This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Look no further for the Vegan Gingerbread Cookies Recipe! They are everything you love about the classic cut-out cookies, but without animal products: warmly spiced, buttery, soft, great for decorating, and super simple to make. Complete with vegan cookie frosting!
This post was originally published on Dec 19, 2016. It was updated with new photos and recipe information on December 22, 2024.
Christmas isn’t Christmas without cookies, and these Vegan Gingerbread Cookies prove you can enjoy your favorite holiday treats even on a plant-based diet! Made with coconut oil, spices, molasses, and apple cider, these soft, buttery cut-out cookies are full of spice and everything nice! No animal ingredients needed.
Whether you have fond childhood memories of making cookies and gingerbread houses with loved ones like I do or want to get into the holiday spirit, these cookies are sure to do the trick! Preparation is simple and fun, and you can even decorate the cookies with my plant-based sugar cookie frosting recipe.
Not only are these Christmas cookies good for those following a vegan diet, but because they are egg and dairy-free, they’re a safe pick for those with food allergies. See my notes below to make them gluten and nut-free, too!
For more gingerbread recipes, check out my Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls and No-Bake Sweet Potato Bars with Raw Gingerbread Crust.
Ingredients
Just grab the following ingredients to make this vegan gingerbread cookie recipe:
Gingerbread Cookies
All-Purpose Flour: For the cookie structure! For the best texture, measure the flour by scooping it into the cups and leveling off the tops.
Spices: Ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and black pepper add warmth, sweetness, and that classic gingerbread cookie flavor!
Coconut Oil: This plant-based ingredient is the perfect butter substitute! For the best results, use firm (not softened) oil. If needed, you can substitute vegan butter. You need 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons of coconut oil or butter to make the cookies and frosting.
Molasses: Choose unsulphured light molasses to add deep caramel flavor to the cookies.
White Sugar: Adds sweetness! Use white or organic cane sugar.
Brown Sugar: For additional molasses flavor and moisture! Use light brown sugar for a lighter caramel flavor and dark brown for a deeper one. Pack it tightly to measure.
Apple Cider: For moisture and additional natural sweetness. If needed, you can substitute plain, unsweetened soy milk.
Cookie Icing
Powdered Sugar: Also known as confectioner’s sugar, this makes the frosting sweet while keeping it smooth and spreadable.
Milk: To loosen the frosting, making it easy to spread or pipe. You can use any non-dairy milk. I usually use soy!
How to Make Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
- Prepare. Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Combine dry ingredients. Combine the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk well to combine.
- Cream coconut oil and sugar. Using an electric hand or stand mixer, beat the coconut oil in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the white and brown sugar and mix until combined and a light tan color.
- Add wet ingredients. Add the molasses to the coconut mixture and stir a few times. Slowly mix in the apple cider until it and the molasses are fully incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until combined. If preferred, you can also do this step with a wooden spoon.
- Chill the vegan gingerbread. Turn the dough out from the mixing bowl and form it into a 1-inch thick disk. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or parchment paper and place it in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes.
- Make the icing. While it chills, make the icing: add the powdered sugar, milk, and softened vegan butter or coconut oil in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Whisk the mixture well until creamy. Add more sugar if it seems too thin, or add more non-dairy milk if it’s too thick.
- Roll the dough. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it soften on the counter for 10 minutes. Flour a clean countertop or workspace. Unwrap the dough and place it on the prepared surface. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a 1/4-inch thick circular or oval shape.
- Cut cookies. Use gingerbread man cookie cutters to cut the dough and place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet. The cookies should have at least 1 inch between them so they have room to spread.
- Bake. Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until they are very lightly golden around the edges and on the bottoms. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Decorate. Once completely cool, ice and decorate the cookies. The icing will harden after about 20 minutes, at which point they can be stacked if necessary.
Recipe Pro-Tips
- Using cold apple cider. If desired, you can bring the cider to room temperature before making the egg-free gingerbread cookies, but it isn’t necessary. The cold cider may cause the coconut oil to solidify, changing the texture of the dough just slightly, but it is still totally fine.
- Chill the dough. It only needs 30 minutes in the refrigerator for the coconut oil to solidify, keeping the cookies from spreading. If needed, you can chill the dough for up to 12 hours, but it will need at least 20-30 minutes to soften before rolling it out. Be sure to wrap the dough well if chilling for longer periods to keep it from drying out.
- Re-roll the dough scraps. Make the most of the dough by gathering and re-rolling the scraps. Lightly flour the scraps when re-rolling to keep the dough from drying out.
- Bake in batches if needed. If you don’t have enough cookie sheets to accommodate all the cut-outs, bake them in batches, transferring the baked cookies off of the sheets once cooled.
- Carefully transfer the cookies to the cooling rack. When hot, the cookies are soft and pliable; they firm up as they cool. Let them cool partially on the baking sheet before you move them to the wire rack to keep them from falling apart.
- Cool the cookies completely before frosting. This prevents the frosting from melting and helps it to set faster.
- Decorating options: You can use a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or spoon the frosting into a sandwich bag and cut off a small corner to pipe!
Recipe Variations
Add your touch to these vegan holiday cookies by making any of the following recipe adjustments!
- Different Shapes: Use classic Christmas cookie cutters—like trees, stockings, stars, and more—to make these dairy-free gingerbread cookies sugar cookie style! You can even frost and decorate them as you would sugar cookies.
