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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1,051 Comments on “Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies”
These are the best vegan chocolate chip cookies that I have found! You can’t even tell they are vegan. My kids are allergic to dairy and eggs and this website has been a blessing for us. So far every recipe we have tried has been a hit. Thank you Nora!
Hi Tara. I am so glad that you and your family are enjoying my recipes! I truly love creating them! Thank you for your wonderful feedback and review on the chocolate chip cookies! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
dankerous
These turned out perfect!! I baked them for 11 minutes which was just enough time. Thanks for your great recipes Nora!!! Yum!! 💛🧡💚
Best vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve tried, and I’ve tried many. I added chopped raw macadamia nuts and perfect in a different way! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Sounds delicious, Cari! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Help! I have no idea what went wrong but these were a disaster for me. They turned out as tough pancakes on my baking sheet. When they failed I went back and double checked that I did everything correct and I had followed the recipe correctly. Only change was I used half vegan butter and half coconut oil because coconut oil was an optional substitution (both fats were soft but not melted). The consistency of the dough prior to baking was exactly as it should have been so I have no idea what chemistry happened in the oven that caused these to flop. Any insight is greatly appreciated since I really wanted to like this recipe with how simple it was.
Hi there! It’s hard to know what went wrong without being there, but I can offer a few tips. First, make sure you are measuring everything correctly. To measure flour, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. It’s easy to accidentally add an extra 1/2 cup of flour without realizing it! Also, while coconut oil technically works, the cookies end up much different than using all vegan butter. So use vegan butter if possible, and the sticks not the tub unless you absolutely have to. It also sounds like you over baked the cookies, because they should be very soft when you take them out, almost underdone looking. They firm up as they cool, so be careful not to over bake. I hope that helps!
Thanks! I did measure the flour correctly. The cookies were baked for just 9 minutes (took them out early because they started to smell burnt) but were hard because they came out extremely flat. It sounds like the fats were the source of the issue. The vegan butter was from a tub. I’m not in a vegan friendly area so I’ll see if I can find sticks of vegan butter to re-try this with all butter and see if it fixes the problem.
It seems like others have been having issues with variations in flour. Would you be willing to post this recipe with ingredient weights? It’s my personal preference for baking and I wonder if it might help other replicate what look like beautiful cookies
If you see below the ingredients list, there is a metric button you can click on that will help! 🙂 I do think the problem had to do with the butter/oil. Using all vegan butter makes the best cookies! If you can’t find it, try my Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are based on using coconut oil and are super good and soft!
Thanks for taking the time to help! I really appreciate you and your delicious recipes (you are one of my trusted blogs for recipes)
You’re so welcome! 🙂
This is a great recipe!
I’ve made it a couple times now, though, and followed the recipe exactly, but they don’t fall when baked and remain dry. What might I be missing? They’re still delicious. Just dry…
Make sure you measure your flour correctly as well as all other ingredients. To correctly measure flour, spoon it into a measuring cup, then level with a knife. Don’t shake it or pat it down. Hope that helps!
The flavors are melting on my tongue! Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside! We would decrease the amount of salt only because we already don’t use a lot regularly.
I love your description of the flavors! Thank you for sharing your fun and wonderful feedback!
Me again, my mom gave up sugar for Lent so I wanted to try making this recipe sugar free. I got Lily’s sugar free dark chocolate chips, used Smart Balance margarine again, Bob’s Red Mill GF flour, and Truvia Sweet Complete 1:1 sugar substitute (the kind that comes in a larger bag). The cookies came out better than I could’ve hoped! Although the missing sugar affected the texture quite a bit, they are still delicious. They came out of the oven extremely soft but firmed up to a pretty nice cakey texture as they cooled. I was really worried that between the GF flour and no sugar they’d come out as mush, but this recipe is pretty much fool proof! Thanks again for an amazing recipe!!
I’m so happy to hear you were able to make these without sugar and gluten. Thanks so much for using my recipe and for sharing your wonderful feedback!
These were perfect!! Everyone was shocked they were vegan! Thanks, Nora! You have the best recipes!
Hi! I am going to make these for my son’s school trip which I am volunteering to help with! I need just over 60 cookies-Is it best to make these separately or can i triple the recipe?
I’ve never tripled it but I double it quite often with no problems. I hope all the kids enjoy the cookies!
If you’re looking for the best vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe, look no further! This recipe is incredible and simple. I love that it has minimal ingredients. Thanks for another incredible recipe Nora!
Thank you so much for your kind words and feedback! Happy cooking!
Can you freeze these cookies?
I’ve made them before and served them right away but plans changed and I need to figure out if I can hold on to them/
Hi Carol. Yes, these cookies freeze very well!
Finally made these and now I’m wondering why I waited so long! You’re recipes NEVER fail!
Delish!
Thank you so much!!
