These oat chocolate chip cookies are healthy, gluten-free and refined sugar-free! These cookies are perfectly sweetened, crispy on the outside and soft and comforting on the inside – perfect with a glass of any kind of milk!

plate of fresh golden chocolate chip cookies with milk.

If you are looking for a healthy version of the classic chocolate chip cookies you have come to the right place…

After years of experimenting with various ingredients, I am thrilled to share this recipe with you – these are my go-to cookies when I want something healthy and tasty at the same time!

Unlike store-bought cookies, this recipe has no refined flour and instead uses oats or oat flour (which makes them gluten-free).

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Why You’ll Love These Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Notes on Recipe Ingredients
How to Make Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tips for making the Best Cookies
Serving Tips
How to store
Sweet Treats
Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Why You’ll Love These Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Healthier than classic store-bought cookies – these cookies are made using oat flour and sweetened with sugar-free maple syrup with no preservatives!
Delicious – each bite tastes as delightful as the next!
Handful of ingredients – you just need a handful of affordable ingredients to make these cookies
Quick and simple to make – you can make these cookies in less than half an hour and that includes time to chill the dough!
Air fryer-friendly – you can bake in an oven or air fryer. I recommend using an air fryer to save time (as you can bake for less time!). Plus, it is cheaper compared with using the oven!
Great for dietary requirements – these cookies are refined sugar-free, gluten-free and can made vegan (by using plant-based milk and vegan butter).

freshly baked air fryer chocolate cookies, on a cooling rack, with a glass of milk.

Notes on Recipe Ingredients

To make these comforting chocolate chip cookies, you will need the following:

Oats or oat flour: you can use oat flour or blitz rolled oats in a food processor or blender until finely ground. Oats are a great source of nutrients including fibre and antioxidants such as vitamin E.
Unsalted butter: this adds a richness and flavour in the cookies, I use unsalted butter to avoid added salt (as a healthier alternative). If you are unable to get unsalted butter you can use salted butter – just remember to avoid adding salt.
Maple syrup: for sweetness and moisture, use grade A maple syrup (with no added sugar).
Maple sugar (or coconut sugar): use organic maple sugar for depth of flavour and sweetness, this also makes the cookies crispy on the outside. If preferred, you can substitute with organic coconut sugar, which is also unrefined.
Baking soda (or bicarbonate of soda): this is a leavening agent which helps the cookies expand a little while baking, making them lighter and softer on the inside.
Milk – you can use any milk of choice, for a vegan cookie you can use oat/almond milk, alternatively regular dairy milk is recommended if you have no dietary requirements.
Vanilla extract – use pure vanilla extract (without added sugar) to add a hint of warm vanilla taste in these cookies
Chocolate chips (sugar-free): you can use either semi-sweet or sweet chocolate chips for that delicious chocolatey flavour in the cookie! I use the Mrs Keto brand (which is sugar-free and vegan).
Optional – salt: you can add a pinch of salt to bring out the flavour of all the other ingredients and enhance the sweetness of these cookies but this is optional.

How to Make Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Note: to melt butter, you can either add to a microwave safe bowl, cover and heat in 20-30 second increments (be careful as it can splutter!). Alternatively, you can melt in a pan over the stove.

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Whisk the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the maple syrup and maple sugar until combined, add vanilla and milk and whisk again. Pour in the melted butter and whisk until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the oat flour, baking soda and salt (if using).
Mix to form dough. Mix with a silicone spatula until combined, add in the chocolate chips. You can use your hands to help mix the ingredients into a wet dough if preferred. Cover and chill the dough for 10 minutes in the freezer.

process collage showing steps to make chocolate chip cookies.

Preheat air fryer and scoop out the cookie dough. Preheat the air fryer on the bake setting to 170°C/338°F. Line the air fryer tray with parchment/baking paper and set aside. Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to scoop the cookie dough and flatten into a cookie shape.
Place cookies on the lined tray and bake. Allowing space between each cookie, bake for 10-11 minutes, the cookies will be lightly browned on the sides and slightly crispy.
Allow to cool. Carefully remove the cookies (and baking sheet) from the air fryer tray and allow cookies to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to allow the cookies to cool completely. Serve and enjoy!

Tips for making the Best Cookies

Chill the dough in the freezer: this is optional but I find that freezing the dough for just 10 minutes makes the texture of these cookies perfect – crispy on the outside and rich, moist and soft on the inside
Salt: optional. Salt enhances the sweetness and flavour of these cookies, for a “classic cookie taste”.
Lining the air fryer tray: You may prefer to line the air fryer tray after preheating the air fryer. Avoid lining the tray whilst preheating the air fryer because the fan can cause the parchment/baking paper to fly upwards. Instead you can either line the air fryer tray set aside (i.e. not inside the air fryer whilst preheating). Alternatively, you can preheat the tray without lining and just prepare a rectangle of parchment paper to place over the tray once preheated.
Air fryer vs oven: I recommend a using a wide air fryer to bake these cookies. You can also bake these cookies in the oven at 180°C/356°F in a preheated oven, with a rack in the middle of the oven – you may need to bake for a little longer, approximately 5 minutes or until the sides of the cookies are lightly golden.
Variations: these cookies are delicious exactly the way they are – but you can mix it up according to your preferences:
- Coconut oil: you can substitute butter for coconut oil (just note this will reduce the richness of the cookie).
- Add-ins: You can substitute chocolate chips for raisins, cranberries or nuts.

golden crunchy oat chocolate chip cookies on wire rack.

Serving Tips

These cookies are best served fresh with a glass of milk (including homemade almond milk) or a cup of masala chai, fresh coffee or iced coffee! Enjoy with fresh smoothies and juices including pear juice, apple, carrot and orange juice or berry smoothie!
Enjoy with other refined sugar-free treats including peanut butter tartlets, chocolate and orange fudge, rhubarb crumble and marzipan!

How to store

Once cooled, wrap each cookie in cling film/plastic wrap (to prevent moisture from the air). Transfer into an airtight container. These will keep well for up to a day at room temperature, 2-3 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
If you have leftover cookies, I recommend freezing them using the method above for best results – freezing cookies will help to keep these cookies fresh.
To defrost allow cookies thaw at room temperature or you can reheat from frozen in the air fryer for a few minutes at 170°C/338°F.

Sweet Treats

Check out more of our sweet treats - all without refined sugar!

Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies