These breakfast cookies are for all the times you wish you could eat cookies for breakfast and not feel bad about it (which, for me, is most of the time).
These cookies are made with wholesome ingredients like oats, almond butter, and seeds, and they’re not only vegan but also free of, gluten, soy, added oil, and refined sugars! Each cookie packs 5 grams of protein and 3g of fiber, so they also keep you full and energized.
Even better, they’re infinitely customizable so you can modify them to your heart’s content!
Watch: How to make amazing breakfast cookies
And for more delightful vegan breakfast ideas, check out my vegan breakfast recipe round-up! It’s chock-full of fun plant-based breakfast recipes from me and other vegan recipe developers.
Why you’ll love these breakfast cookies
Wholesome. These are cookies you can feel good about! They’re made with ingredients that are perfectly acceptable for breakfast, which means you can happily eat cookies for breakfast.
Deceptively delicious. Wholesome breakfast cookies might sound like they taste meh, but these are cookies you’ll actually want to eat.
Delightfully chewy. If you’re like most people, you like chewy cookies. These cookies are incredibly chewy with crunchy bites of seeds and even more chewy bites from the dried fruit.
Pantry-friendly and easy to customize. You likely already have all the ingredients in your pantry. You can also get creative and mix and match your favorite ingredients. Read more in the “how to customize” section!
For a sweet snack that’s a bit more indulgent, try these seriously good Vegan Banana Muffins!
Versatile. Not only can you eat them for breakfast, but they’re also a great post- or pre-workout snack. My athletic friend Joanne of The Korean Vegan (she runs marathons) said these cookies fueled her for a long run around Central Park. Oh, and of course, you can also eat them for dessert.
How to make vegan breakfast cookies
Gather your ingredients!
Prepare your flax egg. Whisk together the ground flaxseed meal and water and set aside for 15 minutes to gel up.
In a large bowl, together the dry ingredients: oats, coconut, salt, baking powder, baking soda.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the liquid ingredients until smooth and thick: almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and prepared flax eggs.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry.
Use a silicone spatula to combine the ingredients until it resembles cookie dough.
Add desired mix-ins (chopped nuts or seeds and dried fruit or chocolate chips).
Add hemp seeds.
Stir to evenly incorporate the mix-ins.
Scoop about 3 tablespoons of dough onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets and lightly flatten. Bake at 350ºF for 18-20 minutes, until lightly golden on the bottom. Cool the pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies directly to the wire rack.
How to customize these cookies
Not a fan of coconut or allergic? Omit the shredded coconut and just add more oats. Personally, I think the coconut adds a lovely texture.
Likewise, if you don’t have hemp seeds, you can omit or add more shredded coconut. But you should really get some hemp seeds!
Allergic to almonds or don’t have almond butter? Use any nut butter you like, such as cashew butter or peanut butter (they will taste like peanut butter cookies). Just be sure to use a smooth, not crunchy, variety, as the nut butter is the replacement for oil in this recipe.
For the dried fruit mix-in, you could really use any variety you like. I have used raisins, currants, finely chopped apricots, finely chopped dates, and dried cranberries (use juice-sweetened cranberries to avoid refined sugar).
And if you’re not a fan of dried fruit at all, feel free to substitute with dairy-free chocolate chips. I love the chewiness that dried fruit brings, but the chocolate chip version makes these taste more like a classic cookie (SO good). The chocolate chip version is a favorite in our house.
For the seed and nut mix-in, pepitas, sunflower seeds, or any kind of nut works well. Just chop them up pretty good so you don’t get large pieces.
Some flavor variations that we tried are below. My favorites are anything that contains chocolate chips (no surprise!), dried blueberries, and dried cranberries.
- Mango Cashew: finely chop dried mango + raw unsalted cashews, chopped
- Chocolate Chip Almond: mini vegan chocolate chips + roasted almonds, chopped
- Cranberry Pecan: dried cranberries + pecans, chopped
- Blueberry Walnut: dried blueberries + walnuts, chopped
- Golden Macadamia: dried golden berries + macadamia nuts, chopped
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, use seeds instead of nuts for your mix-ins and sub the almond butter with tahini.
You’ll need to use a smooth, non-bitter variety and stir well. I love Seed + Mill and Soom Tahini (affiliate link) and the Whole Foods 365 brand is pretty decent.
Or you could try Sunbutter sunflower seed butter. It will likely tinge your cookies green (that’s what happens when you bake with sunflower seeds) but the taste will be great.
Yes, they freeze perfectly! And they take just 15ish minutes to defrost, so you can enjoy them really any time. After baking, allow the cookies to cool completely. Store them in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and label with the name and date. They should be good for about 3 months.
That’s fine! If salted, you can use a scant 1/2 teaspoon salt in the recipe.
If you love these breakfast cookies, be sure to tag me on Instagram with your recreations and please rate and review with your feedback below!
