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These Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies are as classic and delicious as chocolate chip cookies get! They’re perfectly chocolatey, soft & chewy, easy to make, and require just 9 simple ingredients. Plus, they’re made in 1 bowl and require no chill time.
We don’t want to brag, but making the best vegan chocolate chip cookies is one of our specialties (just read the 60+ 5-star reviews!). In addition to these classic cookies, we’ve also got Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, and an ooey gooey Vegan Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie for you to dive into next!
Safe to say, we’ve got you covered when a chocolate chip cookie craving hits.
What You’ll Need to Make Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Coconut Oil – This will serve as the fat in this recipe. We use refined coconut oil because it doesn’t have a coconut flavor. So if you’re looking for good coconut oil to use, we recommend this one. If preferred, vegan butter is a good alternative.
- Sugar – We use two different types of sugar in this recipe—brown sugar and organic granulated sugar. Using both types of sugar helps create more depth in the flavor of the cookies. If you want to ensure that the sugar you are using is vegan-friendly, we recommend opting for organic sugar since it’s not processed through bone char.
- Applesauce – Believe it or not, apple sauce acts as a vegan egg replacer and helps bind everything together. Don’t worry – these cookies don’t taste like apples! To make sure your cookies aren’t overly sweet, we recommend using unsweetened applesauce. If you need suggestions on which applesauce to use, we like this one.
- Vanilla Extract – We use vanilla extract in this recipe, and most other baked goods, to enhance all of the different flavors in the recipe. The quality of vanilla extract is also a factor, so make sure you are using a high-quality one.
- All-Purpose Flour – We’ve found the best classic chocolate chip cookies are made with all-purpose flour. We like to use Bob’s Red Mill organic all-purpose flour, but any brand will do the trick! You can also use gluten-free flour for this recipe. We have more details on that in the notes of the recipe card.
- Baking Soda – When baking soda reacts with an acid, it produces carbon dioxide and bubbles, causing the cookie dough to rise. This will help give the cookies a chewy and coarse texture.
- Salt – Similar to vanilla extract, the salt in this recipe helps enhance the other flavors in the cookie. Optional: Try sprinkling flaky sea salt on top of your finished cookies if you enjoy the salty and sweet flavor combination.
- Baking Powder – The function of baking powder in this recipe is to encourage your cookies to spread up instead of out, making them more even and fluffy.
- Vegan Chocolate Chips – You may be wondering…what brands of chocolate chips are vegan? Good news, you’ve got plenty of options. We like to use Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can even use chocolate chunks if you prefer.
Equipment Needed:
- Medium Bowl
- Wire Rack for cooling your cookies
- Whisk
- Baking Tray
- Spatula
- Stand Mixer (Optional)
- Cookie Scoop
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cream the oil and sugars together. In a large bowl, cream the coconut oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the apple sauce and vanilla. Mix again until combined.
- Stir in the dry ingredients. In the same bowl, add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until a cookie dough forms. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips using a spatula until well incorporated.
- Preheat the oven. These cookies bake at 350°F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper or a reusable baking mat. This recipe makes about 36 cookies, so you’ll likely need to bake in batches.
- Scoop your cookie dough. Using a 1 tablespoon-sized scooper, drop mounds of chocolate chip cookie dough onto the baking sheet, leaving about 2” between each cookie dough mound. No need to press them down – they’ll spread perfectly on their own!
- Bake. Bake these chocolate chip cookies for 13-14 minutes, or until the edges are slightly crisp and golden and the center is still soft. The cookies will seem under-baked, but they will firm up while they cool.
- Transfer to a cooling rack. We typically allow the cookies to cool completely on a cooling rack before digging in, but you can’t go wrong eating warm chocolate chip cookies either!
How to Make a Vegan Christmas Cookies in a Jar Gift Mix
If you’re baking these vegan chocolate chip cookies during the holiday season, you can’t go wrong with gifting these cute jarred cookie mixes! You can find the printable gift tag here! 🙂
It’s easy to put together, and our friends and family loved it when we gifted it to them. Just be sure only to put the dry ingredients in the jar.
Instructions
- Place 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons organic granulated sugar, 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed organic brown sugar, 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons vegan chocolate chips into a 32-ounce mason jar.
- Screw the lid tightly on the jar, then attach the gift tag that lists the wet ingredients. Download the exact one we use here!
Watch us make a variation of this recipe in our DIY Budget-Friendly Holiday Gifts Video on our Youtube Channel!
