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?
This recipe is tried and true and has been a real reader favourite for nearly a decade! I've recently retested the recipe to check it's still perfect and up to today's standards, and I've added directions for how to top them with chocolate. I prefer a plain digestive, but I've been asked how to make chocolate digestives so many times over the years, I thought I should add some official directions!
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FEATURED COMMENT:
"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. The result was perfectly balanced and nearly identical to what I remember of the real thing! Absolutely Divine!" - Alex ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
It's time to bake some Vegan Digestive Biscuits, put the kettle on, make some tea and relax! Who's with me?
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'?
My roots won! The English name seems like the right choice. After all, they are English biscuits and 'digestive cookie' just doesn't sound right to me!
These simple but very delicous biscuits are perfectly crunchy. The wholegrain spelt flour (or wholewheat) gives them a delicious nuttiness, and the oatmeal gives them a lovely, slightly nubbly texture.
I love them with a cup of tea (dipping is compulsory!). They are also great for making a cheesecake crust, and because they are similar to the iconic American graham cracker, they work well for s'mores too. I must also admit to being quite partial to them spread thickly with vegan butter and topped with strong cheddar-style vegan cheese!
Mel x
P.S. When you make these, be sure to use a couple in my Emergency Strawberry Cheesecake Bowl and my Cheat's Banoffee Bowl!
What Are Digestive Biscuits?
Digestive biscuits are pretty similar in taste and texture to the iconic American graham cracker and 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 it just goes to show how great they are!
They were originally created by two doctors in 1839 as a digestive aid. Bicarbonate of soda (or baking soda, as my Canadian and American friends know it) was added to them to act as an antacid, hence the name. This doesn't make them sound too appealing, but honestly, they are extremely delicious, so please stick with me!
You'll notice that 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? 🤷♀️
No. The fat is necessary to make a good-textured, crunchy biscuit.
This recipe needs a hard fat to work. Refined coconut oil works best. Using refined coconut oil means that you don't get any coconut smell or taste. Vegan butter does not give as good a texture.
This recipe has only been tested with spelt flour and wholewheat flour, and that's because without them, the biscuits would not taste anything like digestive biscuits. I don't recommend making them with anything else.
Only if you have a blender. If so, put the oats in your blender and pulse them a few times to get a very coarse flour consistency. Then mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and rub/cut the fat into it with the tips of your fingers or a pastry cutter before adding the liquid. Just like making pie crust. Once it's like coarse breadcrumbs, start adding the milk and stir with a dinner knife to combine, then bring together into a ball with your hands before rolling and cutting.
Recipe
Vegan Digestive Biscuits
Author:Ingredients
- heaping ½ cup (60 grams) rolled, old fashioned or quick oats
- 2 cups (230 grams) wholegrain spelt flour or wholewheat flour (plus a little more for rolling)
- ½ cup (100 grams) sugar , cane sugar, light brown sugar, or turbinado/demerara sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt , not table salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- packed ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (80 grams) refined coconut oil , hard not melted
- about 6 tablespoons dairy-free milk , unsweetened & unflavoured
OPTIONAL FOR CHOCOLATE-TOPPED DIGESTIVES
- 5oz / 150 grams dairy-free chocolate bar , or chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons refined coconut oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 380°F (190°C) and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Add the oats to a food processor and process until they have a course flour like consistency.
- Then add the spelt flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder and pulse a couple of times to combine.
- Add the coconut oil. Pulse until combined and sandy looking.
- Gradually add the milk a little at a time until the dough looks like wet sand and will come together when you squeeze it in your hand. I usually use 6 tablespoons, but this will vary slightly depending on the brand of flour used and humidity.
- Dust a clean, dry work surface with some flour then transfer the dough to the floured surface. Pat into a ball with your hands then lightly sprinkle the top with a bit more flour.
- Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick, sprinkling with a little more flour as needed, and use cookie cutters to cut into rounds. If you don't have cookie cutters, the top of a mason jar does a great job. Keep rerolling and cutting the offcuts until it's all used up. I get 18 with a 3-inch round cookie cutter.
