The Best Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies. Made with brown rice flour and almond butter, these are so soft, chewy and with a moist fudgy interior! You only need 8 ingredients and 20 minutes to make these! You would never guess they are oil-free!
BEST VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
I have a lot of oil-free vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes here on the blog and these Crispy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies made with almond flour are a huge reader favorite. These I wanted to share a classic and perfect vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe that really tastes like a traditional cookie made with butter, oil, white flour and white sugar, but so much healthier. These are amazing and so authentic!
Bonus is that these are gluten-free and oil-free and only 8 ingredients. You can learn all my tips on How to Bake Without Oil! You won’t miss the butter or white sugar, I can guarantee that. These are made with unrefined sweetener maple syrup. They are moist, fudgy and have an irresistible crispy edge. They are also ready in about 20 minutes!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(Only 8 main ingredients needed. Full details and measurements on the recipe card below.)
- brown rice flour: This keeps these vegan chocolate chip cookies gluten-free.
- roasted almond butter: This replaces the oil and makes these cookies so fudgy and moist. You can use store-bought or homemade. If using store-bought, make sure it is a smooth runny kind, not a stiff or thick one. I recommend the Trader Joe’s almond butter and the Target Good and Gather almond butter brands.
- maple syrup
- molasses: This adds a wonderful depth of flavor and texture to the cookies.
- coconut sugar
- baking powder
- vanilla
- chocolate chips
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
Step 2: Add the brown rice flour, baking powder, salt and coconut sugar to a large bowl and whisk very well to ensure there are no lumps. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Step 3: In a separate medium bowl, combine the almond butter, syrup, vanilla, molasses and water. Stir until completely smooth.
Step 4: Pour over the dry ingredients and stir for a couple of minutes until all the dough comes together and no more flour is visible. It should be very sticky and thick, yet SOFT, not stiff.
Step 5: Drop 2 tablespoons worth of batter (or use a cookie scoop) onto the pan about 2 inches apart to allow room for them to spread.
Step 6: Take a small piece of parchment paper and press each cookie down to between 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Place extra chocolate chips on top.
Step 7: Bake 1 pan at a time for 10-11 minutes until the edges are turning golden brown.
HOW TO STORE THESE COOKIES
These vegan gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are so buttery and moist and will stay moist and delicious for 3 days, as long as they are sealed in an airtight container. They will soften more as they are stored, but are still amazing.
ARE CHOCOLATE CHIPS VEGAN?
These days, many chocolate chip brands sell dairy-free options. Many, however, contain milk, so make sure to read the label first. Enjoy Life brand is labeled vegan but there are brands at Trader Joes, Sprouts and many grocery stores that simply use cocoa, cocoa butter, vanilla and sugar, just read the label!
SUBSTITUTIONS
- Can sub the maple syrup with agave if desired.
- Can sub sunbutter for nut-free, just make sure it is really smooth and keep in mind that it will yield a sunbutter taste.
MORE VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPES
- Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Crispy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 5 Ingredient Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Grain-free Chocolate Coconut Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Molasses Cookies
- Vegan Gluten-free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Best Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (120g) brown rice flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons (30g) coconut sugar
- 3/4 cup (180g) semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips (plus extra to put on top if desired)
- 3/4 cup (192g) super creamy roasted almond butter**
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) pure maple syrup*
- 2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (20g) regular unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap, I used Grandma's molasses)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) water
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C)and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Add the brown rice flour, baking powder, salt and coconut sugar to a large bowl and whisk very well to ensure there are no lumps. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the almond butter, syrup, vanilla, molasses and water. Stir until completely smooth.
- Pour over the dry ingredients and stir for a couple of minutes until all the dough comes together and no more flour is visible. It should be very sticky and thick. (see photo)
- Drop 2 tablespoons worth of batter (or use a cookie scoop) onto the pan about 2 inches apart to allow room for them to spread. Place only 9 on a sheet so they don't get overcrowded. Now, depending on the thickness of your almond butter used (as some are really drippy) it will affect how stiff/soft your cookie scoops are. If your cookie scoops slowly spread out once dropped onto the pan, then you don't need to flatten them. If they hold their shape (as in the photo), take a small piece of parchment paper and press each cookie down to between 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Smooth and piece together the edges to a round shape. Place extra chocolate chips on top of each cookie, if desired.
- Bake 1 pan at a time for 10-11 minutes until the edges are turning golden brown. Mine were perfect at 11 minutes.
