These are the best vegan gluten free chocolate chip cookies ever! With crispy edges and perfectly soft middles, no one will guess they’re gluten free. Egg, dairy and nut free as well with NO dough chilling required!
You’re going to love these vegan and gluten free cookies
You can stop looking. These are the best gluten free vegan cookies! They’re easy to make with a handful of staple ingredients and ditch the regular flour for gluten free flour. You’ll hardly be able to tell the difference between them and my Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Gluten free desserts don’t get much easier than these nut free and gluten free chocolate chip cookies. The dough is easy to mix together in one bowl before it’s rolled into cookie dough balls and baked in the oven. You won’t find any complicated ingredients here either! Just grab your favorite gluten free flour mix and vegan chocolate chips and you’re ready to start baking.
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Vegan butter – Remember: softened room temperature butter is always easier to work with and incorporates better into cookie dough. Put it out on the counter 30 minutes before getting started or microwave it in 15-second increments until it’s soft to the touch (but not melted).
- Brown sugar – This is where all chocolate chip cookie recipes get their molasses-like flavors. If all you have is white sugar at home, try mixing it with molasses to make your own brown sugar.
- Vanilla extract
- Non-dairy milk – Any kind of plant milk is just fine. Make sure it’s room temperature before you get started.
- Gluten free flour – I recently discovered Better Batter Gluten Free Flour, and I feel like it’s one of the best. It’s less sandy tasting than others I’ve tried. Any quality gluten free flour mix should work quite well, so use your favorite.
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Vegan chocolate chips – Check the ingredients to make sure your chocolate chips don’t contain milk. You can find vegan chocolate chips at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Costco (look for Kirkland brand of semi-sweet chocolate chips), and on Amazon. When all else fails, look for Guittard or Enjoy Life as both brands make vegan-friendly chocolate chips.
How to make vegan gluten free chocolate chip cookies
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Beat the softened butter and brown sugar together until you have a creamy and fluffy mixture. Add the vanilla and milk, and continue to mix. Lastly, slowly mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
Fold the chocolate chips into the dough and you’re done!
Roll 1 to 2 tablespoons worth of dough in your hands at a time to form the cookie dough balls. Place them on the prepared baking pans, then bake until the cookie edges are just starting to brown. It’s ok if they feel too soft at first! They’ll firm up as they cool.
Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if desired. Leave the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack, then dig in and enjoy!
Freezing cookie dough
Roll the cookie dough into balls, place them on a lined baking sheet, and freeze. Once they’re frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Bake the dough balls right from frozen, adding a few more minutes to the bake time to make up for their cold temperature.
The baked cookies also freeze well. Just pop them in an airtight container and grab one out of the freezer whenever you have a craving.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I use almond flour? Using all almond flour won’t work well here, as the cookies will be very flat. You could try using 1 cup gluten free flour and 3/4 cup of almond flour.
- Do you have to chill the cookie dough? It isn’t necessary for this recipe. Chilling the cookie dough in the fridge before baking can solidify the butter and prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. If you love thick, chewy cookies, go ahead and pop the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Can I make these without sugar? I wouldn’t recommend it. Granulated coconut sugar, however, can be used instead of brown sugar as a natural sweetener alternative.
Want more vegan and gluten free desserts?
- Gluten Free Banana Bread
- Easy Vanilla Vegan Gluten Free Cake
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Gluten Free Vegan Brownies
Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature I prefer Miyoko's
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk I used soy
- 1 3/4 cups gluten free flour mix* I used Better Batter
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat the softened vegan butter and brown sugar together until creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and non-dairy milk and mix to combine, scraping the sides as needed.
- Stop the mixer and add the flour, then sprinkle the baking soda and salt on top of the flour.
- Turn the mixer on low speed, and mix until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chips until incorporated.
- Scoop about 1-2 tablespoons of dough using a cookie scoop or spoon, roll into balls and place on the prepared pans about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes, until barely golden brown on the edges. They will appear soft, but will firm up as they cool. Sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt, if desired.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
- Vegan butter – I prefer Miyoko’s brand for taste and quality, but other brands work as well. Use the stick type butter instead of the container.
- Sugar – Brown sugar works best, but you can use coconut sugar if desired.
- Gluten free flour – Recently I discovered Better Batter, which I am enjoying more than any other brand I’ve tried. It has almost no sandy, gritty texture in baked goods. I recommend a quality mix that includes xantham gum.
The best recipes EVER!!! A vegan from Hawaii I appreciate you always helping making my kids happy with your recipes!!!!
Hi Denise in Hawaii! I’m thrilled you are all enjoying my recipes! Thanks for sharing your awesome review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Hi Nora! Can I sub out the vegan butter and use coconut oil ???
Hi Meg! Yes, it should work quite well with melted refined coconut oil. Enjoy!
Daaaaaaaaaang these are GOOD! I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out heavenly good!!
