The Most Amazing Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

These Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies are thick, chewy, and loaded with gooey chocolate. No one will guess they're vegan!

If you’ve been looking for the best vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe, your search is over! We’ve tested this recipe 10 times and every batch turned out great! Finally, a vegan chocolate cookie recipe that really works!

If you can’t find vegan chocolate chips or chocolate chunks in your local grocery store, search online. I know amazon sells vegan chocolate chips and chocolate bars.

The remaining dry ingredients called for in this cookie recipe are pretty basic! Flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. I haven’t tried making these gluten free, but I’ve been told by several readers that 1-for-1 gluten free flours do work well in this recipe. So if you’re gluten intolerant, it might be worth experimenting with. Almond flour and coconut flour should not be used in this recipe! They will not work.

In addition to the ingredients mentioned above, you’ll also need applesauce and non-dairy milk. I’ve had the best results with full-fat coconut milk (the kind that comes in a can), but almond milk and even soy milk will work in a pinch. I haven’t tested this recipe with homemade applesauce, but as long as it’s unsweetened, I think it should work. I also think an equal amount of very ripe mashed bananas would work as a replacement for the applesauce. But this would definitely add a banana flavor. So experiment at your own risk.

You’ll Need:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, solid (be sure it is not melted at all)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (be sure not to pack your flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (I like to use the thicker Thai variety, but any coconut milk will work)
• 2 cups chocolate chips (use vegan chocolate chips if vegan), divided
• Flaky sea salt, optional

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla, beating until well combined. Add in the coconut milk and applesauce and whisk until well combined; set aside. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; whisk well to combine.
3. Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and, using a wooden spoon or very sturdy spatula, stir until ingredients are combined. The batter will be very thick! Fold in 1 and 3/4 cups of the chocolate chips.
4. Scoop three tablespoon sized mounds of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving a few inches between each cookies for spreading. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers have set. Press remaining chocolate chips on top of warm cookies, and sprinkle with sea salt, if using. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

NOTES:
Baking

• Unlike most cookie recipes that instruct you to preheat oven to 350, these cookies call for a slightly higher oven temperature of 375. The higher temperature yields cookies that are crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside.
• I like to make these cookies BIG. And use a large cookie scoop to create the monster sized cookies you see in my photos. Of course you may make them smaller or even larger, but will need to adjust the baking time. Small cookies will bake quite fast (I suggest you start checking them around 6 minutes) and larger ones take longer to bake (I suggest you check them around 9 minutes).
• Finally, be sure you don’t over bake these cookies! They only need 9 to 12 minutes in the oven, and will firm up quite a bit as they cool. Over baked cookies will be dry and crumbly… not chewy like we want!

If the dough appears too sticky, add a little more flour, one tablespoon at a time; if the dough appears too dry, add a tablespoon of coconut milk.