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 am not kidding when I say these are the best vegan gluten-free chocolate chip cookies! I have a lot of cookie recipes on this blog, a lot. And lots with chocolate chips, like these Crispy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies made with almond flour are a huge reader favorite.
For these though, 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. I love the Whole Foods 365 brand 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
THE 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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Hi 🙂 Going to make these with pb (as it’s all I have) for my husband and daughter, with a bit less sugar. Might try with even less sugar for me once I have made sunbutter. I need more fat, not less so any tips to add some oil to this and your other recipes? (Allergic to nuts)
Thanks!!
I’m about to take your sunflower seed brownies out of the oven. I have reduced the maple and choc chips and the batter was still Amazing! Fingers crossed.
Hi Joy! These cookies are very high in fat already from all the almond butter and chocolate chips, so I wouldn’t worry about that in these. But for other recipes, you can always add some oil if you like to liquids I guess, it’s hard to say without knowing which specific recipe. I am not anti-fat, which is why I use nuts, seeds and avocados. I wouldn’t reduce the sugar too much or they can come out bitter, these cookies are not overly sweet. I hope the brownies turn out sweet enough, because the wet batter is always sweeter than once baked! The maple syrup helps keep them moist too so I hope they turn out moist and fudgy. Let me know and good luck!
THANK YOU! I was so happy to find this recipe, as I have quite a few food allergies, and it’s hard to find cookie recipes that I can enjoy. I was skeptical at first, but these cookies turned out beautifully! I also halved the recipe, and they still came out well. If anyone is wondering, I used “Once Again” unsweetened sunflower seed butter in place of almond butter. Again, thanks so much for a great recipe! 🙂
Yay Katie! Was so happy to read your amazing feedback! So thrilled you loved them, thank you so much!
OMG Brandi these are spectacular!!! I can’t believe it took me so long to make these! So easy and hands down the best chocolate chip cookie I ever had! Thank you for always coming up with the best recipes!
Thank you so very much Diana for such amazing feedback! Wow the best ever?! So happy to hear it! You rock, thank you!
My husband and I love these! I make at a least one batch a week 🙂
So awesome to hear that Amy, thank you so much for the feedback!
Your recipes are my absolute FAVE Brandi! Subbed the almond butter for hazelnut, pecan and peanut butters and the molasses for brown rice malt syrup and they turned out absolutely dreamy – soft, chewy and sweet. Almost can’t believe they are gluten, oil and refined sugar free! Xx
Thank you so much Celina! I’m so happy you loved these so much, thank you for your kind words!
Forgot to leave 5 stars! SO . DANG. GREAT!
Thank you so much Travis!!
I made a batch of these two days ago and they were delicious Brandi! Some of the best gluten-free cookies I’ve had. Can’t wait to make them for my brother who has celiac! I even dropped a few off to my neighbor and she loved them. we polished off the entire batch in a day, so will definitely be making another batch soon. I love how detailed you are in your instructions!
Wow, thank you so much Anjali! I’m so so happy to hear these were such a hit! They have been wildly popular with family members and none of them are vegan or gluten-free, so they are just yummy cookies for everybody! Thank you so much, I hear that often, I’m so glad my instructions help so much, I really want to make my recipes super easy for people!
What brand of almond butter do you use?
Hi Candy! I make my own. Here is the instructions how I make it on this post, just eliminate all the spices, sugar and salt just to make regular almond butter. https://thevegan8.com/2014/06/16/homemade-cinnamon-ginger-almond-butter/
I noticed you said not blackstrap on the molasses but that’s all I can find near me. Does it make a huge difference?
Hi Karen! The molasses is there just to add extra binding and chewy texture, not to taste, so I think blackstrap should be okay, it is just much stronger in flavor, so you may just slightly taste molasses and may make the cookies darker, but should be fine 🙂
Hey, Cookie Queen! I made these again and because I didn’t have homemade almond butter, I used crunchy one. They turned out great with an extra crunch. Thank you so much! Love this recipe and they are my favorite cookies.
