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These vegan chocolate chip cookies are perfectly soft, chewy, and made in one bowl! Ready in just 12 minutes, I love how these taste like classic chocolate chip cookies.
Looking for more vegan desserts? Try vegan brownies, vegan chocolate cake, and vegan cheesecake.
Even though I often bake with eggs, I prefer NOT baking with them. There’s something exciting about recreating a classic dessert without the usual suspects, and my famous and award-winning vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe is proof of just that!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Made in one bowl. No mixers, no complex kitchen gadgets, nada. Just a spoon and the mixing bowl.
- No vegan butter or margarine. Most vegan cookies use one or the other for the cookie dough, but not these ones! I use coconut oil, which still yields a buttery and rich cookie. It’s much cheaper too.
- VERY short baking time. From prep to oven to plate, these cookies take less than 12 minutes to bake.
- Soft inside, chewy outside, and loaded with chocolate chips. A secret trick guarantees that you will have chocolate in EVERY mouthful.
Ingredients needed
- White and brown sugar– A combination of both sugars ensures the cookies are crisp around the edges while being soft and gooey in the middle.
- Coconut oil- Be sure the coconut oil has been softened to room temperature. You want it to have a soft texture, similar to butter. If you don’t have coconut oil, you can use vegan butter or margarine. Remember to use refined coconut oil, as it has no coconut flavor.
- Plant-based milk of choice- I used unsweetened almond milk, but any dairy-free milk (like oat milk, coconut milk, soy milk, cashew milk, etc.) will be fine.
- Vanilla extract- A must for any cookie recipe!
- All-purpose flour- White, white whole wheat, or even gluten-free flour works.
- Baking soda and powder– Both leavening agents are used to ensure the cookies remain thick and chewy and do not overspread.
- Salt- Brings out the natural sweetness of the cookies.
- Chocolate Chips- Reserve a handful of vegan chocolate chips to add on top of the cookies, so there are plenty of them in every bite (my secret trick!). I typically make my own, but I like Enjoy Life chocolate chips and their chocolate chunks. Also, most dark chocolate over 68% is dairy-free.
How to make vegan chocolate chip cookies
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Make the cookie dough: Cream together the sugars and coconut oil. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until a smooth dough remains. Fold through the chocolate chips.
Step 2- Bake the cookies: Place balls of cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are just done.
Step 3- Let them firm up and cool: Carefully remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on a cooling rack before enjoying.
Is vegan cookie dough safe to eat raw?
Even though this recipe is made without eggs or milk, it isn’t recommended to eat raw cookie dough. It has untreated raw flour, which can lead to food poisoning.
For a safe-to-eat cookie dough, try vegan edible cookie dough.
Recipe tips and variations
- If you don’t have coconut oil, you can use vegan butter instead. Try to use good quality butter, preferably from a stick. Some vegan butter has added water, which changes the texture of the cookies.
- Do not over-mix the cookie dough, as this can affect how much the cookies spread. Mix enough for everything to be combined, and fold through the chocolate chips at the end.
- Avoid overbaking the cookies. Remember, they continue to cook as they cool down. Besides, they are vegan and are fine to be a little undercooked.
- For chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies, remove them from the oven at the 12-minute mark.
- For the sweet and salty combo, add a sprinkling of flaky sea salt on top.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature, for up to 5 days. Please ensure the cookies have cooled completely first. Otherwise, they will become soft and limp.
To freeze: Place cooled cookies in a ziplock bag and label it 6 months from the date they are made—that is how long they will keep! To enjoy cookies from the freezer, allow thawing at room temperature or in the fridge overnight.
Make ahead: You can freeze the cookie dough to enjoy at a later date. I don’t recommend freezing the cookie dough more than a week, as the dough will become too crumbly.
To make cookies from a frozen state, allow the dough to thaw in the fridge or at room temperature. Once it is chilled but durable, they are ready to be baked!
Frequently Asked Questions
If the coconut oil you are using is melted and in a liquid state, it makes the cookie dough smoother, which can yield thinner cookies. Always ensure your coconut oil is softened to room temperature.
If you swap out the white sugar for more brown sugar, your cookies will be on the softer side and have a more evident molasses flavor.
Like any good chocolate chip cookie recipe out there, when eaten in moderation, they can be part of a healthy diet. If you’d like a healthier cookie, try healthy chocolate chip cookies or healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
More vegan cookie recipes to try
- Healthy oatmeal raisin cookies
- Vegan white chocolate macadamia nut cookies
- Vegan peanut butter cookies
- Healthy monster cookies
- Vegan shortbread cookies
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar * See notes
- 1/3 cup coconut oil softened like butter, NOT melted
- 1/4 cup Unsweetened almond milk can substitute for any non-dairy milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a large tray with parchment paper or a cookie sheet.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your sugars with your coconut oil and whisk well, until glossy. Add in your unsweetened milk of choice and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Add in your sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix very well, until a dough remains. Using a rubber spatula, fold in your vegan chocolate chips.
- Form 12-15 balls of dough using either a cookie scoop (2 inches) or a large spoon. Place them on the lined tray and top with extra chocolate chips. Bake for 11-11 minutes, until the edges have gone slightly golden.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the tray completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published April 2022, updated and republished March 2024
Hi Arman! Thank you for this recipe and walkthrough. I made them today. I did substitute the coconut oil for vegan butter, and only had mini chocolate chips, but they turned out amazing. This recipe is also easy, 10 out of 10. I had limited ingredients this time around. I look forward to trying them with coconut oil next time.
Hi! Can I make this dough and put in fridge or freezer till ready to bake, or do I need to bake them, then freeze them?
Thanks!
Yes you can 🙂
Yum.
I tried these for the first time and they are amazing
Can you use coconut sugar instead of white sugar
Yes!!
I did not expect these to be sooo good!!! I actually love the lil hint of coconut aswell, hands down the best vegan cookie I’ve ever tasted. Thank you so much!!!
Needed something quick and more importantly using simple ingredients as I was staying at my mother’s house. These were great and enjoyed by not only myself but all the non-vegans. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hey!
Thank you so much for the recipe! The cookies came out amazing!!
Everyone back home loved them!
Great vegan cookie recipe! So easy and consistent – love it!!!
I’ve made so many vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes and this one is the best overall! The taste, texture, ingredient list is all perfect- it is the vegan replica to the Tollhouse recipe I’ve been using for years. I look forward to your other recipes! Thank you for solving my cookie craving!
Amazing vegan cookies, these are delish!!! Thanks a bunch! God bless!
Thank you, Cynthia!
I’ve made this recipe multiple times absolutely amazing thank you for sharing.
If I made smaller cookies would I need to decrease the cooking time or would I still leave it at 12 minutes for chewy cookies?
Definitely reduce it to 10 minutes!
My toddler and I made this recipe for the first time together when we decided to bake after someone gifted us a kitchenaid! I was so impressed, happy, and satisfied with this recipe it is now my official go-to recipe for chocolate xhip cookies!! Thank you for altering this delicious vegan recipe!! 😋
So good! Best vegan cookies recipe I have found in years! Made them a few days ago with refined coconut oil and again today with vegan butter and they are both delicious. Great edges and not cakey like many other vegan cookies. Thanks very much Arman!
This is such a great recipe! Thank you. I used Erythritol instead of sugar at a 1 to 1 ratio and they turned out great! They are softer than a conventional sugar cookie however; but still great.
Next time I will substitute a little coconut blossom sugar for its caramel flavour. And I think I will add a little more flour, and less sweetener.
Thanks for the feedback, Nathan!