These gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies bake up with crisp edges and a soft, chewy center that holds together bite after bite. Brown sugar and certified gluten-free oats give them their classic texture, while a short dough chill helps keep the cookies from spreading too much. They are easy to make, freezer-friendly, and a reliable choice for bake sales or everyday treats
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
The Quick Bite: These gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies are made with simple ingredients, including gluten-free oats and flour, brown sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, and raisins. The dough chills before baking to control spread and improve texture, making this recipe reliable with multiple gluten-free flour blends. The cookies freeze well and can be made dairy-free or gum-free with simple adjustments.
This is the cookie recipe I have been making for my family for over 15 years. When we went gluten-free, you couldn’t buy a loaf of bread in the grocery store. I made it slightly differently because gluten-free flour blends didn’t exist at the time. This recipe has evolved from using single flours and starches to testing multiple flour blends as they became available.
This cookie recipe is tried and true and works every time. It is critical to use gluten-free oats grown under the purity protocol to avoid cross-contamination with wheat.
They are also perfect for making Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cream Pies! This recipe is for you if you love a soft, slightly chewy oatmeal raisin cookie. If you are a cookie fanatic like us, you will want to check out my delicious gluten-free cookie recipes!
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I have tested three different flour blends in this recipe. King Arthur Measure for Measure, Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Blend, and Authentic Foods Multi-Blend. This doesn’t mean other blends won’t work; I only test what I have on hand.
- Gluten-Free Oats – Certified gluten-free rolled oats are essential in this recipe. They provide the classic oatmeal cookie texture and help create chew in the center of the cookie. Because oats are frequently cross-contaminated with wheat during growing and processing, it is important to use oats that are certified gluten-free. (See below for more information.)
- Binder – If your flour blend doesn’t contain a binder, please add 3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum. Read Why Binders are Important in Gluten-Free Baking to learn more.
- Raisins – You can use brown or golden raisins.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar adds moisture and sweetness to these cookies. Substitute coconut sugar if you prefer a less sweet option.
- Baking Powder – For best results, use aluminum-free baking powder.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter. Plant-based butter can be used if you are dairy-free.
- Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract. With a simple ingredient list, pure vanilla extract adds a noticeable flavor that you will not get from using immitation vanilla.
Make these cookies gum-free using my DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend. My blend works well in this recipe.
Why you must use gluten-free oats.
This is one of the most frequently asked questions I receive. Oats have become a topic of controversy in recent months. Oats do not contain the same gluten as wheat, barley, and rye, but are frequently grown near wheat crops, and it is very easy for oats to come into contact with wheat when they are processed.
Gluten Free Watchdog has been testing a lot of oats and has found many have failed, meaning they contain over 20 ppm of gluten.
A Note From My Kitchen
These cookies are quick to whip up, and I often keep a batch of dough balls in the freezer for last-minute cookie cravings. The texture is always spot on; chewy inside, crisp outside, and nobody ever guesses they are gluten-free. This is one of my go-to cookies when we are heading to sports events or parties.
I tested these cookies with three gluten-free flour blends, so you have easy options. All three blends performed well. Allowing the dough to chill helps eliminate any graininess from the rice flour.
How to Make Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Step-By-Step)
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Use the bake cycle, not the convection setting, for even baking. Add your dry ingredients to a large
Step 2: In a smaller
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Step 3: The dough should be moist and scoopable, not dry or crumbly. Moist and easy to scoop. To minimize spreading and soften the oats slightly, chill the cookie dough for 30-45 minutes before baking.
Step 4: Drop the cookie dough balls onto a cookie baking sheet with a medium-sized
Step 5: Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire cooling rack.
Tips for making these cookies:
- Allowing the dough to chill helps eliminate any graininess from the rice flour and enhances the chew. If your cookies spread too much, your dough may be too warm, or your flour blend may be too starchy.
- Use a cooled cookie sheet when baking. Don’t put the batter on a hot cookie sheet. The cookies will start baking/spreading immediately, and it will mess with their shape. Use a couple of sheets and rotate them out when making large batches of cookies.
For more tips, check out my Gluten-Free Cookie Troubleshooting Guide and my favorite cookie-making tools.
And don’t forget to check out some of my favorite gluten-free cookies for a cookie exchange! You are sure to find a new favorite gluten free cookie recipe!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes, but the texture will change. Quick oats absorb liquid faster and break down more, resulting in softer cookies with less chew. For classic oatmeal raisin cookies with structure and texture, rolled oats are best.
