This simple recipe for thick and chewy gluten free oatmeal cookies is crispy around the edges, soft and chewy the rest of the way through. In other words, perfect.
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Yup, oatmeal cookies can be made gluten free!
Are you worried that oats aren't gluten free? Oats are not a gluten-containing grain. They are frequently contaminated with gluten, though, because of the way they are typically grown and stored.
In the United States, there are certified gluten free oats that are grown on dedicated fields, and processed to carefully avoid any contamination. I even buy certified gluten free oats at my local Trader Joe's for a great price.
Why this is the best gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe
It's worth sourcing the proper oats just to make this recipe for thick and chewy gluten free oatmeal cookies. It's been a family favorite of mine, in one form or another, for about 20 years (with gluten, at first!).
They're crisp on the outside, especially the edges and the bottom, but never hard to bite. Then, the browned outside gives way to a super chewy cookie all the way through.
Plus, these cookies have plenty of chewy, nutty-tasting purity-protocol gluten free old fashioned rolled oats gives these rich, moist cookies. That's what gives them a completely different texture and flavor from another classic, our thick and chewy gluten free chocolate chip cookies.
Gluten free oatmeal cookies key ingredients
- Gluten free flour blend – I like Better Batter best here, since it's a solid all purpose gluten free flour blend with lots of structure; be sure to measure by weight, to avoid overmeasuring!
- Baking soda – The rise in these cookies comes from the eggs, but we need a touch of baking soda to neutralize the acid in the brown sugar.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar provides crispness and tenderness, not to mention sweetness, of course
- Old fashioned rolled oats – Purity protocol gf oats provide all the chewy nuttiness of a great oatmeal cookie; in this recipe, we have lots of them!
- Light brown sugar – The rich molasses flavor of brown sugar gives chocolate chip cookies of all kinds their telltale aroma.
- Chocolate chips – We don't use too many chips here so they don't overpower the cookie; you can always replace them with soft, plump raisins for a somewhat more traditional gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies.
- Butter – Butter adds richness and flavor, plus gives the cookies their spread and plenty of tenderness.
- Eggs – The eggs are what give these cookies their rise; they also bind the cookies together.
- Vanilla extract – Vanilla extract doesn't make the cookies taste like vanilla! It just adds depth of flavor.
Tips for working with this very thick gluten free oatmeal cookie dough
You'll notice in the video that this cookie dough is very thick, and nearly seems like it won't come together. You might even be tempted to add some water, but resist the urge!
Use the right gluten free flour blend
Like in most of my gluten free cookie recipes, especially the ones that are thick and chewy, Better Batter classic gf flour blend works best here (or my mock Better Batter blend, of course!). A high-starch blend like Cup4Cup will make a considerably lighter cookie that browns less. And as always, measure by weight!
Let a mixer help you with cookie dough preparation
The balance of ingredients is perfect for making oatmeal cookies that are thick and have that delightful chew, and also have crisp, browned edges. The most effective way to integrate the ingredients fully into one another when making the cookie dough by hand is to alternate between mixing the dough and pressing down on the butter with the back of the spoon.
For the easiest way to make the dough, follow the instructions as written, whisking the dry ingredients as instructed. But use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment everywhere the instructions direct you to “mix” rather than “whisk.”
Try a cookie scoop for easy portioning
A spring-loaded ice cream scoop makes it easy to divide the cookie dough up into uniform portions. It also begins to create the right shape for baking, and helps your cookies all bake at the same rate.
Chill the oatmeal cookie dough
Although the cookie dough is so thick, I prefer to chill it before baking the cookies. That ensures the proper texture every time.
You can make it without chilling the dough, though. The cookies will simply spread a bit more, so they won't be quite as thick. But they'll still be delicious.
Avoid over-baking these gluten free oatmeal cookies
Just before the edges of these cookies turn brown in the oven, the tops will still be glossy and look wet. Even when the cookies are done, though, they won't be firm, particularly on top.
In fact, if you bake them until they're firm on top to the touch, they'll be overdone. If you're concerned about over-baking, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and bake them for 15 minutes. You'll still get browning, but reduce the chance of baking out much of the chewiness of the cookies.
