Are you ready for the BEST healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies EVER?! They’re crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, and SO GOOD that they’ve officially become one of my favorite cookies to make when I’m looking for a healthy and nourishing, but still satisfying treat.
And guys, what is life without a little chocolate? Frankly, I’m not sure.
I first came up with this recipe when I was messing around in the kitchen late at night. I have a go-to oatmeal cookie that I’ll always make, but this time I wanted it to be dairy-free, vegan, and gluten-free because, frankly, if I give you a recipe for one version, you’ll ask for the other. LOLZ.
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What makes these oatmeal cookies healthy?
Classic chocolate chip cookies (while absolutely delicious) are made with refined sugar, refined flour, and plenty of butter, but this healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe has no butter and the cookies are sweetened with just a bit of coconut sugar. They still taste INCREDIBLE, of course.
These cookies have the perfect texture with crispy edges, a chewy inside, and are so delicious that no one will be able to tell that they’re vegan or gluten-free! Don’t forget to top them with a little flaky sea salt for a fun sweet and salty twist.
Ingredients in healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
The best part about these cookies? They take just 20 minutes, are made in one bowl, and you probably already have all of the ingredients for them in your pantry! You’ll need:
- Oat flour & rolled oats: we’re keeping the cookies gluten-free by using gluten-free oat flour and gluten-free rolled oats. They give the cookies a delicious, chewy texture.
- Flaxseed meal: you’ll also keep the cookies vegan by using a flax egg made with flaxseed meal and water!
- Coconut oil: just a bit of coconut oil gives these cookies the right amount of moisture without having to use butter.
- Coconut sugar: we’re naturally sweetening these cookies with coconut sugar instead of regular, refined sugar. You can use brown sugar if you’d like.
- Shredded unsweetened coconut: the shredded coconut gives these cookies an extra delicious chew to them plus a little natural sweetness.
- Baking staples: you’ll also need baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.
- Chocolate chips: feel free to use your favorite brand or keep these cookies vegan by using dairy-free chocolate chips! I love using dark chocolate chips or breaking up a dark chocolate bar.
- Sea salt: I like to top each cookie with a little flaky sea salt for that salty-sweet combo.
Can I use a different flour?
Unfortunately, no, I cannot recommend a substitution for the oat flour in this recipe, but see below for an easy way to make it at home! If you’re looking for a flour alternative, try one of these chocolate chip cookies:
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chickpea Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan-friendly!)
- Grain Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (using almond flour & coconut flour)
- The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies You’ll Ever Eat (using quinoa flour)
- The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies You’ll Ever Eat (using all-purpose flour)
Get all of my chocolate chip cookie recipes here!
More optional ingredient swaps
As always, I highly recommend following the recipe as written so that the cookies come out perfectly every time. There are a few ingredient substitutions I think will work well, but please note that I have not tested them all:
- For the coconut: The fine shredded coconut helps to bind these cookies together and give them extra flavor, so I would not suggest leaving it out. If you have a nut allergy or need to swap the coconut, simply add in 1/4 cup more oat flour instead.
- For the flax egg: you can also use a regular egg in place of the flax egg. You just may need to add in some extra oat flour. I would guess about 2-3 tablespoons of extra oat flour would do the trick.
- For the coconut oil: feel free to use regular or vegan melted butter instead of coconut oil if you are not vegan/dairy-free, or if you have a nut allergy.
- To add healthy fats: feel free to add in ¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans.
Make your own gluten-free oat flour
You can easily make gluten-free oat flour by simply placing oats into a blender and blending or pulsing until they’re smooth and resemble flour. Check out my tutorial with all of my best tips & tricks. This is a super easy & affordable option. Be sure to measure out 3/4 cup of your oat flour after making it!
The right type of oats to use
If you aren’t gluten-free, you can use regular old-fashioned rolled oats. Otherwise, be sure to use certified gluten-free rolled oats.
Please do not use quick oats or steel cut oats in this recipe, because the texture will be off.
