A delectable recipe for gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies. These are simple to make and delicious – your family will love them!
Recipe originally published in March 2014. The photos and text have been updated.
Classic chocolate chip cookies…is there a more delicious homemade treat? Thankfully, it’s easy to make delicious gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies. Even if you’re new to baking without dairy, eggs, or gluten, you can master these scrumptious cookies.
Some of my first gluten free baking experiences were less than appetizing. I remember some brownies that were both raw and burnt, some sunken gluten free cakes, and some crumbly cookies. Can you relate?
It takes awhile to get the hang of baking without the ingredients you’re used to. But as far as this recipe goes, these gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies are practically fool proof. I’ve made this recipe for years, and it’s very hard to mess it up.
When I was new to gluten free baking, I spotted some frozen gluten free chocolate chip cookies at the grocery store one day. I bought a box and took them home, and was so happy because they were just soooo good. And I could just bake one or two and they were delicious, and there wasn’t a big mess.
Ever since then, I have wanted to come up with a chocolate chip cookie recipe that was not only delicious, but would also freeze well. Because the ability to just pop a couple frozen cookies in the oven and satisfy that craving is so convenient.
After some thinking and baking, and tinkering and more baking, I’ve got a gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe that bakes and freezes beautifully.
These chocolate chip cookies are free of dairy, eggs, and gluten, and they are the perfect mixture of crispy and chewy. Everyone loves these cookies – they’re just right for a bake sale or party.
This recipe makes about 30 cookies. If you prefer to freeze these, simply drop rounded tablespoons of the dough onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Then place the sheet in the freezer for a couple of hours until they were frozen, then put the frozen cookie balls into a freezer bag for storage.
Making the cookie dough is easy. You’ll just beat the vegan buttery spread and sugars, and then add your other ingredients until a thick dough forms.
Where can you find dairy free chocolate chips?
Enjoy Life Foods and PASCHA Chocolate both make chocolate chips that are vegan and allergy friendly, and easily found in health food stores or online.
These cookies are loaded with dairy free chocolate chips. Pro tip: Keep a few aside and press the into each cookie dough ball before baking so that there are lots of chips on top of each cookie.
Can I use oil in this recipe rather than vegan buttery spread?
I don’t recommend using oil in this recipe. If you decide to try it, use about 25% less than the amount of butter, otherwise the cookies will be too oily. Read more about substituting oil for butter here.
How can I keep gluten free cookies from drying out?
Store these gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container. You can add a piece of bread to help these cookies stay moist.
Once the chocolate chips are added, form the cookie dough into balls and place on the cookie sheet. You can freeze the cookies at this point, or go ahead and bake them. Be sure to line the cookie sheet with parchment paper – it makes gluten free baking so much easier. Parchment paper helps the cookies bake evenly without sticking to the cookie sheet.
Could this gluten free cookie dough be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze this dough! Place scoops of dough on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until frozen. Put the balls of dough in a freezer bag and store for up to three months in the freezer.
These gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies are:
- perfect for a bake sale or school party
- wonderful for freezing ahead of time
- nut free, dairy free, and so delicious
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Delectable Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Super easy recipe for gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies. A classic recipe that never goes out of style!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup vegan buttery spread
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup mashed banana or unsweetened applesauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/8 cups gluten free flour blend I've used Namaste, King Arthur, and Enjoy Life successfully
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups dairy free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cream the buttery spread and sugars in a large bowl. Add the mashed banana, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
Stir in the dairy free chocolate chips.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of the dough on the cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. They will look a little bit underdone, but will cook a little bit more as they cool on the cookie sheet.
- If you are going to freeze the dough, just drop rounded tablespoons of dough on the cookie sheet and stick it in the freezer for a couple of hours. Once firm, put the dough balls in a freezer bag and store in the freezer until it's time to bake them. When you want to bake them, bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Different store bought gluten free flour blends could change the consistency of the batter. This should be thick like "normal" cookie dough. If for some reason you have a thin, cake-like batter, then add a little more gluten free flour blend until the dough is thicker.
You can also use my homemade gluten free flour blend in this recipe.
This cookie dough can be frozen. Place balls of cookie dough on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Then store in a freezer bag for up to three months. Bake as directed - the cookies may take a couple more minutes of baking time from frozen.
Nutrition facts are for one cookie.
