You only need 8 ingredients to make these amazing and delicious healthy Vegan Breakfast Cookies that are gluten-free, oil-free and refined sugar-free! They have an amazing depth of flavor compared to other breakfast cookies because of the pumpkin pie spices and a crispy and chewy texture that is undeniable!
VEGAN BREAKFAST COOKIES
These are a serious step up from traditional breakfast cookies because they are rich in pumpkin spices and they have an unexpected ingredient to make the crispiest texture…brown rice crisp cereal! They are chewy, moist and crispy and SO delicious in flavor. They are seriously one of my favorite cookie recipes ever.
These are actually featured in my cookbook and were also featured in People Magazine last year! I think you are going to love them. It’s the perfect make ahead breakfast, too, or on-the-go snack.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(Only 8 main ingredients needed. Full details and measurements on the recipe card below.)
- Roasted creamy almond butter: This gives the fat needed for these gluten-free breakfast cookies and also a wonderful depth of flavor. Make sure you are using a runny, smooth nut butter and not a dry chunky one. I love the Trader Joe’s brand or the Simple Truth brand from Kroger. Make sure it’s premixed well from the jar before using since the oil and almonds can separate. I like to pour it all in a food processor and blend it briefly to make it smooth and mixed and then store it in a separate container. Or you can make my Homemade Roasted Almond Butter, but just make sure it has completely cooled before using.
- Pure maple syrup: Or you can use agave.
- Ground flaxseed: This helps give another dose of omega-3 fats, nutrition and some binding.
- Pumpkin pie spice: This gives these cookies a major depth of flavor! So so good. I use my homemade blend, of course.
- Old-fashioned oats: Use certified gluten-free if needed.
- Brown rice crisp cereal: This is where the most magical crunchy factor comes in. I use the Nature’s Path brand. You can find this at some stores like Whole Food’s or online. I also like the One Degree brand. Both of these don’t have additives or any oil and hardly any sugar. Another option that would work well would be puffed quinoa.
- Dried cherries or cranberries
- Pistachios or pumpkin seeds: To be honest, I LOVE pistachios so much more. They are my favorite nut and taste so buttery and delicious, but I was out of them, so I used pumpkin seeds. They are still good, perfect if you need nut-free, but just make sure they are fresh. Rancid pumpkin seeds taste really gross.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN BREAKFAST COOKIES
Step 1: Mix the almond butter, syrup, flaxseed, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl. Stir until well combined.
Step 2: Add the oats, rice crisp cereal, cherries and nuts/seeds. Stir until a very thick and sticky batter forms.
Step 3: Use a cookie scoop with 2 tablespoons worth of batter and place them onto a lined sheet pan (with parchment paper) 2 inches apart.
Step 4: Use a small square piece of parchment paper to gently press each cookie down to 1/2 inch thickness. The mixture will be VERY sticky and fragile, loose, but will firm up a ton after baking, so don’t worry. Piece any loose pieces back together along the edges of the cookies, trying to form a round shape.
Step 5: Bake these vegan gluten-free breakfast cookies at 350°F (177°C) for just 10 minutes. They should be looking golden brown. Do not overbake these, as they will taste burnt and not good. The cookies will be VERY tender after removing them from the oven, so do not try to remove or eat them yet or they will crumble. Leave them o n the pan for 15 minutes, and they will be totally firm and crispy by then.
MORE VEGAN COOKIE RECIPES
- 4 Ingredient Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Almond Butter Blossoms
- Vegan Lemon Cookies
- Old-Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Crispy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Best Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Grain-free Chocolate Coconut Cookies
- Grain-free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (made with cashew butter)
- Vegan Thin Mints
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Vegan Breakfast Cookies (Oil-free and Gluten-free!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (128g) roasted creamy almond butter
- 6 tablespoons (120g) pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon (8g) ground flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (I used my homemade blend)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (50g) gluten-free old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup (23g) brown rice crisp cereal
- 1/4 cup (45g) dried cherries or cranberries
- 1/4 cup (45g) pistachios or pumpkin seeds for nut-free
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Add the almond butter, syrup, flaxseed, pumpkin pie spice and salt to a large bowl and stir very well until mixed.
- Add the oats, rice crisp cereal, cherries and nuts/seeds. Stir until a very thick and sticky batter forms.
