Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
These amazing chocolate chip cookies are miraculously vegan. They're easy to make with basic, wholesome ingredients (no mixer required).
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on June 10, 2025
For years, I’ve been searching for my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I want outrageously delicious bakery-style chocolate chip cookies that completely capture my attention upon first bite. I want a chewy middle, barely crisp edges, complex flavor, and rich chocolate chips.
I want all of that in a cookie recipe that’s easy to make. No mixer required. No creaming of softened-but-not-too-soft butter. No chilling the dough for 24 hours. I don’t have the patience for any of that. Sometimes a girl just needs a cookie!
These cookies are among the best homemade chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. My cookie search is over. The crazy part? These cookies are vegan, so they’re free of the usual butter and eggs. I’m honestly shocked.
These amazing cookies are delicious and supremely easy to make. The dough needs a very reasonable 30-minute chill in the refrigerator, and let me tell you, they’re worth the brief wait.
Why This Vegan Cookie Recipe Works
There’s no butter or egg in this recipe, but you’d never guess it. How? Instead of butter (or vegan butter like Earth Balance), these cookies use melted coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil, or a neutral-flavored oil like avocado oil. The eggs are omitted with no downsides—these cookies still have the perfect texture and flavor without them.
For non-vegans like me, this means that the recipe is even easier to make than standard chocolate chip cookies.
For those with dairy or egg allergies, these cookies are a total game-changer. You can even make these cookies gluten-free by substituting Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free all-purpose blend.
The remaining ingredients are simple and wholesome. You’ll need whole wheat flour, chocolate chips, sugar, coconut sugar or brown sugar, as well as your basic salt and leavening agents. I sprinkled my cookies with some flaky sea salt to make them even more irresistible.
Watch How to Make Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
My Recipe Substitutions
I can’t take full credit for this recipe. I was intrigued by the original recipe from the Ovenly Cookbook, via Food52. I made several adjustments to their ingredients and method.
I swapped whole wheat flour for all-purpose, which is undetectable in the final product. I also substituted coconut sugar for brown sugar, which is less refined (for those wondering, it is impossible to make bakery-style cookies using liquid natural sweeteners). I experimented with oils other than canola, which is highly processed and high in omega-6s.
I also found a chilling time shortcut. If you scoop the dough onto the sheets and then chill it, 30 minutes in the freezer works just as well as their 24-hour recommendation. That way, the recipe works with coconut oil, which solidifies at cool temperatures.
Coconut Oil vs. Olive Oil
Your choice of oil impacts the final product. I didn’t notice any textural differences during my recipe testing, but virgin coconut oil offers a slight coconut flavor. Olive oil tastes like, well, olive oil, especially when the cookies are warm.
If you enjoy the flavor of either of those oils on its own, I think you’ll love how they shine through in these cookies, making the flavor more interesting. I’m partial to coconut oil.
If you want cookies that taste like standard bakery chocolate chip cookies, use refined coconut oil or a neutral oil like avocado oil or safflower oil.
Cookie Dough Safety Note
Since the dough is egg-free, it doesn’t carry the usual risk of salmonella poisoning. However, raw flour can carry a slight risk for E. Coli or other pathogens. So, I don’t recommend eating this dough, either!
Here’s more information from the CDC about raw flour (thank you to Tara for sharing).
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
Here are a few more vegan cookie recipes and treats on Cookie and Kate. A few of them require a simple substitution like a flax egg to make them vegan, but I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the recipe.
- Lemon, Rosemary and Olive Oil Shortbread
- Pumpkin Polvorones (Mexican Wedding Cookies)
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
- Healthier Gingerbread Cookies: See recipe notes.
- Monster Cookies: See recipe notes.
- Peanut Butter Oat Cookies: See recipe notes.
Please let me know how these cookies turn out for you in the comments. I hope they become your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, too, whether you’re following a vegan diet or not.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Meet the best vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe! These cookies are easy to make with basic, wholesome ingredients (no mixer required). Recipe yields 13 large cookies.
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour, regular whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 ¼ cups vegan chocolate chips*
- ⅔ cup lightly packed coconut sugar or ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil**
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon water
- Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine, then add the chocolate chips and toss to coat.
- In a large bowl, combine the coconut sugar, regular sugar, oil and water. Whisk until the sugar has incorporated into the oil and the mixture is smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, then stir just until combined and no more flour is visible (don’t overdo it).
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Fill an ice cream scoop two-thirds with dough (or spoon the mixture into even 2-inch mounds), and place the dough onto one of the prepared sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough, leaving several inches of space around each cookie.
