These Low FODMAP Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are just like the classic cookie recipe with a couple of simple substitutions to help keep FODMAPs in check. An instant (FODMAP-friendly) family favorite sweet treat!
While I love Cocoa Crinkle Cookies for the holidays, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite sweet treats for any time of the year.
Most oatmeal cookie recipes are made with wheat flour. Wheat tends to be higher in FODMAPs and therefore avoided on the low FODMAP diet until you know more about your unique tolerance level.
This low FODMAP cookie recipe is based on a (not so low-FODMAP) handwritten recipe shared by a friend. I played around with ingredients to make an equally-delicious low-FODMAP version.
The original recipe called for semi-sweet chocolate chips. I found them to be a little too sweet for my taste. Instead, I've used dark chocolate chips, specifically Enjoy Life's Dark Chocolate Morsels, in this recipe.
My extended family (without dietary restrictions) devoured these cookies in no time. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Ingredients
To make these Low FODMAP cookies, add these ingredients to your shopping list:
- Salted butter - ½ cup (1 stick)
- Brown sugar - ½ cup packed
- Granulated sugar - ¼ cup
- Egg - 1 large
- Pure Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
- Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour (in the blue bag) - 1 cup
- Baking soda - ½ teaspoon
- Table salt - ¼ teaspoon
- Rolled oats - 1 ½ cups
- Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Chips - ¾ cup
FODMAP Notes
In this section, I share FODMAP info for some key ingredients. Please refer to the Monash FODMAP app and the FODMAP Friendly app for more information.
Butter does not contain carbohydrates (FODMAPs). It is a naturally low-lactose dairy product.
Brown sugar is low FODMAP in servings of ¼ cup or 40 grams.
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour (in the blue bag) is my go-to low-FODMAP flour. Wheat flour is high in FODMAPs, whereas gluten-free flours made with rice, potato, and tapioca starch are low FODMAP in amounts up to ⅔ cups or 100 grams.
Although this Bob's Red Mill flour hasn’t specifically been tested, it appears to be low FODMAP by ingredients. It is also readily available across the US. You can usually find this flour in the “health,” “natural,” or gluten-free foods section of the grocery store and online.
Unless you tolerate GOS, avoid the Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour in the red bag while low FODMAPing. This flour is made from higher FODMAP garbanzo beans.
Rolled oats are low FODMAP in servings up to ½ cup or 52 grams. Larger servings contain high amounts of fructans and GOS. If you're in the US, Quaker® Old Fashioned Oats (regular and gluten-free) are low FODMAP in slightly smaller 40-gram (or level ½ cup) servings. Quaker® Old Fashioned Oats (organic) are low FODMAP in servings of 32 grams or ⅓ cup.
Dark chocolate is low FODMAP in servings of 30 grams, according to Monash University. If the dark chocolate contains milk, larger servings contain higher amounts of lactose. Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels have been laboratory-tested and certified low-FODMAP by the FODMAP Friendly Food Program.
Instructions
Let's make some yummy Low FODMAP Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Step 1: About an hour before you want to make these cookies, take 1 stick (½ cup) of salted butter out of the refrigerator to soften. If you forget, Sally's Baking Addiction has a great tutorial to quickly soften butter. Ask me how I know. 😉
Step 2: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 3: Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the softened butter, ½ cup packed brown sugar, and ¼ cup granulated sugar until smooth.
Step 4: Add in 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Stir until incorporated.
Step 5: In a medium bowl, stir in 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour (in the blue bag), ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon table salt until mixed.
Slowly add the flour mixture in batches to the butter mixture until well mixed. Remember to scrape the sides of the bowl.
Step 6: Add 1 ½ cups rolled oats and ¾ cup dark chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels) and stir to distribute evenly. I found this step to be hard on my mixer. So, I prefer to mix in the oats and chocolate chips by hand using a silicone spatula.
Step 7: Place rounded tablespoons of dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Sometimes I like to lightly roll the dough between my hands to help shape them into loose balls before placing them on the baking sheet.
