Chewy & Soft Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (Better Than Tollhouse!)
These are the best vegan chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever make thanks to using dairy free yogurt as the vegan egg replacement!! Chewy edges and soft, warm molten middles studded with melty chocolate chips. Easy to make with ingredients you probably already have, absolutely no one will know these cookies are vegan, no dairy and no eggs!
This cookie recipe is so good, it’s the same recipe I used to develop my small batch chocolate chip cookies (for when you just need 3 or 4 chocolate chip cookies) AND my single serve chocolate chip cookie!
My latest video:
Quick Look: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Method: One bowl, a whisk, and a silicone spatula. Whisk the wet ingredients, fold in the dry, scoop, chill, & bake!
- Why Make THIS Version? Crisp, golden edges meets soft, chewy centers with molten chocolate chips- all without eggs & dairy!
- Secret to Success: Using dairy-free yogurt as the vegan egg replacement for the perfect chewy & soft texture.
- Key Ingredients: All-purpose flour, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, vegan butter, dairy free yogurt.
- Baking time: 12-15 minutes.
- Freezer-Friendly: Yes. Freeze your finished cookies for up to 3 months (and even the cookie dough!)
Table of contents
- My latest video:
- Quick Look: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Reader Review:
- Why my vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe works:
- Key ingredients:
- How to make the best vegan chocolate chip cookies:
- Figuring out baking time for this vegan cookie recipe:
- Common mistakes when making this cookie recipe:
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies FAQ’s:
- Other vegan cookie recipes you’ll LOVE:
- Chewy & Soft Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (Better Than Tollhouse!) Recipe
Reader Review:
Why my vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe works:
These vegan chocolate chip cookies should just be labelled as the best chocolate chip cookies. Because they’re not amazing for being vegan. They’re amazing. Period.
Not flat, like other vegan cookies, not too puffy, just right chewy edges with soft, warm molten centers.
It’s the top vegan cookie recipe on my blog (along with these amazing vegan double chocolate chip cookies, which made it into my first cookbook!) and is the base cookie dough I use for all of my cookies (including my chewy vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!).
My secret ingredient: dairy free yogurt. The absolute best vegan egg replacement to exist for cookies. The result is identical to eggs, it’s uncanny.
I rigorously tested this recipe over the years with multiple vegan egg replacements, and I swear (and readers agree) this is what makes them taste like Tollhouse cookies: crispy, chewy edges with a molten, SOFT center. Ugh, YUM. In fact, the dough is so good, I even used it to create my edible vegan cookie dough recipe!
And did I mention, it’s easier than traditional cookies?? 😉 Just a bowl and a whisk is needed- no fancy equipment nor methods!
Key ingredients:
- Vegan butter: Some vegan cookie recipes on the internet suggest coconut oil, but I’m not a fan of this. This is because coconut oil is 100% fat, whereas traditional dairy butter is about 80-82%. That means the rest is water, which adds moisture. KEY. The more fat you have, the “shorter” the cookie (think shortbread: crumbly), but we want soft and chewy, so coconut oil just doesn’t work here. That’s why I recommend using a good vegan butter. Currently, I make my own (coming soon!), but Plant Crock is a great option.
- Dairy-free yogurt: the secret ingredient to making these vegan cookies irresistibly gooey and perfect! It might sound weird to make vegan chocolate chip cookies with yogurt, but trust me this is the key (check out my vegan egg replacements guide here for more on that).
- Vegan Chocolate chips: The chocolate you use in your CHOCOLATE chip cookie matters! And using multiple varieties REALLY boosts depth of flavor. My go-to combination is: Enjoy Life dairy free “milk” chocolate chip with Valrhona Oriado chocolate feves.
- All-purpose flour: Like any classic chocolate chip cookie recipe (including my vegan double chocolate chip cookies!), all-purpose flour is a must! For my gluten-free bakers, I have tested this recipe with gluten-free 1:1 flour (specifically King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour), and it works wonderfully!
- Light brown sugar: I’ve spent so many years developing this recipe and playing around with different ratios of sugar (because that’s another key driver of texture in a cookie recipe!). What I’ve found is that a ratio with higher light brown sugar to granulated in a vegan cookie recipe gives the proper chewy texture while also helping the cookies spread just enough.