- Use a cookie scoop with 2 tablespoons worth of batter and place them onto the pan 2 inches apart. I always get 13-14 cookies. The batter will be VERY sticky and fragile, loose, but will firm up a ton after baking, so don't worry.
- Piece any loose pieces back together along the edges of the cookies, trying to form a round shape.
- Use a small square piece of parchment paper to gently press each cookie down to 1/2 inch thickness.
- Bake for JUST 10 minutes. They should be looking golden brown. Do not overbake these, as they will taste burnt and not good. The cookies will be VERY tender after removing them from the oven, so do not try to remove or eat them yet or they will crumble! Leave them on the pan for 15 minutes, and they will be totally firm and crispy by then. Transfer to a cooling rack using a thin spatula. Store at room temperature covered.
Notes
- BROWN RICE CRISP CEREAL: This is where the most magical crunchy factor comes in. I use the Nature's Path brand. You can find this at some stores like Whole Food's or online. I also like the One Degree brand. Both of these don't have additives or any oil and hardly any sugar. Another option that would work well would be puffed quinoa.
- NUT-FREE: To make these nut-free, use sunbutter instead of almond butter if you don't mind the taste of sunbutter. Use pumpkin seeds instead of pistachios.
Havent made yet but tempted to asap! Are these considered WFPBNO? Thanks!
Hello
What can I substitute brown rice crisp cereal with ?
Flour ? More oats ?
No, that would make them too dry. The rice crisp cereal serves a purpose by adding amazing crunch. See the NOTES for sub ideas.
Genius recipe for a relatively quick sweet but healthy morning treat with coffee or tea! I was going to skip as I didn’t have any cereal but one reviewers suggestion to sub with shredded coconut and hemp seeds did the trick! So glad I still had my homemade pumpkin pie spice blend after a winter of putting in my coffee ;). Thank you !
Yay Susan! So glad you loved these!
THESE ARE AMAZING! This recipe, like so many Vegan 8 recipes, have become a staple in our home. Thank you Brandi for sharing so much deliciousness with us!
Omg!! This RECIPE!! These are AMAZING!! I swear I could eat them every day!! The PISTACHIOS!!! Sorry I’m yelling but they are THAT good 😂. Thank you!!
Haha, thank you Deborah! I feel the same way about them!
These are so simple and fast to make and so delicious, thank you Brandi! I subbed hemp seeds and shredded coconut for the cereal, and pecans and raisins for the pistachios and cherries, and it came out wonderful. The dough was super easy to shape, put them on a glass pizza pan, and baked them at 325 for 10 min and they were a perfect delicate and rich mouthful. Love that this is such a versatile recipe I can make with anything on hand and really feel good about eating. Thanks again Brandi 🙂
SO happy to hear that Mea, thank you!
Made these yesterday and they are delicious 😋 and so easy to make. I’m definitely making another batch today!
Oh yay, that is awesome!
Insanely good healthy cookies. Definately worth getting all the necessary ingredients (I used dried cherries and pistachios and WOW). So easy to make too! I used a silicone baking mat and it worked great as well. 5/5 would eat a whole batch in one day *
Thank you so much for the feedback!
These are excellent! My grandchildren and I call them Super Cookies! So easy to make, so healthy, so yummy!
When in a pinch, I have subbed some ingredients. Peanut butter instead of almond butter, raisins instead of cranberries, chopped cashews instead of pistachios. And, when using pistachios I chop them a bit to make them easier for the little ones to eat.
But the original recipe is terrific, too!
Thanks so much!
Yay! Love hearing that and pistachios are my favorite to use in these as well!
These are so good! Love the crunch from the rice cereal. I may have accidentally dumped some chocolate chips in the batter, oops.
So lovely to hear that Anne! Yes, it makes these breakfast cookies really stand out from other versions with that incredible crunch factor!
Can I store these in the fridge? Or freeze? How long do they last? Thank you!
They become more hard, but yes, totally. I guess a couple of weeks? I’m not sure as we eat them in a couple of days.