Step 8: Bake for 12-14 minutes depending on your preferred cookie texture. (See below for some tips.) Actual baking time may vary depending on your oven, location, climate, baking equipment, etc.
For a crisper outside and still soft inside (my preference): I pull the cookies out of the oven when they look lightly golden brown and the centers still appear to have some give. If you gently touched it with the back of a clean spoon, it would leave an impression. The cookies will be delicate straight out of the oven but firm up further as they cool.
For a crisper cookie, continue baking until the centers appear to have little to no give. If you gently touched it with the back of a clean spoon, it would leave little to no impression. The cookies will continue to firm up as they cool.
Step 9: Remove cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
Serve: Enjoy when the cookies are still slightly warm, or cool completely and transfer to an airtight container.
Substitutions
Flour: If you can't find Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour (in the blue bag), King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure For Measure Flour is another (appears-to-be) low FODMAP flour option.
Equipment
Here are some baking tools that will be helpful in making this recipe:
2 baking sheets: I tested this recipe using several different baking equipment scenarios. My cookie texture preference (more crispy outside and still-soft inside) was achieved using a dark metal baking sheet (old from Walmart; similar pan) topped with parchment paper. I found this OXO cookie sheet without parchment paper yielded a more crisp cookie throughout.
Parchment paper
Stand mixer with paddle attachment: I used a Kitchen Aid stand mixer with a paddle attachment. You can also make this the old-fashioned way (and get an arm workout), stirring by hand.
Silicone spatula
Wire rack
Storage
Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I really like this Rubbermaid Brilliance Container for storing cookies at room temperature. Baked items made without gluten (most low FODMAP baked goods) tend to dry out more quickly than wheat-based treats.
Freeze: Freeze these cookies for up to 3 months. I use a freezer-safe Ziploc bag to help save space in my freezer.
Top tip
Baking recipes, especially baking recipes made without high-FODMAP wheat, are more prone to varied results due to lack of gluten and variations in ingredients, how things are measured, oven temperature, elevation, humidity, baking pans, etc.
You may need to adjust the provided baking times based on your unique baking environment and texture preferences.
If this is your first time making this (or another baking) recipe, please use the provided baking times (and physical cues) as guidelines. For the best results, observe what is happening in your oven and adjust the baking time (shorter or longer), if needed.
Recipe
Low FODMAP Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 cookies 1x
- Diet: Low Lactose
Description
These Low FODMAP Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are just like the classic cookie recipe made with a couple of simple substitutions to help keep FODMAPs in check.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour (in the blue bag)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- ¾ cup Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels (or dark chocolate chips)
Instructions
- About an hour before you want to make these cookies, take the butter out of the refrigerator to soften. If you forget, Sally's Baking Addiction has a great tutorial to quickly soften butter. Ask me how I know. 😉
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Stir until incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, stir flour, baking soda, and salt until mixed. Slowly add the flour mixture in batches to the butter mixture until well mixed. Remember to scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Add the oats and chocolate chips and stir to distribute evenly. I found this step to be hard on my mixer. So, I prefer to mix in the oats and chocolate chips by hand using a silicone spatula.
- Place rounded tablespoons of dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet. I like to lightly roll the dough between my hands to help shape them into loose balls before placing them on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and your preferred cookie texture is achieved (see notes below for what I look for). Actual baking time may vary depending on your oven, location, climate, baking equipment, etc.
- Remove cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
- Enjoy when the cookies are still slightly warm, or cool completely and transfer to an airtight container.
Notes
Low FODMAP Serving: A serving of 1 to 2 cookies contains low FODMAP amounts of ingredients. Individual tolerance may vary. Please refer to the Monash FODMAP App or check out the "FODMAP Notes" section (above the recipe) for more information on specific ingredients.
For a crisper outside and still soft inside (my preference): I pull the cookies out of the oven when they look lightly golden brown and the centers still appear to have some give. If you gently touched it with the back of a clean spoon, it would leave an impression. The cookies will be delicate straight out of the oven but firm up further as they cool.
