Last updated - ; Published - By Rhian Williams 12 Comments
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TheseGluten-Free Vegan Homemade Oreos arecrunchy and chocolatey, and filled with a sweet, silky, melt-in-your-mouth cream filling. They're also refined sugar free and are perfect for Christmas cookies and make excellent edible gifts.
What are Oreos?
Oreos are a popular American cookie consisting of two crunchy, very dark chocolate cookies sandwiched together with a sweet, white cream filling.
Are Oreos vegan?
There are no animal products in Oreos, so they can be considered to be accidentally vegan. However, it does say on the packaging that they may be cross-contaminated with milk products during the manufacturing process, so they are not suitable for people with a dairy allergy or severe lactose intolerance.
This can vary depending on country and on the type of Oreos you buy though, so it's always best to check for yourself before buying or eating.
Are Oreos gluten-free?
No, Oreos are not gluten-free as the cookies are made using wheat flour. However, gluten-free Oreos will apparently soon be hitting the shelves.
How do you make Oreo cookies from scratch?
Oreo cookies are surprisingly easy to make from scratch!
For this recipe, I used my Vegan Shortbread Cookies as a base for the cookies and added cocoa powder and baking powder. Baking powder makes them less dense than shortbread cookies, so they have a lighter, melt-in-your-mouth texture. The cream I made using blended up cashew nuts, sweetened with maple syrup and flavoured with vanilla. I also added a touch of cacao butter which adds a richness that tastes reminiscent of the flavours of the cream in real Oreo cookies.
What type of cocoa powder should you use to make Oreos?
Oreos are very dark because they are made using alkalised cocoa powder, which has a very dark colour. It doesn't really matter as the recipe will still work no matter what type of cocoa powder you use, but if you want an authentic Oreo look, I recommend using a dark cocoa powder.
Where can you buy dark cocoa powder?
You can find dark cocoa powder in the baking aisle of most large supermarkets, or online.
Where can you buy brown rice flour?
The brown rice flour is essential for these cookies as it creates a crispy, crunchy texture.
You need to use brown rice flour, not white rice flour, which creates a soft cookie (like my Sugar Cookies) rather than a crunchy one.
If you can't find brown rice flour in your local supermarket, you'll be able to find it in local health stores or online.
How to make the cookies
Scroll down to thebottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together the ingredients for the cookie dough in aglass mixing bowl.
Tip: If the dough looks too wet, place it in the fridge for an hour to help it firm up. If it looks too dry, add a splash of any type of plant-based milk.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough (do this a small amount at a time) until it's a little less than ½ cm (¼ inch) thick - you should roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper as it’s very sticky!
- Use a circular cookie cutter to cut cookies out of the dough – roll out the dough a few times until you use it all up (you should be able to make 28 cookies),
- Transfer the cookies onto arectangular baking tray.
Tip: Line the baking tray with greased baking paper to make sure the cookies don't stick.
- If you wish, use a smaller cookie cutter with a different shape to make a small indent in the surface of the cookies to make a pattern - be careful not to press it all the way down.
- Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes until firm to the touch - they will firm up more once cooled and out of the oven.
- Leave them to cool completely and firm up before sandwiching them together.
How to make the cream
- Place all the ingredients in afood processororblender.
- Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary.
How to assemble
- Use a knife to spread 1 teaspoon of the cream in the centre of half of the cookies.
- Sandwich together with the remaining cookies.
How long do these Homemade Oreos keep for?
These Oreos taste best eaten within the day but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days- they do become softer the longer you leave them, though.
Substitutions you can make
- You can replace thecoconut oilwithcoconut butter or vegetable oil.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
- The ground almonds (almond meal) can be replaced with ground walnuts or ground sunflower seeds.
- You can replace the cacao butter with coconut butter.
Tip:The brown rice flour CANNOT be replacedwithwhite rice flour or any other gluten-free flour - it is essential for creating a crunchy shortbread texture.
Flavour substitutions you can make
- You can add some peanut butter to the cream.
- You can add some peppermint extract to the cream.
- You can add freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries to the cream when blending.
- You can add some matcha powder to the cream (though you may need to add some extra sweetener as matcha is bitter).
- You can add some cocoa powder to the cream (though you may need to add some extra sweetener to balance out the extra bitterness).
More gluten-free vegan cookie recipes
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Blueberry Breakfast Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Snickerdoodles
- Oatmeal Cookies
- Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Cookies
- Carrot Cake Cookies
- Millionaire Shortbread
- Pumpkin Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog,I’d really love to hear anyfeedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes onInstagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make this recipe
Gluten-Free Vegan Homemade Oreos
TheseGluten-Free Vegan Homemade Oreos arecrunchy, chocolatey and filled with a sweet, melt-in-your-mouth cream filling.
