Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
by Olivia Biermann
on Apr 4, 2019 (updated Aug 13, 2025)
These ultra chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies are one of my most popular recipes for a reason! They’re slightly underbaked in the center, browned to perfection and so easy to make. You’d never guess they were egg-free, dairy-free, and made with basic pantry staples.
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- No chilling the dough. Nothing is worse than when a cookie recipe calls for chilling the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking. If you want quick, chewy cookies with no unnecessary steps, this recipe is for you!
- No egg replacer needed. If you grew up making regular chocolate chip cookies, the recipe likely contained eggs. Eggs are typically used in cookie dough to help keep the dough moist and add flavour. This vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe requires no vegan egg replacer at all. They’re very moist and delicious without one!
- Freezer friendly. If you love baking cookies, but only want 1 or 2 at a time, freeze this cookie dough before baking and bake just a few cookies at a time when a craving strikes! Full instructions for freezing down below.
Vegan margarine vs. vegan butter
I prefer to bake these vegan chocolate chip cookies with vegan margarine by the brand Becel. It’s a soft tub margarine and is lighter and fluffier than classic vegan buttery sticks. If you use vegan butter from brands like Earth Balance or softened coconut oil, I recommend adding 1-2 extra tablespoons of plant-based milk because these butters have less moisture than soft margarine.
The baking sheet you use will affect the bake time!
When testing this recipe, I baked this cookie recipe on several different baking sheets. If you are using a lighter coloured baking sheet like I did in my Youtube video, I’d recommend baking the cookies for 10-11 minutes. If you are baking your cookies on a dark metal baking sheet, bake them for closer to 9 minutes. Darker baking sheets absorb heat, meaning they brown the cookies faster. Lighter baking sheets reflect heat and take longer to heat up.
Cookies coming out more cakey than chewy?
If your cookies turned out more cakey in texture as opposed to soft and chewy, it is most like a result of too much flour in the batter. When measuring flour, it is important to avoid packing the flour into the measuring cup. Instead, it is best to spoon the flour in and scrape off any excess flour using the back of a knife.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
Store chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also refrigerate the cookies if you prefer them more dense and chewy for up to 1 week.
How to freeze before baking – If you’d like to freeze this cookie dough, follow the recipe completely and scoop the dough balls onto a baking sheet as if you were going to bake them. Once all the cookie dough is formed into balls, place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze for 1-2 hours, or until the cookie dough balls are frozen solid. Transfer them into a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 2 month. Then when ready to bake, bake for 1-2 minutes longer directly from frozen until baked to your desired crispiness!
How to freeze after baking – Follow the recipe as written, then allow the cookies to cool completely to room temperature on your cooling rack. Once cooled, transfer the cookies back to the baking sheet and stick the sheet in the freezer and freeze until solid. Then transfer the vegan chocolate chip cookies to a freezer bag or container. To thaw, allow the cookies to set at room temperature until softened again and enjoy!
If you want your chocolate chip cookies to look like they came straight out of a bakery first thing in the morning, add a slice of semi-sweet dark chocolate to the top before baking, and then sprinkle some flaky salt on top for serving!
More vegan cookies recipes to try
- Easy Vegan Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chewy Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookies
- Cinnamon White-Chocolate Butter Pecan Cookies
- Soft Batch Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: approx. 15 cookies
Description
Classic chocolate chip cookies made without the dairy butter, milk or eggs! Everyone loves these cookies and can never guess that they’re vegan!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine, softened vegan butter or solid coconut oil (SEE NOTE*)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (like almond or soy)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt (about 1/4 tsp)
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F for lighter golden, softer cookies with less crisp edges or 375F for crispier edges and deeper golden cookies. (SEE NOTE**)
- In a mixing bowl, cream together vegan margarine and brown sugar. Add almond milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add dry mixture to wet in two parts, stirring to form a dough. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Use scoop 1-2 tbsp of dough and roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden. Let cool a few minutes before devouring!
Notes
* I use soft tub margarine for my cookies (Becel brand- the vegan one). If you are using vegan butter or coconut oil I suggest adding an extra tbsp or two of the plant-based milk because they will have less moisture than a soft tub margarine. I notice that my cookies always flatten out nicely, but some of you have had trouble with the cookies not spreading and I think it is just due to your fat having less moisture! I hope this helps. 🙂
** I started baking them at 375 F and this helps them get more golden brown and slightly crispy on the outside. Baking at 350 F results in chewier cookies that are lighter in colour and take a little longer to cook).