- Granulated sugar: My biggest note here is using vegan sugar. Not all granulated sugar is vegan in the U.S. due to processing with bone char. A brand that’s certified vegan (like Florida Crystals or Wholesome Sweets) OR is certified organic will be naturally vegan.
- Baking soda: Seems like an odd ingredient to need to talk about, but I’ve seen SO many chocolate chip cookies call for both baking soda AND baking powder. In my testing, I’ve found that this recipe only needs one– baking soda. If I used baking powder, the cookies would puff up way too much.
How to make the best vegan chocolate chip cookies:
1. Chop the chocolate (if using! Or you can just use chocolate chips). A mix of both vegan milk chocolate and dark chocolate produces such a good, rich flavor!
2. Next, whisk together the wet ingredients. This is your melted vegan butter, light brown sugar, sugar, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Then whisk in the baking soda.
3. Add in the flour and cornstarch, and fold JUST before the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
4. Add in both your chopped chocolate and chocolate chips. I’ve found this gives my chocolate chip cookies more flavor depth and texture variety with pockets of mixed chocolate!
5. Fold the chocolate into the dough JUST until incorporated. This prevents over-mixing of the dough. You want to make sure you don’t over-mix the dough!
6. Scoop the dough onto a baking sheet.
7. Chill the dough for 2+ hours.
8. When ready to bake, space about 2 inches apart on several baking sheets (or bake in batches!) at 350F for 12-15 minutes.
Figuring out baking time for this vegan cookie recipe:
A trick I learned years ago is to use the baking time of cookies more as guidelines for the literal recipe you’re baking in the moment. Why? Because honestly, every oven is a bit different. In my oven, I’m baking this cookie recipe for 14 minutes. This same recipe bakes for 16 minutes in my mom’s oven because it’s 30 years old, isn’t QUITE 350F when set, and it’s just different.
I always look for the doneness in the edges of the cookie. Look for the crisp slightly golden brown edges, and allow your cookies to rest after removing them from the oven.
Common mistakes when making this cookie recipe:
Swapping out the fat. I use a vegan butter that’s homemade (recipe coming soon!), but I also really like these cookies with Country Crock’s vegan butter sticks. Earth Balance has a very strong flavor, so I try to avoid that. But swapping in ingredients like coconut oil may dramatically change both the flavor and texture of your cookies, as I mentioned above.
Reducing the sugar. Using sugar isn’t just for flavor- it’s also for the science of developing the texture and the look of your cookie. If you want a moist, chewy, and soft cookie with just crisp edges, you need to keep the sugar ratio the same. Altering with the sugar ratio completely alters your texture AND flavor of the cookie (like in my chewy vegan pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!).
Not weighing the ingredients. This is one of those traditional baking tips that is paramount to any baking recipe. Weighing your ingredients will ensure that you’re not using too much flour (which will prevent your cookies from spreading properly!). Usually a cup of sugar consistently weighs what we would use for the metric measurements, but flour in particular is tricky because you can easily put way too much flour into a cup. This drastically alters your baking results!
Over-mixing the dough. This is true even if you’re using a gluten-free flour blend! Over-mixing the dough creates a tough texture in your cookies. I try to stop JUST before the dry ingredients are incorporated. Then add in the chocolate chips and fold JUST until the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies FAQ’s:
100%. I actually really question recipes that don’t call for chilling your cookie dough for this vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe because I’ve found in testing my recipe, not only does chilling the dough help with texture or look, but it also helps develop the flavor of your cookies! I recommend chilling my vegan chocolate chip cookie dough for at least 2 hours to really lock in flavor and texture.
Absolutely! I sometimes stir in vegan candy bits (like vegan candy-coated gems that mimic M&Ms, crushed chocolate creme cookies (like my homemade vegan Oreo cookies!), or even chopped nuts (toast them in the oven first!). It’s also why I created my vegan s’mores cookies with crushed graham crackers and gooey vegan marshmallows from this very dough!
Yes, absolutely! I do this all of the time actually. Make sure to pre-scoop the dough and then let it chill for 5 minutes in the freezer unwrapped. This helps the dough set so you can then properly wrap and chill the dough without squishing the form. I’ve baked the dough from frozen before, but 5 minute on the counter as the oven preheats will give these cookies the perfect amount of spreading in the oven.
