Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe - Yup, it's Vegan (2024)

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Nutty vegan oatmeal raisin cookies, studded with toasted oats, plump raisins, and made rich and flavorful thanks to walnuts! Crackly on the outside but moist and chewy on the inside, these cookies are kinda healthy but most importantly they’re amazing.

These are the ultimate vegan oatmeal raisin cookies if I may say so myself! Do not make them when you’re alone in the house and the next opportunity to bring the leftovers to work is two days away. You have been warned. Impossible. To. Stop.

I’m a fan of chewy cookies, as evidenced by the extensive cookie science used to invoke chewiness in my vegan chocolate chip cookies. To get the chewy factor into these vegan oatmeal raisin cookies, I employed a favorite ingredient of mine which also perfectly complements the oat and raisin flavors! Walnuts are toasted to perfection and then ground into crumbs to replace part of the flour, infusing the whole cookie with a subtle nuttiness and a lovely rustic texture.

Do not let that dissuade you, though – the method for making them is simple. Just grind up those walnuts in your food processor as seen in the photo below, then add the rest of the dry ingredients to process into a fine crumb. You’ll then add the wet ingredients to that same food processor, and blend until quite smooth. Lastly, you’ll stir in the mix-ins: more oats and of course, the raisins!

You can use either brown sugar or coconut sugar. Both work well and will offer a lovely flavor! One time I ran out of maple syrup and tried to substitute hickory syrup instead. That was terrible, so don’t do that :).

Use a cookie scoop or measuring spoon to create even-sized cookies and then flatten them ever so slightly, like so:

That slightly flattened shape will give you a nice crackly cookie top while making your vegan oatmeal raisin cookies flat enough to get chewy. They don’t spread a whole lot on their own, so they need a little bit of help.

Ingredients

1 and 3/4 cups raw walnuts
2 cups rolled oats divided
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon heaping
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk
3 tbsp refined coconut oil softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp molasses (optional)
2/3 cup raisins

Instructions

In a dry skillet, toast the walnuts over medium heat, stirring or tossing them frequently. Toast for 4-5 minutes or until they start to turn golden brown and become fragrant. Remove the walnuts from the pan immediately and transfer them into a food processor. Pulse until the walnuts form a fine crumb.
Add the following to the food processor: 1 cup of the oats, the flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Pulse to combine until all ingredients are a fine crumb.
Add the maple syrup, nondairy milk, softened coconut oil, vanilla extract, and molasses if using, and process until the mixture is as smooth as you can get it, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and stir in the other 1 cup of rolled oats. You should expect the dough to be a little sticky, but if it's too sticky to handle add another tablespoon of flour. Finally, fold in the raisins.
Set the dough in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease two baking sheets or line with parchment paper.
Take about 1.5 tbsp of dough at a time (or whatever size you'd like your cookies to be!) and roll it into a ball, then flatten it slightly and place it on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are just starting to turn golden. Do not overbake! The cookies will firm up when they cool. If using two baking sheets, switch their positions halfway through baking.
Let the cookies cool for a couple of minutes before carefully removing them and transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

GLUTEN-FREE: I tested this recipe with gluten-free all-purpose flour in place of the whole wheat pastry flour, for gluten-free vegan oatmeal raisin cookies! The substitution worked pretty well. You may also need to use oats that are certified gluten-free.

HEMP SEEDS: An older version of this recipe used hemp seeds in place of 1/2 cup of walnuts. It's a great change-up if you have hemp seeds on hand, adding even more buttery texture and a little bit of earthy flavor.

Nutrition

Adapted from Oh She Glows. Recipe originally published in 2015 and updated in 2019. I streamlined the ingredients and method, reducing the number of dishes used but keeping the same great vegan oatmeal raisin cookie flavor! I also added new step-by-step photos.