Crispy around the edges and chewy in the center, these oatmeal raisin cookies are easy to make and hard to resist. Eggless and vegan—just simple pantry ingredients and lots of flavor.
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This is a reliable vegan version of the classic oatmeal raisin cookie—crisp around the edges with a slightly chewy center. I’ve been making these for years, and they’re still a favorite. I recently baked a big batch for my son’s school potluck, doubling the recipe and adding cranberries, and vegan chocolate chips and they turned out great. I first shared this recipe on the blog years ago, and it’s still one of the most solid bakes in my vegan cookie recipes collection.
The recipe uses a flax egg instead of a regular egg, so it’s fully plant-based without losing the texture you want in a good cookie. I’ve also made it with aquafaba (the liquid from canned chickpeas), and it gave the cookies an extra crisp edge that I really liked. Stick with raisins or play around with the mix-ins—these always hit the spot, and no one ever guesses they’re vegan.
If you liked my best eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe, this one’s definitely worth adding to your list.
Why You'll Love This Recipe?
Totally Vegan (and No One Will Know)
These cookies are made without eggs or dairy, but you'd never guess. A flax egg stands in for the egg and keeps the texture just right—just as good as the classic version.
Great for Sharing
This recipe doubles easily and bakes up a big batch, making it perfect for school events, parties, or gifting. They hold up well and are always a hit, even with non-vegans.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Check the photo for everything you'll need to bake these vegan oatmeal raisin cookies. I’ve highlighted a few ingredients below with tips and options based on what I’ve tried over the years.
Vegan Butter: I used to bake with Earth Balance when it was one of the few options around—usually a special trip to Whole Foods. These days, even my local grocery store carries a few vegan butter alternatives that are more budget-friendly, and I’ve been using those more often with great results. If you're using salted vegan butter, you may want to reduce the added salt in the recipe slightly—I usually use just ¼ teaspoon in that case.
Flax Egg: This acts as the egg replacer in the recipe. It helps bind the dough and gives the cookies structure without changing the flavor. Recently, I’ve started using aquafaba as egg substitute (the liquid from canned chickpeas) in cookies, and it works really well. I tried it in this recipe and loved the result—the cookies were noticeably crispier than with flax egg. You can use 3 tablespoons of aquafaba in place of one flax egg. If you’re doubling the recipe, just double the aquafaba too.
Flour
The original recipe uses all-purpose flour, but whole wheat pastry flour works really well too. I used it in my latest batch, and the cookies came out just as good—maybe even a little more flavorful, with no heaviness. I wouldn’t recommend regular whole wheat flour here, as it can make the cookies dense.
Oats: I’ve used both quick cooking oats and old-fashioned rolled oats in this recipe. Both work, but the rolled oats give a chewier texture. Use whatever you prefer, just avoid instant oats. I’ve also tried a mix of the two and liked the balance—it gives the cookies a little chew without being too dense.
Raisins & Add-ins: Classic oatmeal raisin cookies use raisins, but dried cranberries, chopped dates, or vegan chocolate chips are all great here. You can also skip the fruit and just go with nuts or chocolate.
Nuts: Walnuts or pecans add a nice crunch. Toasting them lightly before mixing in makes a big difference in flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Vegan butter and brown sugar are beaten together until smooth, light, and fluffy.
Step 2: Flax egg and vanilla extract are mixed into the creamed butter mixture until fully combined.
Step 3: The wet mixture appears smooth, creamy, and evenly blended.
Step 4: Flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon are sifted together to remove lumps and ensure even mixing.
Step 5: The sifted dry ingredients are added to the wet mixture in the bowl.
Step 6: Wet and dry ingredients are mixed just until a thick, cohesive dough forms.
Step 7: Rolled oats are stirred into the dough until evenly distributed.
Step 8: Raisins and other optional add-ins are folded gently into the oat cookie dough.
Step 9: The finished oatmeal raisin cookie dough looks thick, chunky, and well mixed.
Step 10: Dough is scooped onto a baking sheet and lightly flattened before baking.
Step 11: Scoop and place the oatmeal raisin cookie dough on a baking sheet and bake (12-15 mins) in a preheated oven until the cookies are set around the edges and lightly golden.
Step 12: Freshly baked oatmeal raisin cookies are out of the oven, golden and ready to eat.
Recipe Tips
These cookies don’t spread much on their own – If you just drop the dough onto the baking sheet, they’ll mostly hold their shape. Lightly flatten them before baking for a more even shape and better texture.
