These really are the best healthy chocolate chip cookies you’ll try. They’re perfectly soft and chewy, with slightly crisp edges just like the famous, beloved cookies from Mrs. Fields or Subway. But instead of being full of butter, refined sugar, and regular all-purpose flour, these healthy vegan cookies use better-for-you ingredients. They are also gluten-free, refined sugar-free, egg-free, and oil-free. Seriously! 

Even better, this recipe calls for 10 ingredients and a little bit of love, and the result is a chocolate chip cookie that can’t be beat! A batch of delicious, homemade, warm, and gooey cookies in 20 minutes flat! 

an up close shot of chocolate chip cookies on a pink baking sheet

What Makes This Recipe Great

To date, this healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe is a reader favorite and probably my most-made recipe on the site! These cookies are so good that you can’t tell they’re healthy, vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and free of any added oil or vegan butter. 

They’re decadent, rich, and buttery (thanks to almond butter). Plus, they’re crisp on the edges with a soft and chewy center. This is a one-bowl recipe with just 10 ingredients that you will make on repeat. Yum!

and overhead shot of cookies spread out on a pink speckled baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Ingredient Notes

Here’s what you need for this must-have recipe:

  • Creamy Almond Butter: This is the most important element in your cookies. Use roasted, unsalted, unsweetened almond butter with no other added ingredients. 
  • Maple Syrup and Coconut Sugar: I use a combination of maple syrup and coconut sugar for the best texture and sweetness with a depth of flavor. When I tested the cookies using just maple syrup, they lacked the deep caramel-like flavour that coconut sugar adds. 
  • Flax Egg: Make this by combining ground flax meal with water and letting it gel for a few minutes. This egg replacement works so well to make eggless chocolate chip cookies while still having that binder that eggs provide. 
  • Oat and Almond Flour: The recipe calls for a combination of oat flour and almond flour in order to make the cookies gluten-free and chewy. I recommend using fine oat flour because sometimes homemade oat flour can be clumpy and not milled finely enough. Almond flour is essential for chewiness, richness, and a buttery flavour without added butter.  
  • Vanilla Extract: Be sure to use real vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, not imitation.
  • Baking Powder + Baking Soda: These help your cookies rise a bit in the oven.
  • Chocolate Chips: (of course!). Just make sure they’re dairy-free! Brands like Enjoy Life or Hu make vegan dark chocolate chips. 
a stack of cookies next to a glass jug of milk and a pink bowl

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F while you prepare your vegan cookie dough.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk almond butter, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Gently fold in your flax egg with a spatula.
  3. Next, sift in all your dry ingredients (excluding chocolate chips), folding until the dough is even and starts to pull away from the edges of the bowl. See reference photo for texture. Add chocolate chips and refrigerate the dough if needed (see “expert tips”).
  4. Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and quickly roll into a ball shape* then lightly flatten onto a non-stick baking mat-lined tray. Leave about 2 inches between cookies as they will spread a little bit as they bake.
  5. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until tops are lightly golden brown and edges are cooked.* 
  6. Remove from oven and let cool before lifting off the tray (don’t worry, they’ll still be soft and chewy!).
a hand holding a mixing bowl filled with vegan cookie dough and a wooden spoon.

Expert Tips

Because there’s no gluten in these cookies, you don’t risk overworking the dough or making your cookies tough. However, there are a few tricks to ensuring your cookies have the perfect texture.