- Place on the lined baking tray. They don't spread much, so you don't need to leave a lot of room around each one.
- Bake for about 15 to 16 minutes or until just starting to turn golden brown on the edges and bottom. They will still have a very slight give in the middle if you push with a finger. As they cool, they will crisp up.
- Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Digestives aren't at their best when warm, in fact their texture and flavour improves from the second day onwards.
If topping with chocolate
- Once the biscuits are completely cool, very gently melt the chocolate with the coconut oil in a small bowl over simmering hot water, or in very short bursts in a microwave. Stir really well to combine.
- Working with just one biscuit at a time, put a small dollop of melted chocolate on the top of the biscuit and spread carefully with the back of a spoon or a spatula to cover the top surface area. Leave to set before enjoying.
NOTES
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Sierra Fennell says
I wanted to come back here to make a post to tell you I just made these the other night and they were amazing!!!! Perhaps not as melt in your mouth as the digestives I am used to buying however I actually prefer these homemade ones much more! Thank you so much for the recipe, I will be making these weekly for they are simply sublime! Nutty, Crisp, Melt in your mouth, and so easy to make!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome Sierra. I'm so glad you are enjoying them!
Perdie says
These biscuits are lovely and really hit the digestive button! Thank you for the recipe, from a UK fan!
Perdie says
Also, I used white rice flour and pats for the gluten free...
Andrea says
I made these biscuits for my vegan friends and they asked me for the recepie! (I've sent them the link :) I didn't have oat flour or possibility to grind them so I just used them whole, and they were still amazing. Thank you for the great recepie, will make them again for sure!
A Virtual Vegan says
What a good friend you are. I'm glad you all enjoyed them!
Judit says
I can’t believe how tasty they are! Unbelievable! So grateful for this recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome. I'm so glad you are enjoying the recipe! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave feedback. I appreciate it!
Barbara Manning Finnical says
My vegan son just made these and I am eating ine as I write this, so yummy! (Dog is begging too.) This recipe is a keeper! Pinning it on my vegan board too. Thamks!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Barbara. I'm so glad you are both enjoying them! If you want to make your dog a treat too you could try these dog cookies https://avirtualvegan.com/sweet-potato-dog-cookies/ They get great feedback and have been tried and tested on my dog and all the dogs at the local dog park!
Thank you so much for stopping by to leave feedback. It's much appreciated!
Partha says
Made these with home milled oat groats and whole wheat a couple of times. The crackers turned out good, but 1 tsp of salt is way too much for this recipe. Baking powder also has a ton of sodium. Certainly makes it questionable for someone watching their salt intake, as is. For the next batch, I cut the salt and baking powder in half and still landed a great texture and crispness!
A Virtual Vegan says
Digestive biscuits do have a slightly salty edge to them which is why there is 1 teaspoon of salt. Without it they don't taste like the store bought ones which is what I am trying to replicate. I'm glad you managed to adapt them to suit your needs though!
Sheila says
i am trying to get the last few diary ingredients out my diet and make my own food so will trying these later as i have everything i need. i'm gonna drizzle some dark chocolate on them as that's my go-to biscuit. has anyone tried freezing them or can say how long they last in an airtight box. there's just me so don't want to make loads that won't last.
A Virtual Vegan says
I don't think they would freeze very well. They do keep for ages in an air tight box though. Probably up to a month I would say.
Sheila says
fabulous thanks
Andrei Nicoara says
I am a big fan of biscuits. I wanted some without butter so I tried yours with some tweaks because I had slightly different ingredients. So I just used 150g of white flower (our inlaws grow wheat so we get free flower) and 70g of buckwheat flower. I also replaced the vegetal milk with soaked millet, linum and chia seeds. Also, I used only 50g sugar and 6 dates instead of the rest. I was expecting good biscuits as you really seemed to know what you are doing, but got amazing biscuits. Some of the best I ever had!
