Gluten-free gingersnaps packed with holiday flavor and just like the real deal with that quintessential crunch? Here they are! Bonus? These cookies are EASY to make, vegan, naturally sweetened, and perfect for holiday parties or gifting to friends and neighbors.
Don’t worry — no hassle here! The dough comes together in just a few simple steps. Let’s get festive and make some cookies, friends!
What is a Gingersnap?
Gingersnaps, also called ginger nuts or ginger biscuits, are thin, crunchy cookies flavored with molasses and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
The origin of gingersnaps is generally attributed to Northern Europe, where the name could be related to the German or Middle Dutch word snappen, meaning “to seize quickly.” The following is our vegan and gluten-free version of these spicy, sweet treats enjoyed around the world.
How to Make Vegan Gluten-Free Gingersnaps
These cookies get their sweetness from a combination of coconut sugar, maple syrup, and molasses. And their spiciness comes from ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Melted coconut oil creates the best cookie texture, with a neutral flavor! It’s getting spicy in here!
Next, for dry ingredients, oat flour, almond flour, and arrowroot starch combine to create a snappy cookie that really lets the flavors of the molasses and spices shine!
After adding the dry ingredients, it’s time to roll! Rolling and cutting out the cookies creates the thinnest, snappiest, and most uniform treats. We like a 2-inch round cookie cutter for the ultimate two-bite cookie!
Finally, it’s time to bake, and in minutes, the gingersnaps of your dreams are ready to enjoy. Grab a glass of (vegan) eggnog or (dairy-free) milk and dunk them in!
We hope you LOVE these vegan gluten-free gingersnaps! They’re:
Crispy
Warming
Gingery
Perfectly sweet
Super snap-able
& Feel like the holidays!
Make a batch to celebrate the season, bring to a holiday cookie party, or gift to friends and neighbors.
More Cookies to Share with Friends
- Classic Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1-Bowl Ginger Cookies (Gluten-Free)
- Orange Almond Biscotti (Vegan)
- Vegan Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
1-Bowl Gluten-Free Gingersnaps (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 3 Tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1 ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup oat flour* (certified gluten-free as needed)
- 1/2 cup almond flour (we like Wellbee’s)
- 1/4 cup arrowroot flour (also called arrowroot starch)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, coconut sugar, melted coconut oil, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and sea salt until well combined and smooth.
- Add in the oat flour, almond flour, and arrowroot starch and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until the flours are completely incorporated. Your dough should feel sticky but not too tacky (sticking to your hands) or too dry (crumbly) and should hold its form. If the dough appears too dry, it likely just needs more mixing.
- Form the dough into a disc and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to solidify.
- Once the dough has rested, place a sheet of parchment paper on a large cutting board or countertop. Dust it lightly with arrowroot starch then place the dough in the center, dust with more arrowroot starch, and place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough. Working from the center out, roll the dough into a large circle about 1/16-inch thick. Rolling to this thickness makes these cookies crisp (our preferred texture) rather than soft. If you have any difficulty rolling the dough, place it in the refrigerator to chill for 10-20 minutes and then try again.
- Use a cookie cutter (we used a 2-inch circle) to cut out as many cookies as you can. Use a metal spatula lightly dusted with arrowroot starch to transfer them onto your parchment-lined baking sheets. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets. Combine the rest of the dough scraps and repeat steps 5-6 until all of the dough is stamped out into cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 9-12 minutes until they are dry to the touch. Let cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
- Once completely cooled, the gingersnaps can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days at room temperature, 7-10 days in the refrigerator, or 1-2 months in the freezer. Dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month and rolled/baked after defrosting in the refrigerator overnight.
Video
Notes
*Loosely adapted from our Crispy Gluten-Free Graham Crackers (Vegan).
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
Deborah Ribeiro says
I was thinking of just adding 1/4 cup molasses and no sugar or maple syrup, buckwheat flour, tapioca flour etc do you think that will work as don’t like them so sweet?
Hi Deborah, we think the flavor would turn out too bitter. We’re not sure what you mean about the flours?
JENNIFER JONES says
what kind of molassas do you recommend? I’ve heard other bakers
say that black strap molasas is very bitter?
Hi Jennifer, we typically use a traditional unsulphured molasses, such as Wholesome Yum brand. Hope that helps!
Rochelle says
I love these cookies. So easy to make and just so snappy! I made sandwich cookies with coconut butter spread.