How to store chewy gluten free oatmeal cookies so they stay soft
These cookies are so good at maintaining their texture, whether they're at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or frozen. Magic cookies!
Freezing baked gluten free oatmeal cookies
Once they're baked and set at room temperature, you can freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe zip-top container. You don't even need to freeze them first in a single layer on a baking sheet to protect them from breaking. Just squeeze as much of the air out of the bag as possible.
Freezing gluten free oatmeal cookie dough
These cookies also freeze raw, and can be baked any time a craving hits. Just shape the raw dough as instructed in the recipe, then freeze it in a single layer on a baking sheet before piling it in a freezer-safe bag, squeezing out all the air.
Then, let the cookies defrost until they're still firm, but aren't frozen solid. Bake as usual, in small or large batches!
Substitutions for gluten free oatmeal cookie ingredients
Gluten free dairy free oatmeal cookies
I've made this recipe with Melt brand vegan butter in place of butter, and it worked really well. The cookies didn't brown quite as nicely, and they spread a bit more, but overall the substitution worked great. Miyoko's Kitchen brand of vegan butter is also a great choice.
Gluten free egg-free oatmeal cookies
In place of each of the two eggs in this recipe, you can try one “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). I haven't tried this substitution, though, so I'm afraid you'll have to experiment.
Gluten free oatmeal cookies without oats
If you can’t have oats, you can replace the old fashioned oats in this recipe with flattened (or beaten) rice. If you can't have oats, I recommend having a look at our full discussion about replacing oats in gluten free baking.
You'll even find a photo in that post of a batch of these very oatmeal cookies made with beaten rice. They look perfect, and although the texture isn't identical to oats, it's closer than I ever thought I'd get for oat-free oatmeal cookies!
Gluten free oatmeal cookie variations
Gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies
Make these into arguably more traditional gf oatmeal raisin cookies by replacing the chocolate chips, by weight, with raisins. My favorite type of raisin for baking (and eating) is Thompson raisins, since they're plump and big, but not oversized.
Other dried fruits
Replace some or all of the chocolate chips with chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries, or even pitted, chopped dates. Toss the dates in some flour first, though, since dates are super sticky!
Gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
This recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate chips, so it's already made with oats and chocolate chips. But you can make those chips any flavor you like. Some ideas: milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or even chopped dark chocolate chunks.
Gluten free, oatmeal walnut cookies
Replace the chocolate chips in this recipe with whopped raw walnuts, by weight, and your cookies will taste transformed! The nuts bring out the nuttiness in the oats.
More variations of gluten free oatmeal cookie recipes:
- Our iced gf oatmeal cookies recipe is a thin and chewy gf oatmeal cookie with a thin layer of sweet white icing that sets fully.
- Gluten free monster cookies are thick and chewy peanut butter cookies with crisp edges made with quick oats and oat flour.
- These gluten free pumpkin oatmeal cookies add the warm spices and rich pumpkin flavor of fall to our gf oatmeal cookie recipe.
- For a completely different gf oatmeal cookie experience, our 3 ingredient oatmeal cookies are made without any added sugar and make a very virtuous, delicious snack.
- For the perfect, lightly sweet oatmeal breakfast cookie, look no further. Sweetened only with honey and applesauce.
- If you're missing Do-Si-Dos Girl Scout Cookies, try our peanut butter gluten free oatmeal cookie sandwiches!
FAQs
Oats are naturally gluten free, even though some people who can't have gluten are also sensitive to the distinct protein in oats. Follow the instructions above on how to replace the oats in this recipe if that describes you!
No! Unless, like these gf oatmeal cookies, they're made with gluten-free ingredients, conventional oatmeal cookies are made with wheat flour, which contains gluten by nature.
Oats are a healthy whole grain, and these cookies have plenty of them, but I wouldn't call these healthy cookies. For that, you need our oatmeal breakfast cookies, which are naturally sweetened and much heartier for your morning breakfast.
The best oats for this recipe are purity protocol old fashioned rolled oats. Bob's Red Mill makes safe gluten free oats—but just be sure to grab the bag that says “gluten free.”
Yes! You can successfully double this recipe if you're using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to mix everything together fully. Otherwise, try making two recipes in two separate bowls to ensure all ingredients are combined properly.
