5-Ingredient Vegan Gluten-Free Cookies

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Stack of Healthy Vegan Cookies made with oats and peanut butter

Sometimes you want a cookie.
But sometimes you want that cookie to be healthy.
And  sometimes you don’t want that cookie to annihilate your kitchen with flour and dishes.

Guess what, these are those cookies! And they so tassssttttyyyyy.

Almond meal, dates, banana, almond butter, and oats for making Healthy Vegan Cookies

Yep, 5 ingredients. That’s all you need. Forget the eggs, the flax, the sugar, the flour, the butter. All you need is dates, a banana, oats, almond meal and almond butter. Chocolate chips? Those are extra and optional. But who are we kidding? YERR gonna want those.

Food processor containing ingredients for simple Vegan Cookie Dough
Food processor filled with freshly blended Vegan Cookie Dough

Another perk of these gems? The batter comes together in a food processor!

Of course, if you don’t have a food processor you could still make these in a regular mixing bowl, but it’s way more fun to whirl it around with a blade until pulverized. It’s the baker’s equivalent of a punching bag for stress. Let it out, girl. I feel your pain…

Baking sheet with Vegan Oatmeal Cookies ready to go in the oven
Freshly baked Vegan Cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet

After about 15 minutes in the oven these babes are ready for your mouth. They taste similar in flavor to our Vegan Gluten Free Everything Breakfast Cookies but require one-third of the ingredients and far less time. That’s my kinda (healthy) cookie. These guys are:

Hearty
Slightly chewy
Wholesome
Not overly sweet
Studded with chocolate (if you dare)
& Highly shareable

Or not. Or just eat them all yourself. I won’t tell.

Cutting board filled with Vegan Oatmeal Cookies with dark chocolate on top

These cookies are so healthy they could actually be breakfast or a post-workout snack. I enjoyed mine during afternoon slumps and after dinner when I was craving something sweet (aka always). But, enjoy them as you wish. It’s your cookie, friend. Go wild.

Cutting board with a stack and scattering of delicious Vegan Cookies
Stack of Vegan Oatmeal Cookies made with oats, peanut butter, and chocolate

5-Ingredient Vegan Gluten-Free Cookies

Simple, 5-ingredient V + GF cookies that are healthy, easy, and delicious.
Author Minimalist Baker
Print
Parchment-lined baking sheet filled with freshly baked Healthy Vegan Cookies
4.83 from 119 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 24 (cookies)
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Vegan
Freezer Friendly 1 month
Does it keep? 3-4 Days

Ingredients

  • 1 cup packed dates (soaked for 10 minutes in warm water and then drained)
  • 1 medium ripe banana
  • 2 Tbsp all natural, salted almond butter or peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup almond meal (ground from raw almonds)
  • 3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
  • Optional add-ins: dried fruit, dairy-free chocolate chips, flaxseed, seeds, nuts

Instructions

  • Add dates to a food processor and pulse until small bits remain.
  • Add banana and almond butter and mix again until combined, scraping down the sides as needed.
  • Next add the almond meal and rolled oats and pulse until a loose dough is formed. It will be kind of wet and sticky. That’s OK! You’re on the right track.
  • Scrape your dough into a mixing bowl. If it feels too wet to the touch to form into cookies, add another few Tbsp of almond meal and/or oats and stir. I added another few tablespoons of each until I was able to form them into cookies without them sticking to my hands.
  • At this point, you can add in 1/4 cup of your mix-in of choice, such as dairy-free dark chocolate chips, raisins or nuts. Then chill dough for 10 minutes and preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).
  • Scoop out 1 Tbsp amounts of your cookie dough and form into loose discs, then arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet. They won’t expand so pack them closer together (but not touching).
  • Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and somewhat firm to the touch. The good thing about these cookies is a little under-baked is OK since there’s no eggs and they’ll ultimately just be a little more moist.
  • Remove and let set for a few minutes on the pan, then carefully transfer to a plate or cooling rack to cool. Serve immediately.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container for several days. Move to the fridge or freezer for longer term storage.

Video

Notes

*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with chocolate chips.

Nutrition (1 of 24 servings)

Serving: 1 cookies Calories: 75 Carbohydrates: 11.4 g Protein: 1.6 g Fat: 3.2 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Fiber: 1.6 g Sugar: 6 g

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  1. Ashley says

    I made these, but substituted coconut flour for the almond meal. This was the first time using coconut flour and while the package says it is a great baking substitute, I later read that it absorbs more moisture than other flours and therefore you don’t need as much of it, which would explain why it did not turn out the best. My partner liked them and they were fine… But I am learning that baking is more of a precise science than regular cooking, and some things don’t trade out well (or need more research first)! The chocolate was the saving grace. The picture of these chewy-looking cookies is drool-worthy and makes me want to try again, though!

  2. Amy says

    I used the measurements in Metrics and halved the dates (around 100g, soaked). I think it’s still a bit too sweet to my liking but overall tasty. I can see it go well with milk or yogurt as a sub for granolas or cereals.

