11 Best Vegan Cookies + 5 Easy Tips

Diana Barkley (Senior Editor)

Vegan baking still appears to be a challenge in some bakers’ minds – especially when they dream of scrumptious vegan cookies. Here you’ll find the most tasty ideas for vegan cookies and a simple recipe for homemade cookies.

Yet it really needn’t be. Vegan baking at home is perfectly achievable, especially when it comes to cookies. Best of all, good quality vegan ingredients are now readily accessible at most supermarkets.

A lot of non-animal derived ingredients also offer a range of health benefits. So what are you waiting for? Let’s dive into some vegan cookies and healthy vegan recipes.

What Vegan Cookies Are

What Vegan Cookies Are

Vegan cookies are cookies which were made without any kind of animal or animal-derived products. Vegan ingredients are plant-based, with some vegans even rejecting products such as honey.

They do not contain eggs, butter, or any type of animal milk, opting for plant-based alternatives instead.

Best Vegan Cookies

Best Vegan Cookies

Whether you’re craving a vegan cookie from a reputable shop or brand or want to try your hands at making your own, we’ve got you covered.

Below are our top favorite vegan cookie options – trust us, they’re as good as ‘regular’ cookies if not better.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan chocolate chip cookies are delicious and offer an alternative to saturated fat-heavy regular chocolate chip cookies. Our basic recipe further on in this article will yield sumptuous chocolatey cookies.

Vegan chocolate chip cookies tend to taste more or less the same as ‘regular’ cookies, but with fewer calories. Mix them up by adding different kinds of vegan chocolate or peanut butter chips.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

Simple vegan peanut butter cookies are easy to make and only require a handful of ingredients. All you need is some peanut butter, coconut sugar, almond milk, vanilla extract, and flour.

You may also add a pinch of salt for flavor and some baking soda or baking powder if you want fluffier cookies. Experiment with using smooth or crunchy peanut butter or almond butter for some fun variety.

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Vegan sugar cookies may sound like one of the trickiest things to make given that sugar cookies ordinarily contain a good amount of butter.

However, vegan butter has come a long way and will add just the right texture and creaminess. You may also wish to use coconut oil if you prefer.

Sugar cookies are usually made extra delicious by their icing, meaning you should definitely whip up a batch of vegan icing.

Add some natural food dye using beetroot juice, berries, or spinach for a fun twist, and decorate with colorful sprinkles.

Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

Did you know that oats offer a variety of health benefits, including reducing blood sugar levels and potential heart disease?

Oats are also naturally gluten free, though a very small number of people with celiac disease may have an intolerance. Vegan oatmeal cookies are, therefore, a great addition to most diets.

To make some delicious vegan oatmeal cookies, all you need is oats, flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, salt, a sugar of your choice, and vegan butter or coconut oil.

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

Vegan gingerbread cookies or gingerbread men are super easy to make at home. All you need is the usual ingredients, but use vegan butter and a dairy milk alternative for your dough.

Vegan gingerbread cookies are also really fun to cut out using any variety of cookie cutters before decorating them with vegan icing.

Best of all, they really don’t taste any different from ‘regular’ gingerbread cookies, given the similarity of 95 percent of the ingredients.

Vegan No Bake Cookies

Vegan No Bake Cookies

No bake cookies are great if you’re in a rush or just want to try something a little different. A lot of no bake cookies are at least vegetarian (given that they can’t contain eggs) but many are vegan.

Our favorite type of vegan no bake cookies had peanut butter, honey, coconut oil, cocoa powder, oats, vanilla, and sea salt.

You can also add shredded coconut for an added source of fiber or crushed nuts for fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Vegan Girl Scout Cookies

Vegan Girl Scout Cookies

If baking vegan treats yourself isn’t really what you’re after just now, there are delicious varieties available to buy. Girl Scouts make several kinds of cookies that are free from any animal-derived ingredients.

These include their Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Toast Yay, Caramel Chocolate Chip, Lemonades, and Raspberry Rally. The Caramel Chocolate Chip cookie is even gluten free, as it’s made with oat flour.

Vegan Crumbl Cookies

Vegan Crumbl Cookies

Crumbl cookies have become exceedingly popular in recent years. Sadly, they don’t currently offer a vegan cookie. You’ll need to make your own version at home if you’d like one.

There are some lovely recipes for vegan Sugar Cookies, vegan S’mores Crumbl Cookies, and Vegan Strawberry Crumbl Cookies.

Vegan Oreo Cookies

Vegan Oreo Cookies

Oreos are another popular cookie you can definitely enjoy on a vegan diet. As of 1998, classic Oreos are vegan. Since then there are also the Double-Stuf, Mega Stuff, Gluten Free, and several others.

Oreos make for a great addition to ice cream desserts and milkshakes, but you can also add them to your bakes as decoration. Or bake Oreo pieces into your favorite vegan chocolate chip cookies.

Vegan Christmas Cookies

Vegan Christmas Cookies

Our favorite vegan Christmas cookies are, in many ways, just like regular Christmas cookies. You just add vegan butter, a plant-based milk, and vegan chocolate chips or candy buttons instead of animal-derived ingredients.

They’re just as fun to bake with little helpers, too.

Top tip: if you are baking with children, set aside pre-measured containers for each of the ingredients as well as decorations. It’ll make for a much smoother, more fun baking experience.

Vegan and Gluten Free Cookies

Vegan and Gluten Free Cookies

A lot of vegan cookie recipes are also gluten free, making them ideal for those with multiple food intolerances or dietary choices.

