Here's a recipe for the perfect vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies: they are slightly crispy around the edges and soft and chewy on the inside, and they're so easy to make with just eight ingredients. A soy-free, nut-free recipe.
Your eyeballs won't pop all the way out of their sockets and you certainly won't sprout blue fuzz all over your body, but you'll know just what goes through the Cookie Monster's brain when you sample one of these vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.
These are truly the BEST vegan chocolate chip cookies. They are barely crispy around the edges but mostly soft and chewy, and they are studded with enough chocolate chips to make you go om nom nom nom.
I shared this recipe with you a few years back and so many of you have loved it and tried it. I've updated the post for you with more detailed instructions and also added a few new photos, including some taken by Jay who's turning out to be quite the food photographer.
Is chocolate vegan (and where can you find vegan chocolate chips):
Lucky for us vegans, the answer to that question is a resounding yes.
The chocolate chips you'll find on store shelves is usually not vegan because many contain milkfat. But there are many varieties of vegan chocolate chips that are now available (white chocolate chips are harder to find though).
Usually you have a better chance of finding dark chocolate chips that are vegan, although semisweet chips are quite easily found too.
I usually buy my vegan chocolate chips from Whole Foods or Amazon, which has a wide variety. Costco, for a while, offered big bags of Kirkland semisweet chocolate chips that were not labeled as vegan but were so accidentally, although I haven't been able to find them at the store for a couple of years now.
Here are some other brands that offer vegan chocolate chips: Enjoy Life, King David, California Gourmet, Nestle's Simply Delicious and Chatfield's. These can change -- Ghirardelli, for instance, offered semisweet chocolate chips in the past that were vegan, but then went and added milk to them -- so be sure to read labels when you buy.
Tips and steps:
- These cookies require just eight ingredients, and molasses, which is optional. And they're so easy to make, a kid could do it. They are drop cookies, so you just need an ice cream scoop of a spoon to drop them on the baking sheet. Or, for a nicer shape, you can roll them up into balls. They'll spread nicely while baking into perfect rounds.
- These cookies are perfect with unbleached flour or with whole wheat pastry flour -- I make them with both -- and for some added complexity and even more flavor you can sub out a half a cup of the flour with almond flour.
- I use avocado oil in these cookies, because it's a healthy fat and flavorless. But I've also made these with olive oil and with coconut oil. Olive oil is great, but coconut oil tends to add a stronger flavor I am not crazy about. You can also just use an equal quantity of vegan butter.
- The applesauce subs for some of the fat you might have added to the recipe, and it gives the cookies even more flavor and tenderness.
- These cookies, like I said above, are crispy and golden around the edges and soft and chewy at the center. But the texture of chocolate chip cookies is a matter of much debate and preference. I found this great NPR article that talks about the science behind baking your chocolate chip cookie to the exact texture you like: it's an informative -- and delicious -- read.
Ingredients:
- Flour, all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
- Almond flour (you can simply replace with unbleached all purpose flour or whole wheat flour if you don't want to use this)
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Coconut or olive oil or any vegetable oil
- Applesauce
- Vanilla extract
- Cane or turbinado sugar
- Molasses (optional, but nice)
- Chocolate chips.
Looking for more tasty vegan cookies?
- Vegan Shortbread Cookies
- Vegan Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies, naturally sweetened
- Vegan Gingersnap Cookies
- Vegan Coconut Almond Macaroons
- Vegan Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
- Vegan Pecan Pie Bars, Gluten-Free
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour makes a great, and healthier, substitute. You can also swap out half a cup of the all purpose flour for almond flour for a slightly nuttier variation)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup applesauce
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cup turbinado sugar or vegan cane sugar
- 1 tbsp molasses (optional)
- 1 ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a larger bowl, whisk together the oil, applesauce, vanilla, sugar and molasses.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix with a spatula until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes to an hour. Prepare three cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
- Scoop balls of the cookie dough onto the baking sheet using an ice cream scoop. You should get about 20 cookies.
- Bake each batch of cookies in the oven for 16 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool on the sheet or on a wire rack. Remove with a spatula to serve.
