Vegan Chai Coconut Oatmeal Cookies are 1 bowl, gluten-free, oil-free and infused with a delicious blend of chai spices, oats, coconut, cashew butter and almond butter! These are incredibly chewy with crispy edges and are also dairy-free and oil-free. Just 8 ingredients and ready in 20 minutes!
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VEGAN CHAI COCONUT OATMEAL COOKIES
People are always surprised to hear that I love spiced desserts more than chocolate. These Vegan Chai Coconut Oatmeal Cookies are the kind that it’s hard to not eat half the batch within minutes. That’s when you know that you got a good recipe on your hands.
Chai spice I have major deep love for. Especially, these Vegan Gluten-free Chai Waffles. I just love the way all the different spices bounce around your tongue and linger in the back of your throat. Add them with a hot drink like tea or coffee and oh my, pure heaven.
These Vegan Chai Coconut Oatmeal Cookies were inspired by my super popular Grain-Free Chocolate Coconut Cookies. Using coconut in those gave them a delicious, extra layer of chewiness, without them tasting like coconut. Just as I mentioned in that post that even coconut-haters would love them, all the feedback flooding in said the same thing.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN CHAI COCONUT OATMEAL COOKIES
For this easy 1 bowl cookie recipe, you will need:
- Old-fashioned rolled oats and oat flour
- shredded coconut
- baking soda
- raw cashew butter (I make my own here since store-bought tends to be roasted and with added oil, which will not work well)
- roasted almond butter
- pure maple syrup
- chai spice blend
Step 1: Make the chai cookie batter. Chill the batter for 30 minutes in the fridge before baking. This will help the cookies to hold their shape better and puff up more.
Step 2: Add about 2 tablespoons worth of batter to the cookie sheet using a cookie scoop, spaced 2 inches apart, as they will spread a ton.
Step 3: Fill a small bowl with water and dip your fingertips in the water to press down each cookie to 1/2 inch thick. Don’t press them down to flat or they will over-bake, they will flatten out as they cook. Repeatedly dip your fingertips as needed, shaking excess water off and form the edges of the cookies into a round shape. Remember, the better you shape them, the more uniformed they will bake up.
Step 4: Bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes until puffed up and spread into nice giant cookies and have a warm golden color. Be careful about over-baking these or they will dry out from the coconut!
WHY I USE CASHEW BUTTER AND ALMOND BUTTER
As you’ll notice, there is 2 nut butters used in this recipe. I made an amazing discovery while creating this recipe. Typically when I create cookie recipes or baked goods, I use 1 nut butter and it’s usually either cashew butter or almond butter. This time though I decided to use mostly cashew butter and then a small amount of roasted almond butter. Using all almond butter is way too strong of a flavor competing with the chai spices. But adding a small amount lets them shine and deepens the flavor of the spices, without overpowering them.
Other Delicious Vegan Cookies to try:
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Chai Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (125g) old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant!)
- 1/2 cup (64g) superfine oat flour (up to 2 tablespoons (16g) more if needed)
- 1/2 cup (40g) shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chai spice blend (store-bought or use my blend below)
- 3/4 cup (240g) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (160g) raw cashew butter (with no added oil, I make my own here)
- 2 tablespoons (32g) super creamy roasted almond butter
CHAI SPICE BLEND (use all of this for the recipe above)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- To a large bowl, add the oats, oat flour, coconut, baking soda, salt and chai spice blend and whisk very well until thoroughly blended.
- To the same bowl, add the syrup, cashew butter and almond butter and mix for a good couple of minutes until the batter becomes very thick and sticky. If your batter seems to be a tad loose after mixing a couple of minutes, add the extra 2 tablespoons of flour. Your batter will be determined by the thickness of your nut butters. Warning: the batter is addictive.
- Chill the batter for a minimum of 30 minutes in the fridge before baking. This will help the cookies to hold their shape better and puff up more.