  • To make the best healthy vegan cookies, I strongly recommend using a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper. They can be somewhat delicate, especially right as they come out of the oven and you’ll risk breaking them if you try to scrape them off of foil or directly from a baking pan surface.
  • Next, as you’re placing your vegan cookie dough onto the baking sheet, if you run into any issues with dough sticking to your hands, try refrigerating or rolling with lightly damp hands. Work quickly, as the heat in your hands does warm the dough as well.
  • Make flat cookie-shaped discs, keeping in mind they will spread a little bit.
  • Finally, make sure you pull them from the oven before they’re fully cooked. They will continue to cook on the baking sheet for several minutes. If they don’t seem firm enough at first, wait until they cool.
  • If you’re making cookies on a hotter day, you may find your dough a little sticky. If so, you can add a touch of additional oat flour (by the tablespoon) or refrigerate the dough for about 10 minutes before prepping to bake.
healthy chocolate chip cookies on a pink lined baking sheet

Swaps & Substitutions

  • Be aware that any substitutions will impact the final outcome of your cookie. Please do your best to follow the recipe steps to a tee for the best results.
  • In a pinch, you can swap out the almond butter for tahini, cashew butter, or peanut butter. However, I find that roasted unsalted almond butter works the best. Peanut butter will impact the flavour so your cookies taste mostly like peanuts. Cashew butter tends to be a bit on the drier side, and tahini a little looser.
  • Because this is an eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe, there are no eggs included. While there are many other egg replacements out there, this recipe has been tested specifically with a flax egg, so if you try a different replacement, keep that in mind! 
a pink speckled baking sheet with layers of cookies stacked on top

Storage Tips

  • Room temperature: Once cooled completely, store these healthy chocolate chip cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to five days.
  • Freezing: You can also freeze the raw vegan cookie dough for up to six months. I recommend shaping the dough into cookie-sized balls before freezing. Then you can pop them directly into the oven, just add a few extra minutes to the baking time.
an up close photo of a stack of chocolate chip cookies with a glass jug of milk and pink bowl behind it.

Recipe FAQs

What makes these cookies the best?

Cookies are amazing treats, but the classic chocolate chip recipe is not diet, lifestyle, or allergy-friendly. These healthy vegan cookies are dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, and oil-free! They have the same soft and chewy middle with slightly crisp edges, but are kind of the cookie for everyone. The best!

Can you really make cookies without eggs?

I know it seems odd to make eggless chocolate chip cookies, especially when eggs seems like an essential ingredient. And they are! However, there are amazing vegan egg replacements out there that serve the same purpose. Without eggs (or a good replacement) the cookies can become crumbly, hard, and flat. Using the flax egg in this recipe will make fluffy, perfect, healthy vegan cookies!

If you try this recipe for these healthy chocolate chip cookies, tag me on Instagram @veggiekins so I can see your delicious re-creations and feature them! 

As always, I love when you share your reviews in the comments below, and if you make any fun substitutions, let me know how it worked out!

Print
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a pink speckled baking sheet with layers of cookies stacked on top

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies (eggless, vegan, gluten-free)


  • Author: Remy
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 1213 cookies 1x
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

These really are the best healthy chocolate chip cookies you’ll try. They’re perfectly soft and chewy, with slightly crisp edges. These healthy vegan cookies use better-for-you ingredients. They are also gluten-free, refined sugar-free, egg-free, and oil-free. Seriously! 


Ingredients

Units Scale

Instructions

  1. Start by pre-heating your oven to 350F while you prepare your cookie dough.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk almond butter, maple syrup, coconut sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Gently fold in your flax egg with a spatula.
  3. Next, sift in all your dry ingredients (excluding chocolate chips), folding until dough is even and starts to pull away from edges of the bowl. See reference photo for texture. Add chocolate chips and refrigerate dough if needed (see “expert tips”).
  4. Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and quickly roll into a ball shape* then lightly flatten onto a non-stick baking mat lined tray. Leave about 2 inches between cookies as they will spread a little bit as they bake.
  5. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until tops are lightly golden brown and edges are cooked.* Remove from oven and let cool before lifting off the tray (don’t worry, they’ll still be soft and chewy!).

Notes

Expert Tips

Because there’s no gluten in these cookies, you don’t risk overworking the dough or making your cookies tough. However, there are a few tricks to ensuring your cookies have the perfect texture.

