Vegan Gingerbread People

There's a new gingerbread cookie in town! Warmly-spiced and made dairy-free thanks to a lovely, light olive oil. Decorate them simply and enjoy, or gift to friends and neighbors!

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Dotdash Meredith Creative
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Dotdash Meredith Creative
Dotdash Meredith Creative is the in-house branded content team at Dotdash Meredith. We work with our brand partners to tell their stories on Simply Recipes and across the larger Dotdash Meredith portfolio of sites.
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Updated September 29, 2023
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This post is written in partnership with Filippo Berio.

Ginger and spice and everything nice, that’s what gingerbread cookies are for!

And if you happen to be dairy-free, you're still invited to the party this year.

These warmly-spiced, festive cookies are made without eggs or butter and, instead, feature Extra Light Olive Oil from Filippo Berio. The flavor of the oil is subtle and light, and take it from us, you're going to start to use it in all your favorite baking recipes!

How Do You Make Vegan Gingerbread Cookies?

Really, it's simple and only requires one bowl. Music to our ears this busy holiday season!

You simply mix the dry ingredients in the bowl, make a well in the center, and add the olive oil, molasses, and almond milk or plant milk of your choosing into the middle. The dough comes together without a hitch.

Like most cookie dough, chilling makes it even easier to work with. Don’t be afraid to use a generous amount of flour on the work surface and on the rolling pin when you roll the dough; it can take it!

How Do I Decorate These Gingerbread Cookies?

These gingerbread cookies aren't overly sweet, making them ideal if you want to frost them with powdered sugar icing, but you'll also enjoy them plain without icing.

For ideas on how to decorate your cookies, check out this helpful post on royal icing.

Can I Ship Them?

This year, we're all about gifts that we've made – everyone could use a little homemade boost, and a box of cookies is the ultimate hug from afar.

And good news: these cookies ship beautifully! But that said, it's good to keep a few things in mind.

First, consider shape. the skinnier and more ornate the limbs of your cookie cutters are, the more likely your cookie will break in transit. There's no hard and fast rule that you need to use a people-shaped cookie cutter; if you're shipping, perhaps opt for a shape less apt to break (ornaments, circles, hearts).

The one thing to be careful of is the icing as, once it dries, it can chip off in transit.

More Cookie Decorating and Gifting Tips

Vegan Gingerbread People

Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 12 mins
Chill Time 30 mins
Total Time 72 mins
Servings 42 servings

Ingredients

  • For the cookies:
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2  cup unsulphured molasses (not Blackstrap)
  • 5 tablespoons almond milk, or other plant based milk of your choice
  • 1/2 cup Filippo Berio Extra Light Olive Oil
  • For the icing:
  • 1 2/3 cups plus powdered sugar, sifted
  • 3 tablespoons almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Special Equipment

  • Gingerbread man cookie cutter
  • Piping bag
  • Piping tip (#3 or smaller)

Method

  1. Mix the dry ingredients

    In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Add the brown sugar and mix with your fingers to break up any small lumps.

  2. Make the dough

    Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the molasses, almond milk, and olive oil into the well and stir to combine. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients, mixing until well blended.

  3. Refrigerate the dough

    Shape the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.

  4. Preheat the oven

    to 350°F. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

  5. Roll and cut the cookies

    Divide the dough in half and work with one half at a time, rolling the dough on a generously floured surface to a thickness of about 1/8 inch.

    Slip an offset spatula under the dough to make sure it is not sticking before you start cutting the shapes. Using cookie cutters, cut out the shapes and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets with a thin spatula, spacing them about 1 inch apart.

    Gather the dough scraps, incorporate them into the remaining dough, and roll out as before until all the dough is used.

  6. Bake the cookies

    Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until light brown on the bottoms. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet.

  7. Make the icing

    Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir the powdered sugar, almond milk, and lemon juice until smooth. If you want to color some of the icing, spoon some into a separate small bowl and add a teensy drop of food coloring until the icing is the color you would like.

  8. Decorate the cookies

    Transfer icing to a piping bag with a #3 or smaller tip and decorate the cookies.