- Freeze the cookies on their pans for 30 minutes, or chill them for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake until the edges are just starting to turn golden, about 14 to 17 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack and sprinkle the cookies with flaky salt, if using. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Ovenly’s Secretly Vegan Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies.
*Chocolate chip notes: Use dairy-free/vegan chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life brand. If you’re not trying to make vegan cookies, I also like Ghiradelli’s bittersweet 60% cacao chocolate chips here.
**Oil notes: You’ll detect a light coconut or olive oil flavor in these cookies. Use whichever one you prefer. For completely neutral-flavored cookies, use a neutral-flavored oil such as avocado oil or safflower oil.
Make it gluten free: Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free all-purpose flour blend works well in this recipe.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Hi! I really enjoy the recipes on this site and have followed quite a few. These turned out okay… they didn’t spread much. Texture is good though. I think it must’ve been something on my end, as the other reviewers seem to have had better luck!
I’m sorry you didn’t love these.
Hi.
How much is your 1 cup as per ml or grams ?
I’d also like to know the weight per cup please
Hi Kate,
My hubby and I love these cookies, but especially so since I can’t eat gluten and we’re both plant based. But we’d love to make them into pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. We saw your pumpkin cookie recipe and were wondering if we took out the 1/4 cup plus one tablespoon of water and replaced it with one cup of pure pumpkin purée and some yummy spices if you think that would work out?
Thanks!
Katie
Hi Katie! Pumpkin Cookies may be an option to try. I wouldn’t know without trying your specific changes if they would work or not.
Followed the recipe steps…the mix was very dry so I added several tablespoons of water. Was still a bit crumbly when forming into balls.
Wow! These are tasty cookies! Nice job Kate
Hey kate,
The cookies turn out just so delicious.. I made them second time today.. and I am a regular here.. you are my go to place for meal ideas..
Thankyou !!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed this.
I have had this recipe saved for awhile. Tend to make your brownies every time! Decided to try and it is quite honestly the best chocolate cookie I have ever baked! I went with coconut oil, 72% chocolate chips and the flaky salt. Amazing! Exactly what I want in old favorite. Thank you!!
Great to hear, Gayle! Thank you for sharing.
I followed the instructions except I added a little a little vanilla extract, I used light Olive oil,and I used Swerve Brown sugar replacement, and Monk Fruit for the white sugar substitute, the cookies didn’t come out crunchy, and I prefer crunchy cookies instead of soft ones. Is there anything I can do to make them slightly crunchy?
Thank You
These cookies turned out amazing! They kept their shape and were so tasty! Going to make another batch right now.
This is my go to recipe. I will not use any other chocolate chip cookie recipe. These are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had in my whole life! They are delicious and they are beautiful. They turn out perfectly every single time!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever. I usually use non-dairy chocolate chunks and sometimes I’ll throw in some vegan m&m’s and I always get rave reviews. People are absolutely shocked when I tell them they’re made with whole wheat and olive oil. I’ve had multiple tell me they are the best cookies they’ve ever had, and I’ve had multiple requests for them this Christmas. Thank you for such a great recipe!
I’m excited you enjoyed them, Amy! I appreciate you taking the time to review .
Made these and love them! thanks for the recipe :) I used a little less sugar (both of them) and added two scoops of chocolate protein powder and they’re still perfect.
I made these this morning and they are delicious.I used only 1 cup of brown sugar and left out the white.
Not only are these really easy to make, they are absolutely delicious. Definitely a family favourite at our house.
Great to hear, Candice! I appreciate your review.
These cookies are amazing! Not that I doubted you, but we kept biting and staring and saying YUM, ha! I used 100% stone ground whole wheat which worried me a bit but they were perfect! I used unrefined coconut oil. I used the chocolate chips you recommended too. They looked just like your photo… the best texture ever. Thank you, thank you!
I’m glad you loved them, Janal! I appreciate your review.
My daughter and both of my young grandsons are on dairy restricted diets. Whenever I try a new recipe, Fletcher who is 4, gets to rate the outcome yuck or yum. If yum, then the recipe goes in my binder. My daughter said that when Fletcher saw the cookies, he did a happy dance and rated them “oh so yummy!” His highest rating yet!!! Many thanks!
Love to hear that, Avrie!
These are incredible! I’ve been looking for an actually good vegan chocolate chip cookie forever, and these are way better than good. Subbed in trader Joe’s blueberry lavender almond milk for the water and it was really good. Thank you!
Great to hear, Shark! I appreciate your review.