I’m so glad you love the cookies! Thanks for using my recipe, and for sharing your review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Omg!!!! These are perfect!!!!! YUM!!!!!!!!!
Thank you Nora!!!!!!!
It took me two tries to get these right. The first time, the dough was too crumbly, although the cookies still turned out great. But still, I wanted to figure out why the dough turned out the way it did. Too much flour? Well, I know to spoon flour gently into measuring cups and level it off, so packing my cups with flour was not my problem. I do think my “slightly softened” Earth’s Balance stick may have still been too firm, because I didn’t get the usual creaminess when I mixed it with the brown sugar.
So, I could see scope for a few tweaks that I hoped would help. I implemented them today, and they worked like a charm. The dough’s texture was just right, and the cookies came out perfectly, still yielding 24 of them.
I reduced the flour to 1 1/3 cups (instead of 1 1/2 cups). I made sure that the Earth’s Balance stick was soft enough to be able to flatten it. I went with 1 packed cup of brown sugar instead of 1 1/4 cups. And I made the flaxseed egg with 3 tbsp. of water (per back of the package instructions) instead of 2.5 tbsp.
Thanks for the feedback! Yes, when the butter is too cold, the dough will no doubt be crumbly and dry. I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies.
Holy cannoli, this recipe is AMAZING! I made it with Smart Balance vegan margarine, which is spreadable out of the fridge, so I was a bit worried about excessive spreading because I didn’t have time to chill the dough. No issues at all though, the cookies came out picture perfect. I also used Bob’s Red Mill GF flour with no issues! The dough was as tasty as the cookies!! 😀 Thanks for another phenomenal recipe!
I’m so glad you are loving the cookies! We love them at our house as well! Thank you for you wonderful feedback! Wishing you happy cooking!
This is it! I’ve been making various vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes over the last few weeks, trying to find “the one,” and my search is over! I love my cookies soft and chewy, not cakey, and thick, and this recipe fit the bill! After forming the dough balls, I froze them for 15 minutes to ensure that they wouldn’t go flat; it did the trick! I didn’t need to add any bake time. When I handed one to one of my sons he said, “This is the perfect cookie!”
I feel truly honored that your son has labeled this recipe as the ‘perfect cookie!’ They are a hit at our house as well! I am so thrilled that you all love the cookies and they will be your go to chocolate chip cookie! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Can this be used with a substitute for cornstarch?
I’m not sure I understand the question. You may leave out the cornstarch if needed, the cookies will still be good.
What about the nutritional fact, Carbs, Fat in a batch
Hi Tom, the nutritional facts are at the bottom of the recipe card. 1 cookie = 24g of carbohydrates and 7g of fat.
DELICIOUS!
Some modifications I made to cut down on calories:
I use 80g of butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and eyeball the chocolate chips. 1.5 cups seemed like a lot.
After making these adjustments, I bake for 11 minutes and have the most delicious cookies. I make this recipe like once a week. It’s stupid simple, and the dough keeps as leftovers very well. I’ve kept in the fridge for up to a week, and have frozen before as well.
So glad you enjoyed the cookies! They really are easy, right? My philosophy is that you can never include too many chocolate chips ;), but I’m happy the modifications worked out for you!
These are the perfect cookie to me, especially if you like soft gooey cookies! A+, #1 recipe for sure! 🍪🍪🍪 thank you Nora!!
I used kite hill vegan butter which has a really nice classic buttery taste. The dough was a little soft (my error because the butter was almost melty) so I let the scooped cookie dough set up in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking – turned out great!
I’m so glad you love the cookies! Thanks for using my recipe, and for sharing your review and feedback! Happy cooking!
These are my go-to chocolate chip cookies now. I´m glad they´re made with “traditional” ingredients and not expensive ones like other vegan cookies. And they´re so fast to make with no chill time!
Thank you for sharing your review and wonderful feedback! I am glad you are loving the cookies! I also love the way these cookies come together so quickly and easily! Happy cooking!
These were yummy, although I made several substitutions (gluten free flour with xanthan gum, arrowroot instead of cornstarch, coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. Your recipes are very forgiving, Nora. Love your recipes!
Hi Mona. I’m glad you loved the cookies! Thank you for using my recipes, and for sharing your review and feedback! Happy Cooking!
These were perfect!! My roommate and I loved these. Everything I want in a chocolate chip cookie – soft in the middle, crisp on the edges, and not cakey. I halved the recipe and got 13. My dough was pretty soft so I added an additional tbsp of flour which helped. I also reduced the amount of chocolate chips a bit as I don’t like too many. I am saving this recipe for the future and will definitely make these again.
Hi Alaina, I’m so glad you and your roommate loved the cookies! Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and comments!
This is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Hi Nora, how important is the flax egg? can this be left out? or made with Chia seeds instead?
Flax eggs help bind the cookie dough together and help with the texture. Chia eggs should work in the same way though!