Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Delicious triple-flavoured cookies that are ready in 20 minutes and are so fun – plus they taste just like the best Neapolitan ice cream. Make one sugar cookie dough and flavour with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry and bake as swirl vegan and gluten-free cookies.

Summer may be on the way out but I could not let the summertime pass without sharing these amazing cookies. They are one of my favourite cookies recipes I’ve worked on this year (yes, there have been a few favourites) but these seriously are so good! They are so fun, it feels like when you were younger and baking at home. Watching the colours come to life and the swirls naturally form as you roll the cookies… nothing beats it. You can watch the recipe video here.

Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies

These Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies are:

  • Quick and easy to make in 20 minutes with no chill time necessary
  • Chewy inside and crispy outside
  • Golden and delicious
  • Flavoured with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry
  • Naturally vegan and easily gluten-free
  • Nut-free and soya-free
  • Fun to make with little ones
  • Moreish and melt in your mouth
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies

You cannot stop at just one of these cookies and I’ve made them a few times for friends and family and they are always such a hit. If you are totally convinced you need these Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies in your life right now, skip ahead to the recipe card, or let’s see what goes into these cookies:

  • Vegan butter: the basis for a lot of vegan cookies. I prefer to use vegan butter rather than margarine spread for the flavour and texture but it would also work. I have not tried these with coconut oil but I do not think they would work as well.
  • Granulated or caster sugar: for the colour and flavour of these cookies, a simple white sugar works better. That said, you can try these with coconut sugar, too, the colour will be richer and not as distinct between the flavours.
  • Aquafaba: this is our magic egg replacer and makes these cookies so chewy in the centre with a lovely crisp edge. Simply drain a tin of chickpeas, saving the water (this is the aquafaba and use the chickpeas in any of my other recipes).
  • Vanilla essence: this is important for the vanilla of the cookie dough.
  • Plain or GF plain flour: this keeps these Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies so light and moreish and melt in your mouth. If you are using GF flour, use one with xantham gum which helps to bind the cookies.
  • Bicarbonate of soda: for a little rise.
  • Salt: to bring out all the flavours.

Like most cookies, to make these Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies, simply beat together the butter and sugar and then stir in all the other ingredients to a slightly sticky but thick dough. Now it’s time for the Neapolitan flavours!

  • Vanilla: this is for the white/cream part of the cookies.
  • Cocoa or cacao powder: this is for the chocolate part of the cookie. Any cocoa/cacao powder will work.
  • Freeze-dried strawberry/raspberry powder: this is for the berry flavour of the cookies and any pink berry powder will work.
  • Pink food gel: make sure to use a vegan food gel/colouring if needed. This adds the colour to the cookies. These Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies taste just as good without the colouring, but the pink dough turns quite beige/brown in the oven, so the colouring makes sure the pink pops. The colour does dull in the oven still, so don’t worry if the pink cookie dough is very bright.
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies

How to make these cookies?

  • Make the cookie dough and divide into 3 equal portions.
  • Flavour and colour the strawberry and the chocolate dough.
  • Take a scoop of each flavoured cookie dough.
  • Place all three pieces into your hand.
  • Roll the pieces together into a ball.
  • Flatten the cookies very slightly onto a cookie sheet.
  • Bake until slightly puffy, crisping at the edges and delicious.

Then the Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies are ready to go. Allow them to cool slightly before removing them from the tray as they will be delicate when hot. These really are the dream to eat, too, as you get vanilla, strawberry and chocolate at the same time! They taste just like your favourite childhood ice cream but these won’t give you brain freeze and are acceptable to make all year long, no matter what the weather.

How to store these Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies?

These cookies will last for 3-5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze the cookie dough but allow it to reach room temperature and de-frost before baking them. You can freeze baked cookies, too for up to 1 month, and allow to de-frost before eating them.

If you love these cookies and want to make other cookies, how about my:

Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies (Gluten-Free)

  • Servings: 10
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

A small batch two-layered lemon sponge cake coated in strawberry lemon cream cheese buttercream and a strawberry jam centre. This vegan cake is easily gluten-free, quick to make and is a great showstopper or celebration cake.

Ingredients

  • 110g vegan butter or margarine
  • 110g granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp aquafaba (water from a tin of chickpeas)
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 175g plain of GF plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries, for flavour
  • 1 tsp pink/red food colouring, for colour

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
  2. Beat together the vegan butter and sugar until fluffy. Lightly whisk the aquafaba until bubbly in a bowl and pour into the butter mix with the vanilla essence and mix in.
  3. Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and add the salt and whisk to a smooth, sticky dough.
  4. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. To one portion, mix in the cocoa powder, to the second add the freeze-dried berries and the pink/red colouring and leave the third plain.
  5. Per cookie, take a small amount of each flavoured dough (roughly 15g each piece) and roll together to form one cookie. Place onto the baking trays, leaving a 2-cm gap around each cookie as they will spread. Add 5 cookies per tray.
  6. For the most even cookies, bake one tray at a time and turn each tray round halfway through cooking time (but you can cook both trays at the same time if you’re short on time). Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes, until golden at the edges and slightly puffed, they will deflate as they cool. Cool fully on a wire rack and store in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make them, be sure to tag me in your cookies, I love seeing them! I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on TwitterFacebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With Neapolitan cookie love x

  1. They looks so pretty too!

  2. Aww so adorable Naepolitan cookies 🍪 all three flavours are my favourite. They look sooo divine and scrumptious. Definitely will tag you into my bakes using your recipes 😌😌😋! Saved to my WordPress saved collection

  3. Pink colour is amazing 😌😌😋😋

  4. […] recipe for these Vegan Earth Day Cookies is based on my Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies which are so tender and […]

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