My recent favorite healthy snack/breakfast/dessert are these Chewy Vegan Chai-Spiced Cookies. Last year, I developed a Healthy Breakfast Cookie that you all seemed to like quite a bit. And I get why— they’re cookies that are healthy enough to eat for breakfast but are actually tasty (they don’t taste like wheat germ or bran flakes).
With fall quickly approaching, I thought it would be fun to develop a similar oatmeal-style cookie with fall flavors. Enter these Chewy Vegan Chai-Spiced Cookies.
They’re made with wholesome ingredients like oats, almond butter, and seeds and feel like a classic oat meal cookie, but they have the warming flavors of Indian masala chai floating throughout. Which means they are extra delicious and perfect for the fall baking season!
Plus, with 4 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per cookie, this is the kind of cookie that will actually fill you up! It works great for breakfast as well as pre- and post-workout snacks.
Looking for a more classic cookie recipe? You must try my Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies!
What is Chai?
Chai simply means “tea” in Hindi, so when you’ order a “a chai tea latte,” you’re basically saying “I’d like to order a tea tea latte”). Chai refers to black tea, though you can use decaffeinated black tea.
Indian masala chai (“masala” means a mixture of ground spices), then, is spiced black tea. It can contain a number of different spices and there’s great variety across Indian households, with each family having its own preferred blend. My mom typically makes masala chai with cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and black pepper, so that’s what I use in this recipe (along with a tad of allspice).
My mom also adds lemongrass and mint to her chai, which are bit less traditional and excellent in tea but not really great in cookies, so I left those out too.
Why you’ll like these cookies
Easy to make. This is one of the easiest cookie recipes. No creaming required, the cookies don’t spread, and they’re so straightforward that even the kids can help make them.
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.
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. They’re vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and soy-free.
Chai-Spiced. If you enjoy the warming, aromatic flavors of Indian chai, you’ll love the warm flavor in these cookies. My homemade chai spice blend is made with lots of cinnamon, along with freshly ground cardamom (makes a huge difference!).
Looking for another warming dessert to make this season? Check out my Vegan Apple Crisp!
Versatile. You can eat these cookies for breakfast, but they’re also a great post- or pre-workout snack. And of course, you can also eat them for dessert.
Easy to customize. Feel free to get creative with this recipe and mix and match your favorite ingredients. Customization ideas are in “substitutes” section below.
How to make these cookies
Start by making your flax eggs. Mix together the flaxseed meal with water, and set aside for 15 minutes to thicken.
Then, make the chai spice blend. Split open the cardamom pods and crush the black seeds using a mortar and pestle (or spice grinder). Mix the ground cardamom with the other chai spices.
Then, finely chop your pistachios.
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: oats, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and Chai Spice Blend.
And mix together the wet ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth: prepared flax egg, almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together until the mixture resembles cookie dough.
Then, fold in your mix-ins: dried fruit, seeds, and nuts.
Scoop about 3 tablespoons cookie dough onto lined baking sheets, 1/2-inch apart. Bake at 350ºF/175ºC for 17-20 minutes. Wait 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack.
Tips for making these cookies
Make sure you use a drippy, smooth nut butter. Do not use a crunchy variety, or the dried remnants from the bottom of a jar. You need a smooth, creamy variety, as it’s the oil replacer in this recipe.
If you can get whole cardamom, it makes a world of a difference when you crush it finely. This is how traditional Indian chai is made, and it brings an indescribable and complex sweet yet spicy flavor to this cookies.
You can find whole green cardamom pods online or in South Asian grocery stores. McCormick carries one in a spice bottle as well). If you can’t find whole cardamom pods, you can use whole cardamom seeds like this (affiliate links).
Check the oven at the 17 minute mark, as every oven is different. Use an oven thermometer (affiliate link) if you have one, as most home ovens take longer to preheat than they state.
Substitutes for these cookies
Not a fan of coconut? Omit the shredded coconut and just add more oats.
Allergic to almonds or don’t have almond butter? Use any nut butter you like, such as cashew butter or peanut butter. Just be sure to use a smooth, not crunchy, variety, as the nut butter is the replacement for oil in this recipe.
To make these cookies nut-free, substitute the nut butter with tahini, but make sure to use a smooth, non-bitter variety like Soom Tahini, Seed + Mill, or the Whole Foods 365 brand (affiliate links), and stir well so the sesame paste mixes with the oil. 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. Also, replace the pistachios with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
For the dried fruit, I used a mixture of finely chopped dates and apricots, but you could really use any variety you like. Other options include cranberries, cherries, raisins, or finely chopped mango.
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 you can also never go wrong with chocolate.
And if you don’t have pistachios, you can try chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans; or even pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
If you give this Chewy Vegan Chai-Spiced Cookies recipe a try, be sure to tag me on Instagram with your recreations and please comment with your feedback below!
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Introducing
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Vegan Chai-Spiced Cookies (and 40 more Vegan Breakfast Ideas!)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (16g) ground flaxseed meal
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (190g) (certified gluten-free, as needed)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup smooth, creamy almond butter or cashew butter**
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Chai Spice Blend
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed cardamom*, plus more to taste as needed
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more to taste as needed
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- Pinch of black pepper**
Mix-ins
- 1/3 cup (50g) hemp seeds
- 1/2 cup finely chopped dates (90-100g), or other dried fruit (see “substitutes” section in blog post)
- 1/3 cup shelled pistachios (45g), chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the flax eggs. Combine the ground flaxseed meal with 5 tablespoons water. Stir and let sit for 15 minutes to gel together.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Make the Chai Spice Blend. Mix all the spices until well combined.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: the oats, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and Chai Spice Blend.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: flax eggs, almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, using a silicone spatula to mix everything until the mixture resembles a cookie dough. Fold in Mix-ins: dates or raisins, hemp seeds, and pistachios. Taste the dough. If desired, add a bit more cardamom or nutmeg to taste.
