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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Dee says
I suggest you stick with your roots and let everyone else look it up, as we do with recipes from other countries. Recipes can be a bit confusing when over explained. For clarification, I'm Scottish, living in Scotland
Judith says
Melanie,
Thank you for this recipe-I'm looking forward to trying this-they look delicious!
As a reply to Dee: I am not sure what is to be gained in making the kind of comment you posted here. If someone like Melanie takes the time and goes to the trouble to share a recipe, I consider it a generous gift. Your comment is less than gracious and just seems petty.
Maraika Mason says
Ditto to what you replied to Dee. What a sad response from her and why would you even bother to comment on a recipe you can make - FOR FREE. No need to buy a book or pay a fee. I read every tip that Melanie provides in her recipes so we too can have excellent results. Which I usually do. I appreciate the details also in the measurements. Mel, just ignore comments like Dee's as they are not constructive. I love your recipes and thanks for the effort you put in. Good job!!
Melanie McDonald says
Thank you, Dee and Maraika. I appreciate your support!
vanessa says
just made these.... really yum!!! I used tahini as the nut butter and stevia in place of the brown sugar. added a tbsp chia seed, flax meal and sessame seed to the dough mixture. really happy with the outcome. the only issue I really had was that the biscuits rose in the centre so not a flat biscuit as such. would there be a reason for this?
Melanie McDonald says
This recipe doesn't have nut butter in it. That will be why they didn't turn out quite as expected. Biscuits/cookies like this need a hard fat (vegan butter or coconut oil) to be successful. Glad you enjoyed them anyway though!
leona kadir says
I love these. Great base recipe for me to play with as I have my own mill. Made a batch today with wheat, rye, bran and toasted malted black barley. Not too sweet or salty.
Tristan says
Omg! Amazing! I have been looking for a recipe for vegan digestive biccies and these are beautiful. Thank you!
Susan says
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!
Nika says
Is it supposed to be "white" spelt flour or whole grain one?
Melanie McDonald says
The recipe will technically work with both but I recommend whole grain for the most authentic flavour.
Neeraja says
How long will they last in an airtight container?
A Virtual Vegan says
Ages. At least a few weeks.
Claire says
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.
A Virtual Vegan says
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.
SYJ says
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!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed them. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review. It's much appreciated!
Alexis says
I’m stuck at you never having had graham crackers? How?
A Virtual Vegan says
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.
FRANCES BOTTRELL says
Great vegan digestive biscuits! Thank you. Easy to make and perfect taste.
Alex says
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 near identical to what I remember of the real thing! Absolutely Divine!
Rachel says
These are lovely! This is exactly what I’ve been needing. I did add some some vanilla extract, cardamom and dipped in vegan chocolate.
Daniel says
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! :-)
nada says
can I use any othe oil for these?
A Virtual Vegan says
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.
Gosia says
Love those biscuits ❤️made them many times ?
Swetha Pattabhi Ramaiah says
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?
A Virtual Vegan says
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!
Rocío says
Hi!. can i replace spelt flour for any other kind of flour? it's been difficult to find
A Virtual Vegan says
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.
Nonna says
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!
Julie says
We are a family of vegans, me and my two teenage sons. I’m afraid these are horrible. We are putting them out for the birds. They look exactly like the picture but no way taste like a biscuit. Yuk yuk yuk.
Sarah-Jane Morris says
Oh my days! Although I have only been following a plant based diet for a few months, I’ve avoided Digestives due to palm oil, for a couple of years. THESE ARE DELICIOUS and have totally filled the digestive shaped void in my life. Thank you so much, your recipes have made our family transition to plant based so much easier.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed them Sarah-Jane!