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These dairy free oatmeal cookies are soft, chewy, warmly spiced, and possibly the coziest cookies ever. They're so easy to make, ready in 20 minutes, and theres no chill time required!
This recipe was originally published in February, 2021. It has been updated with an ingredient photo, detailed instructions, and a step-by-step-video.
There's something about oatmeal cookies that is just so comforting. They make me feel like curling up on the couch with a glass of milk in front of a fireplace.
I mean, I love a good classic chocolate chip cookie, but sometimes I just crave the heartiness of an oatmeal cookie.
These cookies are so easy to make and require no chill time, so when that craving hits, you can be sitting on the couch with a glass of milk and warm, dairy free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in 20 minutes flat!
Looking for an egg free version? Try these vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!
Why You'll Love These Oatmeal Cookies
- This recipe has a perfect flour to oatmeal ratio that makes them hearty, yet soft without being crunchy and spreading too much.
- The addition of a touch of ground cinnamon cloves gives the cookies a subtle warm spice.
- These dairy free oatmeal cookies are big, because sometimes you just need a big ol' cookie!
- This recipe uses big chopped chocolate chunks, which adds to the gooey deliciousness of the cookies. You can also use chocolate chips or leave chocolate out entirely!
Ingredients Needed
- Flour: all purpose flour is best, but if you want to make these gluten free you can use gluten free 1-1 all purpose baking flour
- Oats: be sure to use old fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats.
- Butter: if you are not following a dairy free diet, you can feel free to use regular butter. This recipe has been tested both ways.
- Chocolate Chips: Dairy free semisweet chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate can be used. You can also replace the chocolate chips with raisins if you prefer to make these as oatmeal raisin cookies.
Step By Step Instructions
Note: Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
STEP ONE: Preheat your oven and set aside your prepared baking sheets. In the bowl of a standing mixer or handheld mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy, around 2 minutes.
STEP TWO: Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
STEP THREE: Pour the dry ingredients in slowly, and mix until just combined. The dough will be sticky. Do not over-mix!
STEP FOUR: If using chocolate, fold it in then form 3 tablespoon sized balls of dough. Place the dough on the baking sheets, leaving room in between each one (these are big cookies!). Gently press down on the tops of the cookies to flatten them slightly.
STEP FIVE: Bake for 8-11 minutes until the edges look set. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Other Oatmeal Cookie Mix-Ins
I pretty much always add chocolate into my cookies, but you can also either leave the chocolate out completely, swap out the chocolate for something else, or use a few different mix-ins! Here are a few ideas:
- Dried cranberries
- Raisins
- Dried cherries
- Sliced almonds, pecans, walnuts, or other nuts
- Shredded coconut
- Chopped white chocolate
- Peanut butter baking chips
FAQs and Expert Tips
I don't recommend using quick oats in this recipe. Quick oats are finer and more ground up, which makes them cook faster.
This means they won't have as much texture as old fashioned oats and swapping out the two will affect the chewiness of your cookies.
You sure can! Vegan butter can be swapped out at a 1:1 ratio with regular dairy butter in this recipe.
Just be sure that the butter is softened, and if using salted butter reduce the salt in the recipe to â…› tsp!
This is likely a case of too much flour. See notes below on how to properly measure your flour.
Expert Tips
- I've said it before and I'll say it again - always properly measure your flour either with a food scale or by using the fluff and scoop method. Incorrectly measuring flour is the quickest way to mess up the cookies!
- When adding the dry ingredients to the wet, be careful not to over-mix. This is crucial if you want to have soft cookies! If the dough is over-mixed you'll have dense cookies and no one wants that!
- Better to under-bake than to over-bake. This is practically my life motto. If the cookies look a little under-done when you take them out, don't worry. If the edges are set, they're ready because the middle will continue to set on the baking sheets! It's better to have soft cookies than hard, over-done cookies.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
These dairy free oatmeal cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
If you want to make them gooey, warm, and soft again a few days later, I like to sometimes pop my cookies in the microwave for 5-10 seconds!
Just don't leave them in too long or they'll get ruined and definitely eat the cookie right away if you decide to try it (otherwise they'll harden up fast)!
You can also freeze dough (formed into balls) for up to 2 months in a ziploc bag. It will need to thaw for a few hours in the refrigerator before you bake the cookies.
If you want to freeze the already baked cookies, put them in a freezer ziploc bag then let them thaw at room temperature when you're ready to eat them.
More Cookie Recipes You'll Love
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Dairy Free Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
- standing mixer or handheld mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (vegan or regular), softened
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2¼ cup old fashioned oats (also called rolled oats)*
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips)* (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing or handheld mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, around 2 minutes.