Yes, you can use dark brown sugar in place of light brown sugar, if you'd like a richer, deeper molasses flavor. The cookies themselves will be a bit darker in color, too.
Yes! Try freezing the shaped cookie dough balls as disks in a freezer-safe bag, with as much air removed as possible. Let defrost until they're firm but not frozen before baking.
Did you overbake the cookies? Did you make ingredient substitutions, especially the flour blend, or measure by volume instead of weight and thereby overmeasure your flour? All of those can lead to hard cookies.
Thick and Chewy Classic Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend I used Better Batter
- 1 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ cups (250 g) certified gluten free old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup (218 g) packed light brown sugar
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (See Recipe Notes)
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt, and whisk to combine well. Add the granulated sugar and oats, and whisk again to combine.
- Add the brown sugar and mix, breaking up any lumps in. Add the butter, and mix with a large spoon, pressing down with the back of the spoon to moisten the other ingredients.
- Add the beaten eggs and vanilla, and mix until the dough comes together. It will be very thick, and a bit difficult to stir, but continue to alternately press the cookie dough with the back of the spoon and stir, until the dry ingredients are nearly absorbed.
- Add the chocolate chips, and mix to distribute the chips evenly throughout and until the dough is completely integrated.
- Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces, each about the size of a golf ball, on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Press each piece of dough with the palm of your hand to flatten it into a disk of about 3/4-inch thick. Place the baking sheets in the freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.
- Once chilled, place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven, and bake for about 12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown all over (and a bit browner around the edges).
- The cookies will still be soft to the touch. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet until firm (about 10 minutes).
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
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Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Sharee Manning says
These cookies are amazing!! I used dried montmorency cherries in place of the chocolate chips and they were perfect!
I have recently made the NY Style gf pizza crust and that, too, was amazing!
I use your recipe, Mock Better Batter, for most of my baking and have never had a failure.
Nicole, you are my go-to for every recipe since being diagnosed with celiac 1 1/2 years ago. I have never had a poor-pitiful-me day, knowing that if I followed your recipe, my end result would be a success. I have a notebook full of successful recipes, thanks to you! Thank you for your expertise and experience and your willingness to share your knowledge. You have certainly made my journey a successful and tasty one!
Sharee
Nicole Hunn says
Thank you so much for such a kind and generous note, Sharee. The feelings of possibility and confidence that you describe are my entire goal in each recipe, each post. This means more to me than you may know!
Susie Neubaur says
(I had many recipe failures in one week) :( But, I wasn’t willing to give up…
So, I stumbled upon this recipe and thought I’d try it. I tried to make HALF a recipe (in case of failure) but made a mistake and added 2 eggs (100g) instead of one.
Sigh…Then, I had to go back and add in the (other half) of the original amounts of the other ingredients, to make a whole recipe, instead of half.
I hope that makes sense.
I was afraid to deviate from the original recipe…so,
I weighed all the ingredients that had a grams weight beside them, except for the butter. I measured that.
I guessed at the golfball size, but DID take out my tape measure and measure the 3/4 inch thickness of the cookie when I pressed down on it. (after it came out of the freezer, and before the oven)
I popped them in the oven and waited.
I took them out at 12 minutes, they looked exactly like you described! I was stunned. but I didn’t think they looked done. and they were very soft.
(FYI, if you let them cool completely, they WILL firm up)
the other batch of cookies was in the oven and I left them in an extra 5 minutes just to make sure they were done. They browned more and looked more done…
The second batch did not end up hard, thankfully. BUT, do NOT leave them in the oven longer just because you think they don’t look done.
Both batches were absolutely delicious! But, when I make these again, I WILL leave them in the oven ONLY 12 minutes and I will resist the temptation to cook them longer.
Thank you so much for this recipe! You are so talented and I usually love the recipes you come up with. :)
Joan McBryan says
l’m not sure where l went wrong, followed the recipe, but they didn’t stay together all the way. what did l do wrong? l put them in the freezer before baking?
Nicole Hunn says
Without knowing anything about the ingredients you used, especially the flour blend, whether you measured by weight or volume, or if you made ingredient substitutions, I can’t know where you deviated from the recipe as written. But those questions I just asked are a good place to start. Check out the tips in the text of the post on handling the cookie dough, too. There’s a lot of useful information in the text of the post.
