Delicious vegan chocolate chip cookies made with just a few simple ingredients! These quick to make, no-chill cookies have a chewy centre, crisp edges, and a rich flavour.
Table of Contents
We think the best vegan chocolate chip cookies should be simple to make! This easy recipe has no fancy ingredients, just simple everyday staples.
They're quick to make and don't need any chilling, so you can have a batch of amazing vegan chocolate chip cookies ready in under 30 minutes!
Ingredient tips
Here's what you'll need for this easy vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe:
Vegan butter: It's important to use a firm block or stick style vegan butter. Look for brands with a fat content of around 80%. We usually use Flora Plant Butter or Naturli.
Sugar: We love to use light brown sugar for the more caramelly taste and moister texture it brings.
You can also use a mixture of half light brown sugar and half white sugar, but we don't recommend using only white sugar, as this results in a more bland taste and a different texture.
Dark brown sugar can also be a bit too strong in taste, so stick to using light brown.
If you are in the US, look for organic or vegan-certified sugar which does not use bone char.
Plant milk: There's just a splash of non-dairy milk in the cookie dough. We usually use soy milk or almond milk but other varieties should work too.
Vanilla extract: We recommend a good quality vanilla extract for the tastiest results.
Flour: Just plain or all-purpose flour.
Salt: This enhances the flavour. You'll just need a pinch. If the vegan butter you are using is salted, you can leave this out.
Chocolate chips: We like to use dark chocolate with a 70% cocoa content aka bittersweet chocolate, as we love the flavour. You can use chocolate chips or chopped vegan chocolate bars.
Some brands of vegan chocolate chips include:
Many supermarket brand dark chocolate chips are also accidentally vegan, just check the ingredients.
If you prefer sweeter chocolate, use semisweet chocolate chips with around 50% cocoa content.
Chocolate chunks are also yummy if you prefer a bigger bit of chocolate!
Step by step pictures
Here's a visual guide to making these vegan chocolate chip cookies. You'll find the full measurements in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.
Step 1 - Cream together the sugar and vegan butter in a mixing bowl.
Step 2 - Stir in soy milk and vanilla extract, then beat with an electric whisk for 2 minutes until fluffy.
Step 3 - Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt (if using).
Step 4 - Add the chocolate chips and stir together into a dough.
Step 5 - Roll the dough into 1½ inch (4 cm) balls, gently press them down and place on a lined baking sheet with plenty of space for them to spread out.
Step 6 - Bake at 180℃ (350℉) for 12 - 15 minutes, until golden light brown.
Leave the cookies to cool on the tray as they are still soft when they come fresh out of the oven. Once firmed up they are ready for you to enjoy!
Substitutions and variations
Coconut oil. We have tested this recipe with refined coconut oil in place of vegan butter.
Because coconut oil is higher in fat than vegan butter, the mixture needs extra liquid. We added about an extra tablespoonful of soy milk to bring it together into a dough.
The resulting cookies are slightly crisper and dry out quicker, so we prefer to use vegan butter.
We have not tested gluten-free or refined sugar-free substitutions. Let us know if you do.
Here are some easy ways to vary the flavour of these cookies:
- Use vegan milk chocolate or vegan white chocolate chips instead.
- Add 1 teaspoon of grated orange zest
- Mix in ½ cup or 70g dried cranberries
- Sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt
- Make peppermint cookies by halving the vanilla extract and adding ⅛ teaspoon peppermint extract. Top with crushed vegan candy canes.
- Stir in up to ½ cup or 70g chopped nuts. Lightly toasted hazelnuts are delicious!
Top tips and troubleshooting
For best results, weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale.
If you only have measuring cups, be sure to use the spoon and level method to measure your flour. Never scoop flour directly into the cup, as this packs the flour in and uses too much flour for a recipe.
Too much flour can result in dry, crumbly dough and cookies that don't spread out properly.
If your cookies have spread out a lot, it's likely that the vegan butter was too soft and warm when the cookies went into the oven.
We dice our vegan butter straight from the fridge and use it to make the dough without bringing it up to room temperature.
If you are having problems with cookies spreading or working in a hot environment, chill the balls of cookie dough on the baking sheet for 30 minutes before baking.
Cookies will still be soft when they come out of the oven and naturally sink down a little as they cool and become crisper. Leave them for a couple of minutes to firm up before removing them from the baking sheet.
Storage
When cool, transfer the cookies to an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Cookies can be wrapped and frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. It is also possible to freeze the cookie dough or unbaked cookies.
More vegan cookie recipes
You might like to try these other popular cookie recipes too!
📖 Recipe
Easy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (57 g) vegan butter diced
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) soy milk or other non-dairy milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour or plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt optional, if vegan butter is unsalted
- ⅔ cup (100 g / 3.5 oz) vegan chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the vegan butter and sugar until combined using a wooden spoon.¼ cup (57 g) vegan butter, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- Add soy milk and vanilla extract, stir together, and then beat the mixture with an electric whisk for 2 minutes until fluffy.½ tsp vanilla extract, 1 tbsp (15 ml) soy milk
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, and stir into a dough, using your hands at the end to bring it together.1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, ½ tsp baking powder, 1 pinch salt, ⅔ cup (100 g / 3.5 oz) vegan chocolate chips
- Roll the dough into 1½ inch (4 cm) balls. Place them on a large lined baking sheet, leaving plenty of space between them. Press down gently to slightly flatten the dough balls.
- Bake for around 12 minutes until the edges are light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and leave the cookies to cool for at least five minutes on the tray, as they will be still soft. They will flatten slightly and firm up as they cool.
Notes
Nutrition
This information is calculated per serving and is an estimate only.
Lindzi says
I want to know do you have to use vegan butter or margarine okay cuz some recipes it doesn't matter I lost a chocolate chip recipe I had and I came across this one I just want to make sure that they turn out good
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Lindzi, I recommend using a vegan butter with a fat content of around 80% for the best results. Margarine typically has a much higher water content and can lead to flat cookies that spread a lot because of the extra liquid. If you only have margarine you could try it and leave out the soy milk, however I haven't tested it myself so I can't say how well they would turn out. I have tested the recipe using coconut oil and adding extra tablespoonful of soy milk to bring it together into a dough, however I find the ones made with a vegan butter have a better flavour and texture. Hope that helps you and happy baking!
Lindzi says
hi thank you for getting back to me I really appreciate it I will just go and get the butter but there was another recipe I did have that you use coconut oil and I couldn't find it so that's how I came across you're amazing recipe I will let you know how it works out thank you again