One of my readers used Swerve instead of sugar in this recipe and said the flavor was great. She noted that the cookies needed a longer baking time, almost 18 minutes.
Chilling the dough helps control spreading and allows the oats and flour to hydrate fully. This improves texture, reduces graininess, and helps the cookies bake with crisp edges and chewy centers instead of flattening.
Several of my readers have informed me that certified oats are not available in Australia. If you live there, I have other delicious gluten-free cookie recipes without oats. Try these Gluten Free Toll House Cookies.
Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
You can flash-freeze dough balls on a baking tray and then store them in a freezer-safe zipper bag. Bake from frozen, adding 2-3 extra minutes. To freeze baked cookies, cool completely, then place in a sealed bag and freeze. Thaw at room temperature.
These were good. I used chocolate chips instead of raisins. I would make them again, didn’t taste gluten free.”
Erika S.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes:
We are cookieholics, and I enjoy making cookies for friends and family. Check out my gluten-free cookie guide for more cookie recipes. These are some of my favorites.
Love This Recipe?
💬 Did you make this gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookie recipe? I would love to hear how it turned out, and which pan or flour blend you used! Your feedback helps others (and helps me keep improving these recipes for you). ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chewy Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies (Dairy-Free Option)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 ¼ cups gluten free whole rolled oats * see note
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar (*See note)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup raisins
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add raisins and mix well.
- Optional: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for 30-45 minutes. This will allow the oats to soften, and eliminate any grittness from the gluten free flour blend.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Use a medium-sized cookie scoop to drop dough balls on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Press each cookie down slightly with your hand to flatten a little.
- Bake for 10 minutes until done. Remove the cookies from the oven and place them onto a cooling rack.
Notes
- Please make sure to use certified gluten free oats.
- DO use gluten free rolled oats for this recipe, NOT quick oats or steel-cut oats.
- You can use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar if you prefer. One reader used Swerve successfully to make these cookies sugar-free. She noted they needed a longer bake time using Swerve.
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work. I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 3/4 teaspoon.
- To make these cookies dairy-free, use vegan butter.
- These cookies will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
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SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post has been updated from an older October 2017 version, featuring more detailed recipes and helpful tips.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
These taste great. I followed the recipe exactly, even refrigerating them, but they spread. I had more like one giant cookie. I’m not sure what went wrong.
Hi Debbie, Just to confirm, you chilled the batter? This gives the oats time to absorb a little more of the liquid. You didn’t mention the flour blend you used. They all vary depending on the starch amount. You can also add 1-2 TBSP of additional flour.
These are absolutely the best!!! I have tried so many oatmeal raisin cookie recipes and these hit the mark on all levels. Thank you!!
You made my day, I am so glad you loved these cookies!
I used sprouted rolled oats. Otherwise I followed the directions perfectly and these did not turn out. The oats tasted raw inthe cookies. Also were not crisp and had to bake the For 15 minutes because they were flat and raw after 10
I am sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work for you. Did you use thick cut oats? I haven’t had anyone complain about raw oats before, but I have never used sprouted oats.
i have been making this recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies a couple of years now. my husband can eat gluten so he bought some oatmeal raisin cookies from the Amish and said he liked these much more! As much as people enjoy Amish baked goods he said they were not as flavorful.
Thank you so much for your kind words. I have never tried Amish baked goods, but I suspect it is a big honor that my cookies tasted better.
Hello! I haven’t tried the recipe but I was curious on your thoughts-
I’m doing a bake sale and was trying to do cookies that are both dairy/gluten free and just regular. So, if I used this recipe for both do you think it would work as well if I used regular all-purpose flour in place of the gluten-free flour?
Also, do you think using the gluten free butter will affect the cook time or amounts at all?
Thank you!
Hi Abigail, I have been gluten-free for 15+ years. I have no knowledge if wheat flour works in my recipes. All butter is gluten-free, so I am a little confused what you are asking me. Can you please clarify?
These are the best oatmeal cookies!! Just crispy enough and just chewy enough. Buttery flavor makes them even better!!
I changed the raisins (not a fan) for craisins and they were great!!
Thank you, Sandi, for another winner!!
I am so glad you loved this recipe, Cindy. Thank you so much for coming back, you made my day!
So easy and really yummy!
Will make a double batch next time.
Thanks😃
I am so happy you loved this recipe, Cindy. Thank you!