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Rochelle. We are so glad you enjoy these cookies! Next time, would you mind leaving a star rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Rana says
This is a new staple recipe for me! It goes perfectly with my coffee! Also, I am so thankful for your blog. I had to go on a gluten-free diet for health reasons and your recipes just brighten my days and make me discover something new everyday
Aw, this is exactly why we do what we do, Rana! We’re SO happy to be able to help. Thank you for your kind words and lovely review! xo
Susie says
Excellent & delicious recipe! I am a huge ginger fan, so I added 1 TBS finely chopped candied ginger and 1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger——these crispy tasty ginger snaps were so incredible! No need for the storage instructions, we kept eating them till they were gone the first day!!
Ooo yum! Love those modifications, Susie. Thank you so much for sharing! xo
Susan says
This recipe is a keeper!!!
Maybe a happy accident, but I didn’t have arrowroot flour, so I subbed tapioca starch. I also didn’t have any oat flour, so I blended quick oats in my high speed blender. Threw my somewhat lumpy almond flour and the tapioca in the blender with it, just to mix.
When I added the dry ingredients, it was super wet, consistency of peanut butter, not at all dry like you warn! I double checked; I didn’t miss anything, and my measurements were correct.
So instead of the chilling and rolling (tbh, I hate rolling and cutting out cookies) I was able to drop teaspoonfuls on parchment, well spaced. Baked them for about 12 minutes (9 didn’t seem long enough) They spread out nicely, and came out soft, but once they cooled they were crisp and perfect!
Thank you for sharing your experience and modifications, Susan! We’re so glad they turned out well! xo
Jamie says
Could I substitute almond flour with cassava flour as it’s a food sensitivity
Hi Jamie, cassava might work, but it’s much more absorbent, so you won’t need as much of it. Let us know if you do some experimenting!
Leah says
I followed the recipe to the letter but the dough came out extremely sticky and slack. I tried adding more arrowroot and freezing between each step but the dough is still very sticky and difficult to handle. I measured and mixed everything as written so I’m unsure what I did wrong.
Hi Leah, sorry to hear this happened! This dough is a bit sticky before chilling, but has always firmed up for us. Was your oat flour homemade? Sometimes we find that if oat or almond flours are too “coarse” they don’t absorb liquid and that could have made the dough more sticky?
Susan Kaufman says
Hello! I made these recently and this is the first recipe from Minimalist Baker that I’ve had trouble with. I found the dough nearly impossible to work with after rolling out thinly. I rolled between parchment as others have suggested, but when I tried to lift the cookies to the baking sheet, they were already melting and it was almost impossible to move them. Had to put the dough back in the refrigerator several times. Once I finally got them to the baking sheet, they burned pretty quickly. Pretty disappointing. I did use plant butter instead of coconut oil, and used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour, adding 1/4 t xanthan gum as suggested in other comments. I only made one sheet pan and froze the rest of the dough. Any suggestions to make this work better would be most appreciated! In general I love this site and have made many of your recipes to great success – hope to work this one out!
Hi Susan! The substitutions will definitely change the texture of the dough. Butter doesn’t solidify as much as coconut oil which might be why you had trouble transferring them to the baking sheet. The burning might have happened if they were rolled a little too thin. To salvage the rest of the dough, we suggest rolling it all together, shaping it into a log, refrigerating the dough until set, and finally slicing the cookies before baking them. They might not get as thin but we think they will still be delicious! Hope this helps. xo
Susan R Kaufman says
Thanks for the suggestions. I followed them and did have an easier time. Definitely a bit thicker but didn’t burn them this time!
So glad we could help, Susan!
Linda Mosher says
I had to post this to Facebook for my friends who eat no gluten like me. Very digestible but could have used more ginger, maybe fresh as well as powdered. They were snappy and not too sweet. I used the cover parchment paper on the bake sheet after rolling it out. Saves parchment. This will be a regular in my house. Thanks!
Great idea, Linda! We’re so glad you enjoyed them. Thanks so much for sharing!
Sue Pye says
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! It was my go-to for Xmas 2022. I did make a few modifications since I can’t eat coconut oil, so I used avocado oil instead, and also regular white sugar but reduced it down to 2 Tbsp. I also used tapioca starch since I didn’t have arrowroot flour on hand. I found the recipe worked straight away but the flexibility to leave it in the fridge is helpful. Everyone loved these, GF or not; they were a hit!
Wow! We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Sue! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Lindsey says
These didn’t quite work for me and I made them as is. I rolled and cut out the first batch, but handling the dough made them melt quicker in the oven so I opted for baking them in ball form. If I were to make them again I think plant butter instead of coconut oil would help with the melting in the oven and a 1-to-1 cup GF flour might stabilize them a bit more. Flavor was still delicious!