- Cool 10 minutes on the pan and then cool another 10 on a cooling rack. They will crisp and firm up as they cool. You must wait for them to cool at least 10 minutes or they can crumble because of the rice flour, but will be fine after cooled. Keep sealed so they don't dry out.
Notes
- Can sub the maple syrup with agave if desired.
- Can sub sunbutter for nut-free, just make sure it is really smooth and keep in mind that it will yield a sunbutter taste)
Nutrition
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I am new to the whole plant based baking. I came across your site on FB and made these cookies. They were super easy and delicious. My 8 year old daughter who does not eat plant based LOVED these cookies and so did my husband and father in law. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes! Everything looks delicious.
Yay! So very happy to hear this wonderful feedback Gretchen! So glad they were an all-around hit! Thank you so much for sharing!
I don’t use rice flower but am debating between using just chickpea flour or my usual blend of chickpea flour, teff flour and potato starch. I’ll be using cashew butter as well. Any suggestions on the flours?
Hi Alexandra! Since I wrote this recipe based on using brown rice flour, unfortunately I cannot make a suggestion of another flour since I’ve only tried the rice. I do know from what I’ve heard, that chickpea flour has a VERY strong taste and also I have used teff, and it is very strong as well. I would think it would ruin the taste of the cookies, that’s my guess. I just can’t say if it would work or not. Also, using cashew butter instead of almond, will additionally make them drier/stiffer since cashew butter has much less natural oil than almond. All those changes will definitely alter the result. Any reason you don’t want to use almond? As far as flours, it would be best to use the rice flour or another one that is a very similar texture. You can try oat flour, because that will not leave an off taste, but you will probably need closer to a cup than 3/4 since it’s not nearly as finely ground as rice flour.
Thanks for responding so quickly Brandi! I gave it a go since our family has had some allergy issues in the past with rice and almond. Cashew butter and chickpea flour worked amazingly well, though I obviously can’t compare it to the original recipe. I cooked mine for about double the time you suggested and they were more soft than crispy but incredibly chewy and rich. Everybody absolutely loved them! Looking forward to trying out some more of your recipes! Just out of curiosity do you think it was the switch to vegan that improved you and your husband’s health or do you think it was the switch to oil-free vegan? We’ve just made the switch to oil free in the new year so I’m curious to hear your experience. Thanks again, Brandi!
Oh, I’m so happy to hear that Alexandra! Thank you so much for the feedback, so glad they still worked out!
Oh, and it was definitely the switch to veganism plant-based, not just vegan, since there is tons of vegan junk food out there. We rarely eat out and I cook everything from my blog 90% of the time. Eliminating the animal products was life changing for both of us, but especially my husband’s gout. Additionally, removing the oil further helped because oils are inflammatory, not to mention, extremely high calorie and not in a good way. I’m a big believer in not using oils in my cooking, but I do not stress about it if I’m eating out, since it’s not too often. I try to enjoy my life, make good choices but not worry myself if I’m not perfect. Hope that makes sense!
I made these cookies last night and they are sooo amazing! I didn’t have molasses so I added an extra tablespoon of maple syrup and one less tablespoon of coconut sugar. They came out absolutely perfect. Thanks so much for an amazing recipe!
This feedback makes me so happy to hear Sarah, thank you so much for letting me know! I really loved hearing it!
Another incredible recipe! These are my husbands new favorite cookie!!
Woohoo! Love to hear that Tina, thank you so much for the amazing feedback!!
I already posted about them on my blog & on Instagram but wanted to comment on here too–these are SO DELICIOUS–thanks so much for the recipe! I can’t wait to make them again. Also your photos are gorgeous!
You made them so beautifully Penny! Thank you so much for making them and blogging about them and leaving such a wonderful review!! Thank you so much!
Excellent! Rich and chewy, easy to make, and taste just as good after being frozen! I was very impressed by this recipe and already have it on the list of goodies to keep on hand for the upcoming holidays. CRAZY GOOD COOKIES!!!!!
Yay Aoife! So happy you loved these, your review made my day!
My absolute favorite and always “go-to” cookies!! Just made a batch and enjoying it with my coffee! Thank YOU!
Yay Lana! Best news ever, thank you so much!!
Once again, you do not disappoint. I offered to make cookies for a daughter’s recital performance and today she told me, “Oh and they need to get gluten free!” I didn’t even blink, just headed over to your blog for something I knew would be extensively tested, have lots of good feedback in the form of comments and would be delicious. Check, check, check, nailed it! Now I have to convince my daughters to let them out of the house for the recital before they eat them all! Thanks again, Brandi!
Yay! Thank you so much Elyse for the amazing review! That makes me so happy to hear, so glad they were a hit!