  3. das says

    These are very tasty feel-good-about-eating cookies. I made a few modifications based upon reviews. I substituted a half cup of unsweetened applesauce for the banana (I did not want banana flavor in my cookies, and the applesauce was a perfect neutral option). Also, based upon comments about sweetness, I reduced the amount of dates to 3/4 cup. Personally, I think 1 cup is the right amount and I will use this amount the next time I make them. I opted to use natural peanut butter, but followed the rest of the recipe as written. For mix ins, I chose chopped pecans and cranberries. A great treat when you want something sweet!

  4. Colleen says

    These hit the spot. I just had to start an anti-inflammatory diet cutting out dairy, gluten, and I am sensitive to eggs, so I wasn’t excited about the holidays coming up. Thank you for these cookies. They are versatile and will help my sweet tooth be satisfied.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Yes! Either one would be fine. For the almond meal, you could try cashew flour. Hope that helps!

  5. Ksenia says

    Great recipe to find. I found way too sweet, so next time I’ll cut the amount of dates used. Other than that, this recipe will stay in my repertoire. Merci!

  6. Mia says

    Great recipe! I did not have any almond butter so I used nonfat Greek yogurt instead (3Tbls) and they turned out delicious. Thank you.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Elsa, We haven’t tried it with almond flour, but it should work! Let us know if you try it!

  7. Christina says

    I made these this afternoon and they are delicious! I followed the recipe exactly (using peanutbutter) but doubled the cookie size so that I had 12 larger cookies. I let them bake for an extra 5 minutes and they turned out great! I think they’d make a good on-the-go breakfast at this size, perhaps with some yoghurt of choice!

  8. Shelley Haefner says

    Hi! I only have unsalted almond butter. Should I just use that or add salt or sea salt to the recipe?

    Thanks!!

    Shelley

  9. Daniele Bravo Chang says

    These cookies are delicious! Even my 2 year old loves it. I’ve made with coconut flakes and cranberries as toppings.
    Thank you for sharing this delicious and health recipe!!

  10. Illistine says

    Oh, MY! These cookies are so deliciously scrumptious! Whew! I mixed in raw almonds and vegan dark chocolate chips! Love THIS recipe. It is definitely going on my “Favorites” list! Thank you so much for sharing your baking expertise. I really like recipes with minimal ingredients.😊

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      We’re so glad you enjoy these cookies, Illistine! Thank you so much for your kind words and lovely review! xo

  11. Sofia says

    These cookies are amazing without being too sweet. For my mix-in I added Trader Joe’s unsulfured unsweetened dried cherries, which I cut in fourths and liked better than the chocolate chips. I’ve made the recipe about five times since coming across it last month. I will be trying some of the other suggestions from the people that commented here. Thank you for the recipe. Besides using a food processor, could a KitchenAid Mixer also be used to mix all the ingredients?

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      We’re so glad you enjoy this recipe, Sofia. And love that add-in idea- thanks for sharing! We aren’t sure a mixer would work well for the dates, but for the remainder of the recipe, it should work.

    • Betty says

      I’m glad I went with my gut and halved the amount of dates. These are still very sweet to me, someone who likes to make healthier and not slap-you-in-the-face sweet desserts. Also.. I think a necessary ingredient any cookie needs is SALT! I cracked some over the cookie pan before baking. I think this is a great recipe to experiment with and help clean out your pantry!

  12. Eva Brenner says

    Thank you so much!!! These are so delicious, although I did change the recipe a fair bit, lucky it’s so forgiving. I made two flavours, one I left the almond meal and peanut butter out of completely and instead used more oats, an extra banana and added cocoa powder and macadamia nuts. The second I left out the almond meal, peanut butter and dates but added tahini, cinnamon, extra banana and extra oats instead. I can’t wait to keep playing with this recipe depending on what I have on hand and what I feel like. Such a great pre or post workout snack, or work nibble!!

  13. Teo says

    This was a really lovely cookie! I rarely comment on recipe pages but this was really nice, I’ll definitely be making it again. Instead of almond meal, I added tiger nut flour and quick oats instead of rolled.

    I also added in some desiccated coconut as the add-in and it helped make the dough a bit less sticky.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Teo! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! xo

  14. Sherri Neil says

    Omgosh, delish. I made two batches. First batch as is then after reading reviews I subbed peacan meal for almond meal, 1/3 cup pumpkin for banana 1/4 cup of cruising for chocolate and added some of your pumpkin spice blend . I am now I. Cookie heaven. Thanks Dana for yet another great easy recipe.

  15. Michelle says

    So yummy 😋 My 9 year old baby approved and when I said there’s no sugar, she said they tasted like they were full of them! Hahaha That’s a total win! Thanks again, Dana! ❤️
    Worth noting that I used PB instead of almond.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Whoop! We’re so glad you both enjoyed them! Thanks so much for sharing, Michelle! xo

      • Michelle says

        I just made this again replacing the bananas with a whole single serve container of applesauce to avoid the banana taste that I didn’t care for. I’m happy to report that it’s just as good but a little less sweet which I am perfectly fine with! Thanks again, Dana! ❤️

  16. Samara Cohen says

    Can I use quinoa flour in this recipe? I have never used quinoa flour and I am wondering about the ratio.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Samara, we haven’t tried it and aren’t sure! Let us know if you give it a try!

