If you need a tried and true recipe for amazing vegan gluten free chocolate chip cookies – look no further! These are simple to make and totally delicious – your family and friends will love them!
You’ve found it…my favorite homemade dessert. I’ve loved fresh chocolate chip cookies since I was a kid, and thankfully, it’s easy to make them without wheat or dairy.
It can be daunting to learn to learn to bake with gluten free and vegan ingredients. But as far as this recipe goes, it’s practically foolproof. I’ve made these cookies for years, and they are absolutely delicious.
The texture of these cookies is the perfect mixture of crispy and chewy. Everyone loves these – they’re just right for a bake sale or party. You can also take a look at this collection of gluten free vegan cookie recipes if you need more cookie options.
Jump to:
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – Namaste Perfect Flour Blend works very well for baking cookies, and it’s widely available online or at stores like Costco or Kroger.
- Vegan Buttery Spread – I use Earth Balance Soy Free Vegan Buttery Spread for baking cookies. You can use a different brand if that works for you.
- Mashed Banana – Mashed banana acts as an egg replacer in this recipe, binding the batter together.
- Maple Syrup – Although it’s not a traditional chocolate chip cookie ingredient, maple syrup is added to add a richer flavor to these cookies.
- Dairy Free Chocolate Chips – Enjoy Life Foods and PASCHA Chocolate both make chocolate chips that are vegan and allergy friendly, and easily found in stores or online. Enjoy Life makes chocolate chunks that are very nice in these cookies, too.
Substitutions
- You can use oat flour in this recipe, but the texture of these cookies will be more delicate. See my recipe for oat flour chocolate chip cookies.
- You can use banana or applesauce – either will work well as an egg replacer. A flax seed egg would also work well.
- You can use coconut sugar in place of the white sugar and brown sugar, but the color of the cookies will be darker, and the flavor will be slightly different.
- If you aren’t gluten free, you can use regular all purpose flour or whole wheat flour.
Step by Step Instructions
- Cream the vegan buttery spread and sugars.
- Add the mashed banana, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and mix together.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed.
- Stir in the dairy free chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
- Spoon the dough onto the cookie sheet, leaving an inch between cookies. You can freeze the cookies at this point, or go ahead and bake them.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet before moving them.
Tips for Success
- Be sure to line the cookie sheet with parchment paper – it makes gluten free baking so much easier.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets before moving.
- Gluten free flour blends can absorb moisture differently. This dough should look and feel like traditional cookie dough. If your dough is too wet or too dry, try adding a little more flour or liquid until the dough is the right consistency.
- Keep a few chocolate chips aside and press the into each cookie dough ball before baking so that there are lots of chips on top of each cookie.
FAQs
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 this article to find out more about using oil in baking.
I don’t recommend almond or coconut flour in this recipe. The texture of the cookies may become dense or flat if you use those flours.
Keeping Cookies Fresh
Store these gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container. They should stay fresh for about 5 days. You can add a piece of gluten free bread to the container to help these cookies stay moist.
Freezing Cookie Dough
If you’d like to freeze this dough, simply drop rounded tablespoons of the dough onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.
Place the sheet in the freezer for a couple of hours until the dough is frozen, then put the frozen cookie dough balls into a freezer bag for storage. The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.
More Gluten Free Vegan Cookie Recipes
Learn to make SAFE, tasty food for your family. Join my community today and start getting all my best tips, tricks, and allergy friendly recipes in your inbox.
Watch the video below to see how easy it is to make these!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Recipe
Foolproof Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Ingredients
- â…” cup vegan buttery spread
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ cup mashed banana or unsweetened applesauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 â…› cups gluten free flour blend I've used Namaste, Living Now Foods, and Enjoy Life successfully
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cups dairy free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 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, leaving about an inch between each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees F for 11-13 minutes. They will look a little bit underdone, but will cook a little bit more as they cool on the cookie sheet.
- Repeat step 5 with remaining dough.
- 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 degrees for 13-15 minutes.
