11 Best Vegan Cookies to Buy in 2023

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There are surprisingly few dedicated vegan cookie brands on the market. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of options for plant-based eaters looking for a sweet treat.
They’re just hard to find at general grocer retailers.

Many traditional cookie brands make flavors that don’t have any animal ingredients in them. Below are 11 of our favorites. These are the best vegan cookies to buy for those looking for a tasty dessert that is egg, dairy, and animal-product free.

Plus, we’ve included some of our favorite vegan cookie recipes just in case a trip to the store doesn’t fit with your plans for the day.

The Best Vegan Cookies

1. Alternative Baking Company

Alternative Baking Company is one of those rare all-vegan cookie companies dedicated to baking up delicious plant-based treats. Their single-wrap cookies come in a variety of flavors and are all made with organic base ingredients and natural flavors and sweeteners.

Some of our favorite picks from this company include explosive espresso chip, peanut butter persuasion, and cocaroon.

Base ingredients: Organic unbleached wheat flour

Why we love them: Super chewy and super-sized

Find them: Online

2. Kookie Cat

Kookie Cat is an online bakery that cooks up some seriously delicious cookie treats. If you’re into creative flavors and fresh combos, you’re going to love this company. Some of our favorite out-there recipes include wild berries white chocolate, salted caramel almond, cocoa nibs walnut, and pineapple orange.

As if those flavors weren’t enough to pique your interest, this company is also 100% vegan and uses largely organic ingredients. Plus, all their options are gluten-free and palm-oil-free.  

Base ingredients: Gluten-free oat flour, nuts

Why we love them: Deliciously adventurous flavors from a company you can get behind

Find them: Online

3. Sweets from the Earth

Another certified vegan retailer that we love is Sweets from the Earth. This company specializes in vegan desserts, every one of which is made with all-natural, kosher, GMO-free ingredients. In their cookie department, you’ll find tried-and-true flavors like chocolate chip, whoopie pie, and a long line of frozen cookie doughs for fresh vegan goodness at home.

In addition to all their products being vegan, Sweets from the Earth also has many choices in the gluten-free and nut-free realms.

Base ingredients: Spelt flour, gluten-free flour

Why we love them: Options for every diet

Find them: Online

4. Trader Joe’s Brand

If you have a hankering from some vegan cookies you can go pick up right now, then Trader Joe’s has what you need. This popular natural grocer offers a long line of store-brand cookies, many of which are suitable for vegans. 

Some of our favorites in this category include their organic animal crackers, maple leaf cookies, soft-baked snickerdoodles, and speculoos cookies.

Base ingredients: Varies by type

Why we love them: Easy to find and priced well

Find them: Trader Joe’s Grocers

5. Enjoy Life

If you’re a vegan with a food allergy (or multiple food allergies), we’ve got your cookies right here. Enjoy Life cookies are made with plant-based, natural ingredients, and are free from 14 common food allergens including wheat, nuts, and soy. They do, however, use honey in some of their products and palm oil in most of them.

Some of the vegan cookie flavors we’ve tested out and love include double chocolate brownie, chewy chocolate chip, and chewy snickerdoodle.

Base ingredients: Gluten-free flour blend

Why we love them: Delicious cookies that are safe for everyone to enjoy

Find them: Online, Amazon

6. Annie’s Sandwich Cookies

Annie’s has long been a go-to brand for ingredient-conscious consumers. Not all their products are vegan, but they are all vegetarian and formulated with the planet and people in mind. One cookie option they make that is made of only vegan ingredients is their chocolate sandwich cookie.

You’ll see a lot of this type of cookie on this list because the recipe is traditionally made without any animal ingredients. In fact, arguably the most well-known brand in the sandwich cookie category, Oreos, is also vegan. If you’re craving Oreos but want something free from artificial ingredients, refined sugar, and high fructose corn syrup, Annie’s is a much better choice.