These look good, but do you have the weights of the ingredients? I don’t normally bake in cups as it’s a bit hit and miss.
I don’t – in Canada we tend to use cups for baking! I agree though, weight makes much more sense for baking! But since I am in North America I still do my recipes in cups <3
i just need you to know that this is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, and that lately i’ve been making a version with just peanut butter chips and dandies and it is an A+ flavour combo!
Thank you so much for the kind review and tip!! I love dandies so much, sounds absolutely delicious!
The cookies have a great taste. I pretty much like any dessert with brown sugar in it. The next time I make them, I will add more flour because it came out a little flat for me. But they’re chewy and I like that. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for your comment 🙂 I am glad you enjoyed the taste!!
Hi!! We love this cookie recipe. I make it at least once a week, changing the chocolate chip mix ins with sprinkles, white chocolate chips, etc. it’s the best vegan cookie recipe I’ve ever made. If I wanted to make this into a cake (for my son’s 4th birthday), how would I bake it? I can’t find a good vegan cookie cake recipe :/ thank you!
I often bake this recipe in a pie plate o 8×8 inch baking tin for about 25 minutes, until golden brown. It’s like a giant cookie that way! Not sure if that’s exactly what you meant by cake?
This recipe never disappoints me! I always come back to it and it’s delicious every time. I make it with refined coconut oil, and people are always surprised they’re vegan! I have yet to find another cookie recipe as good as this one
Thank you so much 🙂
I love how easy this recipe is. Few ingredients that we have on hand.
My only request is: can you put the measurements in grams besides cups because in Europe we typically don’t use cups?
Thanks!
These are by far the absolute best chocolate chip cookies I’ve baked since transitioning to vegan. I would like to add that I used a bit more butter. I used regular organic, vegan cane sugar because I didn’t have any brown sugar. As much as they were delicious, they didn’t brown like I wanted because I didn’t use the brown sugar. Also, I did leave them in for a couple of extra minutes, but I watched them carefully. I turned the oven off and left them for a couple of more minutes. They didn’t burn or get hard at all. The edges did get crispier, just like I like!
Too much baking soda and powder, give the cookies a weird bite and aftertaste.
What happened to the “Giant Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies” recipe? the link left on Youtube is broken and I coudn’t find it anywhere 🙁 I was wondering what were the changes compairing them to this recipe.
I am having the post updated so that’s why it isn’t up right now, but I will put the recipe and directions here for you!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegan margarine or softened vegan butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup non-dairy milk (like almond or soy)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt (about 1/4 tsp)
2/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chips plus more for tops
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, cream together vegan margarine and brown sugar. Add milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Add dry mixture to wet, stirring to form a dough. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine.
Use scoop 5 tbsp of dough per cookie and flatten slightly into a disc shape, with a bit of extra dough piled in the middle. Repeat for other 2 cookies. Add some extra chocolate chips on top.
Bake for 15-16 minutes, until starting to turn golden brown. I like to broil on 500 F for another minute or two to get them perfectly dark golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before attempting to move. I just let mine cool completely on the pan.
Store in an airtight container on the counter for 4 days or in the fridge up to 1 week.
Can I ask why the cookies in the video look different than the cookies in the pictures above the article? Did you change up the recipe?
The cookies come out slightly different if you use vegan butter vs soft tub margarine! Also if you chill the dough or if it was frozen prior to baking they will look different. The photos are brand new and updated whereas the video is a few years old, and in the video I used margarine whereas the photos I used vegan butter. Still the same recipe but different ingredients and brands will produce slightly different results :)! Hope that helps!
All I get is compliments when I make these! Best recipe!
so glad you loved them! They’re a household staple here for sure!
My kids and husband love these cookies! So delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Looks delicious!!
I’ve tried making these 3 times. Every single time they taste like baking soda. I’ve tried 1 tsp, 1/2 tsp and 1/4th tsp. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. Might try no baking soda tomorrow and see if it tastes better. My sister sent me this recipe and hers turned out perfect. So not sure why mine taste like baking soda unlike hers.
have you found other recipes you use that baking soda for have a flavour?
Love this recipe! My go to for quick baked cookies for me and my children. My husband unfortunately can’t have because he is gluten free but if anyone has tried swapping for gluten free flour PLEASE LET ME KNOW, or if you can post it. I would be so grateful. Thanks for this awesome recipe Liv!
I would think you can use a gluten-free baking blend no problem! 🙂