Start your day off with these superfood-packed gluten-free vegan breakfast cookies. Made in just 30 minutes for a breakfast or snack that will fuel you up all morning long.
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The first time I heard of a breakfast cookie was when working as a baker at Whole Foods.
One of our most popular in-house items was the gluten-free vegan breakfast cookie. I guess that should be no surprise. When given the opportunity, who wouldn’t choose to eat a cookie for breakfast?
I first published this recipe several years ago when I set out to recreate those sweet superfood-stuffed morning pastries. Since then, these vegan breakfast cookies have become one of the most popular recipes on the blog and, for that reason, I figured it was time to give them a little makeover.
I think you’re going to love these cookies. They are filled with healthy fats, lots of protein, some of the best superfoods, and sweet delicious flavor. All in all, not a bad way to start the day.
How to Make Vegan Breakfast Cookies {Video}
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
These cookies are very straight-forward to make and the recipe is highly versatile. So while you will see that there are a lot of ingredients, the mixins, nut butters, and sweeteners can all be swapped out for what you have on hand.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Rolled Oats – Make sure to look for gluten-free oats for a gluten-free cookie.
- Almond Meal – You can replace the almond meal for any other kind of nut meal or ground oats
- Shredded Coconut – Make sure to look for unsweetened dessicated coconut.
- Ground Cinnamon
- Baking Powder & Soda
- Salt
- Chia Seeds –Chia seeds mixed with water make a chia egg, which is my binder of choice for these cookies. However, you can replace the chia egg with a flax egg, or 1/2 cup puréed banana, pumpkin, or applesauce
- Coconut Oil
- Peanut Butter – Feel free to sub any nut or seed butter.
- Maple Syrup
- Vanilla Extract
- Superfood Mix-Ins – I like to use a combination of pumpkin seeds, cranberries, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Feel free to mix and match and nuts, seeds, and dried fruit but aim for about 1 cup worth of mix-ins.
Recommended Equipment
For this recipe will need basic cooking equipment including a mixing bowl, mixing spoons, baking sheets, silicone baking mats, and a wire cooling rack. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Vegan Breakfast Cookies
Step One – Make the Dough
The base of this recipe is made with old fashioned oats, almond flour, and coconut for a gluten-free base. At this point also add baking powder, soda, and salt. Mix them together in a large mixing bowl until they are well combined.
Next, we combine our wet ingredients. That’s the chia egg, peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
Pro Tip: There are several different egg replacers that would work for these breakfast cookies but, because I wanted to add extra nutrition to these cookies, I decided to go with the chia egg. Chia eggs work perfectly for most baked goods where a little extra texture is an added bonus.
To make a chia egg, whisk together 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water. Once the chia seeds are fully submerged, they will start to hydrate. As they hydrate, the chia egg will get thick and gelatinous – this takes 3-4 minutes.
Step Two – Add Mix-Ins
To finish off these cookies, I add a variety of mix-ins. You can add mix-ins from the following categories:
- Dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, or cherries
- Nuts such as walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts
- Seeds such as pumpkin, sunflower, or flax
- Chocolate Chips
Feel free to mix and match this recipe as you please, but aim for about 2 cups worth of extras. Add them to the dough and mix it all together until they are evenly disbursed.
Step Three – Shape and Bake
To bake these cookies, scoop about 1/4 cup of dough and place on a parchment-lined pastry sheet. This dough is quite soft so a large cookie scoop works best. Press the cookies down so that they are about 1/2″ tall and about 3″ in diameter.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookies are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. It’s important not to skip this step. When the cookies are still warm, they will likely fall apart.
Serving and Storing
Storing – Serve these cookies immediately or store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also place them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Make in Advance – If you want to freeze them, for best results, scoop the dough onto baking trays. Rather than baking the cookies, place them in the freezer to let the dough freeze completely. Once they are frozen, transfer the frozen cookies to a plastic zip bag. When you are ready to eat, bake a few cookies at a time for fresher results.
More Vegan Breakfast Bars
- 5-Ingredient Chewy Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- Grain-Free Granola Bars
- 4-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies
Gluten-Free Vegan Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 chia eggs
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup cranberries or raisins
- 1/4 cup chopped walnut
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- To start, make the chia eggs. In a small bowl whisk together 6 tablespoons of water with 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. Set aside for 10 minutes until the mixture becomes thick and gelatinous.
- In a medium bowl combine oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, and salt.
- In a small bowl combine chia eggs, coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine.
- Fold in pumpkin seeds, cranberries, walnuts, and chia seeds.