- After chilling, add about 2 tablespoons worth of batter to the cookie sheet using a cookie scoop, spaced 2 inches apart, as they will spread a ton. 10 for each sheet.
- Fill a small bowl with water and dip your fingertips in the water to press down each cookie to 1/2 INCH (no less) thick. The batter will be way too sticky to do without dipping your fingers in water. Don't press them down too flat or they will over-bake and spread out too much-they will flatten out as they cook. Repeatedly dip your fingertips as needed, shaking excess water off and press and form the edges of the cookies into a round shape. Remember, the better you shape them, the more uniformed they will bake up, as they will bake up in the shape your form them in.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes. They should have puffed up and spread beautifully and have a nice warm, golden color. Remove and leave to cool on the pan for 10-15 minutes, so the bottoms firm up. Transfer them using a thin metal SPATULA to cool on a wire rack. Don't remove them with your hands or they will tear on the bottoms. It's important to let them cool for the first 10 minutes, as they firm up a lot as they cool, otherwise they are too crumbly while warm.
- You may need to bake them the first time to see if you would like them baked another minute or two, as this will greatly vary depending on the climate, your oven and nut butters used. I like to leave mine stored on the cookie rack with a towel covering them. Since these do soften after several hours, I find they store better NOT in a sealed container but on a plate or rack.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition per cookie: 131 calories, 5.8g fat, 2.9g protein, 18.2g carbs, 1.8g fiber, 7.8g sugar, 130mg sodium
Am I able to substitute an all purpose gf blend for oat florur? Or perhaps brown or white rice flour?
Hi Estelle! Oh, you can make your own oat flour by just grinding up instant oats or regular oats if you have a vitamix or a food processor will work, it just won’t get it as fine. You want it as fine as possible, so the batter turns out right. Since you need whole oats for the recipe, then use some extra to make the flour. If you don’t have either appliance, you can try substituting with white rice flour. I would not do a gf blend (too many starches) or brown rice flour, those would not work well. But white rice flour would be your best best, but since it’s much more absorbent and drying than oat flour, reduce the oat flour by 2 tablespoons and use just 6 tablespoons white rice flour (60g) and I *think* that should work. Just keep in mind this is my best guess, as I haven’t tested it. Be careful not to over-bake them as rice flour will dry them out even more. Let me know if you make them!
I will surely try to make it.
Awesome, let me know when you do!
Speaking of the rich creamy goodness of both almonds AND cashew…haha! Even though you say the coconut flavor isn’t very detectable under all those spices, the combo of coconut and chai actually sounds delish together and like something I need to try in many forms😋 And agreed, I love the texture and moisture either nuts or coconut blended with oat flour gives. I am very on board with this double nut butter situation, but also very glad that it’s mostly cashew butter ha. That stuff is just so dang good in baking! I can almost sense the butteriness from here just looking at that golden and slightly crispy exterior texture. It’s a REALLY tough call for me between spiced desserts and chocolate, but if given a plate of these and their chocolate cousin side by side I think I’d pick these too (quickly followed by a chocolate one obviously😂) The perfect first fall-ish treat!
Haha, for real, it kind of worked amazing the two flavors together! The smells, the flavor and the texture, yum! LOL, yes, it really does depend on my mood for sure. If I eat a lot of spiced things for awhile, then I get sick of it and need to move to chocolate. But I think I can honestly say that I like gingerbread cake more than chocolate, slightly, but still! Thank you Natalie!
Brandi, these look amazing ! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. Love the idea of using both cashew butter and roasted almond butter. Can’t wait to make these – I’m absolutely in love with CHAI 🙂 Like crazy in love haha. Will eat these with a big cup of chai tea. <3
Thank you so much Tiina! I’m so glad to hear we both share the same obsession with chai, haha! Let me know if you make them! xx
Brandi, these cookies are delicious! I just made them today and the house smelled like all the warm spices! The only change I made to the recipe was the size of the cookie. I like small bites for sweet treats so I used my 1 tablespoon cookie scoop and I got 40 smaller cookies. I baked this size for 9 minutes and got a perfectly crispy and chewy cookie. Only 2.5 WW Smart Points per cookie. As usual, your directions were spot on! I will definitely be making these all Fall! Love love love this recipe…thanks!