- Different Decorations: Sprinkle the gingerbread with decorating sugar before baking or decorate them with sprinkles, cinnamon imperials, or other favorite Christmas decorations.
Can I Make a Vegan Gingerbread House with This Recipe?
Yes! Just cut the rolled cookie dough into your desired shapes (or a gingerbread house template) and bake the larger pieces on the prepared cookie sheets in an oven preheated to 300°F for 45-55 minutes, or until the cookies are very firm. Cool the cookies completely on the sheets before removing them and assembling the house.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy these festive, egg-free gingerbread cookies with a foamy soy cappuccino, strong black tea, or a homemade Sweet Potato or Turmeric Latte. Young snackers may enjoy dunking their gingerbread men into a mug of vegan hot chocolate!
Storage Directions
- Storage: Store cooled and frosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- Freezing: Dairy-free gingerbread cookies can be frozen in a freezer-safe container to up to 3 months. Defrost them at room temperature for 20-30 minutes or until softened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, swap your favorite 1-to-1 gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour to make these gingerbread cookies vegan and gluten-free.
Of course! Substitute vegan butter for coconut oil and follow the recipe directions as listed.
Yes! Though you can store frosted cookies with guidance from my notes above, you can make these cookies in steps if your schedule requires. For the freshest cookies, make them as directed, omitting the frosting, cooling them, and storing them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost the cookies if needed and decorate the gingerbread men at least 30 minutes ahead of serving to give the frosting time to set.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
- Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cherry Thumbprint Cookies
- Double Chocolate Black Bean Cookies
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp softened coconut oil (not fully melted), or vegan butter
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed to measure
- 1/4 cup molasses, unsulphured light molasses
- 1/4 cup apple cider, or plain soy milk
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp soy milk, or other non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp vegan butter or coconut oil, softened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk well to combine.
- Using an electric hand or stand mixer, beat the coconut oil in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add the white and brown sugar and mix until combined and a light tan color.
- Add the molasses to the coconut mixture and stir a few times. Slowly mix in the apple cider until it and the molasses are fully incorporated. Note: if using cold cider, the coconut may solidify, changing the texture of the mixture. If this happens, it is totally fine.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until combined. If preferred, you can also do this step with a wooden spoon.
- Turn the dough out from the mixing bowl and form it into a 1-inch thick disk. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or parchment paper and place it in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes.
- While it chills, make the icing: add the powdered sugar, milk, and softened vegan butter or coconut oil in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Whisk the mixture well until creamy. Add more sugar if it seems too thin, or add more non-dairy milk if it's too thick.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it soften on the counter for 10 minutes.
- Flour a clean countertop or workspace. Unwrap the dough and place it on the prepared surface. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a 1/4-inch thick circular or oval shape.
- Use gingerbread man cookie cutters to cut the dough and place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet. The cookies should have at least 1 inch between them so they have room to spread.
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until they are very lightly golden around the edges and on the bottoms.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once completely cool, ice and decorate the cookies. The icing will harden after about 20 minutes, at which point they can be stacked if necessary.
Notes
- Storage: Store cooled and frosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- Freezing: Dairy-free gingerbread cookies can be frozen in a freezer-safe container to up to 3 months. Defrost them at room temperature for 20-30 minutes or until softened.
- Using cold apple cider. If desired, you can bring the cider to room temperature before making the egg-free gingerbread cookies, but it isn’t necessary. The cold cider may cause the coconut oil to solidify, changing the texture of the dough just slightly, but it is still totally fine.
- Chill the dough. It only needs 30 minutes in the refrigerator for the coconut oil to solidify, keeping the cookies from spreading. If needed, you can chill the dough for up to 12 hours, but it will need at least 20-30 minutes to soften before rolling it out. Be sure to wrap the dough well if chilling for longer periods to keep it from drying out.
- Re-roll the dough scraps. Make the most of the dough by gathering and re-rolling the scraps. Lightly flour the scraps when re-rolling to keep the dough from drying out.
- Bake in batches if needed. If you don’t have enough cookie sheets to accommodate all the cut-outs, bake them in batches, transferring the baked cookies off of the sheets once cooled.
- Carefully transfer the cookies to the cooling rack. When hot, the cookies are soft and pliable; they firm up as they cool. Let them cool partially on the baking sheet before you move them to the wire rack to keep them from falling apart.
- Cool the cookies completely before frosting. This prevents the frosting from melting and helps it to set faster.
- Decorating options: You can use a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or spoon the frosting into a sandwich bag and cut off a small corner to pipe!
I made this recipe and all my friends and family loved it!
It was so easy to make, and tasted great!
The gingerbread was soft and flavorful.
I would highly recommend it!
Thanks, Jenne, I love all your recipes!
I just made these Vegan Gingerbread Cookies-a must for everyone loving gingerbread! My home smells glorious!
I did make it a tad bit healthier by substituting date sugar for the white sugar and Swerve for the Brown Sugar equivalent measurements. I didn’t even first them-and they are a hit! Easy to freeze too. They are just marvelous! I will make again. Thanks!
I loved gingerbread cookies, My friends will definitely like it too.
– Gustavo Woltmann
Fabulous!! Thanks, Gustavo 🙂