If you love a spicier cookie, try these gluten free and vegan molasses cookies. Or if you’re looking for more baking inspiration, browse this collection of dairy free and gluten free cookie recipes.
We really like these. Do you have any suggestions for replacing the sugar with coconut sugar, honey or maple syrup? I’m never sure on substitution amounts.
I have commented before, after making these for a friend with Celiac. They got rave reviews from her! I made them again, a half batch, with regular all-purpose flour, for me, since I’m not gluten-free, “just to see”, and they came out great that way too, although I actually preferred them with the gluten-free flour (I used Pamela’s 1-to-1). That batch I scooped and froze before baking (I thought that would deter me from eating so many, but I still ate them all in two days — and BONUS, the dough was fantastic even just in little frozen mounds!) I made them again yesterday, this time using Trader Joe’s white whole wheat flour, and again froze them, and baked four this morning, and they were just as good as the gluten-free. I have TONS of vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes on my Pinterest board to try, but honestly, I don’t think I even need to look further. This recipe is “the Holy Grail”! THANK YOU.
These cookies are delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. Do they need to be stored in an airtight container on the counter, or in the refrigerator? Also, how long can baked cookies be stored in the freezer?
This may sound weird but I’m trying to get these higher in calories–can the banana/applesauce be subbed for more Earth balance or oil?
I’m not a gluten-free person, but one of my best friends is, so I wanted to make cookies for her birthday. I have no real experience with gluten-free baking and was filled with trepidation. I made one half-batch a few days ago “just to see”, and another half this evening. (Halved, it the recipe made about 15 of varying sizes, not including dough that never got baked because I ate it by the “pinch”). I made some using a smaller cookie scoop and some with a slightly larger scoop. I followed the recipe to a T, measuring ingredients using a food scale. I used Pamela’s 1-for-1 gluten-free flour, because it was the only kind that came in a smaller bag at my local supermarket. I’m THRILLED to report that not only does the dough taste fantastic by itself, but the cookies are perfect when baked. If I hadn’t made them myself, I would never have guessed they were gluten-free. (Oh, and I added walnuts because my friend doesn’t have a nut allergy.) I posted a photo on your recipe on Pinterest!
Outstanding cookies! I made these for a friend whose son has severe allergies and they were incredible. I’m vegan as well, and these are the best vegan cookies I’ve made yet. I used mashed banana, Melt buttery spread, Bob’s GF flour, and Enjoy Life chocolate chunks. I actually cut both the sugars in half and they were perfect. My kids (5 and 2) were sorely disappointed to be giving most of the cookies away! 😆 Thanks for a great recipe! Ps- my friend cried because she’s never found a recipe for homemade allergy-friendly cookies that taste “real,” and her son was over the moon.
Can I replace the buttery spread with vegetable oil? Thank you!
Usually oil in cookies will result in a dry, oily cookie. You could try using palm shortening though!
Ok I’ve tried about 10 different vegan/gf chocolate cookie recipes and THIS IS IT!!! I FOUND THE PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP RECIPE!! THANK YOU AND BLESS UR SOUL
Yay! I’m so happy you like these! Thank you for letting me know!
My son is allergic to rice. What gf flour would you recommend that doesn’t contain rice?
You could try this: https://savorthebest.com/ancient-grains-gluten-free-flour-blend/
I baked these for a friend who has a lot of allergies & they turned out really good!
If you didn’t tell anyone that they were gluten, dairy & egg free you wouldn’t be able to pick it!
The cookies definitely don’t seem cooked when you take them out, but they do firm up, so don’t be alarmed!
Thanks for the great recipe!
My husband said they were the best gluten-free, vegan cookies I have ever made. I used Bob’s Red Mill one-to-one flour, Earth Balance vegan/soy free spread, mashed bananas, and Enjoy Life chocolate chips. They turned out perfect. THANK YOU!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing.
My new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe! I didn’t tell my husband it was a new recipe and asked him if these tasted better or the same as usual and he said they were better. I agree!
These are delicious! I actually only used 1/3 cup coconut oil and I still found them a tad oily. Overall though, they were amazing! Thank you!
If you want to substitute oil, next time try using 25% less than the amount of vegan buttery spread. That should fix it!
Can you freeze these cookies after you have baked them? I need to make a lot of cookies in advance for a party.