For anyone wondering, I used Bob’s Red Mill GF baking flour blend (the kind that is white, that has xanthan gum included in it) and Smart Balance margarine. My cookie dough was a bit loose and sticky, probably because I had to nuke my butter AND my brown sugar to get them soft enough, lol. So everything was warm, which isn’t ideal. It worried me a little but the cookies still turned out to have a great texture and form. I did underbaked them a little which is my only complaint, but I should have known better because things tend to take a little longer in my oven. I baked them for 10 minutes, I think 11 would have spot on. Anyways, these cookies are fan-friggin-tastic, Nora, thank you for the incredible recipe!!
My sister brought these chocolate chip cookies to a dinner party at my house. I’m not gluten free but I LOVED them. So much so, that’s why I’m here leaving this review. I was very impressed. She used the Oatsome brand Oat Flour Blend (all purpose-gluten free).
Hi Alice! How wonderful that you loved the cookies! Thank you for taking time to share your fabulous review and feedback! It means a lot to me!
Super easy to make and they turned out perfectly! I have always struggled with baking cookies, they never seem to turn out well, but these were an absolute winner. Thank you so much for sharing such a great recipe Nora. PS I’m in Aotearoa New Zealand and used Nuttelex Buttery as my vegan butter and the Woolworths Free From GF flour if anyone from NZ is wondering what flour is a good option here 🙂
These turned out great!!
How many is the recipe supposed to yield? We ended up baking 14 decent sized cookies. We also did half with chocolate chip and walnuts. The cooking time also needed to go a bit longer than suggested. I had them in for about 18min.
My kids loved making these with me!
I usually get around 20, but sometimes less if I make them a bit larger. 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed them.
Echoing a large proportion of people on here, mine have been in for 30 minutes and are a puddle… I used Dove plain flour (UK equivalent of the ones in the article). Tried a second batch with xantham gun, still no luck.
Sorry to hear that. It’s difficult for me to test it with every gluten free flour mix, as they vary quite a bit brand to brand.
Hi Nora!
I just made these cookies and for some reason they didn’t spread much. I used the suggested ingredients except I used a different vegan butter.
Any idea why this might have happened? From other reviews it looks like the issue has been spreading too much.
Thanks!
Yes, I think the issues are mostly coming from different gluten free flour blends. I like Better Batter the best for gluten free baking. King Arthur Measure for Measure flour is also quite good. What butter did you use? I don’t imagine that would make a huge difference.
Hi Nora!
I had quite the opposite problem here. The recipe was much too dry and crumbly, like a bath bomb mixture, even though I added lemon juice, lemon extract, and blueberries instead of chocolate chips. I used bobs red 1-1 flour mixture and I had to add 1 tbs of oil and extra milk for them to spread out and not be dry.
Other than the dryness at first, these cookies were soooooo good.
Lemon Blueberry cookies are one for the books!
These were a huge hit! Amazingly delicious!! I’m wanting to use this as a base recipe for s’mores cookies. Do you have any tips for variations like that?
I’m sure it would work but I haven’t tried it myself! Sounds delicious though. I might mix in chocolate chips, vegan marshmallows and perhaps chopped graham cracker pieces.
I brought these to a staff event at my work. I am vegan and I like to include GF options and vegan options for everyone.
I was asked for the recipe over and over. People were amazed a gluten free cookie could be so fluffy!
I did rest them in fridge for fluffy cookies!
Hi Sid. I’m thrilled to hear that the cookies were a hit at your work event! Thanks for sharing your delicious review! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Ah Nora normally all of your recipes are a hit but these melted and came out really flat. Not sure how to fix this 🙁
Hi Samantha, sorry to hear that. What brand of gluten free flour did you use? Unfortunately, they aren’t all the same quality. I have good luck with King Arthur and Better Batter.
Could you use a cup of almond flour and 3/4 cof gluten free flour?
Probably but I haven’t tested it. I’m pretty sure it will work though.
This recipe rocks and has become my go-to using GFJules flour. I can’t believe it works so well without a binder (though was thinking the folks who are experiencing to much spread could add a flax egg–dunno). Thanks for another great recipe! Oh, I also use coconut sugar and Just Date date sweetened chips. 🙂
Is there a way to make this triple chocolate by adding cocoa powder?
I’ve never tried it myself, but it might work to replace some of the flour with cocoa.
These are the best! So surprised they came out so great. Will use this recipe again and again. My family loved them. Thanks for a recipe that tastes as good or better than “regular” cookies!
Hi Chris. I’m glad the cookies turned out great for you! Thanks for your fabulous review! Happy cooking!
Mine also also came out flat and melted into each other. The only change I made was using less chocolate chips. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 flour.
As another viewer stated, these came out flat and melted all in to each other. I followed all the measurements, and only change made was subbing coconut sugar for the brown sugar as suggested in the recipe. I feel like there is something missing or measurements are off.
Sorry it didn’t work for you, Camille. What brand of GF flour did you use?
Mine came out flat!!!! That is why I’m leaving 4 stars. I never leave reviews. Super yummy though! You’d never know they were chocolate chip cookies. It looks like a pizza! Ha! Loved the recipe Nora!
Hello Nora! I’m excited to make these but do not own a mixer. Do you think the recipe will still work with creaming/mixing rigorously with a spoon or whisk? Thank you!
Yes, absolutely! A whisk, wooden spoon, and/or silicone spatula are best.