Published: Mar 2, 2019 · Modified: Jun 14, 2023 by Courtney Hunter · This post may contain affiliate links · 36 Comments

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Name: Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 9 min
Total time: 19 min
Ingredients: 1 stick vegan butter (cold); 1/2 cup cane sugar; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 2 tablespoons almond milk (any alternative milk); 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 cup flour; 1 cup oats (I used old fashioned); 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter (You can leave this out if you don't have it.); 1.5 tablespoons corn starch; 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2/3 cup chocolate chips*

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These are hands down the best vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies around. They are always a HUGE hit; wherever they are brought anywhere, the whole family will love them. This recipe is easy to make and will likely become your favorite classic cookies!

Vegan chocolate chip cookies in a stack on a black table.

I love cookies a lot, like probably too much. I love how easy cookies are to make. They are easy to transport, most of the time, with no frosting to worry about. It's just pure goodness in a portable compact size. If you love cookies like I do, check out these Classic Vegan Sugar Cookies or these Vegan Lemon Cookies.

I mean, what's not to love? If you love chocolate chip cookies in all forms, you should check out my Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake- it's WAY too good.

My extended family, who aren't vegan, actually make these as their go-to cookies.

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Why this recipe works
Ingredients and Substitutions
How to make vegan chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
Expert Tips and Tricks
Recipe FAQS
Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Why this recipe works

This is a quick recipe.
An easy recipe.
Only dirties one bowl.
No one will guess that they're vegan.
Always a crowd pleaser.
Makes a small batch (24 ish cookies depending on size)
They can easily be doubled.
These make a thicker chocolate chip cookie.

Ingredients and Substitutions

All the vegan chocolate chip oatmeal cookie ingredients in individual containers with black labels.

Vegan butter, cold- in a pinch, can use coconut oil; make sure it's cold. It won't have the same vegan buttery flavor, but it will work.
White sugar or cane sugar +Brown sugar- Both of these sugars play a role in how the texture and flavor of the cookie. Leave them both in for the best results.
Non-dairy milk- almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, whichever you like.
All purpose flour- If you want to sub in white whole wheat flour, you can, but it will slightly change the taste. You may need to add a little bit more liquid. You can sub in an all-purpose gluten-free flour for the regular flour, and make sure you use gluten-free oats. But all-purpose flour is what works best in this recipe.
Rolled oats (old-fashioned oats)-Old-fashioned oats work the best in this recipe. In a pinch, you can use quick oats. This recipe won't work with steel-cut oats; they are too hard.
Cream of tarter- You can leave this out if you don't have it, but it helps the texture of the cookie.
Corn starch- the cornstarch helps replace the egg in this cookie, and I recommend leaving it in. If you don't have any, you can leave it out.
Vanilla extract- Helps give the cookies that classic chocolate chip flavor.
Vegan chocolate chips-My favorite vegan chocolate chips are; Enjoy Life, Trader Joes Semi-sweet, Simple Truth, or a good vegan chocolate bar cut into chunks. There are more brands, but these are the ones I consistently use.

Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient and quantity information.

How to make vegan chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

Cookie sheet with a red and brown Silpat with circles on it.

Step 1-Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Get a baking tray, line it with a Silpat or parchment paper, and set it aside.

Creamed vegan butter and sugar in a silver mixing bowl with the paddle attachment.

Step 2- Get your stand mixer or hand mixer out. Use the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl. Mix your cold vegan butter with your sugars and beat together until smooth.

The Vegan chocolate chip cookie dough before the chocolate chips are added with a paddle in a silver bowl.

Step 3-Then add your wet ingredients; vegan milk and vanilla. Mix. Add dry ingredients in this order; your baking soda, salt, cream of tartar, and cornstarch. Mix. Add your flour and oats and mix into the mixture until just incorporated.

Vegan chocolate chip cookie dough in a silver bowl.

Step 4- Hand mix with a spatula your vegan chocolate chips in.

Vegan chocolate chip cookies prebaked in balls of dough on a silpat/baking sheet.

Step 5- Use a cookie scoop and scoop your cookies onto your prepared baking sheet. Cook about 12 cookie dough balls on a sheet.

Vegan chocolate chip cookies baked on a silpat/cookie sheet.

Step 6- Put in the oven and bake cookies for 8-9 minutes. ( I use a 1.5-inch cookie scoop. If you use a bigger one, you will get fewer cookies and need to cook longer). Do not over-bake. They will seem slightly underdone. Let sit for a couple of minutes (3-5 minutes), and then remove and place on a wire rack or cooling rack. Repeat with the remainder of the dough.

Expert Tips and Tricks

These don't make a huge batch; if you're using the small cookie scoop, it makes about 24 cookies. If you're using the medium scoop, it makes about 12-14 cookies.
These are best served the day they are made but taste good days after. You can eat them warm or at room temperature.
Do not overbake these- they will seem underdone when you pull them out, but they will continue to cook on the cookie sheet.
If you want these cookies to look more round and uniform, then roll the cookie dough balls before baking- if you want them more rustic, keep them how they are out of the cookie scoop.

Recipe FAQS

How do you store these vegan oatmeal cookies?

These are best stored at room temperature in an airtight container or gallon zip lock bag on the counter for up to 5 days.

Can you freeze this vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Yes, these vegan cookies freeze great! They need to be frozen in a freezer-safe container or freezer gallon ziplock bag. They can be frozen for up to 5 months.

How to freeze them-
It's best to flash-freeze cookies to do this; follow these instructions. Take a cookie sheet that fits in your freezer and line it with either parchment paper or a Silpat, do a single layer of cookies on the cookie sheet. Then place them in the freezer until they are frozen. Remove the frozen cookies and put them in your freezer container stacked. This way, the cookies won't stick to each other.

How to serve after freezing-
Take however many you want out of your air-tight container, place them on the counter, and let them come to room temperature before serving.

Can I make these vegan cookies oil-free?

Yes, take out the vegan butter and substitute it like this; I have done a combination of half nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter) and half vegan plain yogurt, and that has worked great. I wouldn't try to replace the nondairy butter with applesauce because I don't think that would work very well.

Can you freeze the vegan cookie dough balls?

You can freeze these into cookie dough balls. When you're ready to bake them, remove however many you want and let them come to room temperature before baking. You may need to add extra time to bake them.

Close up shot of 3 vegan chocolate chip cookies cut in half with melty chocolate chips.

If you loved this recipe, then give it a 5-star rating and leave a comment! I love to chat with you all. Please feel free to share on social media and tag #courtneyshomestead. I would love to see you over on Instagram or Facebook.