Vegan Cookie Recipe FAQs
Cookies spread as a result of the fat in the cookie dough melting. If your cookies tend to over-spread, two things could be happening. First, you may not have used enough flour. Or, the fat was too warm before baking. This is why we recommend using soft coconut oil or softened vegan butter over melted.
Since vegan cookie dough is naturally egg-free, you may think it’s automatically safe to eat the dough! Unfortunately, raw all-purpose flour can be just as dangerous to consume because it can contain unsafe bacteria. If you’d like to eat your cookie dough, make sure to heat treat the flour before adding it to the cookie dough batter. Learn how to heat treat flour here. Or, make our edible cookie dough bites instead!
If your cookies did not rise, it is possible your baking powder expired or the dough was overmixed. Baking powder is only fresh for about 6 months after opening. After this time, it loses its leavening power and can cause your cookies to fall flat. Similarly, whipping too much air into your vegan cookie dough will cause your cookies to collapse in the oven.
Yes! You can freeze these cookies before or after baking. If you’d like to freeze the raw cookie dough before baking, we recommend pre-scooping them into individual cookie dough balls and flash freeze them on a baking sheet, then transferring them to a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Then, bake the cookies directly from frozen for 1 to 2 minutes longer!
Similarly, freeze baked chocolate chip cookies after cooling completely and flash freezing on a baking sheet until frozen. Transfer to a freezer-safe container or bag, then thaw the baked cookies at room temperature!
Absolutely. We’ve tested this vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour and had great results. You might like our Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Gluten-Free Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies too!
Storage Instructions
These vegan chocolate chip cookies store best in an airtight container at room temperature. When stored well, these cookies will last for up to 1 week.
For freezing instructions, read our above cookie FAQs or check the recipe card!
More Vegan Cookie Recipes You May Enjoy:
- The Best Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Pecan Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
- Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
- Vegan Pizelles
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies (3-Ingredients + Gluten-Free)
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!
Print
Classic Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Total Time: 2 hours 23 minutes
- Yield: 36 cookies (3 dozen)
Description
These Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies are as classic and delicious as chocolate chip cookies get! They’re perfectly chocolatey, soft & chewy, easy to make and require just 9 simple ingredients. Plus, they’re made in 1 bowl and require no chill time.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup refined coconut oil* (see notes)
- 3/4 cup organic granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed organic brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see notes for gluten-free option)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 cups vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the coconut oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Using a hand mixer (or a whisk) cream the oil and sugars together until fluffy.
- Add in the applesauce and vanilla, and mix well.
- Stir in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until a dough forms. Lastly, fold in chocolate chips until well incorporated.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Keep in mind that this recipe makes 3 dozen so you will need to bake multiple batches. See notes for freezing options.
- Using a 1 tablespoon-sized scooper, drop mounds of dough onto the baking sheet 2 inches apart (we fit 12 on each sheet and baked these in 3 batches). No need to press them down.
- Place into the oven and bake for 13-14 minutes, or until the edges brown. The cookies will seem soft but don’t worry, they will firm up while they cool. Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 1 minute after removing them from the oven and then carefully transfer them onto a cooling rack using a spatula.
- Cool until set and then dig in!
Notes
- We opted for refined coconut oil in order to avoid the coconut flavor. Unrefined coconut oil will have a coconut flavor so just keep that in mind!
- We originally made this recipe with melted coconut oil but from your feedback, we updated this recipe on 5/22/21 to use room temperature coconut oil instead. This way, there is no longer the need to chill the dough and it speeds up the prep time so you can eat your cookies much sooner!
- If you would like to make these gluten-free, we recommend the Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-free Baking Flour. We tested this recipe with it and it was successful!
- If you would like to save this dough for later, you can freeze it! Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a cookie scooper to evenly scoop mounds of the dough. You can line them up close together since you are not baking them. Once you have scooped out all of the dough, place the baking sheet into the freezer for 30-60 minutes (the longer the better). Remove the dough mounds from the trays and transfer them to a freezer safe bag. Be sure to keep note of when you freeze them + what time and temperature you need to bake them at! Since the dough is frozen, it might require 1 to 2 minutes or even longer for baking.
- Store in an airtight container for 1 week.
- Prep Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition facts label provided by Nutri Fox.
Disclaimer: The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional’s advice. This page may contain affiliate links, which simply means that we earn a commission if you purchase through those links, but your price remains the same. Thank you for supporting Sweet Simple Vegan!
These cookies are so good! I love the classic chocolate chip flavor and they are so easy to make.
The Best! I make these regularly no one believes they are vegan. Love them!