Hi Lindsey, sorry to hear they gave you trouble! Is it possible your kitchen is especially warm or you made a larger batch, causing them to sit out longer? Plant butter should also work!
Beth says
Really love these! Super easy to make and came out great. I rolled mine a bit thicker than the recipe suggested, and got exactly the (slightly chewy) texture I wanted. These have a lovely old-fashioned taste to them and were just what I was hoping they’d be. So glad you posted this recipe — gingersnaps are one of my favorite cookies, and I’ve been searching high and low for a simple, vegan version to make. Now, about those snickerdoodles… ;)
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Beth. Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Emily says
I made this with my kids and we accidentally forgot the coconut oil. I also switched the amounts on the molasses and maple syrup. We left it in the refrigerator for a day before rolling and cutting it out. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the dough still worked well and cut fine. Now they’re baking and I’m curious to see how they come out… maybe they can be a success oil-free too!?
Success! They taste good!
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Emily!
Cyndi F says
I just made these & subbed two ingredients: I used “plant butter” instead of coconut oil and buckwheat flour instead of oat flour. The dough was pretty dry (as I expected due to the sub of buckwheat flour) so I had to work it a bit more to make it come together. In the end, it worked out fine and the cookies are delightful! 😊
Cyndi F says
I forgot that I also subbed tapioca starch for the arrowroot. 🤦♀️
We’re so glad they turned out well! Thank you for sharing, Cyndi!
Catherine Elkhattaby Strauch says
I made these a couple days ago – I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF flour instead of oat flour, and it worked really well – these cookies are absolutely DELICIOUS.
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Catherine!
The Vegan Goddess says
These came out really crisp and delicious. You can taste the molasses in them, which is a good thing.
I didn’t have a 2-inch cookie cutter on hand so I used the lid of a jar and it made bigger cookies so I only yielded 18 cookies. But they were still wafer thin, crunchy and tasty.
We’re so glad you enjoyed them. Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Atara Dahan says
Hi
Can I use blackstrap molasses + cane sugar to replace molasses (if yes, how?)
Is there a different starch I can use instead of arrowroot?
Thanks
Hi Atara, we haven’t tried replacing the molasses with blackstrap molasses, but we think it could work! You may need to add a bit more sugar to taste. We think cornstarch or tapioca starch could work as a replacement to arrowroot! Hope you enjoy. xo
Atara Dahan says
In the end I used a bit less than 1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses, and a bit more than 1 Tbsp cane sugar to replace the 2 Tbsp molasses.
And used tapioca starch instead of arrowroot
They came out amazing!
Super easy 10/10
Great! Thank you for sharing, Atara!
Deborah Weisblatt says
These look really yummy!!! Can I use applesauce (or something else) in place of the coconut oil?
Hi Deborah! We don’t think applesauce would work here! The oil helps them crisp up in the oven. You could try a different oil!
Laura says
Hi! Can I substitute arrowroot starch with another starch?
Thanks, Laura
Hi Laura, we think cornstarch or tapioca starch should work in this recipe! Let us know if you try it!
Mariana Lopez says
What could I use to replace almond flour? We have an almond sensitivity.
Hi Mariana! You can use cashew flour or tigernut flour if you can tolerate them! Otherwise another reader had success substituting 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour for the almond flour and oat flour.
Mariana says
Was the 1 1/4 c replacement of gluten free all purpose flour, for both the oat (1 c) and almond flour (1/2 c) together? So this replaces both the almond and oat flour? I ask because, as of now, we have an oat sensitivity as well. Thank you!
Hi Mariana! Yes! That would replace the oat, almond, and arrowroot starch!
Amanda J Harvan says
Made these today. Delish! I don’t need to be gluten-free so I used 1 and 1/4 cups of all purpose flour instead of the oat flour and almond flour. Turned out great!
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Amanda!
Christine says
I want to try these and have all the ingredients except molasses – would date syrup work as a substitution?
Hi Christine! We haven’t tried it, but we think date syrup would be an okay substitution texturally! However, it might change the flavor and make the cookies a little too sweet. Let us know if you try it!
Amy S says
are there substitute for molasses? I don’t have it or use it at all. I have all other ingredients at home. thanks!
Hi Amy! Molasses is pretty key to the flavor and texture of these gingersnaps! Molasses has a great flavor for holiday baking. The closest thing texturally we can think of is honey, if you eat it, or date syrup. Although those will not give the proper flavor to this recipe. We think the cookie might become overly sweet with those substitutions! Hope this helps. xo