Why these cookies are great for nursing mamas & kids
These healthy oatmeal cookies are very similar to my lactation cookie recipe and are great for mamas who are nursing because they’re made with ingredients that have been known to increase milk supply like:
- Flaxseed meal: flaxseeds contain phytoestrogens that can help boost breast milk production.
- Whole oats: oats contain iron, which is known to have a positive effect on breast milk supply.
Not only are they great for moms, but these healthy cookies are also an awesome, wholesome treat for kids, too! Throw them in a lunchbox, or bake them up for an after-school treat. Keep these cookies on hand, or feel free to freeze them for later.
How to freeze healthy chocolate chip cookies
You can either freeze the chocolate chip cookie dough or batches of already-baked cookies! Check out my full tutorial here and enjoy these wonderful cookies from the freezer for months whenever your sweet tooth hits.
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More cookie recipes you’ll love
- The Most Delicious Breakfast Cookies
- Lactation Monster Cookies
- Healthy Soft Banana Bread Cookies
- Flourless Paleo Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies
- Grain Free Snickerdoodles
Get all of my cookie recipes here!
I hope you love these healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! If you make them, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- 3 tablespoons room temperature water
- ¼ cup (56 grams) coconut oil, melted and cooled
- ½ cup (77 grams) coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (71 grams) gluten-free oat flour
- ½ cup (48 grams) gluten-free rolled oats
- ½ cup (43 grams) unsweetened fine shredded coconut (I use the Bob's Red Mill brand, do NOT use big coconut flakes)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (90 grams) chocolate chips, vegan/dairy-free if desired
- Fancy sea salt, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, mix together flaxseed meal and water, let it sit for 5 minutes while you get all your other ingredients ready. After 5 minutes the ‘flaxegg’ will be ready and you can add the melted and cooled coconut oil, coconut sugar and vanilla extract to the bowl; whisk together until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredeints: Next add in the oat flour, rolled oats, shredded coconut, baking soda and salt. Mix until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Scoop the dough: Use a medium cookie scoop and place about 1 heaping tablespoon dough on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. You should get 10 cookies. If you want thicker cookies, leave as is. If you want slightly thinner cookies, very gently push ONLY the top of the cookie down just a very tiny bit. Don’t overdo it -- these are vegan cookies and we want them to stick together!
- Bake: Bake cookies for 9-12 minutes until edges are just slightly golden brown. Once cookies come out of oven, sprinkle the tops with fancy sea salt.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Leaving them on the baking sheet will help them settle up and hold together. Makes 10 cookies.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on April 30th, 2019, republished on February 14th, 2023, and republished with new photos and weighted measurements on August 12th, 2026.
The 1 and only recipe from this blog that didn’t work out. Flax eggs have worked when its flax seed that was just recently ground up in a coffee grinder. Straight from the bag ground flax must of not absorbed enough water because the cookies leaked and went immediately flat.
So strange! I’ve made these countless times (and recently re-tested them) and haven’t run into an issue. Did you weigh your ingredients?
These cookies are so delicious. Especially for being so adaptable to different dietary restrictions! I have made this recipe about 5 times and the first three I had similar outcomes to others who reported that their cookies went completely splat. Like total cookie cake. But I read others’ reviews and kept coming back to try again. Last time I added extra oat flour and cooked them from the fridge which helped a lot. This time I added even more oat flour and they are finally the thick texture I was hoping for. I didn’t measure the flour, just kept going til I felt like the cookies were “normal dough” consistency. I also refrigerated the dough for a while. So glad I didn’t give up. Hope this encourages someone else who maybe had a similar experience to me at first.
I’m glad you stuck with these and they turned out perfectly! Sorry to hear that you had an issue before — have you been weighing your ingredients?
Love the way you lead us through some new techniques! The flax egg was interesting to this 70 year old. They’re delicious and so glad to not haul out the mixer. I added walnuts which was tricky with the consistency (they kept falling out) but fine after patiently playing a bit with the dough.
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed these!
I just made these cookies, I had all the ingredients so jumped in, right after I made a batch of “Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies”. I was in a baking mood.