Easy- too much flour. If you’re using US Cups, it’s so easy to over-measure the flour (I’ve done it!). I highly recommend using a kitchen scale and the metric system when baking this recipe.
Other vegan cookie recipes you’ll LOVE:
Vegan Stuffed Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
🌟MADE THIS RECIPE & LOVED IT?🌟I’d love it if you’d like a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below! This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
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Chewy & Soft Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (Better Than Tollhouse!)
- Prep Time: 7
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These are the best vegan chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever make!! Chewy edges and soft, molten middles studded with melty chocolate chips. Easy to make with ingredients you probably already have, absolutely no one will know these cookies are vegan, no dairy and no eggs thanks to our secret and simple ingredient!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (280 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour , sifted and spoon & leveled*
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2/3 cup (150 g) salted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) organic granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (85 g) dairy-free yogurt, room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (170 g) vegan chocolate chips* (semi-sweet or your choice!)
Instructions
- Prep: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and measure out all ingredients.
- Whisk: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the vegan butter, sugar, brown sugar, dairy free yogurt, and vanilla. Then add in the flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold together. Stop just before all of the flour is mixed in.
- Add in the chocolate chips: Fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Scoop: Using a cookie scoop, and roll about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie for regular sized cookies, or 3 tablespoons of dough for large cookies onto the sheet.
- Chill: Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes, but preferably 2 hours. The longer, the better, as the flavor will develop even more. When the dough is nearly done chilling, preheat the oven to 350F.
- Bake: Place into oven and bake for 12-15 minutes (my oven, I bake them exactly 14 minutes each time for large cookies) or until the edges are lightly golden and are “set.” The middles shouldn’t be dough-y looking, but if they’re still soft, that’s perfectly fine.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. This allows the cookies to firm up to hold together.
- Enjoy: Sprinkle with extra sea salt and enjoy! Store these cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days, a week in the fridge, or a month in the freezer.
Notes
Gluten free: I really only recommend using King Arthur Measure-for-Measure Gluten Free Flour or a similar blend with xanthan gum that also weighs 125 g per cup. Please note that Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF Flour will NOT work here.
Dairy free yogurt: I really recommend using dairy-free yogurt here, but if you can’t access it, you can use unsweetened applesauce.
Baking times: baking times will vary based on your kitchen and oven temperatures. Be sure to watch your cookies and bake according to your own oven. Read my tips in the post for how to ensure your cookies are done.
Vegan Chocolate Chips: I recommend Enjoy Life and some of the Valrhona feves are naturally dairy free and vegan (like the Oriado blend- my favorite!).
- Room temperature: Store the cookies at room temperature on a plate and wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container. They’ll last for about 5 days at room temperature.
- Fridge: Store the cookies in an airtight container (this will keep them from drying out). They’ll last for about 7-8 days, depending on how cold your fridge is.
- Freezer: Store them in a plastic airtight bag or container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookies
- Calories: 258
- Sugar: 23.9 g
- Sodium: 113.4 mg
- Fat: 9.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.2 g
- Fiber: 1.8 g
- Protein: 5.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0.7 mg
Forgot the photo!
Absolutely delicious, I used both dark chocolate and semi-sweet because that’s my preference and they were delicious! If you chill the dough I would recommend flattening the ‘dough balls’ slightly before putting them in the oven – if you prefer a flatter larger cookie, otherwise they are quite thick – which I know some people really like, but they don’t flatten out a huge amount in the oven if the dough starts off cold, so just a tip xx
which plant crock would you recommend there are a few. one with olive oil and one with coconut oil.
It will work with any of them, but I personally prefer the avocado oil one then the olive oil (the coconut oil I feel like I can still taste some coconut, but that may just be me!).
first time making vegan cookies and these are DELICIOUS!!! the texture is just perfect, slightly soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside 💞💞
Flavors were really good on these cookies. They are just a little too cakey for me. They never spread enough when baking and come out puffy. Super yummy cookie tho 🙂
Oh I’m wondering- did you scoop the flour or weigh it on a scale? They definitely look like they have too much flour so that would account for how much they would spread/the cakey texture, I totally agree!
