Soft and chewy coconut flour oatmeal cookies. A simple and better-for-you cookie recipe for when you're craving something sweet. These cookies require just 9 ingredients and are made in one bowl. Gluten-free with an option for dairy- free and ready in under 30 minutes!
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First time using coconut flour for baking, and this is the perfect recipe to try. The cookies are delicious, and now I am itching to make more goodies with the flour.
- Anita
Reasons to Love These Coconut Flour Oatmeal Cookies
- Better-for-you cookie recipe. I love that these coconut flour oatmeal cookies require simple ingredients and no gluten-free flour blends. You just need coconut flour and oats for the base of these cookies.
- Coconut flour. Coconut flour is a good alternative to a lot of flours because its lower carb content and it's lower on the glycemic index (compared to all-purpose flour). It's also high in fiber and less expensive than a lot of gluten-free flour.
- Allergy and diet friendly: You can easily make these gluten-free, dairy-free and are naturallly nut-free.
- One bowl & easy: The dough for these cookies is made in just one bowl. Less clean up and less mess! And like my oat flour chocolate chip cookies, there is no need to chill the dough before baking.
I've had this cookie recipe on the blog for years and have received a lot of very good reviews and honestly, some that have said they turn out dry and crumbly. So, back to the kitchen I went to retest this recipe. I made a few modifications to ensure these cookies turn out each and every time you make them! I take reviews very seriously and never want anyone to waste their time or ingredients.
And I'm excited to share my new and improved recipe! These coconut flour oatmeal cookies have the soft, chewy and sweet goodness you crave in an oatmeal cookie, but are made using coconut flour as opposed to all-purpose flour.
Why coconut flour? First, it's gluten-free (and I limit gluten). Plus, I love making gluten-free baked goods with simple, real-food ingredients and it's allergy friendly for those with nut allergies. I use almond flour in a lot of my healthier muffin and bread recipes, but that's not always good when it comes to allergies.
You'll also find me using coconut flour in my almond flour blackberry muffins and fluffy almond flour pumpkin muffins.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below. Here are some specific call-outs and substitutions if needed.
- Coconut sugar - To keep the cookie base refined sugar-free, I use coconut sugar (just like in my oat flour brownie recipe). Coconut sugar tastes similar to brown sugar and I really love the subtle sweetness it adds. You can sub brown sugar or cane sugar for the coconut sugar.
- Coconut oil - You can use either room temperature butter (unsalted) or room temperature/soft coconut oil. If you need them to be dairy-free, use coconut oil.
- Rolled oats - If needing these cookies to be gluten-free, make sure to use certified gluten-free oats. Even though oats are naturally gluten-free, they can become contaminated during processing. And use rolled oats/old-fashioned oats; steel cut outs will be too dense for these coconut flour oatmeal cookies.
- Chocolate chips - Milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate chips will all work. If needing these to be dairy-free, ensure your chocolate chips are dairy-free.
🤍Sara's clean food tips: If avoiding herbicides/pesticides is important to you, use certified organic oats. Also, look for chocolate chips that contain just sugar, chocolate, and cocoa butter.
Take the guesswork out of clean eating! My free Clean Eating Guide shows you exactly what to look for when you're at the store.
Step-by-Step Directions
- Step 1: Using a hand mixer, or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together the coconut oil (or butter) and coconut sugar.
- Step 2: Beat in eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.
- Step 3: Add the dry ingredients (oats, coconut flour, baking soda, salt). Mix until combined.
- Step 4: Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Step 5: Using about 2 tbsp. of dough, scoop dough (a spring- loaded scoop works best) and roll into balls onto prepared cookie sheet. Flatten dough into a round cookie shape. The cookies will not spread or change shape while they are baking.
- Step 6: Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Sara's Tips & Notes for Making Coconut Flour Oatmeal Cookies
- Coconut flour is extremely absorbent and if you use too much, the cookies will be dry. When measuring, scoop the coconut flour into measuring cup and even out with the dull edge of a knife. Do NOT pack the flour into the measuring cup. For the best results, use a kitchen scale and weigh the flour (you'll need 47g of coconut flour).
- A spring-loaded cookie scoop works best to scoop the dough.
- Whether using a cookie scoop, or shaping in your hands, pack the dough together. This will help the cookies hold their shape.
- The dough is sticky. When shaping/flattening your cookies, wet your hands slightly to prevent sticking.
- The dough for these coconut flour oatmeal cookies won't spread. Make sure to shape them into round cookies before baking. I make my cookies about ¼"-½" thick.
- Swap out the chocolate chips for walnuts, raisins, or any of your favorite dried fruits.
Recipe FAQs
Because the coconut flour is so dry and extremely absorbent, the liquid from the eggs is really needed in these coconut flour oatmeal cookies. I don't recommend using an egg substitute here.
No, almond flour reacts very differently in baking and this recipe is written specifically for coconut flour. There are no substitutions for the coconut flour.
