A delicious sweet treat that everyone can enjoy! These vegan chocolate chip cookies are not your ordinary cookies. Instead, they’re soft and fluffy in texture, lightly sweetened, and taste delicious.
This recipe was originally published in March 2019. It has been updated for content and photos.
This fun twist on classic chocolate chip cookies brings you the perfect plant based cookies.
They’re soft, chewy, and fluffy like baby chocolate chip pancakes! Plus, they’re allergen friendly: gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free and oil free, too.
With an added bonus of being wholesome (especially compared to store-bought cookies) so feel good about enjoying these. 🙂
And if you’re a fan of healthy plant based cookies, try these almond flour cookies, vegan peanut butter cookies (with chickpeas!!) or these yummy almond butter cookies.
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Reader Feedback:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ They were soooooo goooood!!😃 its half passed midnight 4 days later, and I’m making another batch for a road trip tomorrow, gotta have healthy snacks available, thank you so much for this great recipe!!😁😁😁💖 – Autumn
What makes them healthy?
- For starters, these are WFPB (whole food plant based) cookies, meaning they’re suitable for whole food plant based eaters as they’re made with minimally processed ingredients.
- They’re low in fat, using unsweetened applesauce instead of oil and/or vegan butter.
- These plant based cookies are lightly sweetened with unrefined sugar from pure maple syrup.
- AND, these wholesome cookies are made using oat flour. No all purpose flour or highly refined flour needed. Healthy enough for breakfast (as far as vegan cookie recipes go). 😉
And look at those deliciously, melty, chocolate chips! These were a HUGE hit with my kiddos and they don’t need to know that they’re the healthiest vegan chocolate chip cookies they’d ever eaten! 😉
Ingredients + Substitutions
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this healthier vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe.
- Oat flour: You may purchase oat flour or make your own gluten free flour by grinding oats in your blender.
- Baking powder: Use active baking powder for lift and spread. Baking powder that has been open in your pantry for 6+ months may start to lose its effectiveness.
- Salt: A touch of salt adds flavour and amplifies the sweetness of these vegan cookies.
- Maple syrup: An unrefined sweetener keeps these cookies wholesome, but if you must, you may sub with another liquid sweetener. The maple syrup replaces the need for refined sugars like brown sugar.
- Applesauce: Choose unsweetened applesauce. (Again, to avoid refined sugar.) This replaces the need for coconut oil or other oils.
- Vanilla: Use pure vanilla extract, and not the atificially flavoured kind.
- Milk: I used soy milk, so there’s no dairy or cream, but another non-dairy milk such as cashew or almond milk also works well.
- Chocolate chips: Make sure to choose dairy-free vegan chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks) to keep these cookies plant based. Or purchase vegan chocolate bars and break it up into bits or chunks. You may also sub with chopped nuts or dried fruit of your choice.
Instructions
(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)
These are so simple to make, all you need is a couple bowls, a whisk, or a wooden spoon. No stand mixer required.
Add the dry ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together. (photo 1)
Add the wet ingredients to another bowl and mix well. (photo 2)
Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix well. (photo 3)
Scoop the cookie dough onto your tray and bake for 10 minutes. (photo 4)
NOTES: You should get around 20 cookies. Make sure to leave space in between each one. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes before handling to help them set and firm up.
Then transfer the plant based cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling, or enjoy them warm.
Storage
Keep your cookies at room temperature to enjoy within 1-2 days for the best texture.
Or, you may store them in a sealed container and refrigerate to keep up for up to 5 days.
To freeze, use an air tight freezer-safe container and layer with parchment paper. Keep frozen for up to 3 months.
Expert Tips
- Weigh your flour for the most accurate results. Scooping flour from a bag often results in too much flour, producing dry results. If you do not have a kitchen scale, spoon your flour into your measuring cups, and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Use ACTIVE baking powder. Once opened for 6+ months in the pantry, baking powder will start to lose its effectiveness.
- Your batter will look similar to pancake batter, and that’s to be expected. Remember, these are low fat plant based cookies and not your ordinary butter filled variety.
- Let your cookies cool for 10 minutes once removed from the oven, before handling. This cool down period will help them firm up and set.
More healthier plant based cookies
If you tried this recipe, please let me know in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don’t forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube to see more delicious food.
Buon appetito
Rosa
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 180 grams oat flour, gluten free if preferred approx. 1.5 cups
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- ⅓ cup soy milk
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional Fill In (But Recommended)
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/176℃ and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the 3 dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate, medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix well. Then, add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips to the bowl of wet ingredients, and stir to combine.
- Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop the mixture onto your prepared baking tray to make approx. 20 cookies, leaving space in between each one.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy warm, or continue cooling to room temperature and enjoy.
