Vegan Gingerbread Cookies (oil-free, gluten-free)

Happy holidays everyone!

I am beyond excited to share this new recipe for vegan gingerbread cookies. They are perfection.

I am sure you’re all gearing up for the holidays, whether you are trying to find the best recipes or shopping for gifts like crazy – if you’ve been on the hunt for a healthy vegan gluten-free gingerbread cookie recipe, look no further.

What ingredients will I need?

  • Ground flaxseeds
  • Coconut Sugar
  • Gluten-free flour
  • Molasses
  • Almond butter
  • Applesauce
  • Ginger
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Baking soda

How do you make vegan gingerbread cookies?

Your first order of business is to make the dough. Good news: this gingerbread recipe is 1-bowl so clean up is easy peasy and the baking process is so simple. Once the dough is made it has to chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

You will then roll the dough between two pieces of parchment, then proceed to cut out shapes with your gingerbread man cookie cutter. Be sure to dip the cookie cutter in flour in between each cut.

Vegan Gingerbread Men picture

Helpful Tip

Peel the extra dough away from the shapes, don’t try to pick up the shapes out of the dough. Got it?!

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies Picture

Commonly Asked Questions:

  1. Can I make these with other shaped cookie cutters? YES! of course! use hearts, stars, circles, whatever floats your boat.
  2. How long do these bake for?! Only 8-10 minutes.
  3. Can I store them in the freezer? You totally can.
  4. Where can I buy the cookie cutter of a gingerbread man?! Here’s the link! I got mine on Amazon!
  5. How many cookies does this make? Depending on the cutter you’ll get around 25-30 cookies.

vegan gingerbread cookies picture

A few pro tips:

  • Use a floured spatula to transfer your vegan gingerbread cookies to a parchment covered baking sheet. Place them 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
  • I decorated my cookies with some natural crystalized sugar sprinkles from Whole Foods. They are dyed with beets instead of food coloring and don’t have chemicals or artificial ingredients. Feel free to decorate yours with frosting, powdered sugar, or even melted chocolate.
  • Be gentle these are delicate!
  • Do not substitute in peanut butter for the almond butter – it will give it a weird flavor. We do not want these to become peanut butter gingerbread men!

What do the vegan gingerbread cookies taste like?

I am obsessed with how these vegan gingerbread cookies came out – they’re the perfect texture. Soft but a little chewy and not hard or crunchy. If you like them crunchy bake for a few minutes longer than instructions say. They have that classic gingerbread cookie flavor but they’re way healthier! All of the spices contribute to that perfect gingerbread taste we all know and love. Your guests, family and friends will be so impressed with these cookies – I promise!

vegan gingerbread men picture

What makes these vegan gingerbread cookies healthier?

They are plant-based, gluten-free, oil-free and soy-free. They’re pretty low in added sugar and I opted for lower glycemic sweeteners like coconut sugar and molasses. Molasses is actually packed with essential vitamins and minerals.

They have healthy fats from the almond butter and are low in fat because I used applesauce instead of oil. You are welcome to use oil if you don’t have applesauce though – either will work! I prefer the applesauce because it makes these much lower in calories.

Share the Love

Pin this recipe to Pinterest, post a picture of your #healthygirl cookie creation on Instagram, share the link to Facebook for your family and friends and be sure to let me know if you make this recipe. Also, I can’t wait to see all of your vegan gingerbread cookie masterpieces.

What are you waiting for? Get baking!

Vegan Gingerbread Men picture

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Vegan Gingerbread Cookies (oil-free, gluten-free)

Soft and chewy vegan gingerbread cookies made in 1-bowl. Just use a gingerbread man cookie cutter make these cute little gingerbread men.
prep time 1 hour 15 minutes
cook time 8 minutes
total time 1 hour 23 minutes

the ingredients

  • 1 flax egg 1 tbsp flax + 2.5 tbsp water
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup creamy almond butter
  • 3 tbsp molasses
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 3/4 tsp ginger powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1.5 cups gluten-free all purpose flour I use the one from Trader Joe's

instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, make the flax egg and let it sit for a few minutes until thickened.
  • Add applesauce, molasses, almond butter, coconut sugar, spices, and baking soda and whisk very well until combined.
  • Add the gluten-free flour to the bowl and stir into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon. Combine. The dough should hold it's shape and not be dry or too sticky.
  • Cover and let the dough chill for at least an hour.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment. Roll out the dough in between two pieces of parchment paper until it's about 1/8 inch thick. 
  • Remove the top piece of parchment, dip the cookie cutter in a little flour before cutting each cookie (tap off excess flour). 
  • Peel away the dough from the gingerbread men shapes. Keep rolling out the extra dough and cutting out the shapes repeating the process until you run out of dough. 
  • When carefully transferring the cookies to the baking sheet, use a floured spatula. Place cookies 2 inches apart. 
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes. They will firm up more when they're out of the oven. Let them rest on the pan for 2-3 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. 
  • Decorate with sprinkles, icing, etc. Enjoy!

If you liked this recipe, try my vegan pumpkin brownies! They are perfect for the holiday season as well.

Need a healthy french toast recipe?! Try out these healthygirl french toast sticks.

Need another amazing vegan dessert?! Test out my no-bake peanut butter and jelly cups!

Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Cups

Danielle Brown

Hi! I’m Danielle Brown, the face behind HealthyGirl Kitchen! I share easy, approachable plant-based recipes that are not only healthy but taste amazing. Follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook for free vegan meal ideas, recipes and healthygirl tips.

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  1. Cari says:

    Do you think this would work with almond flour (or a mixture of almond & another type of flour)? I know it wouldn’t taste exactly the same, but I try to watch my carb intake. Thank you!

    1. Danielle Keith says:

      I have only tried with gluten free flour. You can definitely try with almond flour. Report back!!

  2. Laurie says:

    I have never used flax egg. Am I looking for flax meal? If I can’t find it will it work with a regular egg?

    1. Danielle Keith says:

      Look for ground flax/flax meal. You can find it at almost any grocery store or on Amazon. I have not tried it with regular egg.

  3. Mandy says:

    My daughter is feeling left out this season because she can’t decorate a gingerbread house like she normally does (we found out she has a wheat and egg sensitivity). Do you think these would hold up well to becoming a gingerbread house? Are they a soft cookie or a hard cookie?

    1. Danielle Keith says:

      YES! just bake them a few minutes longer!

    2. Marky says:

      Mandy, if you are making it for a gingerbread house, I think it might be firmer if you cut the baking soda in half.5 stars

  4. Marky says:

    This recipe turned out awesome. I hadn’t found an easy gingerbread recipe that was plant based with no oil. I will be making this recipe again (and again).5 stars

    1. Danielle Keith says:

      YAY! So glad!!!

  5. Melody says:

    I loved these! And have made them several times. I double the ginger and cinnamon and add cloves because I love a bite and I copied from a ginger snap recipe. Also I turn the oven off after 15 minutes and let them sit in there, they become more crunchy, like a snap.5 stars

  6. Tiffany says:

    It’s June 25th, I’m celebrating half Christmas, living my best life. These are PHENOMENAL! I subbed the applesauce for canned pumpkin (because tis the season in my world) and it worked great. Thanks for this incredible recipe!5 stars