Could I make large cookies with this recipe- like 3″ cookies? Any idea how much batter for that and how long to bake it?
Thanks for your help!
These are amazing! They don’t taste gluten free at all. I used Enjoy Life chocolate chunks and Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Flour. My non-gf, non-vegan family loved them as well!
Just made these chocolate chip cookies and I could just cry. I found out 3 months ago that after 66 years I am allergic to gluten, dairy, eggs, beef and pork. Needless to say, I am on a frustrating journey to find food I can eat safely. These chocolate chips cookies are the best cookie I have found to satisfy my sweet tooth. They taste just like the “normal” chocolate chip cookies I used to make. Thank you for such a delicious recipe. I am anxious to try more of your recipes!
Oh, I’m so happy that you enjoyed these! Thank you for letting me know! Your comment made my day! :)
Just made these cookies and they are amazing. Thank you! Now everyone in my family can enjoy! Great crunchy texture outside and soft inside.
Is there anything I can use instead of Baking Powder? Thanks in Advance!
Not that I know if, you need a leavening agent. Can you not have baking powder?
These worked out great! All I did differently was I used applesauce as an egg replacement, and coconut sugar. ❤️❤️
Just made these — they were perfect! Just what I was looking for!
I’m so glad you like these! Thanks for letting me know!
I’m sorry this recipe gets all 5 Stars! I pressed the wrong button with three stars this is by far a 5-star recipe! I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels to serve something like this to friends and family knowing that it’s safe for everyone at the table.
Thank you!
Wonderful chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Delicious recipe!
So, I made this yesterday and I’m not sure what went “wrong”. They came out more like a soft and crumbly shortbread. Not the semi hard cookies as chocolate chip cookies normally are.
Once I added the baking power and baking soda I was wondering if they are supposed to rise and enough they did.
I used banana instead of applesauce, earth balance buttery spread, and for the flour I used Bob Red Mills GF all purpose flour.
I’ll try again with applesauce but I’m not believing the banana is the cause for the soft crumbly result.
Any ideas??? I know it might sound a silly question but is the baking power and soda really needed??
BTW, they tasted great anyway, my 3yo girl and my 17mo boy were crazy about and there’s only a few left today (and a lot of crumbles in the carpet
I’m sorry they were crumbly! I wonder if it is the difference in GF blends? I think I used Trader Joe’s flour when I made these last time. Yes, the baking soda and powder is necessary (at least for me), because otherwise they would be very flat. You could try it without, but I don’t know for sure what would happen. If your batter seems dry, maybe add a bit more applesauce (or banana), or even a little non dairy milk so that it seems moist enough. If the batter is to dry, that could result in crumbliness. Every GF blend is a little bit different. These were not a hard cookie…but mine were not crumbly when I made them. I hope that helps!
That’s what I’m thinking, that the “problem” here is the flour blend. The cookie dough was very nice and moist, not dry, not liquidy, looked perfect.
I’ll have to try again with another blend. Which one do you normally use, apart from Trader Joes??
The applesauce is needed for the acid reaction with the baking soda. It will make all the difference!
Commonly with my own GF baked good, which I always use Bob’s in, I add some raw apple cider vinegar to insure the needed chemical reactions take place.
Bob’s All Purpose flour contains mostly “bean” flour like garbanzo and fava. It’s very different than the rice based flours ! That is probably your problem !
Same question here, can I substitute the applesauce for mashed bananas??
Also, which gluten free blend do you use?? I have Bob red mills. Just wondering if any blend would possibly work well.
Thanks!!!!
Bob’s Red Mill should work fine here! I think I used Trader Joe’s blend on this recipe, but I use Bob’s sometimes. I think the banana would be ok here, I personally like banana and chocolate together. Let me know if it works out!
Simply yummy! Thanks for linking it up~ Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :)
Can’t wait to see what you link up this week! The party link up is open!
Cindy
Great recipe! I’d love to have you share it at the #glutenfreefridays link up (live now) I know my readers would enjoy your recipe! :) Hope to see you there! Cindy
Thanks, Cindy! Will do.
This is amazing Kelly! Can’t believe these are vegan and gluten free! I don’t know how you do it : )
Thanks, Natalie! Lots of trial and error! :)
Wow, these look amazing! Love the fact they’re GF as well as vegan!
Thank you so much, Jessica!