Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan, gluten-free, whole grain)

These vegan and gluten-free walnut chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy and made with a healthy amount of walnut butter. They’re also made with oats and oat flour, making them 100% whole grain!

I’m a terribly forgetful and disorganized person. After 3 1/2 years of blogging, I thought it was time to go through my post drafts folder and clean things up.

I found this recipe from March 2011, which was before I even started posting anything. I wanted it to be one of my first posts but here we are in 2015. Whoops.

Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan, gluten-free, whole grain)

These walnut chocolate chip cookies are adapted from Vegetarian Times’ Heart Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookies in the World, but after tweaking it for the past few years, only the amount of walnuts and oat flour remains the same.

The original recipe is great as is but somehow I just found myself changing things here and there. I also made it easier by omitting a step where you boil 1/2 cup water and the sugar.

I assume it has a purpose but I couldn’t taste any difference between doing that and just adding the sugar to the batter and adding 1/2 cup milk. I’m all for easier so that’s what I went with.

Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan, gluten-free, and 100% whole grain)

Something important to note is that other nuts don’t seem to work in these cookies. I’ve tried using the same amount of peanut butter and almond butter and they came out pretty terribly. Stick with walnuts!

Even if you don’t even like walnuts, I bet you’ll love these cookies – just leave out the chopped walnuts!

Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan, gluten-free, and whole grain)

The recipe calls for processing walnuts in a food processor until you have nut butter. Out of all the nut butters I’ve made, I think walnut butter is the quickest.

It takes about 2 minutes in my food processor. I guess you could also use store-bought walnut butter but this way is so much cheaper!

If you were hoping for a more Easter-y post today, here’s an awesome 100% whole wheat carrot cake and here’s a grain-free carrot cake recipe. I hope you all have a lovely Easter! :)

Vegan Gluten-free Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Rated 5.0 by 8 readers
Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan, gluten-free, whole grain)
  • Prep Time:
  • Cook Time:
  • Ready in:
  • Yield: 32 cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (220 grams) walnuts (not any other type of nut)
  • 1 1/2 cups (138 grams) oat flour (use certified gluten-free oat flour, if necessary)1
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup (56 grams) coconut oil, room temperature2
  • 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (175 grams) raw sugar or coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) milk of choice (but not canned coconut milk, as it's too thick)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups (161 grams) rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats, if necessary)
  • 1/2 cup (55 grams) chopped walnuts
  • 3/4 cup (128 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips (use dairy-free / vegan chocolate, if necessary)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with an S-blade, grind the walnuts until they have the consistency of natural peanut butter. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oat flour, baking powder, and salt. When the walnut butter is ready, transfer it to a large mixing bowl.
  3. To the large bowl, add the coconut oil, sugar, milk and vanilla and beat with a large spoon or with an electric hand or stand mixer until well combined. Slowly add in the dry ingredient mixture and stir just until combined.
  4. Fold in the oats, walnuts and chocolate chips. Form into 1" balls and place 3" apart on the prepared baking sheet. Do not press the balls down.
  5. Bake for 10 minutes or until the centers of the cookies no longer appear wet (they should not brown – if they do, they're overbaked and will be cakey instead of chewy). They should have formed a light crust.
  6. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
  7. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Notes

  1. If you don't have oat flour on hand, use a coffee grinder or small food processor to grind rolled or quick oats until powdery.
  2. I used refined coconut oil, which doesn't have any coconut flavor. If you use unrefined coconut oil, these will likely have some coconut taste to them.

Adapted from Vegetarian Times

Recipe by  | www.texanerin.com

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56 comments on “Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan, gluten-free, whole grain)” — Add one!

3 comments are awaiting moderation!

  • Eva Vincent says
    January 6, 2021 @ 1:07 am

    These are now my favorite cookie!!!!!!
    I love how there is so much walnuts!

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Eva Vincent
      January 8, 2021 @ 7:12 am

      I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for your feedback. :)

      Reply
  • Arielle says
    March 3, 2020 @ 4:40 pm

    Are these cookies soft and chewy or crunchy?

    I plan on making these soon once i get a response.

    Thanks in advance

    Reply
  • Teresa
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    April 27, 2019 @ 8:47 pm

    I LOVE these cookies. I have made them several times and they come out perfectly even at altitude (almost 10,000 feet). The only adjustment I make is cut the baking powder in half and increase cooking time by 3 extra minutes. Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Teresa
      April 30, 2019 @ 8:59 pm

      You’re welcome for the recipe! I’m really glad that you enjoyed them and that they came out well at altitude. Thanks for sharing your adjustments and your comment!

      Reply
  • Natalie says
    July 16, 2018 @ 11:27 pm

    Hi Erin! I had trouble making these cookies! For some reason they did not come out of the oven correctly, instead they didn’t bake very well! when the dough was ready, it would not form in a ball – it was way too sticky and hard to mold. then in the oven the did not rise or spread out, but stayed the same.

    any tips? Maybe less coconut oil?

    please let me know!

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Natalie
      July 18, 2018 @ 9:04 pm

      Hi Natalie! I’m sorry that you had problems! You processed the walnuts until it formed a runny nut butter, like natural peanut butter, right? If you didn’t process it long enough, that could explain the problem. Or did you make any subs or changes at all to the recipe?

      Reply
      • Natalie Bell replies to Erin
        July 21, 2018 @ 4:55 am

        That is so helpful! Now that I think of it, I did not process the walnuts enough to form a butter. I am retrying the recipe tonight!

        Thank you!

        Reply
        • Erin replies to Natalie Bell
          July 21, 2018 @ 1:40 pm

          You’re welcome! Good luck. :)

  • Irina Dalah says
    July 13, 2018 @ 9:05 am

    hi! awesome recipe both vegan and gf!!
    is there anything i can substitute for rolled oats? I just don’t like the taste… sorry.
    I was thinking maybe cooked quinoa (I love IT in cookies) but maybe the rolled oats are there to soak the liquids and cooked quinoa doesn’t do it.
    maybe ground almonds? cornmeal? ground flax or chia seeds?
    thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Irina Dalah
      July 15, 2018 @ 9:28 am

      Hi! Thanks. :) You’re right in that cooked quinoa doesn’t work as a sub for oat flour. I’ve never found a good sub for it but have read that millet flour, rice flour, or sorghum flour could work. I wouldn’t recommend it, though, since I haven’t tried it. The 1 1/2 cups of oat flour are the base of the recipe so I’d recommend finding a different recipe without oats. :( Sorry about that!

      Reply
  • Nadya Miller says
    April 28, 2018 @ 5:59 pm

    Hi! I made them this morning! I put less sugar but it is still much enjoyable! Thank you for the recipe!!

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Nadya Miller
      April 28, 2018 @ 8:35 pm

      You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear that they work well with less sugar. :) Thanks for the tip!

      Reply
  • Jeanette says
    March 16, 2018 @ 2:14 am

    Are these cookies supposed to flatten when
    Baking? Mine stayed in a ball

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Jeanette
      March 18, 2018 @ 1:51 pm

      They do! I tried flattening the dough balls a little with my hand when I first made them but they flattened too much then. Did you make any subs?

      Reply
    • Rachel replies to Jeanette
      July 15, 2018 @ 3:51 am

      So did mine😞

      Reply
      • Erin replies to Rachel
        July 18, 2018 @ 9:17 pm

        Hi Rachel! You processed the walnuts until it formed a runny nut butter, like natural peanut butter, right? If you didn’t process it long enough, that could explain the problem. Or did you make any subs or changes at all to the recipe?

        Reply
  • Rachael
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    August 6, 2017 @ 4:08 am

    These were SO yummy! So much flavour with the walnut butter, I’ve never used/made walnut butter before so I was pleasantly surprised! I think I’ll add a bit more salt next time as I think it would give them a ‘salted caramel’ type taste, which I am crazy about!

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Rachael
      August 6, 2017 @ 8:56 am

      Yum! I like the idea of adding extra salt. I’m so happy you liked the cookies! Thanks for your comment. :)

      Reply
  • Justine says
    November 14, 2016 @ 1:07 am

    I’m confused by the ingredients: 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) milk of choice … is this not a vegan recipe?

