Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies
These whole wheat oatmeal cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with raisins and a hint of cinnamon. They’re just as hearty and satisfying as the classic version but made a bit more wholesome with 100% whole wheat flour. You get all the texture and comfort of traditional oatmeal raisin cookies—with a slightly nutty flavor from the flour and no compromise on taste.
Looking at this recipe in the summer when it’s too hot to bake? Try these No-bake Oatmeal Cookies! They’re SO good. They’re also 100% whole grain and naturally gluten-free + vegan.
This recipe has been a reader favorite for years, and it’s easy to see why. It’s quick to make, uses pantry staples, and the results are reliably delicious.
This recipe substitutes coconut oil for butter, uses about half of the sugar a lot of recipes use, and is 100% whole grain.
And even more important for me – the texture! These whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookies are SO thick and chewy. And they don’t have that slightly cakey feel that some healthy cookies have. At least if you don’t over-bake them, which I did the first time I made them, thinking that they weren’t done.
- Soft, chewy centers with crisp edges for the perfect texture combo
- Comes together in one bowl—no mixer needed
- Great make-ahead option with dough that freezes beautifully
- Naturally dairy-free with simple swaps for gluten-free and vegan diets
Ingredients Notes
Please scroll down for the full recipe! These are just notes on select ingredients.
Whole wheat flour – I’ve tested this recipe with whole spelt, regular whole wheat and white whole wheat. Whichever you choose, these oatmeal raisin cookies don’t taste the least bit whole grain!
Coconut oil or butter – You can use refined coconut oil for a dairy-free cookie with no coconut taste. If you’re not dairy-free, butter works, but they’ll be a little less chewy. Canola, vegetable oil, and other neutral oils work, too.
Sugar – A combination of brown and white sugar adds depth and helps with that chewy texture. You can also use coconut sugar for a more natural sweetener if you prefer.
Raisins – If you’re not a raisin fan, you can use chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or chopped nuts instead.
Oats – make sure to use quick oats! Not instant. Quick oats will give you the best texture.
- Use a cookie scoop for evenly sized cookies that bake uniformly.
- Flatten the dough balls slightly, otherwise you’ll end up with large mounds.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring—this helps them set without overbaking.
How to Make Ahead and Store
The dough can be made ahead and chilled in the fridge for up to 3 days. Just let it sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes before scooping.
You can also freeze the unbaked cookie dough. Scoop the balls onto a tray, freeze until solid, and transfer to a freezer bag. Or wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in a Ziploc. I do recommend thawing it before baking.
Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days. For longer storage, freeze them for up to 3 months.
- No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies – Wonderfully chewy and easy to make, these cookies are vegan, gluten-free, and can be made nut-free.
- Almond Flour Oatmeal Cookies – Soft and chewy, these cookies are made with almond flour and oats, making them naturally gluten-free with vegan and dairy-free options.
- Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Cookie Balls – Sweetened with dates and raisins, these no-bake cookie balls are gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, and 100% whole grain.
- PB2 Overnight Oats – A quick and easy breakfast option, these overnight oats are packed with peanut butter flavor and require no cooking.
Gluten-Free Version
I’ve also posted a gluten-free version of today’s recipe, these Gluten-free Oatmeal Cookies. If you don’t have white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum, you can use 1 1/2 cups (207 grams) Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-free Baking Flour in place of the whole wheat flour in today’s recipe. I think the cookies come out a little softer with that, but they’re still really good!
Should you prefer more traditional cookies, check out these Quaker Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!
Please share your feedback by leaving a ✍️review and ???? rating – it helps me and others! I so appreciate it. ????
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) whole wheat flour or white whole wheat or whole spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup (168 grams) coconut oil melted
- 1 1/3 cups (266 grams) brown sugar or coconut sugar or raw sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups (260 grams) quick oats
- 1 1/4 cups (190 grams) raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Stir together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.1 1/2 cups (188 grams) whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla and stir.3/4 cup (168 grams) coconut oil, 1 1/3 cups (266 grams) brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry mix to the wet mix and stir just until combined. Stir in the oats and raisins, again stirring just until combined.2 3/4 cups (260 grams) quick oats, 1 1/4 cups (190 grams) raisins
- Form the dough into 75-gram balls, about two inches or slightly over 1/4 cup in size, and place 4" apart on the prepared baking sheet. Press the balls down slightly with the palm of your hand. If your dough is too soft to roll into balls, refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until scoopable.
- Bake for 13-17 minutes or until the middle appears to be set and the cookies have evenly browned.
- Let cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Notes
- This recipe was developed using quick oats, not rolled oats. If you only have rolled oats, you can pulse them in a food processor a few times to break them down slightly, but the texture won’t be quite the same.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
I had both quick oats and large flake oats and I picked the large flake oats because I thought they were healthier but in retrospect I should have put them through the food processor a bit to make the dough easier to roll, but regardless they are very yummy! Chewy and because I used the large oats, they were crunchy as well and my daughter who initially turned her nose up at the idea of using raisins enjoyed them as well. Thanks Erin!
Been cooking these for my office – they love them! And I love your blog. Keep the recipes coming……
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks for the feedback. And I'll do my best with the recipes. ;)
Mmm! We just baked these this morning and they're perfect. Like seriously the perfect oatmeal cookie base. I used cranberries since the raisins I have atm aren't so great and I knew I'd be disappointed in them. They're so good with cranberries :D We'll be making these again and again, they're so good :) And just what we needed, thank you Erin!