Debs says
These are delicious, I made a variation with pecans instead of choc chips. The tip about watching for slight browning at the edges really helped as I have a new oven and I am still getting used to how it cooks. I am also going to try freezing a few.
Nicole Hunn says
Thank you for sharing your experience, Debs. I’m really glad you used visual cues for doneness and understand that all ovens are different. I’d use a separate oven thermometer, for all ovens, as they tend to drift out of calibration no matter what.
Laureen says
Amazingly good! I’m typing this as my first batch just came out of the oven! I had been frustrated with my previous tries at baking GF oatmeal raisin and/or chocolate chip cookies … this is now my forever “go to” recipe! Thank you for sharing – Laureen, Tampa Fl
Nicole Hunn says
I’m so glad you’re enjoying them, Laureen. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Melissa L says
I would like to make these dairy free as well. Would Earth Balance vegan butter work or do you recommend something else?
Nicole Hunn says
Please see the text of the post under the heading “Gluten free dairy free oatmeal cookies”
Lynn says
These are delicious! No time to let the butter come up to room temperature so it was slightly melted and I did not put the dough in the freezer. They turned out perfect, regardless!
Heather T says
Really loved these cookies – have been making GF more and more; using this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill (or King Arthur) 1-to-1 flour, these oatmeal cookies are virtually undistinguishable from wheat flour oatmeal cookies. Thanks!
Gail says
These cookies are delicious, easy to make and are really sweet. I added raisins to my batchin addition to the mini chocolate chips. I didn’t have a scale so I just measured carefully and used two large eggs. The batter is very crumbly and a bit hard to mix, but when you begin to form them into balls….they stick together quite well. I would never know it was gluten free! I will definitely make these again. Thanks!
Sara says
Hi, my eggs don’t weigh 100 g should I add in a third?
Nicole Hunn says
If you’re less than 10 grams off I wouldn’t worry. More than that, beat another egg separately and only add the weight that is missing.
Samantha Gilhooley says
Can you use a kitchen aid for these cookies?
Nicole Hunn says
Sure, Samantha! Just follow the same steps, but mix with the paddle attachment.
Louise F says
These are amazing,I may be able to convert everyone to gluten free with these! Reverse cream method. I’ve never heard of it but I love that there was only one bowl to clean! I just kept adding the ingredients to the bowl and stand mixer and I didn’t need to refrigerate. They stayed nicely puffed after baking.
Nicole Hunn says
So glad, Louise!
Janice Cohoon says
This is a great recipe, but I have to say it was a bit strange for me to not cream the sugar and butter together first. I messed up a bit and forgot to add white sugar and oats but I went back and found the step and added them in after the butter and it was no problem!
Just a side thought…the crumbly mixture after you have the butter incorporated with the dry ingredients reminds me of the crumble for apple crisp or for date squares…I think you could stop there and use it for that!!
Nicole Hunn says
It’s called a reverse cream, Janice, and it makes a chewier, more dense cookie. The raw cookie mixture would not work as a crumble as the pieces would not hold their shape during baking. I have a number of other recipes that include a crumble topping that you can find using the search function if you need that.
Brandy M says
These are honestly the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever made! (Including ones with regular flour) we love them! Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Nicole Hunn says
You’re so welcome, Brandy! I’m really glad you love them as much as we do. They’re my son’s favorite. :)
Louise FEARON says
These are amazing,I may be able to convert everyone to gluten free with these! Reverse cream method. I’ve never heard of it but I love that there was only one bowl to clean!
Dee says
I used Oat Flour instead of gluten free flour and it turned out fantastic. Love this recipe.
Jac Sinclair says
This is a go to recipe for me. I have also done some experimenting with altering ingredients. I use almond flour instead of gf blends, and no xantham gum. I love the texture being chewy and holding together and being a little more hearty. I also added in shredded coconut, walnuts, and dried blueberries as my add ins and a big dash of cardamom, probably a half tablespoon. And I just added a couple of dashes of orange blossom water. The water is more of a hint that I get on the inhale of the bite of the cookie. So it is subtle but present. All of these additions makes this cookie lean a lot more towards breakfast cookie. :)