Nutrition
This was an amazing recipe! The cookies turned out so soft and chewy. I didn’t have molasses but I’ve heard light brown sugar gives a chewier taste so I added a tbsp of that and they came out wonderful! Thank you for this amazing website!!
Hi Pooja, so happy to hear!
These were so simple to make and they taste incredible! They’re perfectly fluffy inside while having a crispness on the outside. I will definitely be making these again!
I only needed 1cup of sugar and chocolate chips and they turned out lovely. No regrets here!
Kate, awesome, so happy you enjoyed them.
FYI, Guittard makes chocolate chips that do not contain dairy or palm oil. I find them at Target, Safeway and most markets. Most chocolate chips these days are made with inferior chocolate and taste horrible, but Guittard is still yummy.
Thanks for the great tip Annette!
This is an awesome recipe! I have been making these cookies for my family for the past couple months. My entire family loves it, including my two finicky young sons. Thank you for the recipe. God Bless you always.
Hi! Can you substitute the applesauce for mashed banana or will the flavor be overpowering?
You will have some banana flavor but it should taste great.
Hi Vaishali,
Is it ok to use 2.5cups of oat flour instead of the wheat & almond flour?
Thanks!
Hi Mya, you might find it difficult for the cookies to bind, with only oat flour. If you want to go gluten-free, an all purpose gluten-free flour could work better.
Hi Vaishali,
I stumbled upon your site and I have gone crazy ever since. Can't wait to try each one of your recipes.
In this recipe, why do you use molassis? Can I choose not to add it? Or is there a substitute for this?
Big fan,
Vasudha
Hi Vasudha, thanks for the kind words! The molasses adds deep, rich flavor, but yes, you can totally leave it out. Hope you try the cookies! 🙂
Hi, Would you know how long do they stay fresh in a sealed container. I am hosting a vegan baby shower, would love to make them in advance? Thank you!
Cathy, about a week. You can refrigerate for longer.
What can I substitute the wheat flour for?
Allergic.
You can try a gluten-free flour mix. If you do, I'd love to hear how they turn out.
Hi vaishali, made the cookies last weekend. Best cookies I have ever baked. Thanks a lot.
That's awesome, Priya, so glad you tried 'em!
Hi! What would be your suggested substitute for the almond flour? I have an allergy..thanks!
Shauna, try coconut flour.
Hi vaishali
Can I substitute almond flour with app flour?
Hi Priya, yes, that's fine.
OMG Vaishali! These really are the best chocolate chip cookies. I made these for my son, who is lactose-intolerant, and this recipe is going to replace my regular one. Thank you, thank you.
Ruth, that's lovely to hear. Thanks for letting me know!
I also have a question. Is the calorie count 120 calories or 120,000 (kcal) as stated in the beginning of the recipe.
120,000 sounds too high, so i'm betting on a typo?
Hey Wolp, thanks for the question! I've left my science days far behind, so this question really messed with my head (in a good way) and I spent a good part of this morning researching it. Here's what I found: a kilocalorie, or a kcal, in Britain, is the same as a calorie listed on American nutrition food labels. So whenever you see a calorie on our food labels here, it is actually a British kilocalorie, and yes, we are supposed to be consuming 2000 kcal per day, according to the USDA. Here's one little snippet of info that might make it somewhat clearer: http://www.uta.edu/faculty/sawasthi/Lecture%20Notes%20Chem1451/Calorie.htm
Cookie recipe with just 1/4 cup of oil 😮 ? Whoa that's amazing! Normally cookie recipes call for more oil so I seldom bake them. This one I should try! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Hey Namrata, yes, the applesauce really helps keep these cookies from drying up and subs nicely for the oil. Hope you try!
I'm with you on the oil. I think you definitely have to consider your source. I believe coconut oil is a healthier choice than any animal fat. That said, its still a fat, so I just practice moderation. Although, these cookies look awfully tempting, lol! The look lovely! I have a question though. In your blog post you mention there is only 1/4 cup of oil in the cookies, but in the recipe, it calls for 1/2 cup. Which is the correct amount? Thank you. 🙂
Hey Aimee, that was a typo-- sorry! It is 1/4th of a cup. Corrected now!
Thanks so much! 🙂