Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Tried and true, these are the most perfect vegan chocolate chip cookies ever! Made in 1 bowl and oh-so-soft, chewy and full of chocolate chips!
Everybody has their go-to, tried and true chocolate chip cookie recipe, right? Well, I used to before going vegan and since then it’s been hit or miss. I have tried countless recipes over the years, and some have been pretty good but I had yet to find the PERFECT recipe I was looking for. Until now.
What makes these cookies so perfect?
- They are SO soft, chewy and full of chocolate chips. They aren’t too flat, and they aren’t too puffy and cake-like. No one would guess they’re vegan, unlike some cookie recipes I’ve tried.
- They’re made in 1 bowl.
- No chilling time is required for the dough. So you can have cookies to eat FAST!
How to make vegan chocolate chip cookies
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the softened vegan butter and brown sugar.
- Mix in the flax egg and vanilla.
- Add the flour, and then sprinkle the cornstarch, baking soda and salt on top of the flour. Mix on low to combine.
- Mix in the chocolate chips.
- Look at that cookie dough! Perfection.
- Roll the dough into 1-2 tablespoons sized balls. Bake for about 10 minutes for smaller cookies, or 12 for larger cookies, until puffy and just slightly golden on the sides. They will look underdone, but will firm up considerably as they cool. Do not over bake!
Are all chocolate chips vegan?
No, a lot of brands have milk fat or butter oil in them. Check the ingredients to ensure vegan friendliness. Trader Joe’s brand of semi-sweet chocolate chips happen to be vegan, as are Guittard. Costco sometimes carries the Kirkland brand of semi-sweet chocolate chips, which are also vegan and a great price if you can find them! There is also Enjoy Life, which you can find on Amazon or Whole Foods.
If you are really having trouble finding vegan chocolate chips, you can always look for dairy free chocolate bars, and chop them into chunks.
What should the cookie dough feel like?
The cookie dough should be soft and mushy, but not too wet or too dry. You should be able to easily roll it into balls. If it feels too wet, add a few tablespoons of flour at a time until it’s just right. If it’s too dry, add a tablespoon or two of almond milk.
This is important because the kind of vegan butter (or coconut oil) you use will affect the dough, as well as how you measure your flour, and just the temperature and altitude of where you live. If your dough is too wet, the cookies will spread; if too dry the cookies won’t spread enough.
That said, I never have to add extra flour or milk when I make them exactly as written.
How to freeze the dough
Roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze in a large ziplock type bag. When you want to bake cookies simply preheat the oven and bake, adding a few more minutes since the dough was frozen.
Baked cookies also freeze well and are wonderful straight from the freezer. I love having frozen cookies to throw in my kid’s lunch box on school days.
Want more vegan cookie recipes?
- Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Classic Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Vegan Ginger Cookies
Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2.5 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) vegan butter, slightly softened to room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups non-dairy chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly spray with oil.
- Mix the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and set aside to make your flax egg.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened vegan butter and brown sugar for 1-2 minutes until creamy.
- Add the vanilla and the flax egg and mix to combine.
- Next, stop the mixer and add the flour. Sprinkle the cornstarch, baking soda and salt on top of the flour. Turn the mixer on low speed, and mix until just combined.
- Add in the chocolate chips to incorporate, either by hand or using the mixer.
- Roll the dough into balls, about 1-2 tablespoons each. Place on the prepared pans and bake for 10 minutes (12 minutes for larger cookies), until they are barely golden around the edges. Do not over bake! They will be puffy and lightly colored.
- Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. The cookies will firm up as they cool, and become the most perfect chewy cookies ever! Enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Cookies will stay fresh for 3-4 days, if they last that long.
- TIP: Freeze cookie dough balls to have on hand to make just a few cookies at a time! Simply cook for 1-2 minutes more, no need to thaw.
- May substitute coconut oil for the vegan butter if desired. Just make sure it's not melted, you want it to be semi-firm.
- If you don't like salt in your cookies or your vegan butter is very salty already, you may omit the salt.
- Recipe inspired by Sally's Baking Addiction.
Nutrition
*Post last updated August 15th, 2019.
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413 Comments on “Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies”
I attempted two other recipes before coming across this one!! This one is by far the best one. Instead of cornstarch I used arrowroot. They are so yummy
That’s so great to hear!
Wow! Just made these and they are my favorite chocolate chip cookies ever. Vegan or non vegan, these are the BEST EVER! I used only 1/2 cup chocolate chips because I don’t like them super packed with chocolate chips. This will be a recipe i will pass down through generations I’m sure!
That’s so great to hear!
The recipe has ground flax seed but the video has flaxseed egg.
Is it ok to just use ground flaxseed?
I just read the full recipe and instructions. Use the water and the flaxseed to make the flax egg.
Got it! Sorry bout the unnecessary question…
Had everything I could ever want in a cookie: slightly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, not too cake-like (as other vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes I’ve tried), with a wonderful butter flavor I missed since going vegan. Will be my new go-to cookie recipe!
I’m so glad to hear that!
These are really delicious. We’ve made them three times now, and they are so easy. Thanks got such a great recipe!
You’re welcome!
Can you use Coconut Sugar instead of brown sugar?
It might work okay, but I haven’t tested it so I’m not 100% sure.
Ive tried many vegan chocolate chip cookies – these are the best!!
Thank you!
These are amazing! Such a treat for my dairy-free son 🙂 I used coconut oil for the butter and they were still very soft and chewy and taste right up there with the classic chocolate chip cookie with butter and eggs!
This is the ONLY chocolate chip recipe you will ever need ! The cookies come out perfect every time and are always so chewy, ,soft and yummy ! I’ve tried so many other chocolate chip recipes when I first started baking and none compare to the outcome of these!thanks !
You’re welcome!
I made these the first time and I loved almost everything about them except the amount of sugar because it was too sweet for me but they literally looked like perfect chocolate chip cookies. Now when I made them I added half the amount of sugar and the cookies came out rather puffy and not like your classic chocolate chip cookies 😦 I also made 12 in one tray instead of using 2 trays I wonder if that played a role in them looking off. Do you have any advice for altering the recipe to less sugar?
Hi there! Yes, cutting the sugar in half likely was just too much for the structure of the cookie. I wouldn’t go with less than 3/4 cup brown sugar. Also, did you use brown sugar or regular sugar? Because I’ve tried them with white sugar and they don’t come out very good at all that way. I think your problem here is cutting the sugar too much, not the baking trays. Sorry, I don’t have a really good solution for this recipe! You could try my Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, which naturally have way less sugar. Hope that helps!
These are amazing! I just made them trying to take my mind off the election. Honestly, I had doubts about how crumbly the dough seemed at first but once I formed it into balls my fears went away. Glad I chose your recipe. I love your recipe for banana bread too so that’s why I also went with yours for choc chip cookies. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Okay, you’re right. These are the most PERFECT chocolate chip cookie. I used some virgin coconut oil (same amount) instead of vegan butter and they turned out incredible.
The best vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve tried — and I’ve tried >20. The texture is great, with none of the sponginess/starchiness that sometimes comes from lack of eggs.
I’ve never left a comment on a recipe post before, but felt compelled to with these!
That’s so wonderful to hear! Thanks for the great comment!
Besides the fact that my cookies came out more like scones (that was definitely an error on my part lol), the flavor and texture was really good and taste just like a chocolate chip cookie or muffin/scone in my case.
My 2 y/o daughter loved them and still thought it was a cookie!