Healthy Oatcakes (With Rosemary)

Name: Healthy Oatcakes with Rosemary
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups medium oatmeal ((or rolled oats)); 1 cup water; 3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary; 1 teaspoon salt

Updated: March 11, 2022

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These homemade healthy oatcakes are made with simple, natural, and wholesome ingredients. The perfect gluten-free and dairy-free snack!

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A pile of healthy oatcakes with rosemary branches in front of them.

I discovered oatcakes when I first moved to the UK what seems like a lifetime ago.

Oatcakes are originally from Scotland and were baked as a long-lasting alternative to bread. Nowadays, they are often used to accompany cheese, but I find them great on their own, or with some delicious hummus as a healthy snack. (Please Scottish friends, forgive me!).

If you have never tried oatcakes, they are similar to crackers but more crumbly.

I find the version that you buy in the supermarkets too buttery, and a few months ago I decided to try to make my own healthy oatcake version.

Oatcakes are very easy to prepare and you should definitely try to make them.

They are normally made out of a combination of 5 simple ingredients:

oats
fat
raising agent
liquid
flavoring

What are oatcakes made with?

Oats

Of course! The start ingredient in oatcakes is oatmeal! Oatmeal is essentially the inside of the oat grains, minus the inedible outer husk, that has either been grounded or chopped. There are different degrees of grounded oatmeals. I prefer medium oatmeal, as it keeps my oatcakes crunchy, but still crumbly and crisp.

If you don’t have oatmeal, you can also blend some rolled oats or quick cook oats in a food processor or a blender until they form a coarse flour.

Fat

The traditional Scottish oatcakes are made with lard, and more recently, butter. In some original recipes, fat should be half the weight of the dry ingredients. As you can imagine, that makes the oatcakes somewhat unhealthy!

By reducing the fat quantity, you can make a much healthier but still delicious alternative. I love my oatcakes with extra virgin olive oil. I admit they are not traditional at all, but I find that olive oil is a great vegan option for my recipe.

Top view of oatmeal, rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, salt: all the ingredients needed to make oatcakes

Raising agent

I am not sure about adding a rising agent to oatcakes, as they don’t really need to rise. The traditional recipe includes a pinch of bicarbonate of soda, but I found that it really doesn’t make much of a difference!

Liquid

You will need hot water to create a dough and bind together the dry oats.

Flavoring

You just need a pinch of salt for the traditional recipe, but if you want to make some special oatcakes you can try adding different flavors:

pepper
fresh or dry herbs
seeds (sesame, poppy seeds)

In my version of oatcakes, I am going for a vegan alternative, using extra virgin olive oil as fat and a bit of fresh rosemary to give them a Mediterranean twist.

I have a serious problem with these oatcakes: yes, they are very healthy, full of fiber and good fats but every time I make them, I can’t stop eating them!

Side view of 2 stacks of healthy oatcakes.

How to make healthy oatcakes

This oatcake recipe is extremely simple, but there are a couple of tips that will help you to get it perfect every time.

The steps are:

Blend the toats (if using rolled oats).
Add extra virgin olive oil, salt, and rosemary to the oatmeal.
Boil the water, add it to the oatmeal, and knead until the oats have absorbed the water and a ball can be formed.
Roll out (approx 3mm thick) and cut into circles using a cookie cutter.
Bake.

F.A.Q.

How much water should you use to make oatcakes?

Different types of oats can absorb water in different ways. If your dough is too crumbly or too soft, just add more water or more oatmeal one tablespoon at a time until you reach the perfect consistency.
What is the perfect consistency, I can hear you asking? You need to be able to form a ball, but the dough doesn’t have to be too sticky. I normally find it quite hard to roll it out without it breaking a bit. You want it to be crumbly but enough to hold together.

How can you easily shape oatcakes?

I use some baking paper to help roll and cut the dough. By rolling the dough on baking paper, I can easily remove the oatcakes without having them stick to my work surface.

How can you cook healthy oatcakes to perfection?

Make sure to turn the trays half-way through baking if you oven doesn’t cook evenly. You also need to watch them during the last 5 minutes as they can darken quite quickly. I normally set the timer at 15 minutes, and then check them and remove them only when they reached the perfect golden even color.

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