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!
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
These were soooooo good!
That’s so great to hear, Melodie! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating alongside your review? Star ratings are big help to readers who are thinking of making the recipe. Thanks!
I had one problem with these cookies: I couldn’t stop eating them! Thanks Nisha for another great recipe! I’m not a fan of shredded coconut, so I added extra oatmeal.
LOL, we understand that problem Debi-jo! Thank you for sharing :)
Just made these and they are delicious. Thank you!
That’s so great to hear, Chantal! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating alongside your review? Star ratings are big help to readers who are thinking of making the recipe. Thanks!
Made these today for our tramping trip in a couple days. I didn’t get 24 cookies though, I got 11 measuring out 3Tbs per cookie. No idea where I went wrong? Delicious all the same just have to make some more to feed all the trampers!
Hi Gemma, sorry this recipe didn’t make enough cookies. I will relay the message to Nisha! Glad you enjoyed them otherwise :)
I made these cookies this morning with cranberry and walnuts for the mix-ins. I subbed the maple syrup with 1/2 cup date paste and thinned it out with some almond milk. My dad ate a cookie and exclaimed, “these cookies are worth gifting!”. Thanks Nisha for another foolproof recipe! :)
Thanks for sharing, Natalia! We’re thrilled to hear it :)
Are you sure these are rolled oats and not quick oats? For some reason the cookies in your pictures and YouTube video look like the oats arefiner compared to when I make them with rolled oats.
Nevermind! I realize it’s the hemp seeds!
I don’t see how many calories are in the recipe or each cookie. We are needing calories as this vegan is losing weight and is too thin. HELP!
By the way, your vegan chili is to die for!!
Hi Patricia, nutrition facts will be coming soon. Glad you’re loving the recipes!
There were so good.
I froze them and crumbled them and eat them as cereal.
Has anyone tried making bars??
Sounds so tasty, Traci! If you haven’t tried this no-bake cookie dough bar recipe, you should definitely check it out!: https://rainbowplantlife.com/no-bake-cookie-dough-bars/
These cookies are delicious and still moist, even if they may appear dry after they’re baked. When I started to make them, I was going to do just one batch. But then I thought, everything else I’ve made from Nisha is delicious and I trust her methods and cooking advice, so I doubled the recipe immediately. So glad I did.
Now I have a health(ier) go-to snack that is not only satisfying and fits into the craving zone of cookies & nutty, hearty snack, but also easy to make and super versatile for the mix-ins.
Thank you, Nisha and team!
Thanks for sharing, Adam! We are so happy you love the breakfast cookies :)
These were so amazing. I used mini chocolate chips and sliced almonds. I used peanut butter instead of almond butter, and I didn’t have shredded coconuts, so I just used extra oats like you said, and they turned out really well. And now I have breakfast on hand for the week!
Thanks for sharing, Rani!
These cookies are going to end up being a lifesaver! Or at least a health saver. Teaching during the pandemic has thrown multiple monkey wrenches into my schedule and my eating habits – not to mention finding a safe place to eat (I share a classroom). A cookie or two will hold me over when I need it the most and I can pop them under my mask. Thank you for this delicious recipe, which I made with the cranberry and pecan mix-ins.
Jamie, So glad to hear you love this recipe! We’re so happy this recipe is helping you enjoy delicious and wholesome snacks at work!
Thank you Nisha.
You’re most welcome!
Has anyone had any success freezing these??
Hi Pam, they freeze great! :)
OMG! Made these last night, used cranberries, pepitas and chocolate chips, we love them. I can’t wait to make them again and try other mix-in’s. They are a 10 on the YUMMY scale!
Awesome, Betsy. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
Ok these cookies are seriously a game changer iny family!! So good, so easy to make, and my teenager loves them. Making transitioning to vegan so much easier to have a breakfast options we can grab as we all rush out the door to start out day. I am gluten free so using gluten free oats and gluten free baking soda was a win!! Please dont stop making these amazing recipes!
Awesome, Michelle. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
Another amazing recipe! There are delicious and so easy to make!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Rachael!
I fully riffed and did the old kitchen sink cookie: soaked chia and banana (instead of flax), candied ginger, raisins and goji berries (soaked), lemon & orange zest, agave, toasted pepita, toasted sunflower seeds, toasted coconut, oatmeal and puffed rice. All organic. Vanilla & salt. Super yummy. Thanks so much for the inspiration- I’ve been LOVING your recipes ❤️
Sounds wonderful! We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating alongside your review? Star ratings are big help to readers who are thinking of making the recipe. Thanks!
Yum! I confess Nisha, I ate a few raw! Yum!
Good thing you won’t get sick because they’re vegan, LOL! Happy to hear you enjoyed them though :)
Omg these are SO GOOD! I may try to reduce the syrup a bit next time because I like this type of cookie less sweet, but it’s a personnal opinion! It holds together well, which is rare with vegan cookies 😂 FABULOUS RECIPE
Juliette, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
This were so delicious! I used tahini, sunflower seeds and golden raisins and halved the maple syrup, and kept them only lightly baked. Absolutely perfect with some tea in the morning when I don’t want to start my day off too sweet. Plan to keep playing with them too! Thank you!
Tessa, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!