A delicious sweet treat that everyone can enjoy! These vegan chocolate chip cookies are not your ordinary cookies. Instead, they’re soft and fluffy in texture, lightly sweetened, but incredibly delicious. As an added bonus, they’re allergen friendly, being gluten free, nut free and oil free, too. But don’t let that fool you into thinking they are anything short of scrumptious!
This recipe was originally published in March 2019. It has been updated for content and photos.
Reader Feedback:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ They were soooooo goooood!!😃 its half passed midnight 4 days later, and I’m making another batch for a road trip tomorrow, gotta have healthy snacks available, thank you so much for this great recipe!!😁😁😁💖 – Autumn
This fun twist on a classic dessert is the perfect treat for all to enjoy. No matter your eating preferences or dietary restrictions, these delicious cookies are for you.
Now these may not look like store bought chocolate chip cookies, but I promise, they are SO SO good!
They’re sort of like little baby chocolate chip pancakes! We can all get on board with that, right?
Plus with the added bonus of being healthy (compared to classic cookies) you can really feel good about eating these!
What makes these healthy?
- For starters, these are WFPB (whole food plant based) cookies, meaning they’re suitable for whole food plant based eaters as they’re made with minimally processed ingredients.
- They’re low in fat, using unsweetened applesauce to replace the oil and butter typically found in cookies.
- These plant based cookies are lightly sweetened, using unrefined sugar from pure maple syrup.
- Rather than using all purpose flour, these wholesome cookies are made from oat flour. So now you can enjoy them for breakfast, too. And as an added bonus, that keeps these cookies gluten free, for those with gluten intolerances.
And just look at those deliciously, melty, chocolate chips! These were a HUGE hit with my kiddos and no one needs to know that they’re the healthiest chocolate chip cookies they’d ever eaten!
How to make them
(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Gather all your ingredients, all you need is 8 of them, plus 20 minutes to get these done!
Add the dry ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together. (photos 1-2)
Then add the wet ingredients to another bowl and mix well. (photos 3-4)
Now add the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips (if using) to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until combined. (photos 5-6)
Use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture onto a prepared baking sheet, leaving space in between each one. You should get 20 cookies. (photo 7)
Bake for 10 minutes, and then remove from the oven, and let them cool for 10 minutes, before touching them. (photo 8)
NOTE: This cool down time will help the cookies firm up and set.
Now transfer your plant based cookies to a cooling rack to continue cooling, or enjoy warm.
Storage
Keep your cookies at room temperature to enjoy within 1-2 days for the best texture.
You may store them in a sealed container and refrigerate to keep up to 1 week. Or freeze them air tight in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Common Questions
Not always. Milk chocolate chips are definitely not vegan. Some semi-sweet and most dark chocolate chips are vegan. Make sure to read the ingredients, and choose accordingly. For less sugar, use dark chocolate chips or chunks.
If you prefer, you may omit the chocolate chips. Or you may sub for raisins, dried cranberries, chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts, unsweetened coconut or chopped dates.
You bet. I always make my own by blending oats in my Vitamix. So if you don’t have any oat flour on hand, no need to rush out to the store.
Expert Tips
- If possible, weigh your flour for the most accurate results. If you do not have a kitchen scale, spoon and level your flour into your measuring cups, but do not scoop.
- For soy free, use another plant milk of choice. Almond or cashew work well here, too, if you’re not avoiding nuts.
- Your batter will look similar to pancake batter, and that’s completely normal and expected here. Remember, these are low fat plant based cookies and not your ordinary butter filled variety.
- Let your cookies cool for 10 minutes once removed from the oven, before handling. This cool down period will help them firm up and set.
More healthier cookies!
If you tried this recipe, please let me know about it in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don’t forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.
Buon appetito
Rosa
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 180 grams oat flour, gluten free if preferred approx. 1.5 cups
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- ⅓ cup soy milk
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional Fill In (But Recommended)
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the 3 dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate, medium bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips, if using, to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture onto your prepared baking tray to make approx. 20 cookies, leaving space in between each one.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy warm, or continue cooling to room temperature and enjoy.
Melanie
Delicious! Added cacao powder and a scoop of chocolate protein powder and they came out perfect!
Rosa
Fantastic! Thrilled you enjoyed these Melanie. 🙂
Victoria
These are soo yummy!! I used oat milk instead of soy and they came out great! Will be making again and again 🙂
Rosa
So glad you enjoyed these Victoria, thanks for sharing. 🙂
Lisa
Wow! These were so good I had to make a second batch before the first was even gone! Decided to add raisins along with the dark chocolate chips to the second batch! I am definitely saving this recipe! Thank you!
Rosa
Thanks so much for sharing Lisa. 🙂
Cammie
I made these today, but instead of cookies, I made them in an 8X8 pan. More cakey like, but Oh So GOOD!
Rosa
Oh, fun! Sounds great, thanks for sharing. 🙂
Elizabeth Bell
Can I use all purpose flour and skip the choclate chips?
Rosa
Hi Elizabeth, yes you may skip the chocolate chips but I haven’t tried these with all purpose flour, so I can’t say for sure. If you give it a try, please let us know how it goes.
Jim McNeely
I tried whole wheat flour, and they were spongy and awful. Really really horrible. It’s hard to believe something with chocolate chips could be that bad, but they were.
Rosa
Whole wheat flour is a very dense flour and these cookies were not tested using it. Unfortunately, the same results can’t be expected when changing the main ingredient.
Jim McNeely
No problem, I just tried it because I didn’t have any oat flour. I’m reporting this as a failed experiment, no criticism of your recipe intended at all!
Rosa
Thanks for reporting back! 🙂
kevin l youngblood
Very Good, I keep making double batches, everybody loves them.
Rosa
Thrilled to hear that Kevin. Thanks so much for the review. 🙂