Easy Vegan Breakfast Cookies

You won’t be able to say no to these quick and easy vegan breakfast cookies! They’re filled with wholesome ingredients and are dairy-free, egg-free, naturally sweetened, and gluten-free (if you use certified oats and oat flour).

These soft, delicious oatmeal breakfast cookies can be customized based on what you (or your kids) prefer and they’ll be ready to devour in under 30 minutes.

Cookies for breakfast? Breakfast in cookie form? Why not? These particular vegan breakfast cookies are filled with oats, dried fruit, and nuts or seeds. The best part is that you can customize those add-ins, I'm going to give you plenty of options below.

They're quick and easy to make, just like all of my other cookie recipes, BUT, that is where the similarities end.

These wholesome breakfast cookies are not very sweet and have a different texture than the sweet treat cookies (like my vegan gluten-free chocolate chip cookies and my vegan chocolate cookies) you're used to.

These cookies are very soft and cake-like in texture, they're not crunchy or crisp like regular cookies.

They're perfect as part of a quick breakfast or even an afternoon snack and you will appreciate having them on hand on busy mornings when you're in a rush and you don't have time to sit and eat a bowl of oatmeal.

So let's get started so you can make a batch this weekend to snack on throughout the week ahead!

Ingredient and Substitution Notes

One of the many great things about this recipe is that it's very versatile. I've listed each ingredient below along with info on what can and can't be changed.

Rolled Oats - Only use old-fashioned rolled oats. Steel-cut oats and quick-cooking / instant oats / quick oats cannot be used; your cookies will not have the correct texture.

Oat Flour - You can use either store-bought oat flour or homemade oat flour. If you make it yourself, make sure to sift it before measuring or weighing it. Homemade oat flour never gets as fine as store-bought, so sifting is necessary.

If it's not sifted, the texture of your cookies will not be correct, they will turn out grainy. Also, make sure to buy certified gluten-free oats and oat flour if you need the recipe to be gluten-free.

Puréed Bananas – These cookies are partially sweetened with the banana, so make sure to use spotty bananas that are soft and very ripe, the riper the banana, the sweeter it will be. Use a food processor, a blender, or a stick blender to purée until there are no chunks left. If you don't have any of these tools, mash the bananas very well with a fork until it's smooth and there are no chunks left.

Pure Maple Syrup - Use real maple syrup. Agave syrup can be used as a substitute. I have not tested with any granulated sugars.

Coconut Oil - My preference here is to use coconut oil, but any type of neutral-flavoured vegetable oil can be used in its place, such as refined avocado oil, safflower or sunflower. If you use coconut oil, make sure that all of your other ingredients are at room temperature before starting so it does not solidify when it comes into contact with a cold ingredient.

I haven't tried using melted vegan butter in this recipe but I think it will work fine, and I have not attempted to try making an oil-free version.

Add-Ins - These are what make the cookie special. My favourite version is made with a mix of raisins, walnut pieces, and shredded coconut but you can change one, two, or even all of these to what you prefer or have on hand. I go through all of the options in the "Variations" section below.

TIP: If you use nuts, I recommend toasting them lightly for the best flavour and if you are starting with whole pieces of the nut, chop them into smaller pieces.

Flax Egg - This recipe is made without eggs, so flax eggs are used instead. Chia eggs will also work if you don't have flax.

Baking Soda - Make sure it's fresh and active, it contributes to the final texture and helps with browning.

Cinnamon - You'll need cinnamon to give the cookies a warm, delicious flavour.

Vanilla and Salt - Both enhance the flavour of the cookies, don't leave either of them out.

Looking for more breakfast ideas? Check out all of my vegan breakfast recipes.

How to Make Them

(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions in the recipe card at the end of this post.)

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

2. Mix the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients until a wet, sticky cookie dough has formed. This cookie dough is going to be wetter than any other cookie dough you have made, that's okay, it's supposed to be like that!

