These Gluten-Free Breakfast Cookies are a reader favorite. Packed with protein and healthy fats, no one would ever know these are grain-free, egg-free, and nut-free!
Over the last several weeks, many of you have asked for grain free recipes that do not contain eggs or nuts. Kind of a hard combination, but definitely not impossible. 😉
These Gluten-Free Breakfast Cookies get their protein from SunButter (sunflower seed butter), coconut, flax and hemp seeds. All super healthy ingredients!
Hemp seeds have long been regarded for their nutritional value and contain 20 amino acids, including the 9 essential amino acids. I like adding hemp seeds to baked goods, smoothies, and salads for a nutritional boost.
Hemp seeds also help made this Dairy-Free Macaroni & Cheese extra creamy, healthy, and delicious.
These healthy breakfast cookies have a "nutty" flavor and are very filling. Once they cool from being in the oven, they are perfectly crisp on the outside, but nice and chewy on the inside.
Just the way I like 'um!
These are kid - and adult approved, making them the perfect cookie for a quick breakfast or snack on the go. I like making these cookies at the beginning of the week, especially when we have a super busy week planned. That way I don't have to stress about what to feed the kids as we're trying to quickly shuffle out the door.
When was the last time you let your kids eat cookies for breakfast, and actually felt good (guilt-free) about it?
Looking for more vegan breakfast ideas? Try these chocolate overnight oats!
How to make Vegan Breakfast Cookies
- Prepare the baking sheets and preheat the oven.
- Make the flax eggs.
- Using an electric mixer, cream the SunButter, palm sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Beat in the baking soda and sea salt, and then stir in all other remaining ingredients (don’t forget the flax meal slurry!).
- Roll the dough by heaping tablespoon into balls and place them on the baking sheets. Using the tips of your fingers, gently flatten the dough until it is about ½ an inch thick.
- Bake, allow them to cool, and enjoy!
Gluten-Free Breakfast Cookies Substitutions
- If you tolerate nuts, you can substitute almond butter or cashew butter for the SunButter.
- If you tolerate eggs, 1 egg can be used in place of the flax meal slurry. While we tolerate eggs, sometimes I prefer to use the flax slurry in lieu of an egg for the nutritional boost.
- Hemp seeds are not permitted in all parts of the world (thanks for the tip, Helen!). If you are one of those who does not have access to hemp seeds, try replacing them with roughly chopped sunflower seeds.
Other grain-free vegan recipes to check out:
Paleo Vegan Double Chocolate Breakfast Cookies
Vegan Pecan Pie Bars
Vegan Caramel Sauce
Gluten-Free Breakfast Cookies Recipe:
Gluten Free Breakfast Cookies
These delicious protein packed Gluten Free Breakfast Cookies are grain-free, egg-free and nut free. Yet one would never suspect it!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon flax meal
- 3 tablespoons boiling water
- 1 cup SunButter Creamy Sunflower Seed Spread
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅔ cup unsweetened & finely shredded coconut
- ⅓ cup hemp seed
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup desired seeds or raisins, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
- Stir together the flax meal and boiling water; set aside and allow it to sit for at least 10 minutes.
- Using an electric mixer, cream the SunButter, palm sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Beat in the baking soda and sea salt, and then stir in all other remaining ingredients (don’t forget the flax meal slurry!).
- Roll the dough by heaping tablespoon into balls and place them on the baking sheets spaced about 3 inches apart. Using the tips of your fingers, gently flatten the dough until it is about ½ an inch thick.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are turning golden brown at the edges. Leave cookies on the baking sheet to cool.
- When the cookies are cool and are firm, transfer them to plate lined with a paper towel (this will help draw out the excess oils from the SunButter. Store the cookies uncovered out on the counter (so the air can get to them). They will crunch up on the outside, but still remain soft on the inside. If you store them in an airtight container, they will retain too much moisture and crumble easily.
Notes
If you tolerate nuts, you can substitute almond butter or cashew butter for the SunButter.
If you tolerate eggs, 1 egg can be used in place of the flax meal slurry. While we tolerate eggs, sometimes I prefer to use the flax slurry in lieu of an egg for the nutritional boost.
Hemp seeds are not permitted in all parts of the world (thanks for the tip, Helen!). If you are one of those who does not have access to hemp seeds, try replacing them with roughly chopped sunflower seeds.
Laureen Fox says
These look great Megan, can't wait to try them and thanks for the substitution tips. I picked up a few jars of Cashew Butter that was on sale recently and I don't do flax but I'm ok with eggs 🙂
Megan says
Hi Laureen,
Thank you! And you're welcome. I can't wait to hear how you like them!
