These Classic Vegan and Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies are irresistibly soft inside with that slightly crispy exterior we all know and love. Packed with gooey chocolate chips and made with just 10 ingredients, they’re ready to devour in under 30 minutes!

Call me old fashioned, but I still enjoy baking from a recipe card that you can pull out of a well-loved and moderately organized recipe box, kind of like checking out a book using a paper library card. (Anyone remember those?!) The card with the most splatters, bent corners, and scribbles in my box is a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe that came with my decades old Kitchen Aid. It’s priceless and I guard it with my life.

Now that my family is vegan, it was high time to put this recipe back into action by making a few simple changes. I’m very pleased to report that the flavor and texture of the original recipe shine through in my vegan / gluten-free version. So, grab your aprons my friends and let’s make cookie history!

How do you make cookies vegan?

Create a flax egg

A flax egg replaces chicken’s eggs in this recipe and helps the dough stick together. To make a flax egg, scoop 1½ tablespoons of flaxseed meal (which is ground flaxseed) into a small bowl. Then add 3 tablespoons of water and whisk like your life depended on it. In a short amount of time, the flax egg will froth and gel, looking viscous. Set aside to thicken while you prep your other ingredients. Then use it just like you would use a regular egg.

Use vegan butter

Plant-based butter is made by mixing water with a combination of plant-derived oils. (palm fruit, canola oil, and olive oil) Other ingredients are added such as pea protein and natural flavor. It performs remarkably similarly to dairy-based butter. I use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks in this recipe. The brand is well trusted and easy to find.

Let the butter soften slightly before creaming. You want to be able to gently press your finger in it and make a dent while the butter still feels cold. Vegan butter is much softer than dairy-based butter, even straight from the fridge. If your butter would spread easily on toast, it’s too soft and needs to firm up in the fridge a bit.

Use dairy-free chocolate chips

This is the fun part and there are SO many choices, so go with chocolate chips that speak to you. I love Enjoy Life chocolate chips but I’ll also use dark chocolate chips from the bulk section at my local natural grocer.

How do you make cookies gluten-free?

Use 1 to 1 gluten-free baking flour

Gluten-free flour has come a long way in the past 5 years, making it really easy to swap out regular flour for a gluten-free variety with consistent results. The flour I use in this recipe is Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. There are loads of gluten-free flours out there but stick with this one (or a similar mixture) for perfect texture.

I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your flour and sugar, if you have one. Then you’ll know you’re baking with the correct amount. If you are using a measuring scoop instead of a scale, spoon the flour into your scoop and then level off the top with the flat end of a knife. For brown sugar, pack the sugar firmly into the measuring scoop and level off the top.

Is your mouth watering yet? Mine sure is!

These irresistible cookies are:

Perfectly sweet
Slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside
Loaded with gooey chocolate chips
Easy to make in under 30 minutes
Eat the whole batch, delicious!

Even with Valentine’s Day and all the chocolate last week I still couldn’t resist whipping up a batch to share. I feel like I’m walking down memory lane with each mouthwatering bite. I hope this recipe brings you as much joy as it has for me and my family!

Keep scrolling for step-by-step instructions and photos!

Ingredients for Vegan and Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1½ tablespoons of flaxseed meal (ground flaxseed)
3 tablespoons of water
½ cup (4 oz.) of vegan butter, slightly softened (see notes for oil-free option)
½ cup (100g) of organic cane sugar
½ cup (100g) of organic light brown sugar firmly packed
1½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
1½ cups (222g) of 1 to 1 gluten-free baking flour (like Bob’s Red Mill)
½ teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of fine sea salt
¾ cup (135g) of dairy-free chocolate chips

Makes 16 cookies using a 3-tablespoon sized scoop. This recipe can easily be doubled.

How to make this recipe

Steps 1-3

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F (190 C / gas mark 5). Line 1-2 cookies sheets with parchment paper.
2. Create your “flax egg” by energetically whisking the ground flaxseed meal with water in a small bowl. Set aside to gel and thicken. You can use a fork or a small whisk for this task.
3. Sift or whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt into a separate bowl and set aside.

Step 4

4. In a medium mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the vegan butter, cane, and brown sugar until there are no lumps of butter and it looks fluffy. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. This will take about 3 minutes. Then add in the flax egg and vanilla and blend until well light and creamy, 1 minute more.

Step 5

5. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until it forms cookie dough that is soft, yet thick enough to stick to a spoon if turned over.

Step 6

6. Mix in the chocolate chips by hand, using a wooden spoon. You want an even number of chips in every bite, so mix thoroughly without overworking the dough.

Step 7

7. Use a 3-tablespoon scoop (or a spoon) to make 16 same-sized cookie dough mounds. Place them on your prepared cookie sheets spaced 2” apart. They will spread out as they cook, so there is no need to flatten them.

Steps 8-9

8. Bake on the middle oven rack for 12 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool for 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. They will look poofy and undercooked straight from the oven. This is totally normal. The cookies will “settle” into that classic cookie shape and texture as they cool down.

Enjoy warm, for a gooey, chocolate chip melty cookie experience. Or when cooled for a crispy on the outside, irresistibly soft on the inside cookie.

Oil-free option

You can use chilled coconut cream in place of vegan butter in this recipe. The cookies will spread out a bit more but will taste just as delicious. To get coconut cream, scoop the hard cream from a chilled can (13.5 oz. / 398 ml.) of full-fat coconut milk. (the kind that comes in a can not a carton) The can will need to chill in the fridge for at least 24 hours for the cream to separate and harden.

How to Store

The cookies will continue to firm up as they sit and are best eaten within a few days. Store, when cool, in an airtight container. To freeze the cookies, place them in single layers, separated with a piece of parchment, in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Gently thaw and enjoy!

Flour substitutions

Feel free to swap regular all-purpose baking flour for gluten-free baking flour. If you are using gluten-free flour, I would stick with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour or a brand that has the same mix as Bob’s for a consistent cookie texture. For tips on measuring flour accurately, see blog post.

Sugar substitutions

I’ve tested this recipe using beet sugar in place of cane sugar, which was indistinguishable. I also tested coconut sugar in place of brown sugar which had a similar texture but a less sweet and caramelly flavor. Date sugar will not work in this recipe.