- Mix in the egg and vanilla, then slowly mix in the dry ingredients until just combined (don't over-mix! Over-mixing will lead to dense cookies). The dough will be sticky.
- Fold in the chocolate and then make 3 tablespoon sized balls of dough and place them on the baking sheet. Leave room in between each one for them to spread! Gently press down on top of each cookie to flatten them slightly.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 8-11 minutes or until the outside edges are set. Do not over-bake! Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Ashley
One word.... AMAZING! Perfectly soft and delicious. I have tried your peanut butter and oatmeal recipes so far. Both were excellent. I will be trying more recipes soon. Thank you for posting these amazing recipes!
Gabby
I am thrilled to hear you are loving all the cookie recipes! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review!
sienna
12/10! soooo yummy and delicious :DD
Gabby
I am so happy you loved them, yay!
Chaya
Amazing!!!!
Gabby
Hi Chaya! I'm so happy you loved the cookies! Thanks for the review!
Emma
I made these cookies with a friend and my whole family ADORED them!! the recipe is super simple but the end result has a GREAT payoff!
Gabby
Hi Emma! I'm so happy you all loved the cookies! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review! 🙂
Mary
This recipe is wonderful. I used Miyoko's butter substitute made from organic coconut oil and cashew milk. Then I divided the dough in half - added raisins to one half for my fiance and dark chocolate chips to the other half for me! Yum.
Gabby
Hi Mary! I am so thrilled to hear that you both loved the recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Antonio
Loved the recipe! Added some whey protein as part substitute for flower and they came out amazing!
Gabby
Hi Antonio! I am so happy to hear that you loved the recipe and that the cookies worked out well with whey! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review! 🙂
Kelly S
What are the * for after the oats and cloves?
Gabby
Hi Kelly, those are reminders too check the notes about each ingredient 🙂
Madhura
Love your recipes. I was wondering if I could substitute all purpose flour to whole wheat flour here and how much whole wheat should I use. Thank you.
Gabby
Hi Madhura! You sure can! You can use the same amount of whole wheat flour (1 3/4 cups). Enjoy!!
Angela Froelich
Can I use this recipe with egg substitute like Ener-g, egg freplacer?
Gabby
Hi Angela! I would recommend making my egg free, dairy free oatmeal cookies instead. Here is the recipe: https://thecookiedoughdiaries.com/vegan-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Deb
How are these dairy free with eggs in ingredients?
Gabby
Eggs come from chickens so they are not dairy. Dairy products are made from milk or contain milk.
Kimberly A Hubbard
Gabby, this recipe is AWESOME. Thus far I've made it at least four times now. Tried adding shredded coconut, chopped walnuts and my family went wild! They can't get enough. Thanks so much. Making another batch tonight.
Gabby
Hi Kimberly! This made my day! I am so happy to hear that you and your family love the cookies - and those add-in's sound delicious! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review! 🙂
Abby
I made these cookies and we LOVED them! Raisins were great in them!
Gabby
Hi Abby! I am so happy to hear that you loved the cookies! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review 😀
Barbra
Can these cookies be made with a gluten free flour?
Gabby
Hi Barbra! I haven't tested this recipe with gluten free flour, so I can't say for sure how they would turn out. If you want to try it, I think gluten free 1-1 all purpose baking flour could work well. Would love to hear how it goes!
Rachel
These cookies are so good! I used a dairy and soy free butter and they turned out amazing, and even better than I thought. I am so happy I was able to have a treat despite going through a breastfeeding elimination diet!
Gabby
Hi Rachel! Yay! I am so happy to hear that you loved them!! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review 🙂
Morgan
These were delicious!! I gave my Dad a batch for Father's Day and he almost ate them all in one sitting; got some major daughter points for this recipe!! I love how thick and full they were, I am not really one for flimsy cookies lol
Gabby
Hi Morgan! That's so nice of you to make your dad cookies! I'm happy to hear that you both enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a review!
Mikyla Meckelson
Ooey, gooey, and so delicious! Nothing makes chocolate chip cookies better than adding oatmeal. Oatmeal is healthy, which means I can shamelessly eat these for breakfast and that makes me happy!
Gabby
Hi Mikyla! Thank you so much for the review! You are so right! Oatmeal = breakfast 😉
Vivien DeWinter
I'm gluten free and sugar free. Cd I s×eaten this recipe with xylitol and stevia?
Gabby
Hi Vivien, I don't have experience with sugar substitutes so I really can't say how it will turn out. Please let me know how it goes it you try it