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.
Just made 1/2 the recipe with a few substitutions. I made these with a half cup of maple syrup instead of the coconut sugar and half the oats and half the whole spelt flour.Also used grapeseed oil instead of coconut oil. Came out awesome!! I am on a strict diet sugar wise and also cant cook with coconut oil but I loved the recipe so much I had to try it with a few subtitutions. Thanks for the recipe!! You rock! ❤❤
Wow! I’m honestly shocked that it worked well with your changes. But I’m so glad that it worked! Thanks for sharing your modifications. :) And thanks again for your nice comment!
Yes i commented on here again thats how awesome they came out. LOL Very moist with a old fashioned oatmeal cookie taste. You have to make the vegan version trust me its soooo good.
Haha. Well I appreciate you coming back to comment again and to share your version! Thanks again! :)
These are amazing!! I used refined coconut oil and really loved the taste. My family couldn’t tell that they were gluten free. That’s a win for me!
Meant to say unrefined! :)
Yay! I’m happy you all enjoyed them! You posted on the whole wheat version. Was it these gluten-free oatmeal cookies that you made? Either way, that’s awesome your family couldn’t tell that they were GF! Thanks for your comment. :)
Another great recipe! Thanks. My husband will love these oatmeal cookies after work today. I added raisins walnuts and chocolate chips. They stayed their shape and didn’t spread. I used 100%whole wheat flour.
Sorry for just now seeing your comment! I hope that your husband enjoyed them. :) Walnuts sounds like a yummy addition! Thanks for your comment.
I tried these tonight with chocolate-covered raisins, pecans and some chocolate chips. I can’t have cinnamon nor bake with it. These came out AMAZING! I bake for my boyfriend’s staff (3rd shift Alzheimers unit nurses) and they raved as well. Your comments and suggestions are right on- signs of an experienced baker. Need to browse the rest of your page now!
With chocolate-covered raisins?! Yum. That sounds amazing! I’m so happy that you and your boyfriend’s co-workers enjoyed them. :) Thanks so much for your nice comments and I hope you’ll enjoy the other recipes just as much! I posted this recipe when I could still eat wheat so a lot of my recipes are grain-free these days. But you can find all my whole grain recipes right here. :)
I baked them. They were delicious! they just turned out to be too sweet for my taste, even though I only used about two thirds of the amount of sugar in the recipe! The next time I will be using only one sixth of the recipe amount. I also think that the cookies were too large with 75 gram scoops, so I am going to make each of them about 20 grams, from now on!
Thank you for the recipe.
I’m happy you enjoyed them! Just as a little warning – if you reduce the sugar from 1 1/3 cups down to 3.5 tablespoons, the cookies likely won’t hold together well and will be very cakey. Just wanted to make sure you were aware before trying. I’d love to hear how it goes! Thanks for your comment. :)
These cookies are delicious!!! I think I have made them at least 20 times in the past 6 months, sometimes even doubling the recipe! I had to go dairy, soy and chocolate free due to my nursing babies food intolerances and saying I’m a “dessert person” is an understatement. I had been making them with whole wheat sprouted flour and cooking them 9 to 10 minutes, but I just made them with sprouted spelt flour for the first time and cooked them 12 minutes and they are even better!! Thank you for sharing an amazing recipe!
I love spelt! It’s so much less whole grainy than whole wheat. And it’s great to know that they work well with sprouted grains. I’m so happy that you’ve been enjoying the cookies and that they don’t upset your baby! Thanks for your comment. :)
I just tried this recepie and I really liked it. I made some changes. I used the oats flour, like mentioned before and the texture is great. I used coconut sugar and for my taste they are quite sweet, you could go for less sugar, specially if using raisins ( I didn’t). Instead, I mixed cacao nibs and pecans and they give a great mild nutty chocolate flavor. Definitely a great recipe and I know I’ll improve it next time. Thank you for sharing!!! Love it!
I’m happy you enjoyed them with oat flour! I still have yet to try that. Thanks for your feedback! :)
Delicious! I didn’t need to bake them that long, about 11 minutes. Also I frosted mine with powder sugar (cream and vanilla) frosting. Thanks for the great recipe.
I bet these are amazing with frosting! Thanks a bunch for your comment. :)
I have been making these cookies for 4 years! They never disappoint. Thanks again for such a killer recipe, Erin. I’m a new mama and I just read the comment above about using all oats/flax seed and I’m going to give that a go next time.
Awesome! I’m so happy that you’ve been enjoying the cookies for the past few years. I’d love to hear how you think the all oats and flax version compares to the original recipe. I still have to try it out! Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :)
Thanks for the great recipe, Erin! These are my go-to lactation and eat-on-the-go-with-kids cookies. I’ve been using oat flour (just ground up old fashioned oats) instead of whole wheat, and they work wonderfully. I usually make them with chocolate chips and walnuts.
Oooh! I really want to try that. Do you use 1 1/2 cups of oat flour or are you using 190 grams? I’m going to give it a try! Thanks a bunch for the tip and for your feedback. :)
I use 1 1/2 cups of oat flour (measured after it’s ground, just like wheat flour). Recently, I’ve also tried 1 cup of oat flour and 1/2 cup of ground flaxseed. Again, they work great…it’s a super forgiving recipe!
That’s great to know! I’m definitely going to try that. Thanks a bunch for your reply! :)
If you use chia, use eggs too??
I think that person used the ground flaxseed in place of 1/2 cup of the flour. So you would still need the eggs.