For a crisper cookie, continue baking until the centers appear to have little to no give. If you gently touched it with the back of a clean spoon, it would leave little to no impression. The cookies will continue to firm up as they cool.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Butter Softening Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American, Low FODMAP
Food safety
Some people develop IBS after having gastroenteritis (commonly referred to as a "stomach bug" or the "stomach flu".) Practicing food safety is one way to help prevent many infections that can lead to gastroenteritis. Here are some food safety tips:
- Do not eat raw cookie dough.
- Bake raw cookie dough before eating.
- Thoroughly wash hands with soap and water after handling flour, eggs, or raw dough.
- Thoroughly wash any baking equipment with warm, soapy water.
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Valerie R Duncan says
I followed the recipe. The result was a delicious slightly crispy outside and chewy inside, in other words, perfect. However my tastebuds have undergone a change on the low fodmap diet and these cookies now seem too sweet. Can I reduce the amount of sugar and still have a wonderful cookie?
Em Schwartz, MS, RDN says
Thanks so much for the kind words—I'm glad you enjoyed the texture! Our tastebuds can definitely recalibrate when we change what we eat—you're not alone! That said, reducing sugar in baked goods can be tricky, since it also affects texture and spread. One simple tweak could be to use fewer chocolate chips or try an extra dark chocolate chip (with less sugar), which can cut the sweetness without drastically changing how the cookie bakes. Let me know if you experiment—I’d love to hear how it goes! -Emily
Cec says
I’m only on day three of my low fodmap diet and these are going to save me! These were so good! I also found a dairy and gluten free semi sweet chocolate chip by the brand guittard and used those. I will definitely be making these again.
Em Schwartz, MS, RDN says
Thanks for sharing, Cec! I'll have to keep an eye out for the Guittard dairy free chips. -Emily
Tina Rockwell says
Baking for altitude, any adjustments to the recipe?
I'm at 5000 ft.
Thanks,Tina
Em Schwartz, MS, RDN says
Hi Tina, I'm not 100% sure as I don't have any experience baking at altitude. GF Jules provides some tips here. Based on what she suggests, you could try reducing the butter by 1-2 tablespoons. Or, decreasing the chocolate chips slightly (maybe 2 tablespoons)? If anyone else has experience with this or other suggestions, please feel free to jump in! -Emily
Olivia says
I have made these 3 times already since staring my low-FODMAP journey. They are definitely a crowd pleaser and I am very grateful! This last time I added 1/4 cup of peanut butter and they are PHENOMENAL. If you're a PB addict give it a try. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Amanda Mendez says
If I omit the oats do I add extra flour?
Jeff says
I replace the flower with teff and thought it was fantastic still. I'm having some issues with borderline anemia and the ingredients seem to be significant sources of iron. would love to have a full nutrition facts sheet for this!
Em Schwartz, MS, RDN says
Hi Jeff, Thanks for sharing! The estimated amount of iron is 0.5 mg per cookie with the ingredients I used to make the recipe. I totally hear you on wanting the full facts. However, I hesitate to provide full nutrition facts because they are estimations (unless analyzed in a lab), often incomplete (products are not required to provide facts for all vitamins and minerals), and will change depending on the exact ingredients (for example, you used teff flour) and amounts used in your kitchen. -Emily
Dania says
Such delicious cookies. I’ve made this recipe so many times now and everyone keeps asking me for the recipe. They turn out perfectly moist on the inside and crisp on the outside. I also had some flakes of salt on top because I’m a little extra salty with my sweet 😉 I am on the website regularly, so thank you so much for all these incredible recipes that help me feed my family so well! (Whilst also managing my IBS!)
Sharon says
The cookies have a good flavor but they don't bake down at all. Whatever form they are when put into the oven will be the same form after cooking. They are also a bit dry and crumbly. I'm new to gluten free baking so this is probably common.
Jackie says
I made them with 1/3 cup maple syrup instead of the sugars, and it still turned out very tasty!
rebecca says
can i make these as bar cookies?