I ‘m French living in Europe and I’ve been following you for a while and I must say for the first time my 3 kids and I loved those cookies !!
That’s great to hear, Jess! I’m excited they are a hit with your family.
These turned out so well! Definitely will be my go-to.
That’s great to hear, Alex!
Hi Kate, I’m surprised the recipe doesn’t contain eggs – how come please? Thanks!
I hope you try it! They are so good.
Hello from South Korea! I made these cookies (without salt sprinkle) when I visited my friend’s house yesterday. I wasn’t sure if the cookies came out well because it was my first time to try to make them. But it turned out… I loved them, my husband loved them, and so my friend and her husband did!!! It was very successful, and I also made the cookies with the remaining dough, sprinkling salt on the top. It also tasted good! My husband preferred salted cookies. Everyone was happy about these cookies. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!!!
Wonderful! I’m glad these cookies were a hit.
I love this recipe! I used it to make a giant chocolate chip cookie for my husband’s birthday…worked great! I just backed it a bit longer…also, I swapped 1/3 cup oatmeal mash left over from making oat milk for 1/3 cup flour, and that also worked well! Thank you for this yummy vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Cookies were delicious the first day, but the second day they were hard as a rock.
I stored them in a airtight container too.
Hi Clarice. I’m sorry to hear that. Were they completely cooled when you put them in the container?
hi! how can you add in cocoa powder as well and do you know how much? because i would also like the cookies to be chocolate too :)
For your amazing Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, an I substitute apple sauce, honey or maple syrup for the 1/2 C sugar? How much?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. I recommend this best as written.
I leave the cookies in for 17 mins and they always come out very soft. Do they harden a bit when cooled or should I leave them in a bit longer? I know every oven can be a bit different… Thank you! Flavours are delish.
You’re welcome, Caitlin.
Soo good. Just made a second batch of these for this week. I had one fresh from the oven, such a treat!
Great to hear, Kim! I appreciate your review.
Is it a must to freeze the dough? Can i leave the dough in the fridge for couple of hours and then shape them before baking?
I haven’t tried freezing the dough, so I can’t say for sure. I recommend this recipe best at written.
THE easiest and best chocolate cookies I’ve ever made! Thank you so much for finding and putting this recipe together! It is my new go-to. I also freeze some, individually, so I can pull one out whenever I want an afternoon cookie!
I didn’t have chocolate chips but melted the sugar (raw sugar) in the coconut oil and it accidentally caramelised into little chunks of toffee which made really nice cookies. I know it’s annoying when people change the recipe but it was a happy accident that I’d repeat. Thanks for the recipe!
These were delicious – we loved the flavor and the texture is perfect – just as you said, slightly crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside. And I’m thrilled to make a cookie for my family with olive oil and whole wheat flour – and no butter. My 15 year old highly approved of these!
Thanksgiving is this week – we are thankful for your recipes!!
They came out perfect! Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I did have an issue with storage though. The next day they became very chewy and lost the crispness and then started falling apart! Any recommendations on how to store these properly? I let them cool all the way before putting them in an airtight container.
Hmmm… Make sure where you store them isn’t too warm. Did you store in plastic or glass?
These were great! I used all Avocado oil, brown sugar with the regular sugar. I also missed the freezing step completely and they still turned out delicious!
I love your recipes and not sure what I did wrong here but the dough was super crumbly. I used Avocado oil instead of coconut oil but hoping when I bake they will hold?
How did they turn out?
These are my all time favourite cookies too! I always add a bit of vanilla, cinnamon and sometimes some walnuts and cranberries for a festive vibe – they’re always amazing. Thank you xxx
These are so fkn good. I love it w coco oil , haven’t tried with olive.
I’m in love with these.
I do add a tiny bit more coconut oil (teaspoon)
Today I am going to try adding peanut butter to this recipe. I love these cookies lol :) my family who eats meat dairy loved them so much they ate 5 in a row.
If you don’t like these I think u are messing something up lol
I’m excited you love them, Conner! I appreciate your review.
I love the egg and butter-free recipe and will regularly make those cookies! They also didn’t spread much like expected after leaving space around them on the sheet as recommended. But they taste yummy and are so quickly made.
Great to hear, En! I appreciate your review.
I think these cookies are super! I used an ice cream scoop and ended up with 32 cookies. I still baked them the 14-16 minutes so they aren’t soft but I still think they taste great. I always use butter in my cookies but I am impressed with this method and the ingredients. Thank you.
I ate three cookies and then saw I was supposed to end up with 13 only. My family will eat them up.