Base ingredients: Organic wheat flour, organic powdered sugar

Why we love them: Like the real thing but much more real

Find them: Amazon, Whole Foods, Kroger, Target, and more

7. Partake Foods

Partake Foods, a vegan cookie company started by a mother of a child with multiple food allergies, is another great inclusive vegan bakery. All of their products are free from the top 9 most common food allergies and are certified vegan. In addition to boxes of cookies, the company also sells allergen-free baking mixes.

Our favorite Partake Foods cookies include double chocolate brownie, sugar butter, and birthday cake. As if those flavors weren’t enough to get you behind this company, it’s worth mentioning that they also do a great deal to support families in need and have recently launched a fellowship program to support students and entrepreneurs of color.

Base ingredients: Oat flour and buckwheat

Why we love them: Tasty, allergen-free, healthier cookies made for good

Find them: Amazon, Target, Kroger, Whole Foods, Wegmans, Ralphs, CVS, and more

8. Back to Nature Cookies

Back to Nature is a plant-based foods company well-known for its crackers and granola, but their cookie line is worth a mention as well. They currently have 18 different cookie products from fudge stripe to chocolate chunk. And many are available in one-serving baggies for eating on the go.

While you won’t find the word “vegan” used on their site or promotional materials, all Back to Nature products except their honey grahams are made with only vegan ingredients. Additionally, they only use simple ingredients and often add in natural sweeteners like dates to cut down on the amount of cane sugar used.

Base ingredients: Unbleached wheat flour

Why we love them: Multiple flavors available in various sizes

Find them: Amazon, Kroger, Whole Foods, Ralphs, Rite Aid, and more

9. Newman-O’s

Newman’s Own is best known for donating 100% of its profits to charity. Among the products they sell in the name of charity is a line of cookie sandwiches that just happen to all be made with vegan ingredients.

Newman-O’s, as they’re known, come in six different flavors including double chocolate, hint-o-mint, and vanilla. They even carry a wheat-free variety for those with gluten sensitivities. All flavors are made with organic flour and organic sugar and use only natural flavors.

Base ingredients: Organic unbleached wheat flour or organic barley flour

Why we love them: Classic Oreo taste with better ingredients and just as many flavors

Find them: Amazon, Safeway, Target, Kroger, Whole Foods, Ralphs, and more

10. Kakookies Energy Cookies

Looking for a vegan cookie you can actually feel good about eating? Kakookies Energy Cookies aren’t just made with ethical, plant-based ingredients, they’re also low in sugar and packed with protein. Inside every recipe, you’ll find nutrient-rich superfoods like nuts, chia seeds, berries, and heart-healthy whole grains.

Kakookies come in six different flavors, including blueberry, dark chocolate cranberry, and double chocolate mint. All varieties are soy and gluten-free, and certified vegan. These cookies don’t taste quite as decadent as true cookies but are sweet enough to satisfy your dessert cravings.

Base ingredient: Gluten-free oats

Why we love them: A healthy and delicious way to satisfy your cookie cravings

Find them: Amazon, Online, various outlets across the country (find stores here)

11. Girl Scout Thin Mints

If you have some truly decadent cookie cravings and want to indulge in some nostalgic flavors, you’ll be happy to know that Girl Scout Thin Mints are vegan. In fact, a number of Girl Scout cookies utilize only plant-based ingredients, including Lemonades, Peanut Butter Patties, and Toast-Yays.

While these cookies are dairy and egg-free, they do use some less than desirable ingredients, including corn syrup, artificial flavors, and palm oil. But, if the craving hits and natural substitutes won’t suffice, it is nice to know you can indulge in some of these old favorites.

Base ingredients: Enriched wheat flour

Why we love them: A little taste of childhood

Find them: Online, Amazon

When it comes to the best of the best vegan cookie brand, it’s hard to pick just one winner. 

Kookie Cat is a great choice for those looking for palm-oil-free options, plus they have some awesomely adventurous flavors. If you want easy-to-find vegan cookies, Back to Nature is available in most stores and has a ton of vegan recipe options. 

