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    Home » Recipes » Cookies & Scones

    Published: May 13, 2016 · Modified: Oct 24, 2019 by Melanie McDonald · This post contains affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 119 Comments

    Vegan Digestive Biscuits

    GO TO RECIPE PRINT RECIPE
    4.85 from 53 votes
    Vegan Digestive Biscuits

    C'mon...I'm English...It was only a matter of time before I came up with a recipe for vegan digestive biscuits! With their distinctive crunchy, crumbly texture & not too sweet almost nutty flavour, these British favourites make the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea......I'm totally conforming to the typical English stereotype here, aren't I?

    a stack of vegan digestive biscuits

    It's time to go bake some Vegan Digestive Biscuits, put the kettle on, make some tea and relax! Who's with me?

    Cookies or Biscuits?

    I thought long and hard about what to call this recipe. Should I stick to my roots and call them 'Digestive Biscuits' or, as I now live in Canada and most of you are from the USA and Canada, should I call them 'Digestive Cookies'?

    Generally in England cookies are known as biscuits, whereas in Canada and the USA, biscuits are what we in England would call savoury scones. There are so many other foods and general cooking terms that are totally different too. I get so confused! A few I can think of off the top of my head are pancakes/flapjacks, chips/fries, aubergine/eggplant, cornflour/cornstarch, grilling/broiling and double boiler. What's that all about? I had to google it when I first moved here as I didn't have a clue what it was. In England we call it a bain-marie!

    It's no wonder I'm confused!

    I really struggle when writing my recipes as I never know what to call these things. I often spend ages deliberating but usually end up choosing the Canadian/American versions as I know that is where the majority of you, my lovely readers are. This time though the English name seems like the right choice. After all, they are English biscuits and 'digestive cookie' just doesn't sound right to me!

    a stack of vegan digestive biscuits with one half to the side

    What are Digestive Biscuits?

    Digestive biscuits are pretty similar in taste and texture to the iconic American graham cracker. They were originally created by two doctors in 1839 as a digestive aid. The bicarbonate of soda (or baking soda as my Canadian and American friends know it as) was added to them to act as an antacid. This doesn't make them sound too appealing, but honestly, they are extremely delicious so please stick with me!

    Digestive biscuits are one of the most popular biscuits sold in the UK. According to Wikipedia more than 80 million packs are sold annually. That's a whole lot of biscuits and just goes to show how great they are. They aren't however vegan and they contain refined sugar and palm oil which are ingredients I try to avoid.

    If you find yourself wanting to bake a cheesecake, crushed Digestive Biscuits make the perfect base. You can see them in action in my Vegan New York Cheesecake.

    Digestives made vegan

    My Vegan Digestive Biscuits are dairy, refined sugar and refined flour-free and they contain a relatively low quantity of oil and sugar. The wholegrain spelt flour gives them a delicious nuttiness and the oatmeal adds to the slightly nubbly texture. My recipe does not include the traditional bicarbonate of soda/baking soda so I am afraid they won't act as an antacid! I tried them with and without and to be honest it didn't make any difference to their appearance or taste so why bother?

    Digestives are not a really sweet biscuit and so my biscuits do have sugar in them but not a lot. Just enough to give them a slightly sweet edge. Because they aren't too sweet they can also be eaten like crackers  with savoury foods. Try them with some good quality vegan cheese, or spread with my Easy Vegan Butter.

    Personally though, I love them just as they are with a cup of tea. That is where the inspiration for this recipe came from.

    a biscuit being dipped in a cup of tea

    Hungry for more vegan cookies?

    • Vegan Brown Butter
    • Healthy Oil-Free Vegan Biscuits
    • Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Vegan Graham Crackers

    And if you love this recipe, please do check out my cookbook, and subscribe to my email list. Being on the list means you will be first to see my new recipes and you’ll be kept in the loop on all things new and exciting too!