Our all time favorite recipe includes 2 cups of rolled oats, 3 mashed, overripe bananas, ½ cup of peanut butter, and ¼ cup of dark chocolate chips.

They’re delicious, easy to make at home, and will definitely hit the spot when it comes to craving sweet treats.

Simple Recipe for Easy Vegan Cookies: A Guide

Simple Recipe for Easy Vegan Cookies: A Guide

The best vegan cookies use just a few simple ingredients and taste as good as ‘regular’ cookies (if not better.) This recipe is for simple vegan chocolate chip cookies.

They’re easy to make and don’t make use of any egg replacements – they’re just made of good vegan ingredients. Best of all, they’re also gluten free, making them perfect for those with an intolerance to gluten.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of oat flour
• ½ tsp of baking soda
• ¼ tsp of salt
• ¼ cup of sugar
• ¼ cup of coconut sugar
• ⅓ cup of dark chocolate chips
• 2 tbsps of almond milk
• 2 tbsps of vegetable oil
• ¼ tsp of vanilla extract

And here’s how you do it:

1. Add all of your dry ingredients to one bowl, including the oat flour, baking soda, salt, and sugars. Gently mix.
2. Add the almond milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract, and stir until all ingredients are combined. If your dough is too dry, add an extra 1-2 tbsps of almond milk.
3. Mix in the chocolate chips and chill for approx. 2 hours.
4. Preheat your oven to 325 F and prepare a baking tin by lining it with greaseproof paper.
5. Form balls from the dough and add them to the tray, leaving enough room around each cookie dough ball so they can spread.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until just browned.
7. Allow cookies to cool and ‘set’ on the tray before removing (approx. 10 minutes.) Enjoy with a big mug of vegan cocoa.

Tips and Ideas on How to Make Vegan Cookies Yourself

Tips and Ideas on How to Make Vegan Cookies Yourself

Hopefully we’ve given you a little bit of inspiration on the types of vegan cookies you can buy and make yourself at home. If you’re looking to branch out further or try some creative new recipes yourself, below are our top tips for making these a success.

Experiment with Different Flours

You can add tons of flavor by using different plant-based ingredients. Vegan diets are well-known for containing plenty of different kinds of grains, and so do flours.

You can even get some nut flours and unusual heritage varieties. Experiment with these and see what flavors and textures you enjoy the most.

Try Varieties of Plant-Based Milk

Try Varieties of Plant-Based Milk

As with the flour, there are lots of varieties of plant-based dairy milk alternatives. Soy, almond, and oat milks are the most popular, but you’ll also find coconut, cashew, and other types.

Try different ones in your coffee or tea, then add them to your cookie recipes to see which you enjoy the most. The same goes for vegan butter substitutions.

Test All the Recipes

Test All the Recipes

What we mean is, don’t just limit yourself to vegan recipes. It’s pretty easy to substitute animal-derived ingredients with vegan alternatives.

Have a look at cookie recipes from any cookbooks, magazines, shows, and social media, and just try out vegan versions. You may just find your next favorite cookie recipe.

Take a Cookie Journey

There are plenty of well-loved cookie recipes available across the world.

Don’t just stick to what you know, but try new and exotic ideas, too. You may just come across an ingredient or spice you’ll love. Ingredients such as extracts and exotic nuts are particularly fun to experiment with.

Stock Your Pantry

Stock Your Pantry

If you love baking cookies, make sure you keep your pantry stocked with everything you need.

This includes different kinds of flour, baking powder, sugars and fruit extracts, fats, vegan milk, any egg substitutes you may need, and spices.

This way, if you feel the urge to whip up some delicious vegan cookies, you’ll have everything at hand.

Why Vegan Cookies Are Good For You

Why Vegan Cookies Are Good For You

A vegan diet tends to include more healthy fibers, vitamins, and minerals, largely because it contains more veggies and fruit.

Vegan cookies skip butter and dairy products, and instead opt for more heart healthy ingredients such as soy, nut butters, and wholegrains.

Even if you don’t follow a vegan diet, baking some vegan cookies instead of ‘regular’ ones can add healthier, more nutrient-rich ingredients to your diet.

Alternatives to Vegan Cookies

Alternatives to Vegan Cookies

If our list of delicious vegan cookie ideas has inspired you to try more vegan treats, great. Below are some alternatives to vegan cookies which you can also whip up at home in no time. Enjoy these treats as part of a balanced diet.

Vegan Pancakes with Topping

Vegan Pancakes with Topping

Vegan pancakes are actually incredibly easy to make at home – you don’t even need to replace the eggs. Just mix some flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla extract, and a plant-based milk of your choice.

Fry using a dash of vegetable oil and, once done, top with fruits, maple syrup, or some plant-based yogurt.

Vegan Waffles

Vegan Waffles

Vegan waffles are another easy to make treat you’ll want to save for weekends and lazy brunches.

There are plenty of recipes available, but our favorite contained a mix of plant-based milk, apple cider vinegar, flour, baking powder, sea salt, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and melted coconut oil.

Whip up your batter and either bake in a waffle maker or in a waffle mold in the oven. Serve with vegan whipped cream, fruit, and a dash of maple syrup.

Vegan and Gluten Free Cupcakes

Vegan and Gluten Free Cupcakes

Vegan and gluten free cupcakes are a great choice if you’re wanting to treat a friend or loved one.

Our top tip is to follow your favorite recipe and just replace the flour with a gluten free flour mix (readymade mixes are usually better for rise as they’re less dense).

The eggs with aquafaba or yogurt, and any dairy products with plant-based, vegan alternatives.

Top with a delicious vegan buttercream and your favorite sprinkles.

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