Like Natalie, I tend to focus on chocolate for cookies—but when chai is so flavorful, I can forgo chocolate. I kept eating the batter, but still got (almost) 10 cookies. Loved them, but they did crumble and break apart some. Possibly I put two many in the container once they cooled.
I make overnight oats twice a week and had only two flavors—mocha for one day and strawberry peanut jam and peanut butter—but I think I can adapt this into overnight oats. Maybe add some raisins.
Cardamom is one of my favorite spices. When I make chai from a recipe or use loose chai tea, I always add extra—but these have a great cardamom flavor. Any advice for using the chai spice mix in tea? What type of tea do you use? Black/Assam? How much?
Hi Ellen! So glad you loved them! I know, the batter is so delicious! Ok, if they crumbled, then they likely needed more baking time or the extra flour as noted. Since the moisture content is high in these cookies, cook them another minute or two and you can even leave them to sit out quite awhile at room temperature. I like to leave mine stored on the cookie rack covered with a towel and once the oven is fully cooled, I store them in there. Sounds a bit silly, but it retains their shape really well. Or just store them in the pantry that way. They will get soft, but they shouldn’t crumble. Try more flour and a little extra baking time next time 🙂 As far as cardamom, I absolutely love it too, like really love it. I have a cake using it coming to the blog eventually. I have not tried it in tea but I do have a chai caramel recipe in the book, haha! I would just add as much as you like to the hot tea while it steeps, I’d start with a teaspoon and adjust if needed. I bet it would be delicious! I like black tea.
Hi Brandi, I made these yesterday and the whole house smelled like the warm spices in the chai spice mix! The only change I made was using a 1 tablespoon scoop since I like smaller sweet bites. I baked this size for 9 minutes and got perfectly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside cookies. As usual, your instructions were spot on! Great recipe 😋
Yay! Thrilled to hear that Michaela! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback!
Hi Brandi! These look absolutely phenomenal. I’ve never actually tried chai-flavoured treats before and think I’m missing out – it seems like a great alternative to my usual chocolate-based baking (which I can’t complain too much about, but you gotta switch it up from time to time haha). Have a brilliant day!
Thank you so much Maria, you are too sweet! Chai is SO SO good in baked goods, definitely give it a try! Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Hi, I have superfine ground almond flour, would that work in place of the oat flour?
Thanks Kathy
Hi Kathy, no, almond flour won’t work here. Almond flour makes things very moist and these cookies already have a ton of nut butter and moisture in them so the almond flour would just turn them into fudge and wet. It needs to be a dry flour. You can grind your own oats into a superfine flour with a vitamix or a food processor if you have one. Just try to get it superfine. Or you can try white rice flour (not brown) instead and see if that works!
Thanks, just checking because I had the almond flour. I found the oat flour 😉
These cookies were out of this world! I followed the recipe exactly, and they were easy to make, but tasted quite complex. Quite the treat. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much Jenny! So thrilled you enjoyed them so much!!
Do you think I could use more almond butter instead of cashew butter? Allergy to cashews.
Hi Hilary, since almond butter is much oilier then it will definitely change the batter and cookie flavor. I tried all almond butter the first time and didn’t care for it as much. I would use 2 tbsp less of the almond butter because it’s so much runnier. If the batter is too loose, add a bit more flour. That would be my guess.
These are the yummiest cookies ever!!!! I kept them a little softer than the recipe says and threw in a small handful of sliced almonds. And grinding oats in my food processor to make the oat flour worked well. Brandi you are amazing, thank you SO much!!
Yay!! Best feedback ever Heather, thank you so much for making them and letting me know!! If you get a chance to click the star rating, that would be awesome too, thank you!