Eva
Dude these cookies were actually freaking amazing. For real though the banana gave it such good flavor! I shared some with my friends and they couldn’t even tell it was gluten free or vegan. That’s how you know it’s a GOOD recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Kelly Roenicke
I’m so glad you liked these! Thanks for letting me know!
Monica
I made these gluten free cookies with banana for my 2 year old grandson. They are absolutely delicious and they are chewy!! My 2 year old grandson was so happy to finally be able to eat a soft, chewy, gluten free chocolate chip cookie. His allergies to gluten are actually life threatening, so thank you…thank you…so much!
Kelly Roenicke
Yay! I’m glad these were a hit! Thanks for letting me know! :)
Juliane
Really nice cookies! Mine turned out a little more on the soft side but they are very Tasty and don’t seem gluten free at all. I used a homemade flour mix (Minimalistbaker’s recipe) and since I used coconut oil (25% less as recommend) my mixture was more crumbly and I decided to add a sip of cashew milk, maybe that’s why they are softer?
Also I used xylit and coconut sugar to make it less of a fructose bomb and a bit of rice syrup. To make it cacao free I used carob chocolate pieces.
Will def make them again!
Robin
Just perfection! Amazing recipe that I’ll make forever. Just chewy enough and slightly soft; they look picture-perfect, too. Baking time was spot on. Thank you!
Kelly Roenicke
So glad you enjoyed these! :)
Melissa Nesheim
The cookies were firm, lovely, and easy to make. I substituted extra light olive oil for Baking, instead of the buttery spread and the cookies still were not wet and oily like i’ve had happen with other recipes. Both of my kids said these cookies were “perfect”.
Kelly Roenicke
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for sharing!
Robin Byas
So is one cookie 1 serving?
I’m baking them now and trying to calculate on my food app how many cookies are 1 serving..
Thanks.
The raw dough tastes great. I’m sure the final product will be delicious.
Kelly Roenicke
Yes, nutrition facts are for one cookie.
Stephanie
I’ve tried a number of chocolate chip cookie recipes and most turn out too flat and oily. These were so easy to make, my son was able to do most of it and they turned out delicious! Definitely bookmarked this recipe to make again. Thank you for this recipe in addition to many others I’ve used from your site.
Cassy
Your recipe was very easy to follow. I had to do a few substitutes because of not being able to find the best buttery spread. Other than that They baked well and tasted delicious. I loved the texture and flavor. It was way better than anything bought at the store for sure and I had no kind of reaction to it which means win for me! Thank you for the amazing recipe:) I have hope now again for baked treats
Kelly Roenicke
Yay, I am so happy to hear this! THanks for letting me know!
Robin
Can you somehow lower the sugar?
Kelsey
BEST VEGAN GF NUT-FREE COOKIES EVER!!! And I realize there may not be many in that category, so I’ll just say best GF cookies ever. the texture of these was so chewy and similar to wheat but with a crispy edge. you wouldn’t know they are not made with eggs or butter! We used banana and it gave the cookies a really fun, almost Hawaiian (slightly) taste. Made some plain and with chocolate chunks. Unreal flavor. I have to say I have made so many things from cooking blogs in the past but Ive never felt compelled to leave a comment until now. Thank you for this recipe!!!
Barbz
These cookies are T H E • B E S T!! I absolutely love them, thanks so much :) its people like you that make my life easier….on this new journey of food intolerance.
Kelly Roenicke
Yay! I am so glad that you love them! Thank you for letting me know!
Joanne Kneller Spence
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.
Jodi
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.
Stephanie
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?
Katie
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?
Jodi
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!
Liz W
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.
Jo
Can I replace the buttery spread with vegetable oil? Thank you!
Kelly Roenicke
Usually oil in cookies will result in a dry, oily cookie. You could try using palm shortening though!
Dana
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
Kelly Roenicke
Yay! I’m so happy you like these! Thank you for letting me know!
Dayna
My son is allergic to rice. What gf flour would you recommend that doesn’t contain rice?
Kelly Roenicke
You could try this: https://savorthebest.com/ancient-grains-gluten-free-flour-blend/