Hi Erin! I’m so glad to have found your website! Love your recipes. Just a question about the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Can I substitute almond flour for the splet and whole wheat flour? Thanks for your reply,
Roberta
Hi Roberta! I’m happy you found my website, too. :) Unfortunately, nuts flours aren’t interchangeable with non-nut flours. However, you’re in luck because I have a really awesome “oatmeal” cookie recipe I posted a few weeks ago – paleo oatmeal cookies. I hope you’ll enjoy them! I’d love to hear how they come out. :)
These cookies are amazing! I bake all the time and this recipe goes to the top of the list hands down. Made exactly as written, including the touch of pressing chocolate chips into the top when they came out of the oven. What a great idea! I used half butter and half melted coconut oil and half unbleached and half whole wheat flour. 12 mins in the oven. Saving it to my recipe file now!
That’s wonderful! I’m so happy that you liked them. :) And to the top of the list? Woohoo. I’m thrilled to hear that! Thanks for sharing your modifications and your comment.
It is not safe for me to be in the same building with these cookies. Honestly the best oatmeal raisin cookie I’ve ever tasted! Made them twice now and people keep begging me for the recipe. A lot of them are way too sweet, but yours is absolutely perfect. Thanks for a fantastic recipe blog!
Haha. I know how you feel! I have the same issue with these cookies. Thanks so much for your feedback! :) I’m happy you found them not too sweet.
Dough, these are so good! Thank you! I see every raisin to make this my go to recipe. And! The cookies didn’t spread and flatten like other recipes I’ve tried.
I’m so happy you liked them so much! I also like how they don’t flatten. :) Thanks for your comment!
Took your oatmeal cookies and converted them to gluten free and sugar free using tiff flour, coconut flour and buckwheat flour along with gluten free oats, stevia and monk fruit sugar also added sugar free almond butter and pecans since I couldn’t do the raisens…yummy!
This is a wonderful recipe if you have candida.
Wow! That’s awesome that your subs worked out. Did you see the gluten-free version I linked to at the beginning of the post? I think I like them even more than the whole wheat version. :) I’ve never tried making them sugar-free. I’ll have to look into monk fruit sugar! Thanks a bunch for your feedback.
Thank you so much for the note about the pictures being updated!! I haven’t made them in a few months and went looking for the recipe and was in a tiny panic I couldn’t find “my cookie recipe” lol! Then I saw the note, phew! This is them! This is my go to recipe! I often make them as gifts for new mommies. It’s the perfect hearty, sweet snack when you’re spending hours on end breastfeeding a newborn! I’ve also added Brewers yeast and ground flax to turn them into “milk cookies” for new mamas. Still delicious! Thanks for a fabulous recipe!
Haha. I’ve had that happen to me and I always freak out so I thought I’d better add the note. ;) I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying the cookies and I love that you make them for new moms! How much Brewers yeast and ground flax do you add? I’d love to try that, too! Thanks a bunch for your comment. :)
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies not that exciting??!!! Are you nutz?!! I know you’re not, but had to add for dramatic effect:-) O-R cookies top my list as the best cookie when done right, but done wrong so many times. Nevertheless, I’d never turn one down and so enjoy my continuing journey for finding the best of the best. I’m already certain I’m going to enjoy yours before I get home to try this them tonight. Thanks for sharing!!!
Well I love them but they’re not quite as fancy as some other types. ;) I hope you’ll enjoy the cookies if you tried them out! Thanks for your comment. :)
Hi Erin,
I couldn’t respond in the blog with photos, but wanted to share the results with you. OUTSTANDING! One key ingredient that I’d been avoiding for so long was the use of coconut oil along with your recipe, made an excellent cookie, at least what I’ve been looking for in an Oatmeal-Raisin cookie. Each batch turned out thick, moist and chewy. The first batch was with raisins, but the second batch was with craisins and they really drove us wild! Thank you for opening my mind!!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B18hSyvUVrrdZWc0a2hjejdSdkotOFVLb19YVUJCZTQyZFEw/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B18hSyvUVrrdTTV1a05MZnl0bjhCZjR2d09xTWdXWmZ4YnlN/view?usp=sharing
Thanks a ton for sharing your pictures and letting us know how they came out! I’m super happy to hear how much you enjoyed them. :)
Hi Erin, I actually made these cookies following the recipe in your cookbook. i used coconut oil and coconut sugar. I also traded out the raisins for dried cherries and cacao nibs. These were so chewy and delicious. I loved them!
Hi, Heather! It’s always so nice to hear from you. :) I hope you’ve been well. I love your dried cherry and cacao nibs idea! I think I’ll have to try that, too, but with chocolate chunks! Thanks so much for your feedback. :)
These are the most delicious oatmeal raisin cookies EVER! I made a batch and my husband and son went nuts over them! My son dislikes raisins, but he says he likes them in this cookie. Chewy perfection!
That’s great that your family enjoyed them so much! And awesome that your son even likes the raisins in the cookies. :) I’m not a huge fan of raisins, either, but I definitely like them in these cookies! Thanks so much for the feedback. :)
Hi Erin,
these cookies have one serious flaw… It is too hard not to eat the dough raw!! :D :D
The ones that I managed to bake were absolutely delicious too, even when overbaked (my first batch was outright crunchy, not chewy, but the kids did not mind one bit!)
Hi, Iga! The beginning of your comment sent me into a mega panic that was over in milliseconds. ;) I’m so happy that the cookies came out well! How strange that the cookies came out crunchy at first. I’m happy you were able to get them chewy in the second batch! Thank you so much for the feedback. :)