  • To make the best healthy vegan cookies, I strongly recommend using a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper. They can be somewhat delicate, especially right as they come out of the oven and you’ll risk breaking them if you try to scrape them off of foil or directly from a baking pan surface.
  • Next, as you’re placing your vegan cookie dough onto the baking sheet, if you run into any issues with dough sticking to your hand, try refrigerating or rolling with lightly damp hands. Work quickly, as the heat in your hands does warm the dough as well. Make flat cookie-shaped discs, keeping in mind they will spread a little bit.
  • Finally, make sure you pull them from the oven before they’re fully cooked. They will continue to cook on the baking sheet for several minutes. If they don’t seem firm enough at first, wait until they cool.
  • If you’re making cookies on a hotter day, you may find your dough a little sticky. If so, you can add a touch of additional oat flour (by the tablespoon) or refrigerate the dough for about 10 minutes before prepping to bake.

Swaps & Substitutions

  • Be aware that any substitutions will impact the final outcome of your cookie. Please do your best to follow the recipe steps to a tee for the best results.
  • In a pinch, you can swap out the almond butter for tahini, cashew butter, or peanut butter. However, I find that roasted unsalted almond butter works the best. Peanut butter will impact the flavour so your cookies taste mostly like peanuts. Cashew butter tends to be a bit on the drier side, and tahini a little looser.
  • Because this is an eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe, there are no eggs included. While there are many other egg replacements out there, this recipe has been tested specifically with a flax egg, so if you try a different replacement, keep that in mind!

Storage Tips

  • Once cooled completely, store these healthy chocolate chip cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to five days.
  • You can also freeze the raw vegan cookie dough for up to six months. I recommend shaping the dough into cookie-sized balls before freezing. Then you can pop them directly into the oven, just add a few extra minutes to the baking time.

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: desserts
  • Method: baking

Keywords: healthy chocolate chip cookies, healthy vegan cookies, vegan cookie dough, eggless chocolate chip cookies, dessert, oil free, almond butter, refined sugar free, one bowl, under 30 minutes

This post may contain affiliate links. 

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Filed under: Eat, Sweet Treats

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BY Remy • May 9, 2020

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies (eggless, vegan, gluten-free)

a pink speckled baking sheet with layers of cookies stacked on top

leave a comment

  1. Carolina says:
    Hi Remy!! Can I replace the Blanched almond flour for another one? Thank you! Kisses from Brazil!
    • Remy says:
      Hi Carolina! I have had some people let me know they substituted it with brown rice flour, and it worked! Let me know what you end up doing. xo!
  2. Miki says:
    I made this today and they’re amazing! Even tho I used peanut butter instead of almond butter because I only had PB at home. Other than that I exactly followed your recipe😄 the very best part is it doesn’t required any oil. Thank you for such a great recipe😘😘😘

  3. Suzanne says:
    These are sooooooo delicious and super easy to make! I’m always a little wary on vegan cookie recipes, but these turned out so chewy and flavorful, they taste even better than a regular cookie! Thanks sm!

    • Remy says:
      I'm so glad!! Thanks so much Suzanne :) I feel the same way haha, I have been on this mission to find a gooood healthy cookie for so long and I love how these turned out!
  4. Hailey says:
    Such yummy cookies! Taste like oatmeal chocolate chip and are so chewy!

  5. LasVegan says:
    Yes, I made this recipe! Thank you so much for it. The cookies turned out PERFECT! Had to substitute almond butter with a mix of pnb and tahini and ground up my own oat flour from some rolled oats. Que bueno!

  6. Lauren says:
    Love this recipe! Making my second batch as we speak!

  7. Fatin says:
    I just made them and they are absolutely delicious. I replaced both the flaxseed egg and coconut sugar with one whole egg and brown sugar. It worked great 👏🏼 Thanks for sharing this recipe
  8. Navkiran Brar says:
    These cookies are incredible! I cannot believe they are vegan, gf, and refined sugar free. Even my husband who has a major sweet tooth was pleasantly surprised and ate more than half the batch! Will definitely be making these often. Thank you!