Test bake a few cookies first – It’s always a good idea to bake just 3–4 cookies to start. This gives you a chance to see how the dough behaves in your oven, and make small adjustments if needed—like flattening more or adjusting the bake time—before committing to the full batch.
Don’t overbake – The cookies may still look slightly soft in the center when you take them out, but they’ll continue to firm up as they cool. Overbaking can make them dry.
Toast the nuts – Toasting walnuts or pecans brings out more flavor and adds a nice crunch. Just a few minutes in a dry pan or oven is enough.
Recipe FAQs
I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe. Butter gives these cookies structure and flavor. Using oil might make them spread too much or turn out greasy.
Aquafaba (the liquid from canned chickpeas) works really well in cookies. Use 3 tablespoons in place of one flax egg. I recently tested it in this recipe and found that it gave the cookies a slightly crisper texture, which I actually preferred. Commercially available egg replacers like Ener-G will also work in this recipe—just follow the instructions on the package to replace one egg. If you're doubling the recipe, double the egg replacer as well.
Yes, you can. Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and certified gluten-free oats. I haven’t tested it with this recipe, but it should be close.
Yes, you can! Scoop and flatten the dough slightly, then freeze in a single layer before transferring to a freezer-safe bag. Bake from frozen—just add a minute or two to the bake time.
They keep well for 3–4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze baked cookies for longer storage.
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Recipe
Eggless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ Cup Vegan Butter
- 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Count flax egg (or 3 tbspns aquafaba)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¾ Cup All Purpose Flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Salt I Used Only ¼ Teaspoon
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 3 Cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (or quick cooking oats)
- 1 Cup Raisins or dried cherries, dried cranberries, white/dark chocolate chips
- 1 Cup Walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them.
- In a small cup or bowl, whisk together the flax seed meal and water. Set it aside for a few minutes to thicken into a gooey, gel-like mixture.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the vegan butter and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy. I used a hand mixer for this step.
- Add the thickened flax mixture and vanilla extract to the creamed butter. Stir well using a wooden spoon or spatula.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until just combined.
- Fold in the oats and any optional mix-ins like raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips, or nuts.
- Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. I used an ice cream scoop for even portions.
- Lightly wet your hands and gently flatten each cookie to about ½ inch thick—these cookies don’t spread much on their own.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers still look slightly soft.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Deb Perkins says
These cookies are amazingly delicious! One small change I made is that I used 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce instead of the flax egg. Oh and I did not grease my cookie sheet or use parchment paper. I just placed the formed dough right on the sheet. Came out perfect! They did not stick at all. Soft, chewy and yummy! I'll be making these often. Thank you so much for the recipe! A+
Madhuram says
You're welcome, Deb. Thank you very much for taking the time to leave your feedback.
Jacqueline says
I made these with coconut oil instead of the vegan butter, and they were much too dry. I hoped they would magically come together in the oven, but they didn't really. They were tasty, but they were very crumbly and reminded me a lot of granola clusters! If I were to make them again, I'd try adding two flax eggs instead of one.
Madhuram says
Or some more coconut oil.
Rhonda says
Wonderful, wonderful, tasty cookie! I followed the recipe and they are far better than I expected. Superior to the ones I bought at Whole Foods. The local Aldi store had "ground" flax seed, I was pleasantly surprised and glad I didn't have to hunt for them (whole or ground). Thanks Madhuram, for perfecting this recipe and sharing with the rest of us. I will make them again and again.
Madhuram says
You're very welcome, Rhonda.
Tegan says
Thanks for this fantastic recipe, Madhuram. I had to tinker with smashing whole flax seeds as I couldn't find ground flax in the only grocer in my town that's open on Sundays (and I don't have a coffee grinder or food processor), but these still turned out great. Clearly a very forgiving recipe!
Madhuram says
That's great to know, Tegan. Thanks for the feedback.
Shelley Medley says
I baked these for my daughter to carry back to college after her spring break. I used the flax meal in place of the eggs but did use butter. She loved them! maybe next time I'll try vegan butter.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much for the feedback, Shelley.
Casey says
Made this and followed the recipe exactly. It was amazing! Next time, I’ll probably add a bit more salt because I like that salty-sweet flavor, but as is they are still perfect. This will definitely be my go to oatmeal raisin cookie recipe from now on.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much for the feedback, Casey.
Archi says
We made this recipe using chocolate chips and walnuts instead of raisins. They turned out very very nice. Measurements and baking time were perfect, and the cookies came out soft but did not fall apart. Thanks for sharing such a good recipe.
