If you have been searching for the BEST Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, you have come to the right place. These one-bowl, eggless, & dairy-free cookies are chewy on the inside with crisp edges and pools of dark chocolate mixed throughout. Plus, we are sprinkling some flaky sea salt on top to make these chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies even better than the original!
By now, you all know I LOVE baking Vegan Cookies. After-all, my Vegan Lemon Cookies & Vegan Matcha Cookies are two of the most popular recipes on SGTO month over month.
However, until today, I had never shared my homemade version of the classic, but vegan chocolate chip cookies. Served warm, these cookies are ooey gooey, perfectly chewy, and everything you could hope for in a classic vegan cookie recipe!
Ingredient Notes:
Believe it or not, these cookies are actually adapted from my Vegan S'mores Cookies. Here's some important ingredients notes to make these plant-based chocolate chip cookies:
- Vegan butter: Must be room temperature- which means cold butter that can be easily indented with a finger.I like using Miyokos, Earth Balance buttery sticks, or Flora Plant butter.
- Brown sugar: I prefer light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar also works. Just note, it may lead to a bit more spread in the cookies when baking due to more molasses.
- Flax egg: Ground flaxseed mixed with water. The flaxseed MUST be ground, not whole, for this to work.
- Vanilla bean paste: Can always be substituted 1:1 with vanilla extract.
- Dark Chocolate: I used Theo Dark Chocolate Bars and chopped them up with a knife. Use whatever vegan chocolate brand you prefer!
Tips to make chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies
Always cream butter and sugar together
This step is crucial for the right cookie texture. Creaming the room temperature vegan butter with sugar helps to incorporate air into the batter. Basically, it actually makes the cookies fluffier and gives them some lift, which is really important when making egg-free chocolate chip cookies.
Make the cookie dough in one bowl
I know there are a lot of recipes out there that call for sifting the dry ingredients together first. However, I only do this when using an ingredient that tends to clump up like powdered sugar or cocoa powder. For these vegan cookies, one bowl works just fine!
Chill Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough 30 minutes
I wanted to make these chocolate chip cookies as easy as possible, but also make sure they had the best flavor and texture. After testing TONS of cookies, I've found that most cookies get exponentially better when the dough chills in the fridge for 30 minutes- 1 hour.
There is actually a scientific reason for this! As the dough is left to sit the sugar soaks up some moisture in the dough leading to sweeter cookies. Chilling the dough also helps to prevent flat cookies that spread too much.
Use a cookie scoop for round cookies
When it comes to this vegan chocolate chip cookie dough, I either use a cookie scoop or measure my cookie dough balls in grams to make sure they bake evenly. For this recipe, I used a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop. Keep in mind, you can make these cookies bigger or smaller, but you will have to adjust the baking time.
Slightly underbake the cookies
The most important step to get chewy cookies? ALWAYS *slightly* under-bake them.
When you remove the cookies from the oven the centers should still be underdone, yet no longer glossy. The cookies will actually keep baking after they are out of the oven.
For this recipe, 11-13 minutes tends to be the magical bake time.
Use vegan dark chocolate bars
Okay hear me out, but chocolate bars are SO much better than chocolate chips in cookies. That's because, when you chop them up with a knife, the chocolate pieces will be all different shapes. You'll have little chocolate flakes throughout the dough and some larger pools of chocolate too.
Chocolate bars also tend to be higher in cocoa butter and are usually higher quality chocolate. When it comes to the classic CC cookie, the type of chocolate you use really matters!
Pro Trip: I always save a few larger chunks and place them right on top of my cookie dough balls before baking for the best results!
Always add flaky sea salt
Flaky sea salt is another quick hack to bring cookies from great to downright amazing. I highly recommend using Maldon Sea Salt for cookies!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Troubleshooting
My cookies did not spread
This is likely due to using too much flour. Even 1-2 tablespoon of extra flour can lead to cookies that will not spread in the oven and risk turning cakey. That's why I always recommend using a digital scale to measure all ingredients in grams for the best results!
My cookies spread too much
This could be due to a few things. The first is not chilling the cookie dough. The cookies will spread a bit more if you skip the 30 minute chill time.
The second could be using expired baking powder or baking sod which give these cookies the necessary structure and lift they need to bake right.
The third reason could be using an oven that is too hot. Always use an oven thermometer and preheat the oven at least 10 minutes before baking for the best results!
FAQ & Tips:
Yes! Just use a 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour mix like Bob's Red Mill to make these vegan chocolate chip cookies gluten-free too. Please note- you cannot sub flour alternatives like coconut flour or almond flour 1:1 in this recipe.
I recommend using a chocolate that is super dark (at least 70%) and high in cocoa butter for the best results. Dark chocolate bars that are chopped up work best. Theo Dark Chocolate Bars and Alter Eco are two of my favorites.