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Justine
      November 14, 2016 @ 10:14 am

      Almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, and rice milk are examples of vegan milk. :)

      Reply
  • Colleen says
    October 19, 2016 @ 9:51 pm

    I would just like to know why you say this is made with walnut butter when there is no walnut butter in the ingredient list. Yes, there are walnuts in these cookies but no walnut butter from what I can tell.

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Colleen
      October 19, 2016 @ 10:10 pm

      Because you make walnut butter in Step 2. It’s much cheaper than buying pre-ground walnut butter. :)

      Reply
  • MsBlucher
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    July 26, 2016 @ 9:11 pm

    Outstanding, delicious cookies – but I, too, somehow always have to tweak a recipe: for my second batch I toasted the 1/2 C. of chopped walnuts lightly before I added them, and also included a pinch of instant coffee (I use Medaglia d’Oro instant espresso powder, but any fine-textured brand should work okay). Couldn’t have done it without you, thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Erin replies to MsBlucher
      July 27, 2016 @ 8:56 pm

      I usually toast nuts before baking with them so I’m not sure why I didn’t do that here. Thanks for the tip! And espresso powder sounds great, too. :) I’m happy that they came out well! Thanks a bunch for your feedback.

      Reply
  • Nana says
    July 6, 2016 @ 2:02 am

    Best vegan cookies I’ve tried yet! My friends, vegan and non-vegan all loved them!

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Nana
      July 6, 2016 @ 10:20 pm

      Wow, thanks! I’m super happy to hear that. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!

      Reply
  • Abbey says
    June 9, 2016 @ 2:00 am

    Can I substitute something for the sugar? Do you think applesauce would work?

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Abbey
      June 9, 2016 @ 10:19 am

      I think that’d make the cookies super cakey and would possibly make them fall apart. If you wanted to sub in a liquid sweetener like honey or maple syrup, you’d have to adjust the other ingredients. Since I haven’t tried that, I don’t really know how you’d adjust the other ingredients. Sorry about that!

      Reply
      • Jen replies to Erin
        March 17, 2019 @ 12:59 am

        I made these with applesauce in place of coconut oil. I just flattened them and baked them longer to get them crispy. Tasted great!

        Reply
        • Erin replies to Jen
          March 20, 2019 @ 7:18 pm

          Thanks for the tip! I’m so glad that you enjoyed them and that it worked out well. :) Thanks for your comment!

  • Abbie
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    June 4, 2016 @ 7:16 pm

    Just made these cookies and they turned out perfect!! I did use brow sugar instead so they have a caramel flavour to them which compliments the walnuts really well. Thanks so much for this healthy recipe :)

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Abbie
      June 4, 2016 @ 9:11 pm

      Brown sugar sounds great and I’m happy to hear that you liked the cookies! Thanks for your feedback. :)

      Reply
  • Carolyn says
    April 22, 2016 @ 8:03 am

    These look great! What food processor do you use and do you recommend it? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Carolyn
      April 23, 2016 @ 7:58 pm

      Thanks! Unfortunately, I live in Germany and the one I use isn’t available in the US (and it’s also been discontinued). But I did find this discussion about the best options for making nut butters! I hope that’ll help. :)

      Reply
  • April
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    February 29, 2016 @ 7:53 pm

    Thank you this was great. I made a couple tweeks… brazil nuts for the extra 1/2 c walnuts, carob for chocolate and only added 1/4c of sugar with 1 tbsp of stevia and they turned out perfect for the kiddos.

    Reply
    • Erin replies to April
      March 1, 2016 @ 9:43 pm

      I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Your changes sound yummy. :) I’ll have to try them with brazil nuts next time! Thanks a bunch for your feedback.

      Reply
  • Mimi says
    October 6, 2015 @ 3:26 pm

    Erin, these cookies look as though they are soft and chewy. That’s good! But, I also want crispy! I always like the outside brownies rather than the middle ones. Do you have any suggestions on how to make these crispy? Thx in advance!