This is the first recipe from you where I have struggled in preparation. I try to follow your recipes exactly as written the first time and make modifications only after trying as written. It may be that my almond butter is raw as I did not have the specific type you specified, the only ingredient is almonds. I struggled forming the cookie balls without them falling apart. However the outcome after allowing the full 15 minute cooling is a very good crisp breakfast type cookie. I will make another attempt trying a more runny almond butter as your recipes are always excellent and carefully explained. Would it work cutting the sweetener in half next time as I prefer a less sweet cookie?
Thank You
Hi Luci, yes, raw almond butter is much drier and more stiff. When almonds are roasted, they become much more oily and then the butter is smoother and creamier. However, as I’ve noted in the directions, under step 4: “The batter will be VERY sticky and fragile, loose, but will firm up a ton after baking, so don’t worry.” You do not form balls, you just scoop little mounds on the sheet and piece together any loose pieces. I’ve noted all of this in the directions for there not to be confusion. Additionally, also after baked is the final result of a crispy, firm cookies as you experienced. As far as reducing sweetener, the syrup is part of what makes the cookies bind together when baked, if you reduce it by half, they will likely not hold together well at all even after cooled. Maybe you could try adding more almond butter, not sure.
I made these again and did not use raw but instead your recommended almond butter. They came out perfect!
Awesome!
Got tired of oatmeal every morning. Ready for something different. These are THE BEST!!! I did sub raisins as I did not have dried cranberries or cherries on hand. I also added both pumpkin seeds AND walnuts. These make you look forward to breakfast. Thank you Brandi for coming up with this inspiration
Yay, so happy you loved these so much Deborah!!
I have made these beauties many times and they are SO DARN GOOD! They are the perfect on-the-go snack and are a genius combo of sweet/nutty and chewy/crunchy! The rich addition of spices make these unique and oh-so-satisfying! 100% recommended!
Thank you so much Colleen!! Really glad to hear these are made often in your home!! Same here!!
Brandi, these are delicious! We ate way too many today and loved every bite! I used your pumpkin spice recipe also.
Thank you for sharing!
So amazing to hear June!!
These are fantastic! I also see endless possibilities with different mix ins (nuts, seeds, dried fruits). My husband got to them before I did and was thoroughly impressed and he never likes “healthy” or vegan stuff I make! 😆 Thank you!!
Yay, really lovely to hear how much you and hubby loved these!
Would popped amaranth work in the recipe instead of rice cereal?
Yes, I think so if it’s really crispy like the rice cereal!
Wonderful recipe! These are so flavorful and a quick breakfast. I recommend making two batches. One never lasts more than a day in our house.😁
Wonderful recipe! These are so flavorful and a great breakfast. I recommend making two batches . One never lasted more than one day in our house.😁
Five stars!
So very happy to hear that Maureen!!
I have made these about a dozen times. I take them for day hikes and eat them with peanut butter. Delicious!!!
That is so awesome to hear, thanks so much Elaine!!
These look delicious, can’t wait to try! I might sub currants instead of dried cherries/cranberries though, I’m guessing that would still work 🙂
Yes, definitely!! Let me know after you try them Cyd!
So, the whole 13-14 cookies is one serving? Sounds like a lot to me.
Hi Mary, There is a little nutrition box that says 1 cookie is 132 calories, I think where you saw the 13-14 bit means that’s how many the recipe will make. However, I am sure that when I try these, my husband will want the 13-14 to be one serving 🤣
The recipe makes 13-14 servings. The serving size is 1 cookie at ~132 calories each.
Nutritional info in box says 1 cookie is 1 serving.
No, next to the “Servings” tab, it says it makes 13-14 cookies. The nutrition label is just telling you the nutrition per cookie, because that is how it is setup, but clearly you can eat more than one cookie if you want, lol!
how about making these into bars instead!
Hi Melissa! They will be too fragile for bars I think, so cookies are best!
These looks absolutely fantastic. I love love love nuts, seeds and oats. We don’t have pumpkin spice here in Australia so i appreciate that recipe also.
Thank you Julie! Let me know after you try them!
Hi, it doesn’t look like you use parchmentp paper. It looks like a silicon liner. Does it matter?
Thank you Ellen Fife
I always use parchment paper when I make these, I only used silpat mat this time since I ran out of the paper. For this recipe, it works on either. I’ve found that some of my cookie recipes do not work well on a silpat though because they stick badly, since they are oil-free. Thankfully, works great on this recipe though!