Get ready to fall in love with these vegan chocolate chip cookies! They have soft, chewy middles, crispy edges, and gooey chocolate in every bite.
These vegan chocolate chip cookies could give any cookies made with butter or eggs a run for their money. They’re lightly crisp on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle. Gooey, melty chocolate chips fill every bite, but even without them, these cookies would be delicious. The dough has a rich, warm flavor that’s perfectly accented by a pinch of salt.
These vegan chocolate chip cookies have become the first thing we make anytime we’re craving a sweet treat, and I’m SO excited that I’m finally sharing this recipe with all of you! Jack and I have had it on repeat for the last few months, and I think you’re going to love it. It calls for basic ingredients and takes under 30 minutes to make, but it yields really exceptional cookies. Even if you’re not vegan, you’re going to want to add it to your regular rotation.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ingredients
These vegan chocolate chip cookies start as you might expect, with flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Then, these key ingredients make them chewy, rich, and flavorful:
- Brown sugar – Light or dark brown sugar will work here, but dark brown sugar adds a little something special. The cookies come out with a gorgeous golden brown color and a complex sweet flavor.
- Coconut oil – My go-to substitute for butter in dairy-free cookie recipes, it makes these cookies moist and rich.
- Vanilla extract – The chocolate chips may be the star of the show here, but we still want the dough to taste great! Vanilla extract gives it a warm depth of flavor.
- Chocolate chips – As with homemade brownies, homemade chocolate chip cookies will only be as good as the chocolate in them. Look for good-quality dark chocolate chips for this recipe, such as Enjoy Life’s Dark Chocolate Morsels.
- And last but not least…tahini! It’s the secret ingredient that gives these cookies their irresistible crisp/chewy texture. I’ve made vegan chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter and almond butter in the past, and while the results have been delicious (see page 241 of Love and Lemons Every Day!), those recipes put the nut butter front and center. By contrast, the tahini totally blends in here. You won’t be able to taste it, but it’s what makes these cookies so darn good!
See the full recipe at the bottom of this post!
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Making this recipe is easy! Here’s what you need to do:
First, whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, and use a rubber spatula to mix until they’re just combined.
Then, fold in the chocolate chips!
Use a two-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop dough balls onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, at 350 for 12-14 minutes, or until they’re lightly brown around the edges.
Finally, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Tips
- Smooth/Runny tahini is key. This recipe works best with runny tahini that will easily mix with the other ingredients. Tahini brands vary widely in consistency, so look for one with a smooth, pourable texture. (I like Cedar’s, Trader Joe’s, and Seed+Mill.) If your tahini is too thick, add 2 to 3 additional tablespoons of water to get the dough to come together.
- Don’t be afraid to chill the dough. By contrast, if your dough is too thin to scoop into balls, stick it in the fridge! Various factors can affect the dough’s consistency (the thickness of your tahini, the temperature of your kitchen, etc.), so don’t worry if the dough is too soft. Whenever this has happened to me, I’ve chilled the dough for just 20 minutes, and the cookies have turned out perfect every time.
- Let them cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet. Like in many vegan cookie recipes, these vegan chocolate chip cookies will be very delicate when you take them out of the oven. It’s tempting to reach for one right away, but if you let them rest for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, their texture will be better and their flavor will be richer. After 10 minutes, try one (or two), and transfer the rest to a wire rack to cool completely.
More Favorite Vegan Treats
If you love these vegan chocolate chip cookies, try one of these yummy vegan treats next:
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- No-Bake Cookies
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Easy Peach Cobbler
- Healthy Banana Bread
Or check out this post for 30+ of our favorite vegan desserts!
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
- ⅓ cup tahini* (see note)
- 6 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 heaping cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, coconut oil, tahini, water, and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and use a spatula to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips. Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the baking sheets. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.
Notes
Adapted from Weeknight Baking, by Michelle Lopez
I just made these and they are incredible. I didn’t have regular tahini but I did have chocolate tahini (Soom Dark Chocolate Tahini with Sea Salt). I wasn’t sure about this, but as you said, once it cooks, you can’t taste the tahini and in this case, my cookies were like double chocolate chocolate chip. Since the tahini already had salt, I reduced the salt in the recipe by half. Turned out great. Thank you!
Hi Lynda, I’m so glad you loved the cookies. The addition of the chocolate tahini sounds AMAZING!
hi! I’d love to try these but I don’t have tahini, if I leave it out and chill the dough if it’s not thick enough would that be ok? or do you recommend any substitutes?
Hi Alex, I often use almond butter instead of tahini and add a little water if the dough is too thick. Hope that helps!
Can I substitute maple syrup for the brown sugar?
No, dry and wet sugars aren’t interchangeable without altering other ingredients in the recipe.
Been vegan for 13+ years & counting. Best CC cookie recipe I’ve tried, hands down. This is a keeper. Thank you!
Hi Wendy, I’m so glad you loved the cookies! They’re one of our favorites too.
Hello~
I really liked your vegetarian cookie recipe. It looks delicious!(/•w•\)
I want to try this at home but can I do without coconut oil?
You also said on the blog that you can use chocolate or brownie, but is there a difference in taste🍫
Also in the pictures the cookies look very tasty.
i will try soon🍪
Hi, you could substitute vegetable oil for the coconut oil here. We like to use dark chocolate chips in this recipe.
Love this recipe! Can these cookies be frozen? Thanks
So glad you enjoyed them! Yes, these cookies freeze perfectly.
can I use 1/2 teaspoon salt instead of 1 teaspoon? Thanks
Hi Claire, we like the salty/sweet balance of 1 teaspoon, but if you want to use less salt, you can!
Thank you so much for this recipe , love these cookies!! Have you tried making these with a coconut or oat flour ?
Hi, I wouldn’t recommend subbing oat or coconut flour here. If you’re looking for a cookie recipe that uses oat flour, you could try these carrot cake cookies or these pumpkin cookies.
Ohmygosh WOW! I am in cookie heaven. This recipe impressed me so much with how light and fluffy the cookies came out with such a classic chocolate chip cookie flavor. This is probably the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve ever made plant-based or not. (side note – I used whole wheat pastry flour in place of all purpose flour and they came out perfect). THANK YOU!
Hi Kate, I’m so glad you loved the cookies!
Can I replace tahini with peanut butter? I love peanut butter cookies but can’t find eggless cookie recipe that has PB.
Hi Emma, our peanut butter cookie recipe doesn’t have eggs, I’d give this one a try instead!: https://www.loveandlemons.com/peanut-butter-cookies/
Wow! These cookies are soooo good! I just made a batch, and didn’t tell my husband they are vegan. He said he likes them more that the old Tollhouse recipe.
I’m taking a couple dozen to a meeting tomorrow — although I don’t really want to share them!
Hi Pamela, I’m so glad they were a hit!