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed meal
- 2 cups (190g) rolled oats (certified gluten-free, as needed)
- Heaping 1/2 cup (50g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup (190g) smooth, creamy variety of almond butter (can sub cashew butter) (see Note 1)
- 1/2 cup (160g) pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Mix-Ins
- 1/2 cup (~75g) dried fruit (or mini vegan chocolate chips) such as cranberries, currants, blueberries (see Note 2)
- 1/2 cup (70g) pepitas, sunflower seeds, or nuts of choice chopped (see Note 3)
- 1/3 cup (48g) hemp seeds (also called hemp hearts)
Instructions
- Prepare the flax eggs. Combine the ground flaxseed meal with 5 tablespoons water. Stir and let sit for 10-15 minutes to gel together.
- Arrange two racks in the top third and bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC. Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: oats, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and prepared flax eggs. Whisk until smooth and thick.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, using a silicone spatula to mix everything until the mixture resembles a cookie dough. Fold in your desired mix-ins (dried fruit, chopped nuts/seeds, and hemp seeds) using the spatula.If the dough is too sticky to handle, refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes to firm up slightly.
- Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to scoop a heaping 2 tablespoons or scant 3 tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart, 12 cookies per sheet pan (they don't really spread).I have a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop and do a big heaping scoop of that. It's 35g to 40g of dough per cookie. Alternatively, measure the dough out with a spoon and shape into a round using your hands. Lightly flatten the top of each cookie with your hands.
- Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes. After 5 minutes, use a spatula to carefully transfer them to a cooling rack. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 5 to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
I’ve made these twice now. They are delicious and I can’t give them enough stars! I used almond butter and chocolate chips for the first batch and sun butter with dried apricots for my second batch.
We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Sajida!
The dough was so delicious that I’m surprised I was still able to make 20 cookies 🙃 Anyone have a suggestion for making the dough less sticky? I put it in the fridge for 15 minutes, and it was still too sticky so I stuck it in the freezer for 15 mins. After I pulled it out of the freezer, I had to add oat flour so that it wouldn’t stick to my hands when I was balling up the dough. There must be an easier solution!
I used silicone baking mats instead of parchment paper and the cookies turned out great.
Made these today, subbed 6 tbsp soy milk for the water in the flax egg for extra protein. Used a mix of peanut and almond butter and reduced the maple syrup by 1-2 tbsp. Mix-ins were hemp seeds, pepitas, and Enjoy Life 70% dark choc chips.
I just used my hands to put the ‘dough’ onto the sheets. It was messy, but they came out beautifully rustic, still slightly crunchy with a nice chew. My new favorite — will definitely make again. Always delighted by RPL!
Oh.. and I added 2 tsp of cinnamon :)
Hi Jamie, it’s great to hear you had success with the recipe. Thanks for the review!
Hi. I like that these are made with such simple pantry ingredients. However, my cookies did not turn out super crunchy. The exterior was a bit hard, but the inside felt a little chewy. I did not add the mix-in ingredients. Also, the shape wasn’t as smooth as that in the picture. Maybe I didn’t make the balls well enough? How can I improve?
These were awesome, husband and 4 year old approved. There are so many recipes for breakfast cookies that are really just glorified cookies out there, and these ones are really made with tons of wholesome, fiber rich, and antioxidant rich ingredients.
I didn’t have all the ingredients so had to make some substitutions. No rolled oats but I had Coach’s Oats (quick cooking version of steel cut oats) which worked fine and made the cookies extra chewy. No almond butter so I subbed mostly peanut butter and a teeny bit of walnut butter. Tasted just fine and didn’t notice that the PB overwhelmed anything. I used walnuts for the nuts, dried cherries for the dried fruit part… and then ADDED as a mix in 1/3 cup of so chopped chocolate. Also added as a mix in 1/2 cup wheat bran I had on hand. Basically, this recipe is really forgiving and you can add in extra mix ins without much worry.
…and I appreciate that it doesn’t have any bananas in it because so many of the breakfast cookies do and the banana taste gets old!
Tip: I used my oven on convection and 18 minutes exactly was perfect. Not burned on the bottom as a few others described. Also. They are hard to shape as they’re sticky and break apart and get caught on your hands so using a spoon to scoop and shape is crucial.
Love your recipes and just bought your cookbook. Would LOVE to be a recipe tester for you so hit me up if you need anyone!
Hi Raquel, thank you so much for the lovely comment and for the feedback! We are honored you are such a fan of the recipes. You can always keep an eye out on our email list for open recipe tester positions! Cheers :)
Inquiring if I can sub chia seed ‘eggs’ instead of using flaxseeds?
Thank You!
I was a little concerned at first with how wet these were and not really holding together (even after refrigerating). However I smooshed them together best as I could before baking. They held together well once baked and were super delicious. Paired with some fruit (and coffee) was an excellent and quick breakfast.
Hi Alicia, we’re so happy you loved the breakfast cookies! Thanks for your review!
Definitely a 5star. The cookies are the best. I plan to follow you for more recipes
Your review made our day, Kathy! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and for trying out the recipe.
I make this recipe all of the time! My husband and I love these cookies!
Hi Quin, Thank you so much for such a fantastic review! Appreciate you taking the time!