Hugs,
Megan
Shirley @ gfe & AGFD says
These cookies look absolutely sensational, Megan! I am totally thrilled that you have shared them as a submission for this month's Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten Free event! 🙂
Thanks so much, dear! xo,
Shirley
Megan says
Thank you, Shirley! And thanks for hosting the GAHIGF event this month. I'm happy to participate!
xo,
Megan
Jenn says
I wonder if I can sub out finely diced figs for the coconut (I can't tolerate coconut, plus I have never liked the taste)? Or maybe just replace with raisins. Can't wait to try it!
Megan says
Hi Jenn,
The coconut is such an important part of this cookie, because it sucks up all the moisture/natural oils from the SunButter and helps bind everything together. I haven't tried replacing it with figs, but my hunch is that it wouldn't work. 🙁 Can you do grains? Again, I haven't tried it myself, but I'm wondering how gluten free oat flour would do as a replacement instead. Would that be something you could try?
Hugs,
Megan
Magaly says
I need to know how many calories there is in cookies as well as sugar n fat?
I have celiac disease.
Megan says
Hi Magaly,
If you pop the ingredients into a calorie counter, it will give you that information. Try this one HERE.
Karissa says
I know you asked this a long time ago, but in case it helps someone, I accidentally forgot the coconut flakes and the cookie turned out great! Yes, the batter was extremely oily and the cookie was also a bit oily, my boys devoured them!
Laura says
Monster cookies without an ounce of a bad ingredient...these look awesome Megan! I love using SunButter in my cookies and can't wait to try these with the addition of flax and hemp seed. Your family is so lucky to have such a baking queen in the house!
Megan says
Ha ha ha... I am definitely not a baking queen. I have lots of failure too. 😉 Thanks, Laura!
Hugs,
Megan
Jennifer S @ Sterling Sweets says
I love cookies that you can eat any time of the day and not feel unhealthy. These are definitely on the must try list. Thanks so much for sharing!
Megan says
I love them for that fact too, Jennifer! And my girls think I'm a rock star for letting them eat cookies in the morning! Please let me know how you like them!
😉 Megan
SuzySnowflake says
Where do you buy hemp seeds and sunflower butter in Anchorage? Thanks!
Megan says
Hi SuzySnowflake,
I order mine online through Amazon or Vitacost; however, you should be able to find both at Natural Pantry or Sagaya.
🙂 Megan
amber says
Megan, these are absolutely beautiful cookies!!! I have not been eating nuts at all, and replacing all almond flour with sunflower seed flour. So much easier for me to digest.
I really can't wait to make these for my kiddos (and myself). Thank you for such a great recipe.
xo,
--Amber
ziabaki says
WOW! These look fabulous! I'm going to make them with almond butter that I have that needs to be used. Thanks for the post.
http://cavewomancafe.wordpress.com/
Lisa says
Oh! These are perfect for our teen who likes to grab something quick for an after-school snack that will hold him until dinner. Thinking I will use cacao nibs, dried currants and add some cinnamon...THANK YOU!!
Elizabeth H, blogger for SunButter says
Hi Megan,
Another winner from your kitchen! Of course I appreciate it since it includes SunButter, and since I blog for them I'm always looking for new recipes. But as a fellow mom, I'm eager to try these for the gaggle of kiddos at our house! Thanks for the continued inspiration.
Megan says
Hi Elizabeth! I hope you and your kiddos enjoy them!
Hugs,
Megan
Alicia G says
These look amazing! I cannot tell you how excited I am to find a breakfast bar type option that is GF, DF, egg free, and oat free! Hmmm....am-I-forgetting-something-free?
I ordered some palm sugar tonight on Amazon & already can't wait until Wednesday when I can make these + the caramel sauce for the macchiato. Yummmmm.
I found your blog on Pinterest I think or a link off of a link on Pinterest or something like that. Love it so much! Very inspiring & I can't wait to read through some more posts soon.
Kate {Eat, Recycle, Repeat} says
I've never used hemp seed before, but these look like a perfect way to introduce them to my diet!
Megan says
I can't wait to hear what you think of them!
Amy R says
As always, another delicious recipe! I made these with homemade sunflowerbutter, which is a little more gritty than Sunbutter, so they were a tad greasy (again, my bad, not your recipe) sooooo delicious! I can't believe I havent made your donuts yet! 🙂
Megan says
Hi Amy,
🙂 Thanks for letting me know you tried them! I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed them! And they can be a tad greasy, but it really depends on what type of nut/seed butter you use and how oily it is. After I bake my cookies I lay them out on paper towels - it helps soak up some of the excess oils if there are any.
Hugs!
Megan
Vicky says
I've managed to buy hemp seeds - at last - I'm now all set to make these at the weekend!!
amber says
Hi Megan,
I'm whipping up some homemade sunflower seed butter to make these cookies today!!!
So excited.
Thanks for such an amazing recipe.
