These are the best soft and chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies! Made with simple ingredients, including quinoa flour, coconut oil, and coconut sugar. Easy, gluten-free, and delicious!
What You'll Learn in This Post
If you're on the soft cookie bandwagon (rather than crispy), this recipe is for you. These chewy vegan cookies happen to be gluten-free and egg-free, but the best part is their texture.
Whenever someone asks me for a great cookie recipe, I always send them here, and they've never disappointed.
Why You'll Love These Cookies:
- You cannot tell that they're vegan (or gluten-free)
- They have a rich, nutty flavor
- They're totally loaded with chocoalte chips
- You can make them ahead of time!
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies [VIDEO]
What You Need to Make This Recipe
This ingredient list is clean, simple, and easy to find:
- Quinoa flour: this has consistently been a favorite flour of mine and it works great in baked goods. It's full of protein, which provides structure (important if you're not using gluten). Quinoa flour is also high fiber, naturally gluten-free, and has a light texture.
- Arrowroot powder: I often add a little starch to my gluten-free baking because it not only helps lighten things up, but starches also help bind. So while I think you probably could leave the arrowroot out, it definitely helps with the chewiness factor.
- Coconut sugar: This is definitely my granulated sweetener of choice, since it's less refined and lower on the glycemic index. But it's also swappable with brown or white sugar. It's dark in color, so it definitely makes these cookies look more brown, but it works wonderfully!
- Coconut oil: This is my dairy-free substitute for butter! Coconut oil is vegan, but it definitely doesn't have quite the same texture as a butter cookie. I'd say it gets a little fluffier, but also keeps them chewy at the same time.
- Flax egg: A flax egg helps bind everything together! Not sure how to make a flax egg? Check out my full tutorial!
And of course, baking soda and sea salt. That's it! No complicated ingredients, not crazy flour blends. Just pure, simple ingredients that work phenomenally well together.
simple swaps
Many of these ingredients can be swapped with other things you might have in your pantry:
- Any other grain flour should work (almond or coconut will not)
- Another starch will work like tapioca, corn or potato
- Any type of granulated sugar can be sued
- Use butter or dairy-free butter instead of coconut oil
- A regular chicken egg can be used in place of the flax egg
How To Make Vegan Cookies from Scratch
Making vegan cookies from scratch is actually quite easy. For this recipe, you'll need a mixing bowl, a baking sheet, and a piece of parchment paper to line the baking sheet.
To make the cookies, first we'll combine all of the dry ingredients.
Next, in a second bowl, combine the coconut oil and coconut sugar until uniform. Then add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients. finally, fold in the chocolate chips.
Now, you'll want to cover and chill the dough. This helps the quinoa flour hydrate and the coconut oil to firm up. Meanwhile, preheat the oven. After chilling, divide the dough into balls and arrange them on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, until cooked through. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before enjoying!
Tips for Soft and Chewy Cookies
If you're a fan of chewy chocolate chip cookies, then I want to share a few tips I have for keeping your cookies soft and chewy:
- Make sure you have enough oil and fat. Lots of times people try to cut back on oil to make cookies “healthier”, but that will also likely lead to a drier cookie.
- Underbake your cookies slightly to help them stay nice and chewy.
- Store them in an airtight container! If you're keeping them for more than a few days, then freeze them.
I've never had trouble with these chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies drying out, so if you follow the recipe as is, I think you'll be golden. Soft and chewy cookies, here we come!
Storage Suggestions
You can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. For longer storage, keep them in the freezer for up to six months.
Best Cookie Baking Sheet
I love these aluminum baking sheets. They're heavy-duty, don't rust or bend and bake super evenly.
More Gluten-Free Vegan Cookie Recipes
If you make these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, be sure to let me know what you think with a comment below!
Soft & Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa flour
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch I haven't tried these with tapioca or potato
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 flax egg 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips I like Enjoy Life
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside.
- Beat together melted coconut oil and coconut sugar until creamy. Add flax egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
- Add flour mixture into wet ingredients, mixing fully between each. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Cover bowl and chill dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove dough from fridge and let sit for 5 minutes. Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough and shape into balls. Flatten the balls between your hands into discs, then place them on parchment and repeat until no dough remains.
- Bake cookies for 9 – 11 minutes until edges are brown and crispy.
- Let cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.