Excellent!! I made one mistake…had blackstrap molasses in the cupboard and had to use that but they still had a wonderful taste and perfect texture. I will try again with regular molasses. Thanks Brandi.
Yay! SO excited you loved these so much, thank you very much Andrea for the lovely review!
Hi! can i use coconut butter or shortening insted the butter?
thank you
Hi Maria! Do you mean the almond butter? Because there is no actual butter in this recipe. If so, then unfortunately, coconut butter would not be a good replacement for the almond butter. Almond butter is much thicker and texturally, coconut butter would completely melt and make the cookies rather flat and change the result. Since the dry and liquid ratio are written based on using a lot of almond butter, a nut butter needs to be used here. I’ve had readers try cashew butter and sunbutter, both with success. For best results, a really creamy smooth almond butter is recommended. Or, sunbutter if you need nut-free and don’t mind a sunbutter taste!
Hello Brandi! I’m 17 weeks pregnant and I even that I’m not having crazy cravings, today I was feeling like having cookies but I didn’t want to buy the one’s in the shop so I’ve just made these cookies. The colour of the dough is darker than yours but they taste very very yummy!
I had to vary a few ingredients I didn’t have almond butter and i used peanut instead and the same with the sugar I didn’t use coconut sugar. I had blackstrap in my pantry but you said not to blackstrap. I had molasses but not in liquid form… I took the risk and I added it. Phewww….all good ha!
Brandi thank you so much for sharing your lovely and healthy recipes, you have make a very happy pregnant woman today!! 🙂
Greetings from London xxx
SO so happy you loved these Esther! Thank you so much for making them!! The molasses you used may have altered the color a bit, but glad it still turned out fab!! Congrats on your pregnancy!
Vegan for about 7 months and most desserts seem to use maple syrup and dates. I choose not to use them as I am diabetic. If I use granular sugar substitute such as Sukrin I am wondering if it will affect the outcome. Will it work? Should I use a little more liquid? Thank you!
Hi Sharon! Yes, I love maple syrup since it is a natural sweetener and gives incredible flavor to baked goods. I have no idea what sukrin is or what it tastes like, so I can’t give advice on to how much you should use or what the outcome would be, but if you sub the 6 tablespoons of syrup, then you would need to add another liquid, like a milk in it’s place, maybe a tad less since milk is runnier than maple syrup. And still use the 3 tablespoons of dry sweetener as well. Not how much extra you would need of the sukrin in place of the syrup to reach the same sweetness, maybe 4 tablespoons? But I have NO idea how sweet that stuff is so it would definitely be something you would have to experiment with.
Hi there!
These look incredible!! We aren’t GF, so I’m wondering if I can sub all purpose plain flour 1:1?
Thank you!
Hi Pauline, I’ve never tried it with all-purpose so I’m not sure entirely, but likely it should work just fine. Sub with the same amount 3/4 cup but the weight of all-purpose flour is different, so the weight amount will be 96g 🙂
These are amazing! Most gluten free cookies ive made have a weird consistency. The texture and consistency of these is perfect and I like them more than my regular vegan choco chip recipe!!
Wow! Yay Sora! So thrilled you loved these so much!
This is really amazing, thanks for sharing this with us.
So glad you enjoyed them, thank you for making them!
These are amazing ! My son and I are eating them now.
Changed the coconut palm sugar for brown rice syrup. Added aboit a 1/4 cup or less of flour.
I love these! These will be saved amd re made often! Thank you so much for this yummy treat.
Awesome Nancy, I’m so glad you and your son love these! Glad the sugar swap worked out well too! Thank you so much for making them!
So yummy and easy to make, I only have 1 Cookie sheet (pan) so I used a big glass baking dish for the second batch 😟 big mistake, I didn’t know if it needed longer time to bake and was affraid to over cook, so I took them out after 11 minutes 😭 even waiting 10 minutes for cooling down thinking they might dry up and stay together,,, so I re-heat the oven 350 and put them back until they turn a little golden color aroung the edge, they were a little cryspier and not as most but still good. I’m getting more baking sheets tomorrow! Back to the first batch YUMMY PERFFECT IN EVERY WAY 👍💗
I’m so glad you loved these Diane! Oh yes, anything taller than a cookie sheet will steam them moreso than actually bake them. So you can just eat them with a spoon like that, haha! Honestly, you can just bake 1 pan at a time and let the remaining cookie batter sit, which will totally be fine!
I can’t stop baking cookies lately thanks to your blog! These are so good, I love the hint of molasses flavor <3
Haha, good problem to have! I’m so glad you love these Penny!