Yes, you can! To freeze cookie dough for later, just scoop it and add to a parchment-lined baking tray. Then, place the tray in the freezer until the cookie dough balls have frozen throughout. After that, you can place the frozen cookie dough balls in a freezer-safe zip loc bag. When baking frozen cookie dough, you may need to add an additional 2-3 minutes to the overall baking time.
If you are heat treat your flour, then the cookie dough should be safe to eat. If you are using raw flour, vegan cookie dough is not safe to eat even if it does not contain raw eggs.
Once baked, these cookies can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 3-4 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Cookie dough can be frozen before baking for about 1 month as well.
I can't wait for you to try these delicious Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you are team chewy cookie for life, then you are going to LOVE this simple & easy recipe. Enjoy!
-TSG
More Vegan Cookie Recipes You Will Love:
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Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted vegan butter room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 6 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 flax egg 1 Tablespoon (8 grams) ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoon water, left to sit 5 minutes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt if unsalted butter, can increase to ½ tsp
- 2-3 ounces chopped dark chocolate
- flaky sea salt optional, for topping cookies
Instructions
- Before making the dough, make the flax egg and chop up the dark chocolate bars. Set aside.
- To make the dough, add the room temperature vegan butter, white sugar, and brown sugar to a mixing bowl. Then, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy (about 1 minute).
- Next, add in the flax egg and vanilla bean paste and mix together for about 20 seconds.
- Then, add in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make sure to add the flour first and then add the other ingredients on top. Then, use a fork to gently sift the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the flour. Once sifted, mix everything together until a thick cookie dough forms.
- Add 2 oz of the chopped chocolate to the cookie dough and gently fold in with a spatula to evenly distribute throughout the dough. Then, cover with plastic wrap and add the bowl of dough to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes- 1 hour. The dough can also be refrigerated up to 24 hours.
- About 10 minutes before removing the dough from the fridge preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Then, use a cookie scoop to scoop out 12 evenly sized cookies (about 40-45 grams per cookie) and place on the baking sheet. Make sure to space the cookies at least 2 inch apart on the tray and do not flatten them as they will spread while baking. All of the cookies will not fit on one baking sheet, so I recommend baking 6 cookies at a time on one tray vs. putting two trays in the oven at the same time.
- For really big chocolate pools, take an additional 1 oz of chocolate and chop it up. Then, add the chunks to the top of the cookie dough balls right before baking.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned and the cookies are cooked through but have slightly soft centers. The cookies will continue baking after they are removed from the oven so the centers should still be soft, but not glossy or raw, when they are removed from the oven.
- Remove the cookie tray from the oven and immediately tap the tray on the counter to produce a more “wrinkly” cookie and help deflate the cookies. For round cookies, use a round cookie cutter (or large mug in my case!) that is slightly larger than the cookie and swirl the cookies around inside to form them into a round cookie. This step will only work if you do it while the cookies are still warm.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for about 5 minutes. Then, top with flaky sea salt and enjoy!
C says
Mine came out quite pale. Did you use light or dark brown sugar? The recipe does not specify. Or could there be another reason for the paleness? Also how do you get your chocolate chunks to melt enough to pool like that? Mine always stay somewhat sitting on top of the cookie until they are bitten/poked while hot. This has been the case with multiple ovens and checked temperature.
Megan says
I used light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar also works and doesnt make a huge difference in the color. If your chocolate isn't melting, it's likely just not using a chocolate high in fat/cocoa butter. I'd recommend trying a few different brands and using chopped dark chocolate bars vs. chocolate chips or chocolate chunks to get them to really melt and pool.
Cocoabutta says
Can I use homemade butter instead or is store bought vegan butter better ?
Megan says
yes any butter works.
Brooke says
This is the best vegan cookie recipe I’ve tried. Using the parchment paper stopped the cookies from sticking, and the texture of the cookies were perfect. My dough was really dry and started to clump up in the mixer, so I added about 2 tbsp water and it was perfect! I’m definitely saving this recipe for future use 🙂
Megan says
So glad you liked them! Did you measure the flour in grams? They may have had a tiny bit too much flour if you had to have some water so I recommend using grams whenever possible 🙂 So happy they worked out well!
Emily says
I’ve tried many vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes and none have came out as perfect as these!!! Finally found the go-to recipe for my favorite style cookies!! Thank you!!!
Megan says
Yay so happy to hear it!!
Kay says
Delicious
Easy to follow recipe with store cupboard ingredients
A real vegan treat 🙂
Megan says
So happy you enjoyed them!
Emily Williams says
I made these for Christmas and guests didn't realize they were vegan, such a hit! I used the 72% coco chips from Trader Joe's which made them really rich along with oat milk. This recipe will be added to my repeat recipe book!
