Enjoy a treat that’s a little better for you with these chewy and tasty chocolate chip cookies. Delicious, chocolatey, and vegan, these soft and tender cookies have a secret ingredient that you’d never guess!

There’s nothing like a warm chocolate chip cookie, right? It’s one of my very favorite desserts.
Whether you grew up eating cookies made from scratch or used a tube of refrigerator dough, there’s nothing quite like sitting down to fresh-baked cookies and a glass of milk.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with making chocolate chip cookies the standard way…white sugar, brown sugar, white flour, etc. I have a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe on my site.
But, if you’re in a cookie mood, and want to use healthier ingredients, you might want to try this recipe.
These are still indulgent, but this recipe has a few tweaks to make it healthier. Vegan buttery spread and dairy free dark chocolate chips keep this recipe vegan, and perfect for those with a dairy allergy.
These are soft and delicious – enjoy a couple with a glass of your favorite non-dairy milk!
Ingredient Notes
- Sweet Potato – The secret ingredient in these whole grain chocolate chip cookies is mashed sweet potato. I’ve made many cookies with sweet potato, and it works really well. It’s starchy, but sweet, and it adds a good amount of fiber and vitamin A to desserts. These grain free fudgy chocolate cookies are a favorite recipe at our house.
- Vegan Buttery Spread – We like Earth Balance Soy Free Vegan Buttery Spread. You could also use the baking sticks if you prefer. If you aren’t dairy free, regular butter will work just fine.
- Whole Spelt Flour – We like whole spelt flour, but if you would rather, you can use whole wheat flour. You could also use all-purpose flour or gluten free flour. I don’t recommend grain free flours for this recipe.
Substitutions
- Instead of sweet potato you can use pureed squash or unsweetened applesauce.
- If you don’t have whole grain flour, you can use all-purpose flour instead.
- Gluten Free Option – This recipe will work just fine with a gluten free flour blend. You can use a blend like Namaste Perfect Flour Blend – that blend works really well for cookies.
- Coconut sugar is a good option if you’d like to use a more natural sugar. You could also use date sugar. If you would prefer to use regular brown sugar, that will work well!
Step by Step Instructions
- Mix the coconut sugar and vegan buttery spread together. Add the mashed sweet potato.
- Mix on medium speed until the sweet potato is incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed to combine. Stir in the dairy free chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter onto a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 13 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool before moving them. Enjoy!
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Watch the video below to see how easy it is to make these cookies.
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Recipe
Healthier Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup vegan buttery spread
- 1 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar if you prefer
- ½ cup cooked sweet potato mashed
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole spelt flour See notes to make these gluten free
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup dairy free dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the vegan buttery spread and the coconut sugar in a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the cooled mashed sweet potato and vanilla extract and continue to mix.
- Stop the mixer and add the flour, sea salt, and baking soda. Mix on low speed until combined. Stop the mixer and add the chocolate chips and stir by hand.
- Drop tablespoons of dough onto the cookie sheet. Leave about 1.5 inches between cookies. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 13 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet before moving them.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 with remaining dough. Makes 24 cookies.
Darryl
These are really delicious!
Sharon Wong
Mashed sweet potatoes are AMAZING!!! Who would have thought that it would be so versatile? Your cookies look great, it’s a must try recipe. :)
Kelly Roenicke
Thank you, Sharon!
kathy
What would you recommend for amount of gluten free flour if I’m allergic to oats and can’t have the oat flour portion?
Kelly Roenicke
Just sub in gluten free flour for the full two cups.
Kortney
This recipe has landed in my lap at the right time! I have been craving cookies, but have avoided them because of the sugar aspect. AND I have been meaning to try baking something with sweet potato… hello destiny :D
Kelly Roenicke
Yay! I hope you love it!
Eileen Rhoadarmer
Healthy(ier) cookies means we can eat more of them, right?! These sound great!
Kelly Roenicke
Exactly! :)