Cheers!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's great, thank you! I'm so glad you were able to adapt them to suit what you had on hand!
Elizabeth Levy says
Absolutely fabulous!!!
I rolled them out and cut them with a fish shaped cookie cutter and made an eye hole with a toothpick. They were on our holiday (Rosh HaShana) table. Everyone loved them. The hubby ate all the leftovers.
I will be making these again and again.
Thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
Love that idea! I'm so glad the recipe worked for you and that everyone enjoyed them. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Anto says
They sound delish and I am glad you used coconu oil. Just out of curiosity but digestive biscuits are called digestive cause they use baking soda and not baking powder. Have you tried making it with baking soda?
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! When testing the recipe I found results were better with baking powder so that's what I went for. I figure these days people aren't going to be eating them for digestive issues anyway.
Anto says
Ok, so I made twice already. Since we make our own nut milk, I used the nut pulp (dried) instead of the rolled oats and I added 1/2 tsp of baking soda. They taste very similar to the original digestive. I really love them! Thanks.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome. I'm so glad you are enjoying them and what a great way to use your oat pulp!
Anto says
Not the oat pulp but the almond and/or hazelnut pulp!. They are really good! Thanks again.
Sue says
Great cookies. We've made them a few times now!
Gary says
I've been really craving digestives since moving from England, and these look amazing. My flatmate can't have wheat though (gluten in most other grains is ok), do you think I sub the spelt for something like barley or buckwheat? Also, how much bicarbonate of soda would you recommend if I wanted to add it? Thanks in advance x
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Gary. I haven't personally tried this recipe with anything other than wholewheat and spelt so I can't guarantee the results. I think buckwheat could work. Oat flour probably would too, or just a gluten-free flour blend. I'm not sure about barley as I've never baked with it.
As for bicarbonate of soda, I think add 1/2 a level teaspoon and you could probably leave out the baking powder completely.
I hope they work out for you and what a lucky flatmate you have!
Mel says
These are amazing, thank you for such a good recipe! Im in love and they'll be gone in a few hours!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks so much Mel! It sounds like you are like me when cookies are around ;O)
Keoma says
These are delicious! Recipe is easy, with simple unexpensive ingredients. Taste better than the store bought version! Thanks so much for posting and sharing this! X from the Netherlands.
Kirk says
... just wanted to add that it was such a nice dough to work with that I adapted it to a savory cracker, that turned out pretty great. Omitted the sugar, added 1.5T savory yeast flakes and some diced olives
A Virtual Vegan says
What a great idea! I'm going to try that next time I make a batch. Thanks Kirk :O)
Kirk says
I made these a couple of nights ago and they were perfect, so delicious! The prep time is listed as 5 mins which is a bit optimistic but the bake time was spot on. Thanks for a great recipe.
A Virtual Vegan says
I am thrilled you loved these so much Kirk. I think I made a mistake when inputting the prep time. I agree that 5 minutes is a little optimistic. I have corrected it. I think 15 is a little more realistic! Thank you so much for stopping by to leave your feedback. I appreciate it :O)
Sharon says
How many biscuits to a serving?
Sheryl says
I made these yesterday and ate more than I should. Brought some to work for a friend and she loved them, too. I met digestive biscuits during a trip to Edinburgh in 1999. I was a vegetarian then and missed them on my last trip to the UK in 2012 as I've been vegan for 15 years. They're perfect. I used white whole wheat flour and they tasted great. They go very well with good single malt Scottish whisky, BTW.
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh no....don't go telling me they go great with whisky....now I'll have to try it! ;O) It should keep my husband happy though. He'll never say no to sampling some whiskey! I am so glad you enjoyed the biscuits and it's good to know they turn out well with white whole wheat flour.I will add a little note to the recipe so others know.
Thanks so much for stopping by to comment Sheryl. I really appreciate it :O)
Hedi Hearts says
These are just perfect. The only thing missing is some gorgeous vegan chocolate to make them chocolate digestive!
Leon says
Do you have a Hobnob recipe?