sure to tag @mydarlingvegan so I can see your creations!
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the 4-Week Vegan Meal Plan.
I weighed and measured all of my ingredients with precision according to your metric recipe option but my cookies came out looking like florentines. I’ve never had one of your recipes not work out so I’m sure it’s something I did. Maybe? Perhaps my dough wasn’t cold enough? I added more flour, which solved the problem, but they weren’t as oaty as you would want an oatmeal cookie to be.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Julia Farrell says
Holy cow these are fabulous! I highly recommend!! Will DEFINITELY make these again! Thank you for the recipe!
Teo Rodriguez says
Can you use quaker oats one minute oats?
Amanda says
I weighed and measured all of my ingredients with precision according to your metric recipe option but my cookies came out looking like florentines. I’ve never had one of your recipes not work out so I’m sure it’s something I did. Maybe? Perhaps my dough wasn’t cold enough? I added more flour, which solved the problem, but they weren’t as oaty as you would want an oatmeal cookie to be.