Great to hear, Carolyn!
Never used coconut oil in a recipe before (I am kind of a novice baker anyway) but was really impressed with how much I liked the texture. Also loved the flavor even though I was worried it would be too sweet. Cooked half of them immediately and stored the other half of the dough in the fridge for next day. Dough was a little tough and dry the next day, remoistened with a tablespoon or so of water and it was good to go, though the texture wasn’t quite as good as the first batch, but still delicious.
Hi Kate, I made these cookies today for my company. My Grandson and his Dad (who is vegan) came for lunch and I have never made any baking that was vegan before. Everyone loved them! They are great cookies, and so easy to make. I used the olive oil because that is what I had in the pantry.
I am so happy that you have lots of vegan and also gluten free recipes. We have friends and family that are an assortment of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free. It’s so nice to have found a website that has recipes that are also so delicious. Thank You!
You’re welcome, Sandy! I appreciate your review.
Hi Kate, Could I use wholemeal spelt flour do you think? Thank you
I haven’t tried these with spelt, so I can’t say for sure.
Absolutely fantastic!!! Perfect cookie. Very well-received by everyone!
Great to hear, Molly!
Hey Kate: Tried your Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Used Olive oil and chilled them in my chest freezer 10 below 0 for 30 minutes before the bake. Didn’t have white whole wheat but used KA unbleached white flour. The chilling of the dough set off a buzzer in my head! I immediately thought of the prefab cookie dough in my childhood my mother bought in the super market! Slice and bake! LOL Now of course with the type of ingredients I’d rather not ingest!
Anyway I did google what chilling cookie dough before the bake does to the texture and flavor. got a ton of hits on that subject all positive! Anyway, these came out great and it’s my go to for sometime to come! Texture and flavor off the shelf! Bakery Quality!
Thank you for sharing, Mark! I appreciate you sharing.
Im so happy to find your recipes. I started out with your granola recipe and have made it every week, for a year! I can’t wait to order your cookbook.
AMAZING cookies!!! I don’t usually comment or review recipes I make but I just can’t not for this one! Since being dairy and soy free for my baby I have missed my usual homemade choc chip cookies but now I am fulfilled with this dairy free version! I used coconut sugar, raw sugar, coconut oil and 70% dark choc chips, sooo delicious! I think this may beat my usual cookies and I can make it 100% organic too with less refined sugars.
These are honestly the BEST cookies I’ve ever made. They turned out perfectly and my goodness are they delicious. Everything about these is perfect. Thank you for my new go to!
That’s great to hear, Shana!
These are incredible! I’ve probably made these 50+ times over the past couple of years!! Figured I need to go back and leave a review! :) I love how simple the recipe is, and no one ever believes me when I tell them they are vegan! I’ve also subbed gluten free flour a handful of times (King Arthur brand) and they’ve come out well, too! I highly recommend :)
Thank you for sharing, Kaitlyn! I appreciate your review.
These are my go-to chocolate chip cookies! I love that they’re whole wheat and I use olive oil instead of coconut to reduce the saturated fats. I sub the white sugar for a 1:1 stevia replacement to reduce the calories. I almost always have these raw cookie dough balls in my freezer ready-to-bake. I just let them thaw on the cookie sheet for 15 mins while the oven preheats and they come out great! I always bake for 14 mins. Note that if you select the 2x or 3x options to double or triple the recipe, it doesn’t work perfectly. Eg. The 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp water will “double” to 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp water.
Ok I have no idea what I did wrong. My cookies melted within 5 minutes of being in the oven.
I read through the other comments hoping to find someone with a similar experience but no one else seems to have.
I chilled them for 24hrs in the fridge before baking and follows the recipe precisely… I think.
I did have a little taste of the dough before baking and it was delicious so I’m very disappointed that they didn’t work out.
Hi Justine, I’m sorry to hear that. Are you baking at an elevation?
Hi Kate-
These cookies are very good. I made mine with half Einkorn whole wheat and half all purpose Einkorn flour.
Liz
These cookies turned out so delicious! I was a little worried because my dough looked a bit greasy, but they baked beautifully and have the perfect soft centers with crisp edges, and the salt makes them even more delicious. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
You’re welcome, Sahebe!
Thank you for the great recipe. By adding the zest of an orange and it’s juice in place of the water, I satisfied my craving for orange choc chip cookies.
Because of the orange juice I left out some of the sugar, and I just rolled mine into small balls and flttened. The first tray cooked fine without chilling and the chilled tray just took a little longer to cook.