Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Date Cookies

Sink your teeth into the softest, chewiest, oatmeal date cookies. They’re the perfect base for your favorite cookie add-ins. 

Made with rolled oats, almond flour, maple syrup, dates, and chocolate chips. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies made without refined sugar are sure to be a hit in your home. While these cookies don’t have eggs, the oats bake together and hold their shape really well!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Healthier cookies! As far as cookies go, this Easy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is on the healthier side! It’s definitely still a treat, but without refined sugar or refined flour. They are chewy from the oats and the dates, a combination that we find highly addictive! These really are the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and we cannot wait for you to try them and love them as much as we do.

Naturally sweetened cookies! Instead, of the traditional mix of brown sugar and white sugar, we chose to sweeten them with dates and maple syrup.

Gluten-Free cookies! You don’t need any fancy or gourmet ingredients to make delicious, gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! We used gluten-free old-fashioned oats and almond flour. You can even make almond flour (sometimes also referred to as almond meal) at home by pulsing almonds in the food processor until finely ground. Almond flour is now a common ingredient that can easily be found in regular supermarkets.

Ingredients

• Chocolate Chips. We love the intense chocolate flavor that dark chocolate chips offer. We try to use vegan chocolate chips that are at least 70% cocoa. Feel free to use semi-sweet if you prefer. You can use your favorite type. Check the ingredients label if you need to keep these strictly dairy-free or gluten-free.
• Old Fashioned Oats. Also known as rolled oats. Quick oats will not work well in this recipe. Old fashioned oats provide the best texture for these oat cookies. 
• Almond Flour. Keeps this recipe gluten-free, and adds a beautiful chewy texture. 
• Dates. Provide flavor, natural sweetness, fiber, and extra chewy texture. If you haven’t tried dates in cookies before, then you’re in for a real treat! 
• Coconut Oil. A hint of coconut flavor and a wonderful cookie texture. Use refined coconut oil if you prefer no coconut flavor at all or vegan butter.
• Maple Syrup. 100% maple syrup is made from tree sap that’s been boiled down so it is a non-refined sugar, and adds a lovely depth of flavor. 
• Baking Powder. Helps the cookies rise to a fluffy texture. 

How to Make 

This recipe for vegan oatmeal cookies couldn’t be easier to make, no stand mixer required! 

1. Step 1: Add all the ingredients except the chocolate chips to the bowl of a food processor. 

2. Step 2: Pulse to combine and chop the ingredients. 

3. Step 3: Continue to pulse until a cookie dough forms. Then fold in the chocolate chips. 

4. Step 4: Shape the cookie dough mixture into balls and place on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten with the palm of your hand.

Substitutions and Variations 

If you prefer not to use chocolate chips you can use cocoa nib instead. We like to use dark chocolate chips for a more intense chocolate flavor.

You can customize these cookies in many different ways depending on what you like. Just add your favorite mix-ins. Nuts would be delicious here, pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts especially. You can do peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, or a combination! Make these easy oatmeal cookies even healthier by adding in chopped dates, raisins, or dried cranberries. 

Spices! We love spices. Try adding cinnamon or cardamom for a warmer, spiced flavor and even a little espresso powder.

Recipe Tips

Use fresh, soft dates for the best results! We always go for Medjool dates at the grocery store. They are our favorites.

Use an ice cream or cookie scoop for even and perfectly shaped cookies. 

Save a handful of chocolate chips or other add-ins to press onto the top of the cookies just before baking for a beautiful presentation. 

How to make cookies chewy - moisture and baking time. In this case, the dates and almond flour make these oat cookies extra chewy. If you extend the baking time, you’ll end up with a crunchier cookie. 

These cookies will be very soft right out of the oven. Enjoy them hot if you’d like! However, if you wait and let them cool, they firm up a little which contributes to the chewiness. 

Storage and Reheating 

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperate for up to 1 week. 

You can freeze the baked cookies after they’ve completely cooled. Place them in an air-tight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. Allow to defrost at room temperature and reheat for about 10 seconds in the microwave, or a few minutes in a 350F degree oven. 

Freeze the raw cookie dough before baking. Portion the cookies onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and lightly flatten with the palm of your hand. After shaping, place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Once the dough is frozen, transfer to an airtight freezer bag. Raw dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. When baking cookies from frozen, add 5 more minutes to the baking time.