Oatmeal Cookies Without Butter

These oatmeal cookies without butter can be made with different types of oil. They’re mixed together by hand, without a mixer, and the dough doesn’t need to be chilled. These butterless oatmeal cookies can be made with regular flour, gluten-free or whole wheat flour. They’re naturally dairy-free and have a vegan option.

I don’t know why, but I always think of oatmeal cookies as a back-to-school thing. They just seem so like childhood and back-to-school-ish. 

If it’s still too hot to bake where you live, try these no-bake oatmeal cookies for a no-bake version. They also don’t use butter! 

First, today’s cookies taste way better than they look. I consider myself an oatmeal cookie connoisseur (🤣), and these are the perfect oatmeal cookies.

Oil options

While you can make the cookies with butter, these oatmeal cookies are actually better without butter, as oil makes for a chewier cookie. Coconut oil is my favorite option.

I’ve tested them with both refined and unrefined coconut oil. I expected there to be some coconut aftertaste with unrefined, but there wasn’t. So use whichever kind you’d like.

You can also use other types of oil. A light olive oil would work well if you don’t mind a little olive oil taste. 

There’s so much cinnamon in these that the olive oil taste doesn’t taste too strong – at least once they’ve cooled.

It’s the weirdest thing – with olive oil, these cookies taste like paint straight out of the oven. I’ve never had that happen before! 

And I do a lot of baking with olive oil, like these Healthy Cinnamon Apple Muffins and Healthy Chocolate Cake.

I used extra-virgin olive oil in these cookies, but if you have light olive oil, there would be less of a chance of olive oil flavor.

Once they’ve cooled, these cookies have a slight olive oil taste (which my husband couldn’t even detect) but are still really tasty.

If you don’t want to use olive oil, then canola oil, grapeseed oil, etc. would also work. 

Vegan option

It’s also easy to make these cookies vegan. The butter obviously doesn’t need to be replaced, so there are just the two eggs to worry about.

I used chia eggs, which worked just as well as normal eggs. The cookies didn’t taste any different.

You definitely can’t tell a difference between the two versions. I assume other egg subs work, but I haven’t tried them, so I can’t say for sure.

I’ve also included a gluten-free option for this recipe. You can either use a mix of white rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch plus xanthan gum or a gluten-free 1:1 baking mix that’s meant as a sub for all-purpose flour.

I used the one from Bob’s Red Mill with great results, but I don’t know how other brands would do. I love that mix and also used it in my healthy applesauce muffins and pumpkin cupcakes.

For the people who don’t like raisins, you can, of course, use chocolate chips. Or whatever add-ins you’d like. 

But dry add-ins. You can’t add things like zucchini or carrots. I’m getting that question a lot right now!

Apparently, people are drowning in zucchini. I think it’s a nice problem to have. 🙂

Can I use something other than the listed flours?

I’ve tested and listed 5 different flour options. Those are the ones that I know will work and they’re the only ones that I think will work.

If you want to use spelt, you can try these Spelt Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

You could perhaps another 1-to-1 GF baking mix (that’s meant as a sub for all-purpose flour) but I can’t say it’d work as well.

Can I use something other than oil?

This recipe is for oatmeal cookies without butter but you can indeed use butter if you want. They won’t be quite as chewy, though. I don’t recommend applesauce, bananas or any other such subs. It’d probably require reworking the recipe a bit.

Can you taste the coconut oil?

We couldn’t taste any coconut flavor and I use unrefined coconut oil!

Can I use something other than chia eggs for a vegan version?

While I haven’t tried, I think any egg subs would likely would in these cookies.

Can I use something other than the listed sugars? 

You can probably use another granulated sugar that you can use in place of regular white granulated sugar. Liquid sweeteners won’t work as they’d make te dough too wet and the baked cookies would be cakey and spread a lot. 

Can I reduce the sweetener / oil? 

The more you reduce them, the more cakey and crumbly the cookies will be. I used the least amount that I thought was enough. I don’t find the cookies overly sweet! If you want something oaty that’s truly healthy, try these Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies.

Can I use different add-ins / add more of them? 

Nuts, dried fruit or candy work. Nothing wet like zucchini. But don’t add too many add-ins or the dough won’t hold together!

5 from 43 votes

Oatmeal Cookies without Butter

Author Erin Dooner

Course Dessert

Servings 16

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 17 minutes mins

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour OR for gluten-free, use the mix listed in the notes* or Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-free Baking Flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ 3/4 cup (168 grams) melted coconut oil OR another oil (see post for more notes)
• ▢ 1 1/3 cups (266 grams) brown sugar or coconut sugar
• ▢ 2 large (50 grams each, out of shell) eggs or 2 chia eggs for vegan**
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 3/4 cups (260 grams) quick oats (use GF oats for a GF version)
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups (190 grams) raisins or chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
• Stir together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla and stir.
• Add the dry mix to the wet mix and stir just until combined. Stir in the oats and raisins, again stirring just until combined.
• Form the dough into 1/4 cup (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 for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen for a few months.

Notes

• To make these cookies gluten-free, use the following instead of the flour listed in the recipe:

• 1 cup (140 grams) white rice flour
• 1/3 cup (52 grams) potato starch
• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (20 grams) tapioca flour
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

** To make 2 chia eggs, mix 2 tablespoons ground chia seed with 6 tablespoons water. Mix until combined and gloopy like an egg.

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