4. Add the mix-ins to the bowl.

5. Stir until the add-ins have incorporated evenly into the cookie dough.

6. Using a medium-sized cookie scoop, scoop the dough and place each cookie dough ball onto your cookie sheet.

7. Flatten each cookie ball slightly until they are about a half-inch thick. These cookies will NOT spread as they bake, so you'll need to flatten and shape them yourself before baking. The shape they have when they go in the oven is the same shape they'll have when they're done.

You can do this with the back of the cookie scoop, a small piece of parchment paper, or a silicone spatula. Keep in mind that the dough is very sticky, so if it starts to stick to whatever you are using to flatten each ball, you can wet your tool slightly, but not too much, to make it not stick.

8. Bake and then carefully remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Allow the cookies to rest for a few minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool.

And that's it! Your nutty vegan oatmeal breakfast cookies are done and ready for breakfast and snacks during the week ahead.

Variations

Replace the add-ins with an equal volume amount of any of the following.

If you don't want to use raisins, try one of these:

• dried cranberries
• dried currants
• dried blueberries
• dried cherries
• semi-sweet/dark chocolate chips
• dried apples*
• chopped prunes*
• chopped dried apricots*
• chopped dates*
• *If you're using dried apples, prunes, apricots, or dates, chop them into pieces that are the same size as raisins.

If you don't want to use walnuts, try one of these:

• chopped pecans
• chopped peanuts
• sunflower seeds
• pumpkin seeds

If you don't want to use shredded coconut, try one of these:

• hemp hearts
• replace it with more nuts or seeds
• leave it out

Storage and Freezing

When the cookies have fully cooled, store the leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.

Freezing Baked Cookies

Freeze your cookies in single layers in a freezer bag or a freezer-safe container, with parchment paper separating each layer, for up to 2 months.

When you're ready, thaw them at room temperature.

I don't recommend freezing the raw cookie dough to bake later, the oats will absorb a lot of the liquid in the cookie dough which will affect the texture of the finished cookies.

What's the Texture Like?

I would describe the texture as very soft and very cakey, these are not "crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside" cookies, the texture is very different from regular cookies and that is due to using oat flour and rolled oats.

After they have baked and cooled, the edges will be a little crisp and the inside will be soft. Once they are put away in a storage container, the crisp edges will become soft like the rest of the cookie.

Tips for Success

• Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily.
• If you make your oat flour, ALWAYS sift it before adding it to the recipe. Homemade oat flour does not get as fine as store-bought, so sift it to ensure it's fine. If it's not sifted, the texture of your cookies will not be correct. Weigh or measure AFTER you sift it. (Learn how to make oat flour)
• Measure your ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a scale (this is the one I have) and my weight measurements when making this recipe. Please read my article about how to measure flour correctly. This tip also applies to all other ingredients, make sure to measure them accurately to get the best results.
• Use a cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough. This will result in uniform-sized cookies so they all bake evenly. Using a scoop also makes this step quicker, easier, and less messy.
• Bake the cookies immediately after you make the cookie dough. The longer the dough sits, the more the oats will soak up the moisture from the liquids and this will affect the texture of the cookie dough and your finished cookies (both will get very dry) which is why I do not recommend pre-making and freezing this cookie dough for baking later.
• Read this post from top to bottom before you start. It's an easy recipe to make but I’ve included many tips and tricks I've gathered while testing that you may not think of. Also, read through the full recipe before getting started.
• Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.

If You Make This Recipe...

Please let me know by leaving a comment and rating below or by posting a picture of your vegan banana oatmeal breakfast cookies on Instagram and tagging me so I can see them! (I'm @delightfuladventures on Instagram)

If You Like This Recipe...

You may like these other vegan recipes with oatmeal:

• Vegan Apple Oatmeal Muffins
• Almond Flour Oatmeal Cookies
• Blueberry Oatmeal
• Oat Flour Cookies with Chocolate Chips
• Vegan Oatmeal Muffins