Big hugs,
--Am
Mary says
How do you make sunflower seed butter? I make almond butter with roasted almonds and coconut and olive oil and honey, but haven't tried sunflower seed butter yet. Do you roast the sunflower seeds? Would love to try it.
Megan says
Hi Mary,
You can make your own sunflower seed butter just like you would almond butter or another nut butter. 🙂 And you can either use roasted sunflower seeds or raw ones, it just depends entirely on your preferences!
🙂 Megan
Mary says
Thanks for getting back to me. I'll have to give it a try.
sherry says
Any substitute suggestions for shredded coconut?
Megan says
Hi Sherry,
Someone once told me they substituted something for the coconut and the recipe still turned out great. For the life of me I can't remember what they used! I'll keep thinking about it and come back and comment again if I remember (sorry)!
Megan
Mary says
Hi Megan,
These look great. I'll have to try them and see if most of my kids will eat them. I have 9 and most of them will eat my gluten free foods and then I have some that won't touch for anything. Thanks for the great recipe.
Shari W says
Hi Megan! These look so yummy! Dumb question: Are hemp seeds and hemp hearts the same thing? I have hemp hearts - and we >3 them! - but not hemp seeds. If they are interchangeable, that would be great.
Our nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free household is very excited to try these!
Thanks much!
Shari
Megan says
Hi Shari,
Yes, hemp seeds and hemp hearts are the same thing - and no, that's not a dumb question. It's a great question!
😉 Megan
Jenifer says
Megan, These look great. I'm trying to find things my two HS kids will eat and are still healthy. What are the nutritional facts (protein, calories, carbs, fats, etc) on these cookies??
Megan says
Hi Jenifer,
Sorry - I don't know the nutritional facts on this particular recipe. If you needed them you could try typing the recipe into something like myfitnesspal or something similar. 😉
Megan
Cary says
About how many days will these stay good uncovered? Can I substitute the palm sugar for coconut sugar, cane sugar, sucanat, etc? I want to make these right now, lol and the only thing I don't have is palm sugar. I think my husband is going to love these to have as a snack or quick breakfast. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Megan says
Hi Cary,
I'd leave them out uncovered for an overnight, but past that I'd place them in an airtight container. In our house I never worry about them because they get eaten up quickly! Palm sugar and coconut sugar are actually the same thing, so either will work out just fine. And you're totally welcome! 😉
Cary says
I made these this morning. I used an egg instead of the flax slurry, like you said could be substituted. I used half sunbutter and half almond butter, sucanat instead of palm sugar because that is what I had, and a dash of cinnamon. I did add the raisins like you suggested too. My husband and I both LOVED these cookies. I didn't know palm sugar and coconut sugar were the same thing, so thank you for the info. I had never tried sunbutter until this morning. I bought some yesterday, just for this recipe. It is so YUMMY! Thanks again for this recipe. It is going to be added to the my special recipe keeper that only my favorite, must keep, recipes get added to. I know my husband was thrilled to have something for breakfast other than eggs and such. I served them with a sliced apple and sugar free and nitrate free bacon. YUM!
Megan says
That's wonderful, Cary! Very glad to hear you both enjoyed them, and that they made the special recipe keeper! 😉 YAY!
Libbie says
Hi there! Is there something I can substitute for the shredded coconut? Or will it mess up the consistency if I just leave it out?
Thank yoU!
Heather says
We've made these several times now, using different nut/seed butters and different combos of 'extra stuff'. Everyone absolutely loves them and it's helping these newly grain-free, dairy-free kids feel much better about life. They've even made the cookies themselves! Thanks for such an easy, adaptable, delicious recipe.
Valerie says
i can't have flax or eggs.....have you tried these with gelatin instead?
Megan says
Hi Valerie,
No, I have not tried gelatin, but I'd imagine you could sub ground chia seed for the flax. 😉
Mary stultz says
@Megan, I sub chia seeds for flax seeds (no need to grind them as they are tiny). Also used brown sugar because that is what I had on hand and was very good.
Mēgan says
Glad to hear it, Mary!
Ann Huffcutt says
I'm so glad I stumbled across your blog! These cookies taste great and I love that they're good for us, too! We aren't allergic, so I used peanut butter and an egg instead of bothering with the slurry. They make a fabulous breakfast cookie. Next time I plan to try these with almond butter add some whey protein to make this an even more awesome post-workout snack. Thanks!
Katie says
These look great! Do you think they'd hold up well in the freezer? If not, about how long do they last on the counter?
Megan says
Hi Katie,
My guess is 3 days max on the counter, but they never last that long in this house! I've never frozen these, but I think they'd be fine. Maybe just a tad more crumbly though. 😉
Jessica Paulsen says
So I made the cookies and my kids started devouring them but then this so bizarre thing happened...the insides turned green. It is so weird. Only an hour after baking them and letting them sit on the counter. It literally looks like pesto on the inside of the cookie. They taste normal but I can't figure out what would have made them turn that color. I followed recipe exactly except I did use an egg in place of the flax egg and I used raisins.