Madhuram says
You're very welcome, Archi.
Amie says
Great receipe! I used coconut oil instead of EB and they are so good! Thank you!
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Amie.
Sheila says
I used several substitutions due to being vegan and gluten free. Used earth balance for butter and chia seeds in place of flax then subbed GF flour for AP, used whole grain oats. I baked one small tray and they spread all over the plan. I put the other two small trays in the freezer for 15 minutes, turned oven down to 325. Baked one tray, still spread out too thin. After the third tray was in the freezer 30 min baked with same result. Cookies would not stay together. Husband and son are not picky; they ate them anyway. Maybe too much tweaking.
Madhuram says
I'm guessing you might have used more fat than required. That's one of the reasons why cookies spread very thin. In general baking gluten free cookies by substituting gluten free flour instead of all-purpose flour shouldn't be much of a problem. Baking cakes, muffins etc like that won't give desired results because it needs rising. My guess is the quantity of fat.
Brandie says
I'm actually pretty sure it's the chia seeds that were your problem!! The flax is an agent that helps the cookies stick together. It HAS to be flax seeds. Chia seeds just don't do the same thing.
Joanne says
Great recipe! I substituted the butter with coconut oil and ground my flaxseeds. The oats made the mixture too dry, so I had to add some water. End result was delicious!
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback Joanne.
Bella1 says
So yummy! Thank you
Madhuram says
You're welcome Bella.
Victor D. Cabral says
Thank you kindly for this recipe. It's the first one that I came across. I've just completed a batch and so far so good. The only issue I had was in making the flax seed mixture. I need to find a way for it to foam up. Otherwise, tomorrow will be the big test. I made them for a friend. See how they hold up. 🙂 Wish me luck.
Madhuram says
It foams up better if you whip it up in a blender but these days I don't have the patience and just whisk it with a fork and leave it for a couple of minutes and it doesn't foam up but does get gelatinous and that's just fine and it doesn't affect the taste/texture of the baked treat.
Lina says
just made these and they came out great! I actually used 1 cup of regular oats, and then 2 cups of the super quick cooked oats so I feel like it somehow all worked out well in the end. Also, used 2 teaspoons of cinnamon instead of 1 because I just love cinnamon haha. thanks for the recipe!
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Lina.
Nell Matthews says
I used the flax 'egg'. However, I did not fluff it. It was about to be mixed with lots of butter, which I assumed would break any bubbles, so I failed to see the utility. Baked 11 min on convection oven setting and came out nicely. I made 22 from this recipe using a scoop for uniformity. I appreciated the note to squash the cookie before baking.
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback Nell. Yes you are right about whisking the flax.
Marianna says
HI,
I was wondering what I could use for the all purpose flour because I can't tolerate wheat or quinoa. I don't die from an allergic reaction, but I get very bloated and tired. I want to use oat or rice flour since I react to those flours the least. I was wondering, would it be ok if I grind oats till they are almost a flour consistency and use that as my flour? Would the bars turn out as soft as yours?
Madhuram says
Have you tried the gluten-free baking mix which is available in stores? It can be used measure to measure for all-purpose flour. Regarding grinding oats and using it, it does not work well in all recipes. I guess you should try it for yourself and see. Sorry.
Rachel Miller says
Just took out of oven. I didn't have ground flax seed so I put about 1/4 c golden roasted flax seed in blender pulsed a few times. Took 1 T mixed w/3 T water let it set for 15 min or so. It made 17 cookies. Ate one came out good,seemed too buttery,but very tasty. I'm packing them for my vegan granddaughters for Christmas. Thank you! Oh I did soak the raisins w/ about a T warm water in a few drops of almond extract (didn't have rum)!
Madhuram says
That's great Rachel. 🙂
Andreiza says
very nice
Aparna says
Hi can you give me an egg replacer other than flax seeds and Ener-G
Thanks in advance
Madhuram says
Hmm...unsweetened applesauce maybe. 1/4 cup. But the cookies will not be crispy. It will be very soft.
Sandie says
There's a new egg replacement for vegans called aquafaba, it's just the liquid after opening a can of chick peas. It's amazing but might not work in all recipes like cookies. Chia seeds too replace and egg..called chia egg, look it up online, very easy just like flax. Another site shows how to use vinegar and baking soda, I use org. apple cider vinegar and baking soda. So there are many alternatives. Some use apple sauce and mashed banana too or pumpkin puree.
Shine says
Ripe bananas
Nan says
Aquafaba works perfectly in backing.