- Round 1/4 cup of dough into a ball and place on a baking sheet. Repeat until dough is gone. Press down lightly and bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and let cookies cool for 10 minutes on a baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
- Replace almond meal for any other kind of nut meal or ground oats
- Sub any nut or seed butter for the peanut butter
- Mix and match the mixins with a variety of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit
- Replace the chia egg with a flax egg, puréed banana, or applesauce
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
laura says
always a favorite at office
Taylor says
Has anybody’s cookies turned dark green on the inside? I followed the recipe exactly (added chia seeds). They are delicious but I can’t believe the color turned out green??
Eryn McAlpine says
Did you happen to use sunflower seeds or sunflower seed butter?
Marnie says
I absolutely love this recipe and have made it several times. I usually make the recipe as is except for the sweetener – I use coconut syrup instead of maple syrup – and the cookies come out amazing. I have tried changing the mix-ins by adding double the amount of chocolate and double the amount of nuts, usually pecans, then place a whole pecan and sprinkle some millet on the top of each cookie. These, too, come out amazing but less sweet as there is no dried fruit. Thank you so much, Sarah, for such a versatile, healthy recipe. I have brought these into work and everyone loves them! This recipe is one that will be in my regular rotation.
Stacey says
Everyone liked these! Thank you! I made them smaller for smaller hands and substituted sunflower butter because of a peanut allergy.
Jenny L says
These. Are. So. Good!! Made as directed except used coconut flour not almond flour and as smaller cookies for my morning/afternoon snack. They are perfect and so tasty! Might become a habit. Thank you!
Myra says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Delicious and healthy. I was searching for a vegan and GF recipe where I could make good use of a rather large tub of hazelnut nut butter and I was so glad when I came across this recipe. It was my first time making cookies and they turned out very well. Thanks.
Sophia says
I am OBSESSED!!! I woke up desiring something different for breakfast. I wanted something healthy, quick, and delicious. I was NOT let down by this recipe. I had everything in my pantry which made it easy so I didn’t have to make any swaps. I tasted the dough and was immediately in love — the flavor of this is immaculate. I would perhaps add a tad more maple syrup next time to make a sweeter cookie, but other than that, I am in heaven. I had the same issue another commenter had with the cookie falling apart, but that was only while it was cooling (and I couldn’t help myself). After it cools, it’s perfect. It may be the coconut oil that keeps it together so well when it’s cooled. Thank you for this recipe! Will definitely be making again!!! <3
Jeannie says
I was a little confused on the instruction, as it says to make the chia egg but then later it says to fold in Chia seed and since chia seeds are not listed In the ingredients, I was unable to clarify if there’s more Chia seeds than the recipe tablespoons for the eggs.
les says
I am trying to eat as vegan as I can but also lost weight. For me, it would be helpful to at least have calories listed. I have found this information missing on most of my vegan cookbooks and recipes.
Mel B says
The calories ARE listed in the recipe. Servings: 12 cookies. Calories: 235kcal. If that’s not sufficient for you, you can easily enter the recipe into a calorie counting app such as MyFitnessPal. It will calculate macros and nutrients for you.
Ginny says
I don’t have instagram but wanted you to know these breakfast cookies turned out great, and easy to make. I did leave out coconut. I did use the coconut oil. Thanks for all your recipes
Dianne Thompson says
Thanks for a great recipe! These wonderful cookies were easy to make, quick to bake (although I used my smaller ‘cookie’ scoop instead of the 1/4 cup size you recommended), and taste delicious!
My only changes were to use pecans instead of walnuts and regular sized dark chocolate chips instead of minis. We love them!
Eliana says
Hello! Can I ask if I can substitute shredded coconut with something else? Or maybe omit it?
Thanks so much! Greetings from Cyprus
Marlene says
I’m allergic to coconut. Is there something else I can use?
Tracie Vincent says
I try to cook without oil – do you think applesauce would be a good sub for the coconut oil here? These look great!
Dallas says
I also bake without added oils! I plan to try this recipe out without the oil and will use unsweetened apple sauce in replacement. I will post how they turn out!!
Charlotte says
Great recipe. This is my first attempt at making them and I used buckwheat flour, Pecans, pumpkin seeds And semisweet chocolate chips. I live at 7,000 ft elevation. Had to adjust the temperature up to 375 degrees and bake 17 minutes. Crumbly exterior with chewy interior. All the ingredients work in moderation with my SIBO diet! These breakfast cookies are intensely dense and nutritious. I baked four and froze batter for remaining eight cookies to bake when we have a craving for “fresh out of the oven” cookies! Looking forward to trying your spinach and artichoke dip.
Suzi says
These are straight dynamite!! I subbed flax for the chia and almond butter for the peanut but followed all the rest. Have made these several times this way and they are one of my regulars I count on. I like them best from the fridge or freezer, as I like a firm cookie. And I think they last a bit longer that way when I gobble them up 🙂 Thanks for all the magic you share!!
suzi says
Whoops. Forgot to hit the 5 stars!! Definitely worthy of all of em!!
Mel says
This recipe is great with good alternatives for ingredients.