Or, for allergen-free cookies, Partake Foods can be found in many stores and is a company that’s easy to get behind.

Things to Look For

If you’re after a vegan cookie you can feel good about eating (or, at least, not too guilty), there are a few things you need to keep an eye out for.

Palm Oil

Palm oil is a common ingredient in many foods, but it is especially common in cookies. Crunchy cookies often use palm oil to accomplish that crispy texture without using butter. But even some chewy-style cookies will utilize palm shortening to get that decadent feel.

Many of the full-vegan brands we featured above do not use palm oil. Some of the ones that do, use certified rainforest-safe palm oil suppliers. But just as many cookie brands out there—vegan and not—use palm products that hurt the planet, wildlife, and local communities.

Sweeteners

It isn’t a cookie if it isn’t sweet! But how your cookie is sweetened will play a big part in how “good” for you it is (or isn’t). 

For a healthy treat, look for cookies sweetened with dates or fruit juice. Products that utilize maple syrup and other natural sweeteners tend to have a lower glycemic index than those that use just cane sugar or—worse—refined sugars.

Added Ingredients

Most of the products we featured above utilize only natural ingredients. But a few of them (I’m looking at you Girl Scout Cookies!) do use some artificial flavors and preservatives. If satisfying your sweet tooth isn’t worth consuming those questionable additives, stick to all-natural foods and brands dedicated to healthier ingredients.

Another way to assure the cookies you’re consuming aren’t completely terrible for you is to make them from scratch in your own kitchen.

For those up for a little baking, here are some of the best vegan cookie recipes you’ll find anywhere, both in the healthy and decadent categories.

  • Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip – These vegan cookies are gluten-free and utilize healthier ingredients like coconut sugar, flaxseed, and coconut flakes for a tasty cookie you can feel better about making.
  • 1-Bowl Ginger Cookies – For a big payoff with little effort, these 1-bowl vegan ginger cookies are the way to go.
  • Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – Taste like decadent chocolate chip cookies but with an extra dose of protein to keep you going.
  • Easy Vegan Protein Cookies – Get the most from your dessert with these simple protein cookies.
  • Fluffy 1-Bowl Sugar Cookies – These may not be the healthiest option, but they are pretty dang easy and absolutely delicious.
  • Homemade Samoas Cookies – These amazing treats taste exactly like the real thing but without the dairy or the artificial ingredients.
  • Fudgy Vegan Brownie Cookies – Can’t decide between making brownies or cookies? With this amazing recipe, you don’t have to choose.
  • Vegan Trail Mix Cookies – Filled with superfood ingredients, you won’t need an excuse to chow down on these tasty morsels.
Sara Seitz

About the Author

Hi and thank you for wanting to get to know me and my passions.

I’m a professional freelance writer with decades of experience learning about and living a green, clean life.

I grew up in Colorado under the influence of three generations of knowledgeable women who knew their way around the garden. I graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelor of science in biology and a minor in English. A year before graduation, my life was upended by an unexpected diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes.

Facing the reality of living with an incurable autoimmune disease I left to reflect hard on my lifestyle. While this type of diabetes cannot be cured or treated with diet, I was certain that focusing on her health and fueling her body with clean food would help her better manage her condition. As a lifelong animal lover, it wasn’t difficult for me to transition fully to a vegan diet.

Inspired by the changes I felt after going vegan, I sought out a community of like-minded plant-based eaters, gaining knowledge and experience that would fuel my future career.

In 2018, I brought my daughter into the world. Wanting the opportunity to be home to raise her, I decided to pursue a career as a freelance writer, starting my own company in 2019. http://penandpostwriter.com

Today, I’m lucky to have a long list of clients who pay me to write about my many passions. At the top of that list is gardening and eating a clean diet for the sake of my health, the planet, and all the animals I love.

When I’m not constructing articles for clients, you can find me wrist-deep in dirt in my vegetable garden, hiking with my dogs, or back in front of the computer creating imaginative worlds in my quest to become a published fiction writer. More articles by Sara.

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