  9. Stella says:
    This recipe sounds so great! However, can i substitute applesauce for the almond butter? Or are there any other substitutes since I don't have any almond butter or peanut butter right now?
  10. Avie says:
    Hi Remy! Thinking of making some but I don't have almond flour at the moment. Can I replace it with more oat flour/all purpose flour? Thank you!
    • Remy says:
      That should be ok! Just make sure the batter doesn't feel too dry, if so, may need to add extra almond butter to account for that since almond flour is higher in fat content :)
  11. D says:
    i ran out of vanilla extract! :( will these taste as good if i leave it out or is there something i can sub it for? i really want to try these
  12. Ashley R Golden says:
    I just made these but I subbed the almond butter for peanut butter and almond flour with whole wheat flour. These are soooo good! Will definitely be making again. ! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!

    • Remy says:
      Hi Ashley! Thanks so much for your review, also so great to know they work with whole wheat flour. Awesome! :)
  13. Shenoa says:
    Hi Remy! Can you use normal plain flour instead of oat and almond flour?
    • Remy says:
      Hi Shenoa! I haven't tried it myself so it's hard to say, but I've seen a few comments on my YouTube video that note they used regular flour!
  14. Sarah Guay-Tremblay says:
    Bonjour! Merci pour cette belle recette! :) Just want to share that caroub chipits Works very well, very great site with Nice recipe thank you!💚

  15. Ruch says:
    Hi, thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I wanted to ask if I can substitute oat flour with something else or leave it out completely? Oat flour isn’t easily available where I live. Thank you.
    • Remy says:
      Hi Ruch! I unfortunately haven't tried with other flours so can't really say, however if you can find oats and have a high speed blender, you can finely grind rolled oats and then sift it to form a fine flour :)
  16. Katey says:
    I made these last night and Omgosh! They are SOOO good!!! Tbh I thought they'd be just alright (like the other billion recipes for healthyish cookies I've tried) but no these are freaking delicious! A little crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside!! Certainly the best vegan/gf chocolate cookie recipe, Thank you!!

    • Remy says:
      Wooo!! So happy you enjoyed Katey and honoured to get your approval on these ;) They're my personal favourite cookies too!!
  17. Would give it 10/5 stars if I could!! I've never been able to find a great vegan/GF chocolate chip cookie recipe until THIS ONE!! I am not kidding I think this will be my 8 or 9th time making it. They turn out amazing every single time and the ingredients are so simple! Thank you for this AMAZING recipe Remy!! Your friend Maddie from @foodiesontherhode :))

    • Remy says:
      You're the BEST! Thank you for the review, so so happy you liked them
      • Shreya Sathish says:
        Subbed the almond butter for peanut butter and honey for maple and followed they recipe. I have to say these cookies may replace the real non-healthy cookies one day. I am truly grateful to find this recipe and now I am on the run to find your other recipes. These were so good, what a genius idea. I love them so much. Thank you

  18. Stacey says:
    I love this recipe so much!!! I made these with regular all-purpose flour (just a couple tablespoons less than called for) and they turned out great. It was easy to make and the cookies are super addicting. I normally don't gravitate towards cookies with a softer texture, but these are an exception. I look forward to the next batch I make. (:

    • Remy says:
      Thanks Stacey! So glad you enjoyed them and thanks for the note about your substitutions--super helpful!!
  19. Cindy says:
    Hi, just wondering if the maple syrup is necessary? Thanks!
  20. Lesley says:
    OH MY LORD. These have got to be the BEST cookies I've ever made and tasted!! Thank you so much!

  21. Angella F says:
    Hi. I don't want to use almond butter and flaxseed. Is there any subtitute? If I use oil, how much measurement that I need?

  22. Ava says:
    These are fucking delicious but I was wondering, do you know how many calories it has? I'm trying a low calorie diet but I don't know how much calories it has. It was delicious tho and you can eat the batter by it self and it will still taste good.