Notes
- Weigh your flour for the most accurate results. Scooping flour from a bag often results in too much flour, producing dry results. If you do not have a kitchen scale, spoon your flour into your measuring cups, and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Use ACTIVE baking powder. Once opened for 6+ months in the pantry, baking powder will start to lose its effectiveness.
- Your batter will look similar to pancake batter, and that’s to be expected. Remember, these are low fat plant based cookies and not your ordinary butter filled variety.
- Let your cookies cool for 10 minutes once removed from the oven, before handling. This cool down period will help them firm up and set.
Nutrition
FAQ
Not always. Milk chocolate chips are definitely not vegan. Some semi-sweet and most dark chocolate chips are vegan. Make sure to read the ingredients, and choose accordingly. For less sugar, use dark chocolate chips or chunks.
If you prefer, you may omit the chocolate chips. Or you may sub for raisins, dried cranberries, chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts, unsweetened coconut or chopped dates.
You bet. I always make my own by blending oats in my Vitamix. So if you don’t have any oat flour on hand, no need to rush out to the store.
Katie says
Excellent! Just made it with carob instead of chocolate. Used apple butter instead of applesauce. So thankful for this recipe. The cookies taste wonderful.
Rosa says
Yay, so happy you enjoyed the cookies, Katie. Thanks for the review! 🙂
Melody says
How can I make these crispy?
Rosa says
White sugar helps cookies get crispier, however, these cookies were made to be a healthier version of a chocolate chip cookie, so there wouldn’t be a simple swap to get these crispy. It would require some experimenting.
Angie says
I like that this recipe has only WFPB compliant ingredients, but I can only give three stars. We like them, but they were not amazing (which would get a 5). The batter was thin, as stated it would be, and it was never thick enough to scoop with a cookie scoop so I used a standard tablespoon measuring spoon. They id not turn out like the pictures on the blog. I live at 4500 feet, so it may be an altitude issue. Thanks for your efforts!
Rosa says
While I’m not familiar with high altitude cooking or baking, a quick google search tells me this: “Reduce the amount of leavening (baking powder and baking soda) by about 15% – 25% if you are between 3,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level. Decreasing baking powder and baking soda will keep your cookies from going flat fast.” Perhaps try some adjustments next time.
Judith says
I just tried this recipe to take to a friend. I made the mistake of not reading the tips all the way through and when the dough turned out more like a batter, I thought I had done something wrong and so added 1/3 cup of whole wheat flour. Luckily the cookies turned out OK this way also kind of cakey and very delicious. I added white chocolate chips, cranberries and pumpkin seeds to the the cookie dough and it turned out delicious . thank you for the recipe!
Rosa says
You’re very welcome Judith, glad it worked for you and thanks for sharing your process with us. 🙂
Melanie says
Delicious! Added cacao powder and a scoop of chocolate protein powder and they came out perfect!
Rosa says
Fantastic! Thrilled you enjoyed these Melanie. 🙂
Victoria says
These are soo yummy!! I used oat milk instead of soy and they came out great! Will be making again and again 🙂
Rosa says
So glad you enjoyed these Victoria, thanks for sharing. 🙂
Lisa says
Wow! These were so good I had to make a second batch before the first was even gone! Decided to add raisins along with the dark chocolate chips to the second batch! I am definitely saving this recipe! Thank you!
Rosa says
Thanks so much for sharing Lisa. 🙂
Cammie says
I made these today, but instead of cookies, I made them in an 8X8 pan. More cakey like, but Oh So GOOD!
Rosa says
Oh, fun! Sounds great, thanks for sharing. 🙂
Elizabeth Bell says
Can I use all purpose flour and skip the choclate chips?
Rosa says
Hi Elizabeth, yes you may skip the chocolate chips but I haven’t tried these with all purpose flour, so I can’t say for sure. If you give it a try, please let us know how it goes.
Jim McNeely says
I tried whole wheat flour, and they were spongy and awful. Really really horrible. It’s hard to believe something with chocolate chips could be that bad, but they were.
Rosa says
Whole wheat flour is a very dense flour and these cookies were not tested using it. Unfortunately, the same results can’t be expected when changing the main ingredient.
Jim McNeely says
No problem, I just tried it because I didn’t have any oat flour. I’m reporting this as a failed experiment, no criticism of your recipe intended at all!
Rosa says
Thanks for reporting back! 🙂
Judy Mann says
They just came out of the oven and I love them. The dough was a little to wet to flatten, so they are shapeless, but so am I. I made the ginger cookies last night, but too wet to flatten. I think I will add some flour or some hemp seeds to make the dough less wet. I did add pumpkin powder to the chocolate chip cookies. Thanks for then”no oil” recipes.
kevin l youngblood says
Very Good, I keep making double batches, everybody loves them.
Rosa says
Thrilled to hear that Kevin. Thanks so much for the review. 🙂