- If the dough is too sticky to handle (more likely if you’re kitchen is warm), refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes to firm up slightly.
- Use an ice cream scoop to scoop about 3 tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets (this scoop holds about 3 tablespoons), spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Alternatively, measure out 3 tablespoons and shape the dough into a round using your hands. Lightly flatten the top of each cookie with your hands or a fork.
- Bake the cookies for 17-20 minutes, or until cookies are baked through, slightly brown on the bottom, and chewy. After 5 minutes, use a spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack. These cookies aren’t too delicate, so you can start enjoying them shortly afterwards. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container or resealable bag on the counter for 2-3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this? Leave a rating below!
These look so good and hearty. I’ve already got the ingredients for them. I was wondering if these are something I can make the dough ahead of time and put in the fridge or freezer and bake later. Would this affect the spice taste and texture?
We can’t wait for you to try the recipe, Rachael!
And yes, it should work decently well if you make the dough ahead of time and freeze. If you try it, please let us know how it goes!
Hi Rachael, you can make this cookie dough a few days ahead of time and refrigerate it in an airtight container. We haven’t tried freezing it though. Enjoy!
Wowsers, these are so good. I baked half of them from fresh the first day and they turned out great. Refrigerated the other half and baked the next day and they turned out just as good. Froze some and popped some out and into the microwave for a few seconds and the warm, cozy spices are still there. This has definitely become my new favorite fall recipe, and I get so excited sharing it with family and friends. I used the fresh spices and they definitely come through. I really appreciate how hearty they are and how warm and cozy they make the house smell while baking. Thanks for sharing such a lovely recipe :).
Thanks for sharing, Rachael! We appreciate it 🙂
Very nice, and for some reason it seems like the spice mix helps me eat these in moderation (as opposed to the breakfast cookies version which disappears faster!). I reduce the maple syrup to 1/4 cup.
Your positive feedback is the best reward for our hard work. Thank you, Stjarna!
Hi Nisha
I halved the oats and other dried ingredients but kept the amount of the Chai spices and really loved the flavors! My whole place smelled like the warming spices for hours afterwards and I wish I could have a diffuser with this aroma. I just made another batch of just the spice blend and wonder if you have recommendations for using the spice blend for anything else (i.e. oatmeal, muffins, etc)? Thank you!
Good question! It’s great in chia pudding and oatmeal. You could also use it instead of the pumpkin spice in our pumpkin bread – use 1 ½ tablespoons or 4 ½ teaspoons of the spices. You could also try adding a teaspoon of it to banana bread
or banana muffins. Or you can stir it into some steamed milk and use an electric frother for a chai spiced latte. Enjoy!
I have made these several times using different combinations of “add ins”. My friends cannot get enough of them. Very high in satiety. I asked for and received on my birthday a copy of your book Big Vegan Flavor. I have made a recipe out of it already and it did not disappoint. Thank you Nisha for helping make my transition into vegetarian eating smoother. This book is a guide not just a cookbook.
Patricia, we appreciate your sweet review! And we’re thrilled you’re loving Nisha’s new cookbook. The kind words mean more than you know!
These came out so good!
I used some of the suggestions to use what I had on hand… tahini rather than almond butter, extra oats instead of coconut, and walnuts for the pistachios. I also didn’t have allspice, so I omitted that.
I made 32 small cookies. I’ve been tracking nutrition, and according to the ingredients I used, each cookies is around 100 calories, which is great for such a delicious treat.
We’re so happy that the cookies turned out well for you, Jen. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for trying out the recipe!
These are incredible! I like keeping them in the freezer for a quick breakfast when I’m short on time. However, I did use the right size cookie scoop and only got 13 cookies 🤷🏼♀️
Hi Aimee, we are so glad you enjoyed the cookies! By any chance are you in Australia? The size of a tbsp is different out there!
Sadly, I’ve become allergic to oats as an adult. Is there any other grain you might suggest to substitute them with in this recipe???
We’re sorry to hear that, Rachel! Since oats are the main ingredient in this recipe, we’re not entirely sure what would work. From our research, quinoa flakes might work, but we can’t say how this would turn out since we haven’t tried it ourselves.
These are delicious — and my wife loves them.
It’s a wonderfully flexible recipe: I subbed in pecans for pistachios and a mix of cranberries and dates for the dried fruit because that’s what I had. Next time — pistachios! Or walnuts. Who knows?
And yes, the dough was sticky, but an ice cream scoop was up to the task. I made the cookies big — about 3″ across, which seemed about right.
Next time, for an added note, I might consider adding a little turmeric to the chai spice.
Thanks for sharing, David! 🙂
I’ve been obsessed with your breakfast cookies including these ones! They are so tasty and just the right amount of sweet. I love how the dates get a little crunchy with the chewiness from baking.
Hi Laura, it’s great to hear you had success with the recipe. Thanks for the review!
I have a lovely thick file of sooooo many of your recipes that I have made over the last year or so – every one of them yummy!
My question regarding these delicious-sounding Chai Spice Cookies is: what can be substituted for the cinnamon? I have a bit of a sensitivity to it, so would prefer to use something else.
Thanks for all the tasty treats, Nisha! And I love your Big Vegan Flavor cookbook!!
Hi Elaine, we are thrilled you’re such a fan of the recipes and the cookbook! Thanks for your support and for popping in!
You can omit the cinnamon and slightly increase the quantities of the other spices (e.g., 2 tsp ginger, ¾ to 1 tsp fresh cardamom, ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, ½ tsp allspice, ½ tsp cloves, a couple pinches of black pepper). Hope that works!