These were delicious, but I did use a regular large egg and not the flax egg, laziness is the only reason. I didn’t see your note about adding more oat flour, and I think that would have been good. The dough was a little too wet, but at 12 min. baking they held together nicely, and taste great!
The recipe only made 9 cookies for me using my smallest cookie scooper, almost the size of a melon baller.
Sherry
I’m glad they still turned out delicious! Love the double cookie-baking day 🙂
Could these work as bars? Like in an 8X8 pan?
I haven’t tried it, but they should. Let me know if you give it a shot!
I am always looking for new recipes being gluten free and diabetic and my husband and family think these Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are the best i have ever made. Have done a lot of your recipes and just love your website as cook from scratch everyday.
So glad you found these! I hope you keep finding recipes here that you love 🙂
These are amazing! I’ve been looking for healthy cookies to give my 15-month old vegan baby for a while now, that he can hold and eat without them being too hard, crumbly, or unhealthy. These were a huge hot with him as well as with every other (non-vegan) person who tried them. Thanks for the recipe!
So happy to hear that!
I used unsalted butter so they wouldn’t be too coconutty…. still, a bit dry.
wonder if using brown coconut sugar next time might do the trick.
Strange! Butter should work well in here. Coconut sugar is typically brown in color – if you mean brown sugar, feel free to try that as well!
I use coconut sugar all the time and not found them dry, also used toasted coconut flakes and odourless coconut oil if you don’t want them to taste too coconutty.
Are these supposed to chill first? Mine turned into absolute slop and I followed the recipe to a T!
No need to chill! So strange — was the dough overly wet before you baked them?
HOLY SMOKES did this ever come out perfectly!!!!! 5🌟 for sure. I did the recipe exactly as written. I added a bit of cinnamon. They are PERFECT! A must try for everyone. Thank you for the healthy recipe. This is going to be a go-to for me from now on.
Amazing! So happy you loved these!
I make these cookies over and over again! They are SO GOOD. I’ve made them with the flax egg, but have also made them with a real egg. They come out great either way. Could not recommend these cookies more!
Perfect! So happy to hear that 🙂
Me too, on my third batch as family love them so much.
What is the shelf life of these cookies, if left at room temp, fridge and freezer?
I’d say 3-4 days at room temp, 5 days in the fridge, and 3 months in the freezer.
These are the most DELICIOUS cookies!! We follow the recipe exactly, have made them several times but they don’t rise and just flatten. We’re ok with this because they’re so delicious but any suggestions on how to tweak the recipe to get them to rise? Our baking soda was brand new. Would using a real egg help? We’re not vegan, just like getting the flax meal in. Regardless, these cookies are a favorite go to – as are you. Thank you for ALL the wonderful recipes 🙂
So glad you love these! Try rolling the dough balls a bit “taller” before baking, and/or chill the dough a bit before baking. Let me know if that helps!
I’ve made this several times, following the recipe exactly, and every time they come out flat. The flavor is delicious, just wish I could get them more cookie-like. Any tips?
So sorry to hear this, they work for me (and so many others)! Try adding more flour next time. If they are completely flat 1/4 cup of flour should do the trick!
This recipe was not successful. My mixture would not hold at all. perhaps suggestions in the notes for that would be helpful.
Just totally crumbled. really disappointed. 🙁
Sorry to hear that! I’d love to try and help troubleshoot. Did you follow the recipe exactly? Did you dough feel like it had too much moisture?
These are so good! I made them small, and added freeze dried raspberries – thanks for another great recipe!
Love that idea! Glad you enjoyed!
These cookies are delicious! I did use a whole egg in the recipe and substituted chopped almonds and currants for chocolate chips. They are great. Thank you so much.
Perfect! So glad you loved them!
I’ve made this recipe twice and the taste is great but my cookies go so flat! I can’t figure out why. I’m following everything to a T and leaving them in nice round balls but they just end up paper thin. I tried refrigerating the dough before baking the second time but that didn’t do anything. If anyone has advice on how to fix this or what it may be please let me know!! They’d be so much yummier with a little thickness!
So strange! Try adding a tablespoon or two more of oat flour and let me know if that helps.