The best recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies!
My cookies are not spreading! Should I bake them room temperature?
You may have used too much flour! Did you use a kitchen scale or US cups when measuring?
Oh my goodness, these are the most perfect cookies I have EVER had. They have the perfect taste and texture. It is so surprising because it is vegan and there haven’t been that many good recipes but just WOW. I will be making these for the rest of my life!
Oh my goodness you made them BEAUTIFULLY!! Thank you so so much for sharing! So happy you loved them 🙂 And glad you’re on the cookie obsession train with me, I make these once a week lol it’s hard not to!!
Hi, which brown sugar are you using that is definitely vegan? I’m new to the vegan world and reading most are not, but some are…any recs for brands you use would be super helpful.
Thank you!
Hi Anne! I use Wholesome Sweets and Florida Crystals- whichever is available at my store!
I absolutely love these cookies. So easy to make. I added crushed raw pistachios and sprinkled a little sea salt when it came out of the oven. The whole family loved it 😋 thank you for sharing your God given gift
Oh my gosh, I LOVE it!!! Thank you so much for the review and what?! Your kind words just made my day 🙂 Really grateful to have you here, Lisa 🙂 You make it all the better! Enjoy!
Hi Britt! I made your oat flour cookies and my colleagues, one of whom is vegan, loved them! I actually want to make another colleague a cookie cake, and I’m wondering how you recommend I go about it. Shall I make one big ball? How long should it bake, and should the temperature stay the same? Thank you in advance, and thanks again for the wonderful recipes!
Hi!! That is AMAZING, I’m so glad it came out well. I actually have a cookie cake recipe that will be super helpful for all of those questions. Find it here!!
These are the first choc chip cookies that spread out for me, are really tasty and have great consistency! I had to sub a little oil and milk for some of the budder and I used a bit of oat flour too and yet they worked out great! I think the reason why my previous cookies never worked well is because I decrease the sugar amount quite a lot – up to 1/3. Today I didn’t – but they are really sweet, a tad too sweet for us. So do you know how much I could decrease the amount of sugar here (keeping everything else according to the recipe)?
Thank you!
Best, Jay
Hi Jay! Oh I’m so happy you liked them! I totally understand different preferences to sweet levels in cookies, but for these, I really don’t think it would work to decrease the sugar without sacrificing the structure of the cookie. You can add a 1/4 tsp more salt to help balance them and that does actually really work! Also using a super dark chocolate or even 100% might help offset some of the sweetness!
Hiiiii! I’m a BIG fan of your work. I’ve made so many of your recipes both sweet and savory on repeat. They always turn out amazing. This is honestly the first time one didn’t come out quite right for me.
I’m pretty sure it’s on my end since I made it to what I had available. I used cranberries instead of chocolate chips and different yogurt brands. I was hoping you might have some guidance on what could be going wrong or how to tweak it. I’m like 95% sure I followed the recipe to a T, I just don’t know. Even though my cookies aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing right now, they’re definitely pleasing to my tastebuds.I was trying to add a photo but it’s not working for me. But basically the cookies are just reallyyyy soft to where they don’t hold their shape. They spread out and like take a longgg time to cook. The middle is still raw when using the recommended time but then it burns when over the time.
OH thank you so much for the kind review and words, wow!! I really really appreciate it! Okay so the cranberries could definitely affect doneness and texture, as you’re adding a very moist component, and that liquid has to go somewhere (why the cranberries get so soft with baking- the water content will naturally expel first into the surrounding dough!). To offset this, you could try to coat them in some flour, but that’s why it actually works much better to use fruits in jam form because jam has way less moisture than fresh fruit (and even then you get some issues with spreading!). Would you be able to share which brand yogurt you used? Also make sure that you used baking soda rather than powder!! That would also cause spreading and deflating of cookies!
holy moly – these cookies are perfect! thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes.
This is so awesome 🙂 WOW! Thank you so much for the review! Enjoy!!
Absolutely epic! These vegan chocolate chip cookies exceeded my expectations. Better than any non-vegan chocolate chip cookie I’ve made to date. When you want an indulgent dessert — these hit the spot! So easy to make and a crowd pleaser all around (for vegan and non vegan alike). Highly recommend.