Nisha these are the best breakfast cookies ever! I made a batch for travel and it couldn’t have worked out better. I really dislike airport or road food so now I’m never stuck when hunger strikes. Thanks.
We’re so happy that the breakfast cookies turned out well for you, Kathryn. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for trying out the recipe!
Is this something I could pre-make the dough and freeze? Then bake when wanted? Am going to an event where I would like to serve warm cookies baked on site and have choose this as my gluten-free/vegan option.
Hi Libby, we haven’t tried it ourselves, but it should work decently well. That said if you are looking to serve a warm cookie baked on site, a better option that will be truly crowd pleasing is our vegan chocolate chip cookie (there are gluten-free instructions in the blog post). It’s definitely an indulgent and classic chocolate chip cookie compared to this breakfast cookie, so depending on your needs, it may or may not work.
My Mama (72) has has cookies for breakfast my entire life. Yes, I am serious. We just lost my Daddy and she wants to be a little healthier, but she still needs her cookies. I made these for her and she loves them. From a lady who has has cookies and cake for breakfast her entire life, that is high praise!
Hi Ashley, we’re delighted to hear the breakfast cookies are Mama approved! :)
We love these cookies! I’ve made them many time with various add ins. But they always burn on the bottom. Why would that be? I have lessened the cooking time but they still burn.
Beth
Hi Beth, we’re delighted you are a big fan of the recipe! And as for your cookies burning, that’s very odd! We’d love to help you get to the bottom of this:
Do you make sure to line the sheets with parchment paper?
Do you have an oven thermometer by any chance? Oftentimes ovens run hotter or cooler than they say they are.
If you do have an oven thermometer and your oven is accurate, try lowering the temperature by 25ºF.
Hopefully we can figure this out! :)
I had this problem the first time I made them, too, Beth, despite using parchment and an oven thermometer. They also came out a little hard for my liking, so my simple fix was to take them out of the oven after 16 or 17 minutes instead of 18-20. They stay a little softer and chewier, my chocolate chips stay gooey instead of burning, and the bottoms are a beautiful golden brown.
I’m addicted to these cookies! For the first few times I made them, I used peanut butter because 1) we had it 2) almond butter is much more expensive. I finally splurged a bit on almond butter because I was craving these as a filling breakfast. I like both nut butter flavors. The chewiness and various textures in these cookies gets me every time. Mmm! Note on dried fruits: I subbed currants I froze for the dried fruits, and they worked great! (I do prefer the dried fruits, but this was a nice change to balance the expense of the almond butter). I also only could find sweetened coconut shreds, so I dialed down the maple syrup a little and they are still just right sweetness. I love how versatile this recipe is, how quickly it mixes together, and how short the ingredient list is compared to other “breakfast” cookies I’ve seen.
Hi Laura, thanks for the sweet comment! :) It’s great to hear you love the cookies.
Hello! Is there another sweetener I could use instead of maple syrup? It’s really expensive where I live :( Thank you!
I’ve used honey before and it works just as good! I think using honey makes it more vegetarian than vegan though.
I didn’t think about honey, that could definitely work for me! Thank you!
Hi Rachele, do you have access to agave nectar? That would work too! We hope you enjoy the cookies!
Hello, thank you for the suggestion! I was lucky enough to find maple syrup on sale, which is quite rare where I live, maybe it was a sign to get baking! 😂
The cookies turned out delicious! I chose almond and chocolate as my mix-ins!
We’re so happy you enjoyed the cookies, Rachele! :)
I had to make a few substitutions with what I had in – so half peanut and half almond butter, and instead of maple syrup I had half mulberry molasses and half molasses sugar. The only trouble is the mixture was so delicious I had to stop myself stealing it before it even got as far as being baked :) Fabulous recipe and obviously very tolerant of swaps. Thanks again Nisha!
P.S I’m enjoying reading through my best Christmas present – your new book! Planning on making the life changing chilli crisp next…
Hi Sara, thanks for trying the recipe and taking the time to leave a review!
And we’re so happy you’re loving the new cookbook so far :)
Made half a batch of these today with almonds and chopped dried cherries. The cookies came out great and not too sweet for my father who is trying to incorporate more better for you treats. Mine did burn just a bit on the bottom of some, but that’s partially from some cookies having fruit on the bottom of the cookie and because my oven is really finicky.
Definitely worth giving a go!
We’re over the moon to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Marie. Thanks for your kind words!
This is the type of cookie I always order at cafes, but even better because of the wholesome ingredients and flavour. I love that it’s a satisfying snack. The center is nice and chewy while the outside has a nice crust.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Kaitlyn! It makes us happy to know that you enjoyed the recipe.
These were exactly what I was looking for! I added hemp seeds, walnuts, and mini chocolate chips. I used peanut butter anf quick oats because those are what I had. They came out lovely and toasty. Sweet enough but not over the top for a breakfast cookie! Thanks for the recipe.
Sounds like a great breakfast cookie you made there, Kerri. Thanks for sharing!
I love this recipe comes out perfectly every time even at high altitude. I add a half cup of mashed banana because high altitude baking is so little moisture.
Hi Nami, thank you so much for your kind review!