Haha, I love the title “cookie queen” that’s what my hubby calls me, lol! So glad to hear it works with crunch almond butter too, great idea!
Love, love, love! Thank you, Brandi! I have made these cookies several times now and we absolutely love them! They are so fragrant, chewy and amazingly delicious. I did not have coconut sugar on hand this time around, so I made them with just maple syrup. They turned out perfect. Thank YOU!
I’m so very happy to hear that Lana, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback!! So glad to hear they work well with maple syrup too!
These cookies are so perfect. They are out of this world delicious. They are crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Cookies don’t get any better than this. 🙂 They were a huge hit with friends and family. Thank you so much Brandi for creating such for working so hard to create such awesome and easy recipes. I love impressing the people I love with great vegan treats. My brother even said they were delicious and couldn’t tell they were vegan. And believe me that is a huge compliment coming from my brother 😀
So happy to hear that Christina, thank you so much for leaving such incredible feedback!!
A quick question actually. I noticed this recipe calls for coconut sugar. Do you recommend grinding the coconut sugar for this recipe like you recommend for your sugar cookie recipe? Or is it ok to keep the sugar course? What brand coconut sugar do you use? The one I have is pretty course and I am wondering if maybe it is better to get the same one you have for the same texture.
Hi Christina! No, you don’t need to grind it for this. The only reason it’s needed to grind for the sugar cookies is because of how light those are and the coconut sugar didn’t work as well in them without grinding prior. These you won’t even notice since they are a brown color. Any coconut sugar is fine, mine is really coarse too. I’ve used many brands and they all work. Come back and let me know how they turn out, thank you Christina! xx
Yummy these look incredible and I am going to make these on Christmas eve. I can’t wait. I am going to be making them with pecan butter. I hope I am able to find a super creamy pecan butter. I did have a pretty creamy one when I made your pumpkin pie chocolate chip cookies. But I ordered it online and I don’t have time to get more shipped to me before I make them. So I am crossing my fingers. If worse comes to worse I will make them with almond butter. Then I wont be able to eat them. 🙁 But my family and friends will 🙂 But I am pretty sure I need these in my belly so wish me luck finding a suitable pecan butter 🙂
No, just make your own pecan butter! That is what I always do for my recipes. I don’t buy storebought because they always have added oils! You likely will not need the added water then because pecan butter is much oilier than almond butter and not nearly as thick, so it will change the texture some. Here is how to make the pecan butter, just buy some pecans 🙂
https://thevegan8.com/2012/12/04/roasted-pecan-butter/
These are in the oven now. Are they okay to freeze? I’m looking for something fairly healthy I can keep here for when the grandchildren visit.
Hi Linda! I have never tried freezing these, they don’t last that long, haha! But I “think” they’d be ok if you wrap them very tightly, there is a lot of almond butter (fat) in them, so they may be okay, but honestly I have never froze cookies in my life, so that is a huge guess.
I substituted 1/2 cup GF oat flour and 1/4 cup white rice flour(as I didn’t have any brown rice flour and was craving a good choc chip cookie) and they came out stunningly. Thank you so much for the recipe. I also didn’t know molasses was a good binder, so thank you for that word of knowledge:)
I’m so happy to hear that Melody! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! I’m glad that amount of oat flour was able to work for part of the rice flour! Thank you for letting me know!
I make these cookies every week! I always use peanut butter bcs it’s what’s on hand and I absolutely love them, so does my 5 year old and my husband (both very picky!). Another winner, Brandi! Thanks!
Oh, so awesome to hear that Silvana!! So happy they are such a hit! Thank you so much for the feedback!
Hey ! These cookies look very amazing ! I’m so excited to try them !
But, I want to know what do you use as a baking powder ? (healthy one without GMO corn, aluminium, etc.)
