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!

plate of chocolate chip cookies

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!

stack of chocolate chip cookies, a few broken in half showing melted chocolate.

How to make vegan chocolate chip cookies

  1. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the softened vegan butter and brown sugar.
  2. Mix in the flax egg and vanilla.
  3. Add the flour, and then sprinkle the cornstarch, baking soda and salt on top of the flour. Mix on low to combine.
  4. Mix in the chocolate chips.
  5. Look at that cookie dough! Perfection.
  6. 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!

collage of how to make cookies

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.

up close shot of vegan chocolate chip cookies, on top of each other.

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.

close of up vegan chocolate chip cookies on cooling rack

Want more vegan cookie recipes?

square image of cookies on plate

Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Author: Nora Taylor
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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!
4.93 from 296 votes
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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
US Customary - Metric

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

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Notes

  1. Cookies will stay fresh for 3-4 days, if they last that long.
  2. 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.
  3. May substitute coconut oil for the vegan butter if desired. Just make sure it's not melted, you want it to be semi-firm.
  4. If you don't like salt in your cookies or your vegan butter is very salty already, you may omit the salt.
  5. Recipe inspired by Sally's Baking Addiction.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 160kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 105mg, Potassium: 26mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 188IU, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 1mg

*Post last updated August 15th, 2019.

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