    Vegan Digestive Biscuits

    Vegan Digestive Biscuits

    Author: Melanie McDonald
    4.85 from 53 votes
    Make your own delicious vegan digestive biscuits. These British favourites are crunchy, crumbly & not too sweet, they make the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved!
    PREP TIME: 15 minutes
    COOK TIME: 15 minutes
    TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes
    Servings: 18

    Ingredients
      

    • 1½ cups (220 grams) spelt flour , or wholewheat flour (plus more for rolling)
    • ½ cup (60 grams) rolled oats or quick oats
    • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • heaping ¼ cup (60 grams) light brown sugar , or turbinado/demarara
    • packed 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (80 grams) hard refined coconut oil , or vegan butter
    • 5 - 8 tablespoons non-dairy milk
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    • Preheat oven to 380°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
    • Add the oats to a food processor and process until they have a course flour like consistency.
    • Add the spelt flour, salt, baking powder and sugar and pulse a few times to combine.
    • Add the coconut oil/vegan butter and process until well combined.
    • Gradually add the milk one tablespoon at a time until a smooth dough forms. It will start balling up and if you touch it, it will feel slightly tacky. I used 7 tablespoons but this will vary depending on the flour you use and the time of year.
    • Dust a clean, dry work surface with some flour then transfer the dough to the floured surface and lightly sprinkle it with a bit more flour.
    • Roll out the dough to about 3mm thick.
    • Use cookie cutters to cut into rounds. If you don't have cookie cutters then the top of a mason jar does a great job.
    • Place on the baking tray. They don't spread much so you don't need to leave a lot of room around each one.
    • Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until just starting to turn golden brown on the edges and bottom. They will still feel very slightly soft in the middle if you push with a finger but that is fine. As they cool they will firm up and go crisp.
    • Place on a cooling rack and leave to cool completely before eating. They aren't at their best when warm.
    • Store in an airtight container once completely cool.

    NUTRITION

    Serving: 1biscuitCalories: 118kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 135mgPotassium: 52mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 22IUCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.

    Tried this recipe?Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @avirtualvegan on Instagram and hashtag it #avirtualvegan
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    13.7K shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tristan says

      June 11, 2022 at 6:37 pm

      5 stars
      Omg! Amazing! I have been looking for a recipe for vegan digestive biccies and these are beautiful. Thank you!

      Reply
    2. Susan says

      August 24, 2021 at 6:10 pm

      5 stars
      I am sorry I misread the recipe and used 60 g of coconut oil and it should’ve been 80! That’s what I get for doing this late at night ! I wondered why my dough was a bit crumbly even though I used the max amount of milk. I just tasted one though and it’s good to me. Next time I’ll try to be more careful but these are going to great in the am with my chai or even coffee!

      Reply
    3. Nika says

      June 04, 2021 at 12:45 pm

      Is it supposed to be "white" spelt flour or whole grain one?

      Reply
      • Melanie McDonald says

        June 04, 2021 at 3:04 pm

        The recipe will technically work with both but I recommend whole grain for the most authentic flavour.

        Reply
    4. Neeraja says

      April 15, 2021 at 7:06 am

      How long will they last in an airtight container?

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        April 15, 2021 at 9:59 am

        Ages. At least a few weeks.

        Reply
    5. Claire says

      March 20, 2021 at 1:16 am

      Hi! I’m going to make these but just want to check first ... why 80g + 2tblsp coconut oil? Why not just 107g? I know there must be a reason but can’t figure it out. Thanks.

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        March 20, 2021 at 11:54 am

        It's just 80 grams. I think you're mixing up the metric measurement and the cup measurement which says ¼ cup + 2 tbsp which would equal 80 grams.

        Reply
    6. SYJ says

      January 05, 2021 at 2:56 am

      5 stars
      Delicious!!! If you end up with biscuits of slightly different thickness (like I did), keep the thin ones in the centre of the baking tray and thick ones at the edges, so they will bake evenly. That said, the slightly darker biscuits on my tray were my favorite - they’re nutty flavor is heightened and so yummy!