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Mimi
      October 6, 2015 @ 6:09 pm

      I have to admit that that is something I’ve never tried doing! A few people posted some tips for making cookies crisper here. I hope that’ll give you some good ideas! I normally have to experiment a few times when I adapt a recipe to get what I want so it may make more sense just to find another recipe. Sorry I couldn’t be more of a help! Let me know how it goes it you try it out. :)

      Reply
  • Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen says
    April 14, 2015 @ 6:00 pm

    Mmm! Cannot wait to make this clever cookie recipe, Erin! LOVE that you used both coconut oil and coconut milk. There’s such a balance when replacing butter (both the oil and milk in it) when developing baking recipes. These chocolate chip cookies look perfect and I love the walnut addition! Pinning these babies to my new Vegan board!

    Reply
  • Lucija Colak
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    April 5, 2015 @ 9:20 pm

    I’m sorry,but in my country there is no such a thing like coconut oil..May I use any other oil or..

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Lucija Colak
      April 5, 2015 @ 9:42 pm

      I think butter would be fine but they’ll be a little less moist as butter is only 80% fat instead of 100% like coconut oil. I suggest using 4.5 tbsp of butter to make up for that. I hope that you’ll love the cookies as much as I do! :)

      Reply
      • Elizabeth replies to Erin
        May 7, 2024 @ 3:54 pm

        This is a great tip! If you’re ever updating this page, it’d be super helpful to have this up top in the notes. I was totally going to try a 1:1 substitution butter for coconut oil and then I thought, this post is 9 years old, surely someone has posted about subbing butter. And they did! And I learned a new thing about the difference between coconut oil and butter! Double win :-) Maybe I’ll try making these with ghee or play around with some cocoa butter? Hmmmm… Yummy expirinentation lies ahead.

        Reply
  • Nutmeg Nanny says
    April 5, 2015 @ 6:01 am

    Whoa you found this awesome post just hiding out in your files? Go you! I love the idea of making a walnut butter. I’m not sure I have even seen it available in the store so making it homemade is a must. Plus (like you) I’m not a massive fan of walnuts but I have a feeling I might just love it if it’s in cookie form :)

    Reply
  • Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
    April 5, 2015 @ 3:59 am

    I don’t normally care for plain walnuts but I LOVE them in cookies! Oh and I totally love how your brain works! I would totally do the same thing, cookies + walnuts = healthy right? haha

    Reply
  • Caroline
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    April 3, 2015 @ 4:58 pm

    Wow, those are looking really delicious! I love nuts + chocolate and I happen to have a whole basket full of walnuts… :D
    But could I also use butter instead of the coconut oil?

    Reply
    • Erin replies to Caroline
      April 3, 2015 @ 9:03 pm

      Thanks! I think butter would be fine but they’ll be a little less moist as butter is only 80% fat instead of 100% like coconut oil. I suggest using 4.5 tbsp of butter to make up for that. Hope you’ll love them! :)

      Reply
      • Caroline replies to Erin
        April 6, 2015 @ 8:34 am

        Thank you!!

        Reply
  • Brenda@Sugar-Free Mom says
    April 2, 2015 @ 11:09 pm

    You and I have been blogging about the same length of time, 31/2 years. We must be related because I too and terribly disorganized! But how nice to find a recipe you never posted about that look this delicious!

    Reply
  • Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
    April 2, 2015 @ 11:00 pm

    Oh dear Lord these look like the best cookies ever. And hey, better late than never right? – from a fellow disorganized person :)

    Reply
  • The Food Hunter says
    April 2, 2015 @ 10:55 pm

    healthy and delicious!

    Reply
  • Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
    April 2, 2015 @ 10:23 pm

    These cookies look incredible, Erin! I don’t usually like walnuts in my cookies, but I could go for a couple of these!

    Reply
  • Charlotte Moore
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    April 2, 2015 @ 10:19 pm

    Yummy!! These look wonderful. The one I make GF recipes for can’t eat chocolate. I might try these with cranberries and add orange zest.

    Reply
  • Martha @ A Family Feast says
    April 2, 2015 @ 9:45 pm

    This is another one of those times where I wish I could reach into my computer monitor and grab one of these cookies! Fantastic!

    Reply

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