Oh yay! I'm so happy to hear that you liked them! I read this comment from my phone when I was still really sick and was so happy to get it. It was seriously the highlight of my day. Thank you! And I'm so sorry to hear that you all are sick, too. Today is my first day back online after a horrible last week. At least it can only get better, right? Right?! :)
Oatmeal raisin cookies are so comforting! I need some of these :D We've all been sick again at our house so some serious comfort cookies are needed! I need to make these soon. I have the recipe all ready to go to the kitchen and everything :) Will let you know how we like them when I get the energy to make them!
I have to say, the chocoholic in me just can't say no to a good oatmeal raisin cookie. Your's look fabulous Erin!
yum.. looks so delicious.. i love chewy oatmeal raisin cookies.
Thanks! :)
MMM I just love healthier cookies so I feel less guilty! :D Great recipe =)
Thanks! And me too. Less guilt = better. :)
The more cookies I make, the more I really appreciate the simplicity of a perfect chocolate chip cookie or a perfect oatmeal and raisin cookie & these really look perfect!
Me too! I would have never wanted oatmeal raisin cookies a few years ago. But now… yeah, I'll take one. Simple is so nice sometimes!
YUM! I love oatmeal cookies, but I like butterscotch chips instead of raisins. Have you given these to a German? We made some in Austria and people looked at us like we were crazy when we told them we used oatmeal. :)
Hahaha. I know. They just don't get it. But what can we do? Educate them! Yes. You come over here and we'll educate the German speaking people, okay? :)
I love how these look. Some of my favorite cookies are oatmeal cookies, and anything healthier just makes you able to eat more right ;) These look great, and I think it is great to go back to the basics and original recipes sometimes. Its perfect!
Well of course you can eat more! ;) And I'm happy someone agrees about going back to the basics sometimes. It's just nice every now and then!
thick and chewy (but not cakey) healthy cookie. how on earth do you do it Erin? my gosh. I love this recipe SO much. did you know oatmeal raisin cookies are my #1 favorite cookie EVER? I can almost taste these through the screen… :)
Really?! I would have never guessed! But I'm guessing your real favorite is oatmeal Raisinette? :) You should give these a try! You'd love the texture!
Oatmeal raisin cookies are a favorite at our house, so I love how you healthified these!
Thanks! :)
I don't think this is boring and I think it is a great idea to nutritionally boost your old recipes, god knows I could do the same :-) I have old recipes using quite a bit of unrefined sugar and even confectioner sugar :-( Oh well.
I think oat flour its also great. Lately I have been using that quite a bit in some of my baking!!
Well I didn't even have a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies. I created it just so I could have one. :) And sometimes you just need powdered sugar! I also love oat flour. thanks for the reminder. :)
I love Oatmeal Raisin cookies and I love healthifying recipes! So this recipe is a winner in my book. :)
Yay! Thanks for your nice comment. :)
I really feel like I can smell these through the screen! :)
Oh yes! I forgot to mention the smell. Not as nice as fresh bread but still so good!
Sometimes I like traditional baked goods as opposed to all these other foods stuffed into each other. And I like oatmeal cookies. I've recently started liking raisins, so I don't see why I wouldn't like them in a cookie :) The only thing that gets me is the coconut oil. I know there are surplus amount of coconut oil down here in South Carolina, but it comes in like giant containers and I wouldn't know what to do with it later.
What?! I've seen those buckets of coconut oil online and they just perplexed me. I can buy it about a cup at a time over here and I just assumed that if I can get it easily, so can everyone in the US. :( Just use real butter in place of the coconut oil! And yay… raisins. You like something fruity! :)
Well we /do/ have coconut oil. I see it all the time in store, but I only see the giant jars. I guess I will venture out and buy a jar one of these days.
You can get whatever size you prefer on EBAY.
Not boring at ALL! I love oatmeal cookies, be it with raisins or chocolate chips or any other stuff I find in the drawer.
I had to grin a little at your instruction of melting the coconut oil. Usually it is so warm here that our coconut oil is always liquid at room temperature. But tonight it actually cooled down a little and I noticed past of the oil in the bottle had solidified. So now I know what coconut oil looks like for you :)
Yay! I'm happy that you don't think they're boring. :) And I buy the coconut oil that comes in the refrigerated section. I just assumed that it's supposed to be refrigerated! But they also sell it at the Asian food stores and when I leave that at room temperature in the summer, it's also liquid. I like it that way. :)
No way! After the chickpea cookies, you're gonna do THIS to me? OMG, I think I'm gonna have to have someone close this place down. Seriously. Have you seen these cookies? I mean, have you SEEN them? Hang on, let me take another look…
OMG, WOW! I am so making these.
Like NOW… (sounds like dejà vu!)
For real, I wish I could whip up a batch right this minute, but I'm gonna have to be a good girl and wait. Besides, I have a post to write! Definitely pinning though, and probably more than once, too!
To think I was coming here to grab a link so I could link to this place in my post on the ahem, aforementioned chickpea cookies. And this is how you repay me? Shame!
Alright, let me just find that link quick quick then I'm outta here, before I drown in my own drool!
Hahaha. You should be a professional food blog comment leaver. I questioned the purpose of this for a moment, and then I had it. Your purpose as a professional food blog commenter would be to make people happy. Spreading glee in the food blogging community. The food blogging community should hire you. It'd be like you're a lobbyist, only not. Because you'd be working for us. :D Thanks again for the most excellent comment. :) They always make me so happy!
LOL! You're funny Erin! I think most people would think I'm absolutely crazy if I were to leave comments like this on their blogs! You get the best of me, that's for sure! ;) Glad my comments make you smile and know that the feeling is quite mutual! :)
I will have to try this. I love a good oatmeal raisin cookie!
I hope you do! :)
Such a fabulous looking recipe. Gotta love a chewy chocolate cookie!
Oh, but this one has no chocolate. You could always add some!