Chris and Jasmine have done it again! You guys are my go to for recipes because I always know it will turn out perfectly when I follow your recipes. Thank you once again! These cookies are perfect. Chewy, perfect sweetness, and easy to make!
These have been my go-to chocolate chip cookies since giving up animal products. I got nervous that it was the wrong one when I saw the dough didn’t need to be chilled, until I read the update. Not sure how, but these are even better than before and easier too! Thank you for this delicious recipe!
These were soooo good! I used vegan butter instead of coconut oil and they turned out fantastic! Crispy outside and chewy inside. ❤️
A good easy recipe i just swap out the coconut oil and use vegan butter.
just about perfect! all the other recipes i was looking at for classic choc chip cookies were all a bit off, but this one is just as classic and perfect as it can get. i would HIGHLY recommend cracking some sea salt on top of your cookies, makes them 10x better. my non vegan family ate them all up and loved them. i will also try to use pumpkin purée instead of applesauce next time just to make it a lil less sweet. also, recipe makes A LOT of cookies, probably 3-4 trays (40~). id cut in half next time unless i’m giving them to friends or something.
This is my go-to cookie recipe for any party or whenever my boyfriend asks me to make cookies. This recipe is THE BEST, bookmark it! I use the original recipe (the one that calls for melted coconut oil) and my recipe turns out perfect. It might be because of the climate I live in or because I combine coconut oil with Earth Balance vegan butter (my favorite way to make these!).
This is my go-to cookie recipe for any party or whenever my boyfriend asks me to make cookies. This recipe is THE BEST, bookmark it! I use the prior recipe (the one that calls for melted coconut oil) and my recipe turns out perfect. It might be because of the climate I live in or because I combine coconut oil with Earth Balance vegan butter (my favorite way to make these!).
My cousin’s husband is allergic to eggs. His mind was blown with these cookies and I was told I have to bring them every time I visit. He hasn’t had a homemade cookie in over 10 years.
I used avocado oil for the coconut oil and white whole wheat for the all purpose flour and they still turned out great!
What would the cooking time be if I were to make this into Chocolate Chip Vegan Cookie BARS?! Thanks!
It’s hard to say! But we have a cookie bar recipe if you’d like to give that try 🙂
This is a fantastic recipe! It’s easy to make and the cookies are SO good. I tested it out by making a batch (baking half and freezing the other half) and they were delicious! I gifted several jars of the mix and some fresh baked cookies for Christmas this year. Seriously an awesome recipe and I will be making these cookies all year!
I was scared to make chocolate chip cookies since going vegan and now finally 4.5 years later I gave it a shot with your recipe and am so happy I did! I followed the recipe exactly (except didn’t add salt) and they were perfect – I wasn’t sure how the apple sauce would make them turn out but you can’t even tell it’s there, they just taste super good and have an excellent texture! I made the dough then refrigerated for an hour then shaped them into little disks then put in a tupperware to bring to a friend’s house so that we could have freshly baked cookies after dinner — I couldn’t stop people (non-vegans included) from eating the raw dough! But after baking they turned out perfectly as well, and I have the extra dough in the freezer so I can make a few cookies at a time as a snack.
Great recipe! I was worried the applesauce would make the cookies “cakey” but they were perfectly crisp at the edges and chewy in the center. I used a melted stick of margarine that I needed to use up, but I look forward to making these again with coconut oil.
I’ve made these too many times to count, always with rave reviews. Now I’m gifting the adorable cookie mix jars this Christmas. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
HOLY SHIT THESE ARE THE BEST FUCKING COOKIES I’VE EVER HAD. SHOUTOUT APPLESAUCE FOR BEING THE KEY INGREDIENT. AT FIRST I WAS SKETCHED OUT CAUSE I DIDN’T WANT THE COOKIES TASTING LIKE APPLESAUCE BUT YOU LITERALLY DON’T TASTE IT ALL. JUST KEEPS THE COOKIES MOIST AF. CAN’T WAIT TO BAKE THESE EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.
My family and I LOVE these cookies. Hard to eat just a few. I’m just seeing you have a cookbook!? I’m going to have to purchase it.
These cookies are so good!! First time making vegan cookies. I even used unrefined coconut oil and they didn’t taste overly coconutty for my taste 🙂 Husband said he prefers these over non-vegan cookies and I agree! Thank you for the great recipe! This will definitely be a go-to for us when we’re craving something sweet.
This is a very easy to follow recipe. I surprised my husband with them tonight and he said “these are amazing. Possibly the best cookies I’ve ever tasted.” These are SO yummy.