  17. Olivia says

    I am not vegan and just stumbled across this recipe, I love these SOOO much! I’ve made them several times now and I am obsessed.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      We’re so glad you enjoy them, Olivia! Thanks so much for the lovely review!

  18. Trupti says

    Can I use quick oats instead of rolled oats? Will the baking time need to be adjusted in that case?

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Coconut flour is more dense and absorbent and typically benefits from the addition of egg, so we aren’t sure it would work. Let us know if you give it a try!

  19. Rebecca says

    I made this today.
    The flavour is perfect- Not to sweet but sweet enough.
    Next time, I might try adding cinnamon to change it up.
    I like the texture and flavour.
    I feel like these would also be good as raw bliss balls??

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Thanks for sharing, Rebecca. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo

      • Rebecca says

        I rate 4 stars…… but I did not add the chocolate chips or raisins as an extra. I will make again using the chocolate chips and then review. I believe with the chocolate chips it will be 5 stars.

  20. Virginia Hass says

    It makes me sad that it is now necessary to remind users of this website to be inclusive and polite. That said, I made this recipe with minor modifications:
    1) I didn’t have dates, so I used dried Calimyrna figs (1 cup, packed) softened the same way as recommended in the recipe.
    2) I wanted them a bit fluffier, so added one “flax egg”.
    3) I love vanilla, so I added three (yes, three) TABLESPOONS of double strength vanilla – just kept adding to taste, and that was the amount that I liked.
    4) Adding all that liquid made more dry ingredients necessary, so I used almond meal and flax meal to get the less sticky texture that Dana describes in the original recipe.
    5) When shaping, I flattened the cookies using the cross-hatch technique we all remember from making peanut butter cookies. Then I decorated them by pushing three dark chocolate chips into each cookie (rather than stirring into the mix).
    6) Baked for 12 minutes as they are rather small. They came out nicely moist and chewy.
    They are AMAZING! The seeds from the figs give them a lovely crunch. And if you love fig “newtons” you will like this variation.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hmm, maybe 2 flax eggs? We haven’t tried it! But the banana gives it a sweetness and slight banana flavor, so that will be missing if you sub for flax. Let us know if you try it!

  21. Niko says

    I’ve literally made this recipe like 5 weeks in a row. Instead of just almond meal, I use a mixture of almond, walnut, and pecan meal. I also use unsalted peanut butter, flax seed meal, and vegan dark chocolate chips. My non-vegan friends rave over this and I love how easily it satisfies my sweet tooth without me having to feel guilty about it. 5 stars!

  22. Emily says

    These are great cookies!! However, I want to suggest adding a bit of sea salt to the recipe. It makes a huge difference. I made a variation with chia seeds, unsweetened coconut flakes, and chopped cashews. Fantastic! Thanks for the recipe!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Emily. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo

  23. Juliette Payer says

    Wow! Just made these and they are so good. I replaced the almond meal with homemade pecan meal and I think it was a tiny bit more buttery, but turned out great! Added some cranberries and it was fantastic. I planned on freezing some of them, but I’m not sure I’ll have any leftovers :) Thank you for sharing the recipe!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi, we haven’t tried that and aren’t sure whether it would work. Perhaps start with slightly less than a 1:1 ratio and work up as needed. Let us know if you give it a try!

  24. Flora says

    These delicious cookies are the perfect snack and they’re so easy! I love this recipe so much. I like to put chocolate chips and walnut pieces in it and it’s amazing!

  25. Shawn says

    These are delicious and take no time at all. I added in some dried cranberries and they’re in that perfect sweet spot between dessert cookie and breakfast cookie. Thanks as always for the delicious vegan treats :)

  26. Nidhi says

    My cookies turned out quite dry. Any tips.. I didn’t use any chocolate, rest everything was as per your recipe.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerDana @ Minimalist Baker says

      It sounds like either your dates weren’t very moist, your nut butter wasn’t runny/drippy, and/or they were slightly over-baked!

  27. Peggy says

    I added an egg. They turned out well, but tasted very strongly of dates. Do I need the dates? How would they be without sweetener?

    Thanks!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Peggy, if you are using an egg, they may turn out okay with fewer dates, but we think you would still need some for taste & texture. Let us know if you give it a try!

  28. Yvette Reisinger says

    I am making these for the vegan/gluten free people my wedding and i was wondering if I could freeze them? And was also thinking about adding raisins or cranberries?
    Thank you have a awesome day!!!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Yvette, we haven’t tried freezing or adding dried raisins or cranberries, but they should freeze well up to 1 month! The dates and banana already provide a fruit taste, so you may want to try some without additional dried fruit first. If you do some experimenting, let us know how it goes!

  29. Lauren says

    Is it important that the almond meal be made from grinding raw almonds? They sell almond meal ready to use. Also….just a note; I think I will try this but add some kind of protein supplement. Maybe protein powder, so I can use a cookie as breakast. I aim for 10 g protein for bfast.