Oh well! Just so bizarre!
Megan says
Jessica, so bizarre!! Maybe it was the nut butter? What kind/brand did you use?
Amy Croyle says
Sunnut butter will do that if that is the nut butter you used. Still fine to eat. Can't wait to try these!
Linda says
Megan, these cookies speak to me in the biggest way. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Camilla says
Delicious! I substituted the sugars with coconut crystals and honey plus omitted the chocolate chips. Great recipe!!! Thanks!
Cordelia says
We made these yesterday. They're so good! I used a chia "egg" instead of a flax egg, and homemade sunflower seed butter.
It is so hard to find grain free and egg free baked goods. I'm in love with these.
Keith @ How's it Lookin? says
I gotta try these. I needed something new for breakfast, thanks for the idea
Judi Schutzenhofer says
I just made these. They are awesome! Thank you. Needed something to munch with my protein smoothie and supplements in the am. WOW!!!
Liz says
These are delicious! We're supposed to get about 50 grams of protein per day so this comes out to about 10% of what we need, not too shappy for 1 cookie. I made it with 1/3 c. applesauce instead of palm sugar but made everything else as in the recipe (carob chips and 1/3 c sunflower seeds). I plugged everything in on http://www.caloriecount.com:
Ingredients (note the [##] at the end are from the site - where I had to make a selection)
1 tablespoon flax meal
3 tablespoons boiling water
1 cup Sunflower Seed Spread - Creamy [200901]
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup hemp seed [308760]
1 (71 g) bar carob chips [120726]
1/3 c sunflower seeds
Servings: 16
Here are the nutrition facts it calculated:
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 42 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 184Calories from Fat 132
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14.7g23%
Saturated Fat 2.4g12%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 90mg4%
Potassium 85mg2%
Total Carbohydrates 9.1g3%
Dietary Fiber 2.1g8%
Sugars 5.3g
Protein 5.5g
Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 1% • Iron 17%
Nutrition Grade C-
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet
Ella says
I love this! I've never been able to find sunflower seed butter though, where do you recommend looking? So excited to try these!
Megan says
If you can't find it at your local store (it's normally in the natural section), check Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. Otherwise, you can find it on Amazon (click here for the link).
Joy says
Made these a while ago as written and were delicious besides being quite oily.
Would they work at all with zero sugar or maple? Replace with anything? (Not sugary) And can you use coconut butter in recipes that use nut or seed butters?
Thanks so much!
Megan says
Hi Joy, this recipe was written for the amount of liquid called for, which includes maple syrup. If you cut out the maple syrup, the recipe won't work correctly. If you try to cut out a sweetener, I'd go for the palm sugar (just know I've personally never tried making the recipe without it). As far as coconut butter goes, it's so different than nut butter, I wouldn't recommend trying it in this recipe. Hope that helps!
Cassidy @ Cassidy's Craveable Creations says
Hi Megan! I made these today and they are sooo good, we absolutely love them!!! Thanks so much for the recipe!!!
-Cassidy
Megan says
Oh YAY!! I'm so glad you all love them! 🙂
Bellpepper says
I never understood what healing tablespoon means . I made cookies today and tried to guess at the size of each cookie. I did get Nate than 2o cookies tho . I got 24. Well they came out much darker than picture and hard outside and inside . Not sure what I did but they did not turn out good at all . Way too hard.
Megan says
It sounds like they were over baked.
Franchesca Wetter says
Have you ever baked these as bars? Wondering if they hold up well enough to cut them.
Megan says
Hi Franchesca, yes I have! If I'm remembering correctly, a 9"x 9" pan worked best. You have to allow the bars to completely cool in the pan before removing/cutting, otherwise they will fall apart.
Franchesca Wetter says
Awesome! Going to give it a try this weekend. Thank you
Margot Kelly says
I made these cookies this morning and they are delicious! My vegan gluten free sun loved them as well as my husband. My son loved them so much he took most of them home with him. However, my cookies flattened out like a pancake. I even made a batch that were shaped like balls and never flattened them. Is there something I should add to make them look more like the cookies in the photo? Thanks so much……making more tomorrow.
Mēgan says
Hi Margot! Hmm... I have a few ideas. It could be that your sunbutter or nutbutter has a higher oil content than the one I was using. Or maybe it's not completely mixed? More oil could cause the cookies to spread. OR maybe your nut butter is at room temperature? A chilled nut butter could help the cookies retain their shape. Hope those tips help!
Margot Kelly says
Thank you for the suggestions. Yes my sunbutter was oily and at room temp so I will try your suggestions.