Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the absolute best vegan chocolate chip cookies out there!! They are soft and chewy, and the chocolate melts in your mouth, making it impossible to stop at just one!

Delicious vegan recipes can be hard to come by, but I have a few more that you MUST try. They are so delicious and easy that everyone will want a taste of! Check out this Buddha Bowl, this Air Fryer Falafel, or these delightful cabbage steaks.

Not only will any of your vegan friends go crazy over these cookies, but everyone else will too. In fact, I bet that once you eat these, you won’t be able to tell the difference between them and classic chocolate chip cookies! And not only that… This version has the same texture. Nice and soft and chewy. It takes a lot to convince me that something can be different from the original and taste just as good, but… These totally do.

In order to make this recipe vegan, I used vegan butter, vegan chocolate chips, and some ground flaxseed. If you are familiar with vegan cooking, you probably already have these on hand; if not, you can find them at any local grocery store. Bake these up for any gathering, and your vegan friends will not stop thanking you! They are so good!

Ingredients in Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe uses pretty standard pantry ingredients except for maybe a few items. The exact measurements are on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Look over the list, grab the stuff at the store, and stock up… You are going to be coming back to this recipe again and again!

Ground Flax Seed: If you don’t have any ground flax seed, you can use chia seeds instead!
Water: You will combine this with the flax seed and allow it to sit and thicken for a few minutes before you add it to the dough. This is what replaces the egg in a vegan recipe.
Vegan Butter: Let this dairy-free butter sit out and come down to room temperature. Then it will mix in without any lumps.
Brown Sugar: I love the depth that brown sugar brings to any recipe.
Granulated Sugar: I said that these cookies were delicious, not healthy…
Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla makes the perfect flavor.
Flour: I used all-purpose flour in this recipe.
Baking Soda and Baking Powder: These will help the cookies to rise and be soft and chewy and not flat.
Cornstarch: The cornstarch helps the cookies to be tender.
Salt: The salt enhances all of the flavors in the cookies.
Vegan Chocolate Chips: I love that they make vegan chocolate chips so that you don’t have to go without them! They are SO good!

How to Make Homemade Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

These vegan cookies are super easy. If you can make regular chocolate chip cookies, then you will have no problem making these vegan ones. Plus, these are so delicious, that you may want to double the batch so that you for sure have extras!

Thicken: In a small bowl, combine the flax meal or chia seeds with the water. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
Prep: Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat and set aside.
Cream the Sugars: In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the flax or chia mixture and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
Combine: Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt and mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix in by hand until evenly dispersed throughout the dough.
Scoop the Dough: Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, scoop out the cookie dough and drop it on the prepared baking sheets leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.
Bake: Bake for 7-8 minutes. They will look underdone, but they will continue to cook as they cool and leave you with a nice chewy texture. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

The top view of cookies on parchment paper. A cookie is broken in half showing the soft inside and melted chocolate.

Substitutions and Variations

There are a couple of things you want to do when making these vegan chocolate chip cookies to ensure they turn out right!

Chia Seeds: If you don’t have ground flax seed, you can replace them with chia seeds. I prefer the flax seed meal, but the chia seeds worked just as well but had a bit of an added crunch.
Butter: I used Country Crock Plant Butter with olive oil in this recipe, but it should work just fine with any vegan butter or margarine.
Don’t Overbake! For the best chewy texture, make sure you’re not over-baking the cookies! They will look underdone when you take them out, but that’s exactly how they should look.
Double Check Ingredients: Make sure you check the ingredients on your chocolate chips to ensure no added milk products are added to them.

The side view of a stack of 2 chocolate chip cookies with other cookies surrounding them.

How to Store Leftovers

For this vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe, you can store leftover cookies or leftover dough. Here is how you can safely do both.

Dough

In the Fridge: Any extra, unbaked dough can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
In the Freezer: Unbaked dough can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the freezer for up to a year. I prefer to scoop the dough into portions on a baking sheet and freeze it overnight before transferring it to a freezer bag.

Baked Cookies

Room Temperature: Baked cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days. Add a slice of bread to the container to help keep your cookies nice and chewy.