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        January 05, 2021 at 10:56 am

        I'm really pleased you enjoyed them. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review. It's much appreciated!

        Reply
    7. Alexis says

      November 15, 2020 at 3:28 pm

      I’m stuck at you never having had graham crackers? How?

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        November 15, 2020 at 5:45 pm

        Because I'm English and they don't exist in England. I only know about them because I moved to Canada a few years ago.

        Reply
    8. FRANCES BOTTRELL says

      October 30, 2020 at 10:20 pm

      5 stars
      Great vegan digestive biscuits! Thank you. Easy to make and perfect taste.

      Reply
    9. Alex says

      October 29, 2020 at 1:53 pm

      5 stars
      After searching high and low for a digestive recipe that was vegan I found this one. I had everything on hand and threw these in the oven in under 20 minutes. I don’t own a food processor so I used my high powered blender and fixed in liquids by hand. No issue with texture or consistency One change I made to the recipe was using organic refined coconut oil in a butter flavor. It’s the only one I had on hand and often use it for popcorn. The result was perfectly balanced and near identical to what I remember of the real thing!
      Absolutely Divine!

      Reply
    10. Rachel says

      September 15, 2020 at 8:31 am

      5 stars
      These are lovely! This is exactly what I’ve been needing. I did add some some vanilla extract, cardamom and dipped in vegan chocolate.

      Reply
    11. Daniel says

      August 27, 2020 at 8:36 pm

      4 stars
      Very easy to make! I also enjoyed the crunchiness. However, I’ll use less salt next time, as they were a little salty. Forgive the sacrilege, but I’ll also sprinkle some granulated sugar on top prior to baking - just my taste! :-)

      Reply
    12. nada says

      August 27, 2020 at 5:13 pm

      can I use any othe oil for these?

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        August 28, 2020 at 12:51 pm

        No it needs to be a solid oil. You could use a hard vegan butter (not a soft spreading one) but you would likely need a bit more as it's not 100% fat.

        Reply
    13. Gosia says

      May 04, 2020 at 1:48 pm

      5 stars
      Love those biscuits ❤️made them many times ?

      Reply
    14. Swetha Pattabhi Ramaiah says

      May 04, 2020 at 12:29 pm

      5 stars
      I made them for my evening coffee and they turned out to be fantastic! I am going to stop buying store-bought digestives and make my own from now on. It tasted JUST like store-bought and even the texture. Ah! I am really happy with the ingredients as well. Thank you!
      But I want to play around with the recipe next time by using substitutes. Can I substitute spelt flour with oat flour, and substitute brown sugar with something with a low GI sugar-sub like erithrytol? Curious to know if anyone s tried this?

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        May 04, 2020 at 2:48 pm

        Glad you enjoyed them! I wouldn't recommend switching the flour for oat flour if you want them to still taste like digestives. Spelt is best for that. And the texture just won't be the same without the sugar. Sugar is what gives cookies their crispy, crunchy texture. Erithrytol does not caramelize and that is so important for both the texture and the flavour in any cookie.They would likely end up dense and chewy. Hope that helps!

        Reply
    15. Rocío says

      April 27, 2020 at 8:06 am

      Hi!. can i replace spelt flour for any other kind of flour? it's been difficult to find

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        April 27, 2020 at 9:52 am

        It does give the best flavour in these biscuits but wholewheat will work well too. Just be sure to weigh it rather than use cups so you get exactly the right amount.

        Reply
      • Nonna says

        July 19, 2020 at 3:07 am

        Hi! Actually I can't eat gluten so I used half rice flour, half brown rice flour instead of the spelt flour and it was very good as well :) (also if you can't eat gluten, make sure that you use gluten free oat). Good luck!

        Reply
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    Melanie McDonald

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