Can I substitute it with only baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) ? Or a mix with arrow root ?
Can’t wait ! ;P
Hi Alizee! The baking powder is necessary to help the cookies rise and keep them soft. The baking soda would make them too crispy I believe. I’ve only tried them with the baking powder. Let me know if you try them! 🙂
Oh, thank you for your quick answer ! ^.^
I see, I’m gonna check my organic stores to find out if they have oragnic gluten-free, aluminium-free, etc. baking powder.
I also read that leavening replacers can be :
– baking soda + warm water (+oil optional)
– flax seed egg replacer
Or for binding :
– cornstarch + water
– potato starch
I also find some recipes without baking powder, comments saying that’s great.
But I think my kitchen is gonna turn into a laboratory soon ! Let’s mess up these pans !
Hi Alizee! I just use aluminum-free double acting baking powder. I can’t remember the brand. Yes, I’m familiar with those binders, but cornstarch or flaxseed alone won’t make the cookies rise the way the baking powder does. I’ve only tried it with the baking powder, which I generally use for cookies because I like how it makes them fluffy and soft. Hope that helps! 🙂
I made your oat-free chocolate chip cookies a couple of days ago. My 5 year-old son is not a Cookie Monster usually. Well…he’s been loving your cookies and as soon as he comes from school asks if he can have one or two. They are delicious! I didn’t have any almond butter, so I used pb. Yum! Thanks for another awesome recipe Brandi!
These look awesome! I have all kinds of gluten-free flour on hand. I am following the low fat/high carb McDougall – Forks over knives diet. Is there anyway to trade out from using nut and seed butters with something like applesauce?
Really would love to try these,
Thanks!
Hi! You are welcome to try this with subbing with applesauce but just keep in mind that it will totally change the taste and texture of the cookies, they will not be the same cookie. The almond butter is what helps give them that fudgy/moist interior and helps crisp out the exterior….a traditional cookie texture. So, subbing with applesauce will make them much more soft and more cake-like, not cookie-like. I have not tested it with applesauce since I like the taste and texture of fat in my cookies, but I would love to hear how they turned out if you try them with all applesauce! Thank you! 🙂
Hi! For the person above who asked if you could sub applesauce for the almond butter….I tried it and loved the way they turned out! I just should have used slightly less applesauce and not a 1 to 1 ratio with the almond butter. Like you said though, the texture was softer and more cake like, but personally that’s how I like them anyway. It worked out perfect for me! Thanks for the great recipe!
Wonderful Sydney! So happy to hear that you loved them so much with the applesauce, that is great to hear!! Thank you for the feedback 🙂
I love these cookies! They’re perfect in every way. Easy to make and oh so easy to eat. Thank you for this wonderful recipe, Brandi!
Thank you so much Patty! I’m so glad you loved these. They are truly my idea of the perfect chocolate chip cookie and I’m so glad to finally nail the recipe! Thank you so much for leaving feedback!!
I just finished making these..so delicious! I messed up the recipe and put too much baking powder, and used crunchy almond butter because that’s what I had on hand. The kids loved these!
Awesome Tania! I’m so glad to hear these were a hit with the kids, that makes me happy! Thank you so much for making them and the feedback!
Thanks for a wonderful recipe. I’ve tried lots of small-bakery vegan cookies and never finished a single one, but your cookies look so good, and the ingredients sound so tasty, that I’m ready to try these. I wanted to pick one right up off the screen. They look absolutely scrumptious.”
In fact, I shared this on Facebook today with a few of my peeps who like a page called Cooking with Whole Grains & Real, Whole Foods, where it’s the Recipe of the Day. Hope it nets you a couple more readers!
Aww thanks so much Kathryn for your kind words!! Yeah, I agree, most vegan baked goods I’ve bought have been just horrible and not nearly as good as the ones I make at home. They just always taste bland or dry or too oily…always something! You will love these and let me know when you try them! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe on your page too, I will check it out! 🙂