4.12 from 9 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: gluten-free oreos, homemade oreos, vegan oreos
Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes minutes
Servings: 14 cookies
Calories: 240kcal
Author: Rhian Williams
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil (or sub coconut butter or vegetable oil)
- 14 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other similar sweetener)
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 150 g (1 cup) brown rice flour **
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 50 g (½ cup) dark cocoa powder ***
- Pinch salt
For the cream:
- 75 g (½ cup) cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
- 10 g (0.35 oz) cacao butter
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cookies:
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (340 degrees Fahrenheit).
Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave.
Add the maple syrup, ground almonds, brown rice flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt and mix well – add a splash of milk if it’s looking too dry to combine.
If the dough looks too wet, place it in the fridge for an hour and it will firm up.
Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough (do this a small amount at a time) until a little less than ½ cm (¼ inch) thick - you should roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper as it’s very sticky!
Use a circular cookie cutter to cut cookies out of the dough – roll out the dough a few times until you use it all up (you should be able to make 28 cookies).
Transfer the cookies onto a baking tray lined with greased baking paper.
If you wish, use a smaller cookie cutter with a different shape to make a small indent in the surface of the cookies to make a pattern - be careful not to press it all the way down.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until firm to the touch (bearing in mind that they will firm up more once cooled and out of the oven).
Leave them to cool completely and firm up before spreading over the cream and sandwiching together.
For the cream:
Drain the soaked cashews and add to a food processor or blender with the cacao butter****, maple syrup and vanilla.
Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary.
To assemble:
Use a knife to spread 1 teaspoon of cream in the centre of half of the cookies.
Sandwich together with the remaining half of the cookies.
Taste best when fresh, but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days (they do become softer the longer you leave them).
Video
Notes
*You can alternatively use almond flour.
**You MUST use brown rice flour – white rice flour won’t create a crunchy shortbread-like texture.
***Oreos are very dark because they are made using alkalised cocoa powder, which has a very dark colour. It doesn't really matter as the recipe will still work no matter what type of cocoa powder you use, but if you want an authentic Oreo look, I recommend using a dark cocoa powder.
****If your food processor isn’t very powerful, it may have trouble with the cacao butter. In this case, melt the cacao butter first using a bain-marie before adding to the food processor.
The number of cookies this recipe will yield will vary depending on the size and shape of the cookie cutters you use and how thick you roll out the dough.
Nutrition Facts
Gluten-Free Vegan Homemade Oreos
Amount Per Serving
Calories 240Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 4g20%
Sodium 5mg0%
Potassium 214mg6%
Carbohydrates 34g11%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 18g20%
Protein 5g10%
Calcium 74mg7%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Carol E.
Rhian, I LOVE your recipes and am excited about this one, BUT with others like it, I have a high almond food sensitivity. Is there anything you’ve found that would act as a good replacement for ground almond meal? Appreciate your response!
Carol
Reply
Rhian Williams
Hi Carol, thank you! You can replace the almond meal in most of my recipes with ground walnuts or ground sunflower seeds!
Carol E
Awesome, thank you!
Reply
Rhian Williams
Glad you like it!
robin m
Hi Rhian,
Do you think Oat Flour would work too in place of almond meal/flour? You mentioned walnut or sunflower seeds above.
Thanks,
RobinReply
Rhian Williams
That could potentially work, but I can't guarantee as I haven't tested it that way. Would love to hear how you get on if you try it though!
Morgan
Hello Rhian. Great recipe!!
Which flour (with gluten or gluten free) would work like brown rice to create a crunchy texture? And what can replace cacao butter?Reply
Rhian Williams
Perhaps oat flour! You can replace cacao butter with coconut oil or coconut butter - coconut oil will have a strong coconut taste though!
Gina
Thank you Rhian, these look delicious.
I’m wondering if the cashews can be replaced for something else or another type of cream due to intolerances?
Reply
Rhian Williams
Thank you! If you can have store-bought vegan cream cheese, perhaps you could use that to replace the cashews? Or a thick coconut cream could work too!
Laura H.
These look delicious and fun. I haven't made them yet, but it seems to me a filling of simply coconut butter (a.k.a. coconut manna) mixed with a little sweetener and/or peppermint would be a very white color and firm enough to stay in the middle. I fear that coconut cream or even vegan cream cheese would be too soft unless kept refrigerated or frozen.Rhian Williams
Thank you so much for sharing!
