My yummy vegan cranberry oatmeal cookies recipe is the perfect combination of chewy and crispy. Made with a blend of wholesome oats, tart cranberries, and rich almonds, they are super easy to make and don't call for any fancy ingredients.
Why You'll Love My Recipe
If you like chewy oatmeal cookies and tart cranberries, you’re going to love my vegan cranberry oatmeal cookies with almonds! They’ve got that perfectly soft and chewy cookie texture with just the right touch of sweetness.
This recipe was born after I made a batch of my chewy vegan oatmeal raisin cookies one day and just decided to keep baking! I took a similar oatmeal base, swapped out the raisins for cranberries, added almonds, and ended up with a whole new delicious vegan cookie.
Even if you’re new to baking, you’ll be able to whip up a perfect batch on your first try. These cookies are so easy to make and perfect for any season. They’re one of my favorite vegan Christmas cookies, with vibrant cranberries and rich almonds.
Kim's Tips For Success
Before you get started, these are my best tips to help you achieve the best vegan oatmeal cranberry cookies!
- Use Room Temperature Butter: Make sure your vegan butter is at room temperature. This helps it cream better with the sugar, creating the best texture. I take my butter out of the fridge about 30 minutes before starting the recipe.
- Let The Flax Egg Sit: After I mix the flaxseed meal and water I let it sit for a good 10 minutes to thicken into a gel-like texture. This helps hold the dough together.
- Chill The Cookies: This step is not required but I find that chilling the cookie dough for about 30 minutes really helps the vegan cranberry cookies hold their shape while baking.
- Don't Overmix: Overmixing can make the cookies tough, so keep the mixer on low, and stop as soon as you don’t see any dry spots.
- Rotate Your Baking Sheets: If you’re baking more than one sheet at a time, rotate them halfway through for even baking. This is really helpful if your oven has hot spots.
Ingredients
One of the things that makes these the best vegan cranberry oatmeal cookies is that you don't need anything fancy. My recipe uses basic ingredients that are likely already in your pantry.
- Vegan Butter: Gives my cookies some rich flavor and a soft texture. If you don’t have vegan butter, you can substitute it with coconut oil (solid, not melted).
- Light Brown Sugar: I like to use brown sugar to add some sweetness with a hint of caramel from the molasses in the brown sugar. Granulated sugar will work too but the texture of the cookies will be slightly different.
- Salt: Enhances all the flavors. If your vegan butter is already salted, omit this ingredient.
- Flax Egg: Made from ground flaxseed meal and water, it acts like a regular egg, which helps to bind the dough. I also love the chewiness of an oatmeal cranberry flaxseed cookies recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: In my book, vanilla just makes baked goods better. It adds the perfect touch of aromatic flavor that complements the sweetness.
- Plant-Based Milk: I use just a splash of almond, oat, or soy milk to keep the dough nice and soft. Water works too.
- All Purpose Flour: Gives the cookies structure and texture. Feel free to use a 1:1 gluten free flour in place of regular flour if you want to make vegan gluten free oatmeal cranberry cookies.
- Ground Cinnamon: Adds that warm, cozy flavor that pairs perfectly with oats. Feel free to add a pinch of nutmeg, cloves, or my favorite ground cardamom too if you like.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These leavening agents help the cookies rise and give them their perfect soft in the middle texture with a slight crisp on the edges.
- Old-Fashioned Oats: These add a chewy, hearty texture that makes vegan oatmeal cookies so good. Quick oats can work too, but the texture will be a bit softer. For the best results, I recommend using old fashioned rolled oats.
- Dried Cranberries: The tartness of cranberries balances the sweetness and makes the cookies yummy.
- Almonds: Sliced or chopped almonds add a nice crunch and a subtle nutty flavor. Walnuts or pecans make great substitutes. Oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies are perfect for the holiday season.
How To Make
You don't need to have any baking skills to make oatmeal cranberry cookies vegan. It's just as easy as any cookie recipe. As long as you follow my simple steps they will turn out just perfect.
Prep For Baking: To start I preheat my oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius). Then I line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats so my cookies don’t stick to the pan.
Make the Flax Egg: While the oven is heating up, I mix 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of water, and let it sit for 10–15 minutes to thicken up. This is your flax egg substitute that helps hold the dough together.
Sift the Dry Ingredients: Now I begin the dough, by sifting together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (if using it) into a medium bowl. Then I set it aside.
Cream the Butter and Sugar: First, I put the butter and brown sugar into a large bowl. Then I use an electric mixer to cream them together on medium speed for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer for this step.
Add the Wet Ingredients: After creaming, I add the vanilla extract, plant-based milk, and thickened flax egg to the butter-sugar mixture. Then I mix on low speed until everything’s just blended.