  23. Alex Carroll says:
    Hi! I just made these and they are amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe I love your blog so much! Also I substituted coconut flour instead of almond and oat flour and it turned out great! Just had to add some almond milk to wet the batter :)

  24. Angel Wang says:
    They were great! I'm not vegan, but they tasted so similar to a normal chocolate chip cookie! I was so impressed that I finished them all because they were so delicious...

  25. J says:
    Just made them and they were a little too sticky to make into balls... tried refrigerating but worked better when i added a tbsp of Oat Flour. Made them as suggested, but I added a scoop of extra collagen to the dry ingredients, banged the baking sheet about halfway through ( they were looking a tad cakey in appearance), and added some flakey maldon salt on top. They deflated and taste absolutely delicious! Thank you Remy for your amazing recipe :)
  26. Joy says:
    Hi! This cookie recipe is awesome! How many calories approx does each cookie have though?
    • Remy says:
      I don't do calories in my recipes, but you're always welcome to calculate it as all the ingredients and quantities are all listed :)
  27. Marina Lorinczi says:
    Omg so amazingly tasty! Just baked them today. Couldn’t stop eating them! Yum!

  28. Jasmine says:
    I'm so glad to have stumbled across a recipe that uses very accessible ingredients! These cookies taste amazing; my mom and I really enjoy them. Thank you so much! I will definitely be making these from now on, for both family and friends...and of course myself :)

  29. Youna says:
    OMG!! They turned out sooo delicious !! I only had a tbsp of almond butter and the rest was PB... but I will bake them again, and again, and again!! Thank you very much (all my family liked these 😊 )

  30. Emi says:
    Hi I have been looking for a good healthy chocolate chip recipe for the longest time and all of the recipes have been ok but these look sooooo good and I was wondering if I could replace the coconut sugar with maple syrup?
    • Remy says:
      Hi Emi, you can substitute it with brown sugar, or other granulated sugar as I noted in the recipe. The ingredients are completely different in consistency (granulated sugar vs. liquid maple syrup) so it cannot work as a substitute. With that said, the recipe was developed with both ingredients for a reason and the final product is not overkill in sweetness if that's what you're worried about :)
    • Nama says:
      hey tnx for the recipe! Do you think it should work with tqhini instead of almond butter?
  31. Emi says:
    Can I use maple syrup instead of sugar
  32. Mina says:
    Hey Remy, thank you for this amazing recipe! They remind me of Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies when they're fresh from the oven. My fam keeps wanting me to make them 😭.

  33. Charlotte says:
    My go to!! Family favorite <33 Thank you Remy for this recipe!

  34. Marie says:
    Hii! Absolutely LOVED this recipe, now that I am trying to get into a more healthy lifestyle haha. Do you think that there would be any difference if I use homemade almond flour?? (not blanched tho)

    • Remy says:
      Hi!! I haven't tried that myself so can't 100% say, but maybe try to get it as finely milled as possible. Let me know if you do try it
  35. Glory says:
    Hi Remy! I made this before and was SO AMAZED! Hands down the best healthy cookie recipe! Just wondering, would it be okay to sub the flax egg with a chia egg? I'm not currently at home so don't have access to flax seeds :(
    • Remy says:
      Hi Glory! Seeing this super late, but I haven't tried it myself so can't vouch, but let me know if you do try and if it works!
  36. Sarah says:
    Can I use almond meal instead of blanched almond flour? I'm really looking forward to trying this recipe!
    • Remy says:
      Hi Sarah! I haven't tried that, but if you find it ending up too sticky batter-wise, perhaps you could add oat flour to compensate. Let me know if you do end up trying!
  37. Jaimie says:
    Hi! Looks delicious. Any recommendations for a similar recipe with no sugar at all?
    • Remy says:
      Unfortunately not, but you may be able to google some kinda of sugar free chocolate chip cookie recipes to find one to fit your needs though! :)
  38. Evelyn Kim says:
    Hey Miss Remy, I baked these cookies five times last summer, and I loved them every time! I live in a yoga center / community space now that has a toaster oven, but no oven. So I want to confirm: will baking these cookies in a toaster oven work?