If you want to make the dough ahead of time, you can store in the fridge for a couple of days. If needed, allow dough to come to room temp so you can scoop and shape the cookies. You could also shape the batter into individual balls and then place in fridge so all you have to do is flatten/shape the cookies before baking.
You may have too much coconut flour. Coconut flour is extremely absorbent and if you use too much, the cookies may not hold their shape. Weighing the coconut flour is best, or be sure to scoop and level in a measuring cup. Don't pack in the flour. Also, be sure to pack the dough together when making the dough balls. This also helps them hold their shape.
Storing
These oatmeal coconut flour cookies will stay fresh for up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container.
You can also freeze these for up to 3 months.
More Better-for-You Cookie Recipes
Coconut Flour Oatmeal Cookies
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Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Baking sheet
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup room temperature unsalted butter or coconut oil
- 2 large eggs (see notes)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (47g) coconut flour
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats/old-fashioned oats (certified gluten free if needed)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. fine sea salt
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line one large baking sheet (or two small) with parchment paper, or a silicone baking mat, and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the coconut sugar and butter (or coconut oil) until smooth, about 1 minute. You can either use a hand mixer, or stand mixer with paddle attachment.½ cup coconut sugar, ⅓ cup room temperature unsalted butter or coconut oil
- Add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat for an additional 30 seconds.2 large eggs, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- Add the coconut flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Beat on low until just combined. Next, fold in the chocolate chips.½ cup (47g) coconut flour, 1 ½ cups rolled oats/old-fashioned oats, 1 tsp. baking soda, ¼ tsp. fine sea salt, ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Using about 2 tablespoons of dough, scoop and roll into a ball, packing the dough tightly to help the cookies hold their shape. Place dough balls onto prepared cookie sheet (I like using a spring loaded cookie scoop). Flatten each dough ball into a round cookie shape about ¼"-½" thick. The cookies will not spread as they bake.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should be lightly browned on edges when done. Let cool slightly and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
- Both butter and coconut oil work in these cookies. Use coconut oil if you need them to be dairy-free.
- If using coconut oil, make sure it is soft like room temperature butter. If needed, slightly warm in the microwave, but don't melt.
- If using coconut oil, use room temperature eggs. This will keep the coconut oil from solidifying when the eggs are added in.
- When measuring coconut flour, scoop flour into measuring cup and even out with the dull edge of a knife. Do NOT pack the flour into the measuring cup. If you have a kitchen scale, it's best to weigh the flour.
- The dough will be sticky. To prevent sticking while rolling into balls and shaping the cookies, get your hands slightly wet.
Nutrition
christina says
Hello, can you substitute the coconut sugar for maple syrup or something?
Sara Ecklin says
If you aren't looking for an unrefined sweetener, you can use brown sugar. If you'd like an unrefined sugar, you can try date sugar. I haven't tried maple syrup and being it's a liquid sweetener, I'm not sure how it would turn out in this specific cookie recipe. If you do try, please let me (and others) know how it turns out. Thanks 🙂
Diana Schenone says
these cookies are very dry and crumble into pieces when I try to pick them up. disappointed, for sure.
Sara Ecklin says
Hi Diana - I'm sorry to hear these didn't turn out for you. I've had a few people say they were crumbly, so I recently re-tested them and made a few modifications to the recipe. I appreciate you leaving a review. The recipe has been updated if you'd like to give them another try 🙂
Erica says
I love these cookies! It’s a creative way to use coconut flour that I haven’t seen yet and I really enjoyed the application.
I used equal parts coconut sugar and coconut flour (1/3 cup) and then added a flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water) along with the two eggs to add moisture without increasing the flavor of egg. I used 1 1/2 cups quick oats instead of rolled and cut up some unsweetened baking chocolate because that’s what I had. I lightly pressed each cookie down before baking and then baked for 9 minutes. Very successful.
Sara says
Thanks for sharing the easy modifications you made to the recipe and so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
Deborah says
Not sure I like this recipe. I did everything correct according to the recipe. They don't taste sweet, I'm not sure they are done cause they fall apart, and I baked for 10 minutes. I I just don't like them.
Sara says
Hi Deborah - I appreciate you sharing your honest opinion. You definitely need to pack the dough together when making the cookie shape, so I'm wondering if that is maybe where things went wrong. Either way, thanks for giving these a try!
Zoey Zhang says
Thank you for this recipe! I actually reduced the amount of rolled oats by 1/4 cups and increased the amount of coconut flour by 1 tbsp - it turned out great! The mouthfeel of the oats is not very very overwhelming and I am very pleased 😀. I will keep making it!
Sara says
Appreciate you sharing your modifications for others to see and so happy to hear you are enjoying this recipe!
Art W says
I followed the recipe to the letter, using a digital scale to measure, the dough was on the dry side. Is that the way it should be? Thank You, Art
Sara says
Hi Art - Thanks for the question - the dough can be dry, but it really helps to pack the dough together in your hands when making the cookie balls - this will help them to keep there shape and retain more moisture. I have also had people say adding an additional egg has helped, so you could try that as well.