Combine Wet and Dry: To finish the dough, I gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed. Once they’re mostly combined, I then add in the oats, cranberries, and almonds. Be very careful not to overmix.
Chill the Dough: This step is optional but I like to pop my dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes. This keeps the oatmeal cookies with cranberries from spreading too much in the oven.
Shape the Cookies: To make the cookies, I scoop about 1 heaping tablespoon portions of dough, roll them into balls, and place them on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart from each other. I like to use a small cookie scoop for this step.
Bake: Before popping them in the oven I use my hand to flatten the cookies a little. Then I put them in the oven to bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. I start checking at 12 minutes.
Cool and Enjoy: Once baked, I remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. Then I transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. They’ll firm up a bit as they cool.
✏️ Recipe Card! Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all the details with the exact amounts of my eggless oatmeal cranberry cookies.
Variations
- Cranberry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies: Swap out the almonds for vegan chocolate chips for a little added decadence. I love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with tart cranberries.
- Add Raisins: You could use a mixture of raisins and cranberries if you like to make oatmeal cranberry raisin cookies.
- Use Dried Cherries: Replace the dried cranberries with dried cherries for a slightly sweeter, deeper flavor. You could also use dried blueberries.
- Citrus Zest: Add a teaspoon of fresh orange or lemon zest to the dough for a bright, zesty flavor that complements the cranberries. Orange zest is my favorite during the holidays.
- Add Coconut: For a touch of tropical flavor, fold in ¼ cup of unsweetened shredded coconut to make oatmeal cranberry coconut cookies.
- Pumpkin Spice: Take the warm flavors up a notch by adding a pinch of my homemade pumpkin pie spice. This gives the cookies a festive, holiday feel.
- Chai Spiced: This is one of my favorite ways to add flavor! Add about a teaspoon of my homemade masala chai spice to the flour mixture. It infuses the cookies with the most delicious aromatic flavor.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Store your cookies in an airtight container or sealed bag at room temperature. They’ll stay fresh for up to 5 days.
Yes! These easy cranberry cookies freeze well. Once they’ve cooled completely, I transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container. They’ll keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. Just let them thaw at room temperature for a few minutes when you’re ready to enjoy.
Absolutely! You can make the dough up to 2 days before. Just cover it tightly and store it in the fridge. When you’re ready to bake, let the dough sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, then form the vegan cranberry oatmeal cookies and bake.
You can also freeze the dough. Shape the dough into balls, place them on a baking sheet to freeze until solid, then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. The dough will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you're ready, I just bake the frozen dough balls directly, adding a few extra minutes to baking.
If your dough is dry, it's likely due to too much flour. This is why it's important to measure the flour properly using the spoon and level method or with a digital scale. Adding a small splash of plant-based milk or water can help bring a dry dough together.
Greasy cookies are often the result of too-soft or melted vegan butter, which can cause the cookies to spread too much. Make sure your vegan butter is softened to room temperature but not melted. Chilling the dough also helps reduce greasiness by allowing the fats to solidify before baking.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
⭐️ One Last Thing! If you make my cranberry and oatmeal cookies recipe please leave a review and rating to let me know how you liked it! Doing so helps other readers and me too! Your feedback makes a difference.
Vegan Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter, room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar (215 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted vegan butter)
- 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons room temperature water)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon plant based milk or water
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (188 grams)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats (150 grams)
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of room temperature water. Set aside for 10–15 minutes to thicken.
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt if using. Set aside.
- Cream the vegan butter and brown sugar for about 2 minutes on medium speed using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. It will become light and fluffy. Do not over whip.
- Add the vanilla extract, plant milk, and flax egg to the butter and sugar, and mix on low until just blended.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients a little at a time to the wet butter mixture, mixing on low just until combined. Fold in the oats, cranberries, and almonds with a rubber spatula by hand or on low with your mixer. Do not overmix.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. This step is optional but I find it produces the best results.
- Scoop about 1 heaping tablespoon of dough, form it into a ball, and place it on the prepared baking sheets. Then repeat the process leaving 2 inches of space between each cookie. Gently flatten each cookie.
- Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, until the edges and bottoms are lightly browned. If you bake more than one sheet at a time I suggest you rotate the pans halfway through the baking time.
- When done, let cookies sit on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Use a scale for the best results.
- Feel free to swap cranberries with raisins or chocolate chips.
- I use an electric mixer to make the cookies, but you can easily make them by hand with some elbow grease.
Sole says
This recipe was good! I didn't even tell my family they were vegan. The only thing I changed was I used walnuts not almonds. I will def make it again.