    • Remy says:
      Hi Evelyn! I have not tried myself yet, but if you're able to get the temperature and time equivalent, it might work! Let me know if you do try. Curious to find out now ;)
  39. Michelle Lee says:
    I used peanut butter instead, but turned out great! My family loves it when I make healthy cookies, so this was a great addition. Thanks Remy! <3

  40. Amy says:
    Is there a replacement for almond butter that I could use, if I were to use only 1/4 cup almond butter?
  41. Krystal says:
    Discovered this recipe 2 weeks ago and made it 5 times already 🙈. Slightly addicted! Sooo good! Thanks for sharing.

  42. Gillian says:
    Great recipe! I added a tablespoon of molasses (suuuuper great addition), used agave instead, peanut butter instead, and only almond flour. Refrigerated for 20 mins and must have wet hands when handling dough. They came out gooey and amazing. Just wish I doubled the recipe!

  43. Martina says:
    I can’t believe that one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes is healthy!

  44. Artemis says:
    Hello May I could replace flax egg with "chia seed egg" or it wouldn't work for this recipe!? P. S. Thank you for this clever recipe!
  45. asuman says:
    LOVED IT! Even tho I didn't follow the recipe exactly, I think the measurements are just perfect. I changed almond butter with pb and only used 1 tbs, for the rest i used coconut oil (not melted but ready to easily scoop) for about 2 tbs. As a sweetener i used 2 tbs of coconut sugar and also 2 tbs of agave syrup. Also added 1 tbs of unsweetened almond milk but idk if it helped for a chewey texture. But again, I think I reached the same consistency so recipe is just perfect! I was craving for a choclate chip cookie and this was beyond my expectation (also my first try). Thank you!!

  46. Ashley Chan says:
    Hi Remy, Can the oat flour be substituted for chickpea flour? If so, what would be the best ratio?
  47. Cindy says:
    Amazing! I bake mine for 17-20 minutes (still a bit chewy with crispy edges). I have also experimented by using oats and raisins instead of chocolate chips which turned out great. Most recently I added some cocoa powder, spices, and cocoa nibs to the original recipe and it was sooo good! They are always crowd pleasers. Thanks so much for the great healthy recipe!

  48. Rabia says:
    DELICIOUS My non-vegan father loveeeeed it

  49. Lizelle Ilagan says:
    Thank you for this delicious recipe! I was so happy to find this gluten free and vegan recipe. One of my kids is gluten intolerant and now can enjoy her favorite chocolate chip cookies again.

  50. Jeanie says:
    These were excellent!!! I have been vegan for years, and love my cookies in the evening, but i wanted a healthier, oil free cookie. This is it!! My husband, son and I gobbled these up in minutes! This recipe will be a regular in our house. Thank you!!

  51. Romeo Romeo says:
    Made these today and they came out great, reminds me of tahini cookies. These have a nice texture. I made spice chocolate cookies too, but those are a work and progress. Maybe I made a mistake with that one because I was making both around the same time. But these almond butter cookies were the winner! Best
  52. McCall says:
    I can officially stop looking for the perfect GF, V chocolate chip cookie recipe (honestly...I've tried sooo many) because THESE ARE IT. Crispy on the outside, chewy inside, and easier than heck to make. I bow to your baking prowess and say thannkkk youuu for sharing The. Perfect. Recipe. xx

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Hi there, I’m Remy! Welcome to Veggiekins Blog, home to nourishing vegan + gluten-free recipes and tips to live your best balanced and holistic life. I’m a human on a mission to empower you to be well and be kind to your mind, body and soul with the healing power of plants.

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