Your comment*
Thank you so much!! I simply love how spicy and warming they turned out!
I’m so happy to hear that Mariana!! Thank you for the feedback!
Hello… these look wonderful and I can not wait to make them. But my husband can not have almonds, what can I do instead? And out of curiosity what will happen if you use a cashew butter that already has oil in it? I have a jar and no raw cashews to make my own. Thanks so much!
Hi Kelly, you can try all cashew butter if you want. If you are using one with added oil, they will likely overspread while baking. Cashew butter made from just cashews holds the shape of the cookies better since it’s all nuts. You can always experiment but that is my guess what would happen.
You nailed another one Brandi! Hubby declared these are the best cookies he ever had! I love how easy they were too! One bowl, mixie mixie, bake and eat! (I must confess though I left out the black pepper and cloves because even though I know they are part of the chai experience, we don’t love spicy cookies) These are superb! Will be posting on IG today!
This is the best feedback ever Diana, thank you so much!!
Hi there, my neighbor gave me this recipe after it was the big hit at a cookie exchange. I’m super excited to try it. We have a cashew allergy in my family so I planned on using all almond butter instead but saw that it might be too overpowering. Do you have any other butter suggestions? Would a sunflower butter see be a good alternative? Thank you!
Hi Lindsay, I’m SO sorry I just am now seeing this, I get so many comments daily that sometime I miss some. Yes, you can totally use all almond butter if you don’t mind a stronger almond taste, they will still be good, the almond flavor will just be much more pronounced. There isn’t really another nut butter I could suggest that would be better to replace the cashew butter with, unless you want to try peanut butter. Obviously, that would make them taste like peanut butter cookies, which isn’t bad either. Only thing is if you use all almond butter, it will really make the batter much more wet, so I’d maybe try reducing the total amount by 2 tablespoons and only add more if the batter is dry and not conforming. The batter should be sticky but thick, as in the photos. It should be sticky enough that you will need a damp fingertips to press the batter down into a round shape.
Brandi, these are wonderful! My husband even loved them, and he doesn’t usually like chai (or my attempts at healthier baking, for that matter)! These will be a fall/winter/holiday staple from now on. Now on to your Snickerdoodles, which my mom has been raving about and has already made twice! 🙂
This is so wonderful to hear Brenna! I hope you love the Snickerdoodles, they have become my most popular cookie ever now! Would you mind star rating these as well! Thank you!
Re-commenting because I forgot to add my five-star rating!
Hi! These cookies sound great! Unfortunately my family is allergic to tree nuts. Any chance I could you peanut butter? Not sure peanut and chia work together though…
You can always try it! I’ve not tried peanut butter before so I can’t say for sure.
These look and sound great! My only question is, I don’t like coconut, can I substitute with something else?
Hi! Coconut isn’t really a flavor, it just adds texture. You could try subbing instant oats but not sure if that would make them drier or not. That’s my best suggestion.
I am so excited to try these tonight but made a double batch and it’s getting late…do you think I can leave half of the batter in the refrigerator tonight and finish baking tomorrow. They smell heavenly!!
Hi Kathi! I think you should be ok. Typically, baked goods with baking soda should be baked quickly since baking soda starts to react once it is joined with liquid, however, that is more crucial with breads and cakes, so it may be ok with the cookies.
What I love most about your recipes is that I rarely have to make a grocery list! The ingredients are so common that I can whip up something I know will be fantastic on short-notice without having to leave the house. Like this morning… I just made a last-minute lunch date, and am sitting here with time to spare while my 2nd batch of cookies bakes. My house smells AMAZING, and these are really tasty! I love that the warming spices are actually medicinal and good for the fall season, but subtle enough not to overpower the cookie. Another winner, Brandi!
You are so sweet Jen, thank you so much! I’m really happy you loved these cookies and they were quick for you and thank you for your kind words. So glad you enjoy my recipes!