The BEST Lactation Cookies recipe (for nursing mamas!)

Updated: Apr 18, 2025 by christina.marsigliese · 33 Comments

When I had my first child, I knew I wanted to breastfeed, but I didn't know how challenging it would be. I felt like my milk supply wasn't quite what it should be, so I went on a quest to develop the best lactation cookies recipe that would not only help maintain my milk supply, but also taste DELICIOUS. These homemade lactation cookies are easy to make without any egg or dairy, and they are such a treat with big dark chocolate chunks.

THOUGHTS ON BREASTFEEDING...

Breastfeeding comes with so many emotions and challenges... it's a wonderful feeling to know that you can soothe your baby instantly and provide so many benefits both nutritionally and emotionally, but no one really prepares you for how difficult it can be! The intense pain at first (enough to put tears in my eyes and make my toes curl)... The latching issues... Is he getting enough? Supply varies day by day... Being needed on-demand whenever he gets hungry... Not being able to do anything independently for longer than 2 hours... Being hungry ALL THE TIME. It's a whole chapter in itself!

WHAT ARE LACTATION COOKIES?

Lactation cookies are cookies that contain certain nutrient-dense ingredients which are known to help increase breastmilk production in nursing moms and provide moms with the important nutrition we need.

When I started researching lactation cookies recipes, I knew that I wanted to develop one of my own... one that is made from accessible ingredients, easy to make and QUICK (because let's face it - mom's don't get much time to do anything!), and of course it must be SO DELICIOUS. They taste just like traditional chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!

Well, my BEST Lactation Cookies recipe is just that. They come together in under 10 minutes and in fact they are ready from start to finish in less than 25! This recipe is also vegan, so there's no egg and no dairy if you've needed to cut out allergens.

INGREDIENTS IN MY LACTATION COOKIES RECIPE:

Flaxseed meal (ground flaxseeds) - flaxseeds (also called linseeds) contain compounds called phytoestrogens that can help boost breast milk production. They are also a source of healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids which are important for baby's brain development. In this recipe I use flaxseed meal which is just ground flaxseeds. You can buy it already ground or grind your own. I use a coffee grinder to do this and it works great!
Oats - oats contain iron which is known to have a positive effect on breast milk supply. They are a source of iron and as a bonus they are also high in fiber which will keep you regular and feeling good! This lactation cookie recipe uses either ground oats or oat flour. If you use oat flour, the cookies will be quite a bit thicker. I simply place a cup of rolled oats in the food processor and pulse until they are ground down to the texture of bread crumbs.

Nutritional yeast - most recipes you'll find online contain brewer's yeast, but it's very hard to find! The reason for using yeast is to provide important vitamins and minerals, including complex B vitamins, iron, zinc, selenium and magnesium. Nutritional yeast provides this and it is easy to find in the health section of your local supermarket! Or, purchase it online with this link. Plus it tastes much better than brewer's yeast which is very bitter if you don't find the de-bittered kind!
Spice - pure vanilla extract and mixed spice or just pure cinnamon adds a boost of flavor to make these taste like a treat!
Dark chocolate chips - well, I mean... we gotta have chocolate! I use really dark 85% cocoa dark chocolate chunks that I chop from a block. It makes these beautiful melty puddles.

It's not loaded with sugar! Just ⅔ cup of brown sugar is all you need for 16 cookies.
It uses lots of the milk-boosting ingredients, so you don't need to eat a ton to get the benefits (even though you might want to!)
They are VEGAN, meaning they are dairy-free and egg free in case you've needed to eliminate dairy from your diet due to your baby's allergic reaction

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST LACTATION COOKIES RECIPE:

Make the flax "egg" - blend flaxmeal with water and let it sit to hydrate and thicken. This will be the binding agent for the cookies as well as provide so much nutrition!
Melt coconut oil - melt it down and then let it cool before moving forward.
Mix brown sugar into coconut oil, and mix in vanilla.
Mix in flax egg - whisk well until the mixture becomes tightened, smooth and glossy.
Blend dry ingredients - combine ground oats, flour, almond meal, nutritional yeast, spice, baking soda and salt. Add this to the wet mixture and mix it in.
Fold in chocolate chunks.
BAKE! You can bake this dough right away, but if it feels a bit too soft (because maybe the coconut oil was still a bit warm), then cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes before scooping.

These cookies have crisp golden edges and then are soft throughout. I love them so much and hope you love them too!

HOW TO MAKE OAT FLOUR AT HOME

You can easily make your own oat flour or quick oats by simply placing oats into a blender and blending/pulsing until they're smooth and resemble a fine flour. If you're making quick oats for more texture, just pulse a few times to break them down but not enough until it's powdery like flour. Always measure the oats first before pulsing into flour for this recipe.

Video

The Best Lactation Cookies (for nursing mamas!)

Christina Marsigliese

These are the very best Lactation Cookies to help boost breastmilk supply in nursing moms and they taste GREAT!

5 from 12 votes

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Servings 16 cookies

Ingredients

4 tablespoon (24g) flaxseed meal (ground flaxseed)
6 tablespoon (90ml) water
⅓ cup (70g) coconut oil, melted and cooled
⅔ cup (145g) packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
1 cup (100g) ground oats (pulse rolled oats in a food processor, see blog post for details)
½ cup (50g) almond flour or ground blanched almonds
½ cup (71g) all-purpose flour
6 tablespoon (25g) nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon mixed spice or cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup (5oz) (142g) dark chocolate chunks

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to thicken while you prepare all of the other ingredients.
Combine coconut oil, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl, then whisk in thickened flaxseed mixture until smooth and well combined.
Whisk together ground oats, almond meal, flour, nutritional yeast, spice, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and add it to the we mixture. Fold it in until just combined, then fold in chocolate chips. If the dough is a bit sticky, place it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Scoop up heaped tablespoons of cookie dough and roll into balls. Place onto prepared baking sheets spacing them about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

The BEST Lactation Cookies recipe (for nursing mamas!)

THOUGHTS ON BREASTFEEDING...

WHAT ARE LACTATION COOKIES?

INGREDIENTS IN MY LACTATION COOKIES RECIPE:

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST LACTATION COOKIES RECIPE: