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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660 Comments on “Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies”
Best vegan chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. Id go as far as saying they are even better than cookies with eggs!
Hi Olivia. Glad you like them! Thank you!
OMG!!!!! These cookies are sooooooo freaking good, I can’t stop eating them. Thank you Nora
I’m so glad you love them! Thank you!
These cookies were delicious! Whole family loved them and couldn’t tell the difference from a “regular” cookie!
Hi Ashley. I’m glad the chocolate chip cookies were a hit! Thank you!
My dough always comes out crumbly, I’ve tried this recipe a total of 6 times and still the same result! I add a little almond milk and it comes together okay, what can I do to fix this?
Hi Sophia! There are a few reasons your dough is crumbly. 1 – Is your vegan butter too cold to begin with? This will definitely cause your dough to crumble. 2 – How are you measuring your flour? I recommend spooning flour into your measuring cup, then level the top off with a knife, without packing the cup or shaking it down. You are likely adding a little too much flour by accident. Hope that helps!
Fantastic recipe!!!! Easy to make, and extremely tasty. The texture is cookie perfection! My whole family of 5 recently became vegan and I’m slowly replacing our favorite recipes. This is a home run. I can’t wait for my son to get home to try them!!! Thank you Nora!!
Hi Erika. These are definitely a favorite in our home as well! I’m glad you all love them! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for providing this recipe, and for the detailed instructions. I’m very much a novice baker, but your instructions made it easy for me to produce delicious baked goods! I was anxious about taking the cookies out of the oven so early, but as you advised, they firmed up and became deliciously chewy. I saved half of the dough balls in the freezer, and I have to admit I already went there twice to eat it raw 🙂
Thank you from Ireland and I’ll definitely test some more of your recipes next!
Hi Lucie in Ireland! I love it! I’m glad you love the cookies! It’s great to hear the instructions are easy to follow. Thank you for using my recipes, and for taking the time to share your comments. Happy cooking!
These are incredible! As someone who is vegetarian (but mostly plant-based) and prefers vegan baking, this is my go-to recipe! Nobody believes they’re vegan! This truly is the perfect cookie. Incredible each time! I’m such a big fan of you, Nora! 😁
Hi Kechi. I’m so glad you love the cookies. Thank you for using my recipes, and for taking the time to share!
Hello Nora,
What type of vegan butter is used for this recipe? Soy based? coconut? Vegan ghee? Earth Balance brand?
I use a variety, such as Earth Balance, Melt, Country Crock, Miyoko’s, etc. They all work great!
Hi
Could I substitute the baking soda for something else?
It is because I don’t like the taste of it on cookies or cakes.
Thank you 😊
I haven’t tried anything else, sorry!
The best recipe of this kind of cookies so far. 😋♥️🍪
Thank you, Veronica!
I don’t have cornstarch, anything else work or can I omit?
You can leave it out, or use tapioca starch or arrowroot if you have it.
Nora! These cookies are soooo good! I did not know vegan cookies (especially those made with simple ingredients) could have such a great- and not bread-like- texture! I will be remaking these cookies so often and will definitely keep them amongst my favorite recipes list! Thank you for the recipe <3
Hi Siani. These cookies are definitely a favorite in my home! I’m glad you love them! Thank you very much for sharing!
These cookies are THE BEST!
Question: Are the cookies ok to be stored at room temperature or they have to be refrigerated?
Hi Erica. I’m glad you like the cookies! I usually store cookies at room temperature, there is no need to refrigerate them unless you want them to last a bit longer. They can all be frozen with no issues. Thank you for sharing!
Wow, these really are perfect chocolate chip cookies. I’ve been vegan for 24 years and have made a gazillion chocolate chips cookies and this is by far the best recipe. Bravo!
Hi Tiffany. I’m so glad you love my cookies! Thank you for your wonderful comments!
These are amazing!
My fiance who doesn’t eat baked goods always asks for more
Hi Echo. I’m glad both of you love the cookies! Thank you for sharing!
I have been vegan for years and have tested upwards of 15 chocolate chip cookie recipes,. These are by far my favorite!! I like to make large (about 3tb scoop) cookies and flatten them a bit. The absolute perfect crispy yet gooey cookie 😍 thank you!
Hi Jenna. I’m glad you love my cookies! Thank you for sharing!
These cookies are amazing!
Thank you!
These might be the best CCCs I’ve ever made. I don’t have ground flax seed but I did have egg replacer and used that. They came out chewy and yummy and I had to hide them from my boyfriend who is trying to diet LOL. Thank you for another tasty vegan recipe! 🙂
Hi Dianne. I’m glad the cookies are wonderful for you. Thank you for using my recipes, and for sharing!
Hi, do you think these would be good if I sent in the mail? May take a few days to get there. Thanks, Kathy
Hi Kathy, I think they would be good if they got there within 2-3 days, yes. Thanks!
p.s. I added walnuts in mine. Pushed them over the top.
Thank you for sharing!
Yep! Perfect indeed. My new go to for sure.
Thank you, Patrick! Glad you like the cookies!
These are the best vegan chocolate chip cookies we have had! Better than store bought and definitely better than the refrigerator take and bake variety. Easy to make with basic ingredients! Delicious! Nora never disappoints with her dessert recipes!
Hi Kelly. Thank you for your wonderful comments! Glad you are loving the cookies!
For my daughter’s 13th birthday, I made her a cookie cake using this recipe. Recipe as it calls for, a 9in round pan and 13 minutes.
Total success. I’d love to figure out how to share a photo.
Thank you, Nora.
Hi Jennifer. What a fun idea! I’d love to see a photo. I’m glad the recipe worked out! Thank you.
I followed the recipe exactly (using the metric measurements and coconut oil) and it was a disaster… before baking the dough texture seemed fine (more oily than I expected but not too soft), and when baked they came out super oily and flat and crispy… any idea what went wrong?
Coconut oil tends to make cookies pretty greasy, and they won’t look the same at all. I describe this in the post, it’s possible to use coconut oil but it’s not my favorite option. Coconut oil is less stable and sometimes leads to greasy, crispy, flat cookies. Use vegan butter for the best results that come out like my photos!
Just made these…YUMMMAZING! super soft and delicious. I only put 1 cup sugar, and it was plenty sweet. So soft and melts in your mouth. Thank you for this recipe! Nora cooks never fails me!
Thank you, Justina! I’m glad you love the cookies. Thank you for using my recipes!
I’m so glad I just seen this. I was literally moments away from making this with coconut oil. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I won’t even waste my time.
Thank you, Sheena!
These are the best vegan cookies I’ve ever had, let alone made. The recipe was so easy and EVERYONE loved them. I always struggle to make vegan desserts that my non vegan friends will also enjoy so it’s nice to find something everyone enjoys.
Hi Halah. How wonderful to hear the cookies were loved by all! Thank you for sharing!
best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever 🙂
Hi Jade. Thank you!