I felt I needed to increase the salt a fair amount but otherwise followed the recipe exactly using my kitchen scale. Turned out great! Thanks!!
Glad you enjoyed them! Hmmm, that’s odd, there is enough salt for the cookies to yield an overall balanced flavor but not so much that you would actually taste salt, which we don’t want. Never heard that before, haha!
Hi there! Sometimes baking with sunbutter causes the end product to turn green. If I used sunbutter in this recipe, do you know if my cookies will end up being green? Thanks!
I haven’t tested these personally with sunbutter, but in my experience, recipes make with baking SODA causes them to turn more green than just baking powder. There will likely be some green in these since so much nut butter is used and it will react with the baking powder, but it usually doesn’t set in for several hours (the color change). They will have a strong sunbutter taste since 3/4 cup is used, so if you don’t mind that, then give them a shot!
Love, love these cookies! Made yesterday for an all omni event and they all got eaten quickly!!! My go to cho chip cookies!!
That is wonderful to hear Tracy!
These cookies are great, I can barely even taste the molasses. My husband is a chocolate chip cookie snob, he liked them!!
So glad you enjoyed them!!
These cookies were fantastic! I didnt have coconut sugar so used date sugar. And I didnt have brown rice flour so used white rice flour. My only goof was I bought unsweetened chocolate chips but the cookie dough was so good that they were still good! Next time will not make that mistake again. Thanks again!
SO very happy to hear you loved them Connie!
Hi Brandi, do you have any suggestions for using a different flour? I can’t have rice. Maybe oat flour? Would I still use 3/4 cup? Thanks so much!
Hi Jess! So sorry I’m just seeing this! You can try oat flour but since it’s more absorbent, you may need more, possibly up to a cup, which would be 128 grams of superfine oat flour. I would try that! Or, you can make any of these instead that are made without rice flour 🙂 I have SO many chocolate chip cookie recipes, haha.
https://thevegan8.com/vegan-gluten-free-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/
https://thevegan8.com/grain-free-vegan-chocolate-chip-cookies/
https://thevegan8.com/cashew-butter-cookies-vegan-gluten-free/
https://thevegan8.com/crispy-vegan-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Does date syrup work as a sub for molasses? I try to avoid it so I don’t even have it. Just looking for a last minute cookie and these sound yummy.
I haven’t tried it and the flavor is different, but it’s a similar consistency so it might work. They just might be less crispy
I don’t care for almond butter. Can I substitute peanut butter?
Hi! I would make these instead then since they are created using peanut butter. Since peanut butter is quite thicker and not nearly as smooth/runny as almond butter, I don’t think an even swap would work as well here, so make these instead 🙂 https://thevegan8.com/vegan-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/
wow wow just wow. you are amazing.
love that these cookies use brown rice flour as that’s all I’ve got on hand right now! Turned out really well. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Will definitely make again, thanks!
Can we sub the molasses with honey?
You are welcome to try it, but keep in mind that molasses is much more bitter and acidic, so it helps the cookies to spread by reacting with the baking powder. I don’t use honey, it is much sweeter, but hopefully will work fine here since it is a small amount.
I made these from the cookbook with cashew butter and used regular flour (both substitutes Brandi suggested). I literally cannot believe I’ve had the cookbook a year and JUST now made these! They are literally SO good! All the non vegans LOVED them! Every recipe Brandi creates is delicious. Make these NOW!!! Best chocolate chip cookie ever, vegan or not!
Yay DeShay!! So happy you loved those from my book and they are the best you’ve had! They are truly my all-time fave chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever tasted in my life, so I’m so happy you agree, haha! Thank you!
These are so delicious! I made them this morning and added finely chopped crystallized ginger along with tbe chocolate chips. Divine!!!
-Amy
Oh I love candied ginger so much in cookies! Sounds delicious!!
Here I go, making these again….with diced crystallized ginger of course!!! Double batch this time! – in the oven right now. Can’t wait!!! Thanks for all that you share with the world, Brandi!!!!
-Amy
Aww that’s amazing Amy! Ginger is so yummy!
Sounds delicious!! Just looking for a last minute cookie and these sound yummy.
These are soooooo yummy, so rich and chewy, I love the almond butter as a replacement to butter. I’m hooked! Thank you so much for creating such deliciousness from wholesome ingredients. I applaud your brilliance!!
Great recipe. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Kids ate a few even before it got cool. I used less almond butter than called for (not enough in my jar haha). Also didn’t have molasses, so I used coconut nectar instead