Megan says
Thanks for the great review and so glad everyone enjoyed them!
TGW says
Not terrible but I completely missed the last direction where you smash the cookies flat until I was baking them...that's kind of cheating considering this cookie is meant to look like cookies with a wetter dough. Adding 3tbs of oat milk or some other vegan milk option without adding any more flour would get you pretty close to what the pictured cookies look like, but without having to flatten them. Mine didn't brown up at all but that might be my fault for using a light brown sugar.
Megan says
You definitely don't need to smash the cookies until flat- the end of the instructions calls for banging the tray of cookies which helps them deflate, but you don't need to press the cookies down as they should have already spread. However, if your cookies did not spread or needed oat milk- it's likely from adding in too much flour or from inactive baking soda which helps the cookies brown and spread. Hope that helps!
Zelda says
These are fantastic! I used 3/4 cup of Trader Joe's 72% dark chocolate chips as we like our cookies with a lot of chocolate. I sprinkled them with the Malden salt but we will probably leave that off next time.
Megan, thanks for another great recipe!
Megan says
You're so welcome, so happy you liked them and extra chocolate is never a bad thing! 🙂
Jessica says
These were soooo good! Although mine came out to be fluffy and cakey, I still enjoyed them and will definitely make again. I used cane sugar instead of granulated sugar which may have caused this difference?
Megan says
Glad you liked them! Granulated sugar is the same as cane sugar so that shouldn't make a difference. fluffy cookies tend to happen from using too much flour or from baking the cookies for too long. Next time just use slightly less flour (if you didn't measure in grams I recommend that_ and pull the cookies out 1-2 minutes earlier and that should make a big difference :).
A says
can i use coconut sugar instead of granulated sugar? if so how much more? <3
Megan says
Using coconut sugar will affect the texture of the cookies (it's a lot drier of a sugar) but you can try and see how it goes. I haven't tested these cookies with it though.
Dawn Tossie says
You are my new best friend!! This recipe is everything. I took in account all your tips. They paid off. These cookies are the "Bomb!" Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Rachel says
Oof. The dough was dry AF! I don't know what happened, as I followed the directions completely.
Megan says
Oh no- it definitely should not be dry and in fact, should be relatively sticky before adding to the fridge to chill. Did you measure the flour in grams? A dry dough is likely due to too much flour.
Jess says
Hi Megan- if I were to double this recipe, what baking powder/baking soda ratio would you recommend? Usually I do the standard 1tsp baking powder/1/4tsp baking soda ratio per cup of flour, but your baking powder amount in this recipe is already lower than that! If I use 3 cups of flour, is it safe to double the bp/bs amount or should I go with the standard ratio? I hope this makes sense- thanks for any help!
Megan says
To double this recipe, just double all the ingredients. If you change the ratio of baking powder and baking soda the cookies will not spread as intended. Hope that helps!
Jess says
That helps! Thanks so much for replying- I love this recipe and I want to make it for everyone I know, and still have some for myself 🙂
Megan says
I love hearing that thanks for sharing 🙂
Olivia says
SF says
Tasted great.
Jess says
These came out great! I'm not vegan so I used regular butter, but this was my second time using a flax egg and it was a success! I used 78% cacao (what I had on hand) and mixed it with Toll House morsels to offset the bitterness. Next time (and there WILL be a next time) I'll use a sweeter chocolate in chunks and definitely try the sea salt. Thank you for sharing this easy and delicious recipe!
Megan says
So glad you liked the recipe and thanks for sharing all your substitutions! 🙂
Avery says
These are now my go-to chocolate chip cookies! So easy, so yummy. I'm about to make my third batch. They can be a little dry on top (not sure if I left them in too long), but so moist and chewy on the inside.
Would love another version of these as chocolate chocolate chip cookies or as peanut butter chocolate chip if you're looking for ideas!
Megan says
Thank you so much for the review and feedback! If the cookies are ending up a little too crisp on the outside, you may want to reduce the cooking time by 1-2 minutes as some ovens run hot. I'll definitely keep those other two cookie ideas in mind for future recipes 🙂
Marion says
This is the best vegan chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever baked or tried. Amazing recipe!
Megan says
So glad you enjoyed them!! 🙂
Jasmine says
The best vegan chocolate chip cookie? Indeed they are! The cookies baked beautifully! 😍 It had a nice wrinkle around the edges which were slightly crisp while the middle remains nice and chewy! If that isn’t a textbook perfect cookie then I don’t know what is! 😱🍪
Ashley says
Can you use oat flour to make the chocolate chip cookies too? If so, how much?
Megan says
I'm not sure as I've never tried it, it may be better to find a recipe calling for oat flour.