These vegan pistachio chocolate chip cookies are unbelievably delicious and easy to make at home! Loaded with gooey melted chocolate, nutty dairy-free salted brown butter, and topped with flaky salt, these chewy cookies have so much flavor. Plus, they’re ready in less than 30 minutes with no chilling the dough!

pistachio cookie on parchment paper

Warning: this is for pistachio lovers only. Because these pistachio cookies are about to leave your jaw on the floor. Especially since this is a cookie recipe without eggs. Get ready for your mind to be blown.

If you’re pistachio obsessed like me (just see my pistachio cheesecake, one bowl pistachio cake, pistachio butter cake!), then add this cookie recipe to your baking repertoire stat.

This is easily the new *it* girl for cookie recipes (will absolutely be the chewy vegan cookie recipe I insist on bringing to a Christmas Cookie exchange).

And trust me, there is no shortage of vegan cookie recipes on this site; classic Chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cup cookies, just to name a few- and even more cookie recipes in my cookbook.

So when I say that these browned butter salted chocolate chip pistachio cookies are my new obsession, you shouldn’t take that lightly (aka get to the kitchen stat and make these!).

broken open vegan pistachio butter cookies

They’re soft, thick, chewy, and molten with the perfect balance of salty and sweet.

Anddddd stuffed with a dairy free crema al pistacchio (Italian for pistachio cream!!). No need for any instant pistachio pudding mix- we’re talking super simple ingredients.

Not to mention, this unbelievably chewy vegan cookie recipe is just so easy. Everything whisks together so quickly and easily for cookies ready in under 30 minutes.

Ingredients for soft & chewy pistachio cookies:

  • Flour: You can use all purpose flour or a gluten free 1:1 baking flour, such as King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour. Also, I recommend using a kitchen scale for the most accurate baking. 
  • Baking soda: The baking soda here helps our cookies to both spread and rise, since it will react with the yogurt to create that puffy look along with a spread cookie. 
  • Sea salt: Use a high quality flaky sea salt, like Maldon salt, for the finished top of the cookies! 
  • Vegan butter: I like to use OM Dairy Free, a new vegan butter I’ve discovered, or Violife (as it’s nut-free and great for those with nut allergies!). And no need to bring the butter to room temperature, since we’re browning it!
  • Brown sugar & granulated sugar: You need both in order to achieve that super chewy and lovely molten texture! The brown sugar is coated in molasses, adding a richness to the flavor of the pistachio cookies, and the granulated sugar helps to give that soft texture. 
  • Dairy free yogurt: This is my favorite vegan egg replacement for cookie recipes. Yogurt naturally reacts with the baking soda to help give those cookies their “puff” and create that super thick texture. I like to use Forager Project here. 
  • Pistachios: I used salted pistachios here. Don’t worry, these pistachio cookies won’t taste too salted! 
  • Chocolate chips: A high quality vegan dark chocolate is key here. I love using Valrhona chocolate pieces, as well as Enjoy Life chocolate chips. Pascha Chocolate is also wonderful, or a dark chocolate bar like Endangered Species! You can also stir in vegan white chocolate chips if you’d like too!

How to brown vegan butter:

If you’ve never browned vegan butter, don’t worry- it’s just as easy as browning classic dairy butter! 

You’ll simply heat the vegan butter in a saucepan until melted. Then continue to stir the vegan butter until brown flecks appear. Remove the butter from the heat, and immediately pour into a bowl to cool before using in this pistachio cookie recipe.

The browned butter will give these cookies such a wonderful toffee flavor, you won’t be able to resist them!

browning vegan butter

Step by step instructions:

Please see the below recipe card for all measurements and detailed steps. However, we’ll go over how to make these unbelievably vegan cookies with photos here!

all wet ingredients mixed together
First start by whisking together all wet ingredients.
vegan pistachio cookie dough in a bowl
Then fold in the flour just until mixed.
pistachios and chocolate chips added to cookie dough
Add in the pistachios and chocolate chips.
pistachio cookie dough in a bowl
Then fold together until evenly distributed.
pistachio filled cookie
Use a large cookie scoop to scoop onto a cookie sheet.
baked vegan pistachio butter cookies
Bake for just 12-15 minutes, and serve!

Can I make these pistachio cookies gluten free?

Absolutely! I’ve tested these cookies with King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour. It’s my favorite gluten free flour to use in cakes, brownies, and cookies.

 If you’re not using this mix, please make sure your gluten free flour contains xanthan gum. That’s so crucial in order to achieve a similar texture to all purpose flour.

vegan pistachio butter cookies on parchment paper broken open

Do I have to brown the butter?

No you don’t! I personally think it makes these chocolate chip pistachio cookies taste *out of this world* delicious, but it’s not necessary for delicious vegan pistachio cookies 🙂

If you choose not to brown the vegan butter, then use only 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp of vegan butter!

baked vegan pistachio butter cookies on parchment paper

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave 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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pistachio cookie on parchment paper

Vegan Pistachio & Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 15 reviews
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Chilling Time: 60
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 10 1x
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

These vegan pistachio chocolate chip cookies are unbelievably delicious and easy to make at home! Loaded with gooey melted chocolate, nutty dairy-free salted brown butter, and topped with flaky salt, these chewy cookies have so much flavor. Plus, they’re ready in less than 30 minutes with no chilling the dough!

Ingredients

Scale

Pistachio Cookie Dough:

  • 1 cup (180 g) vegan chocolate chips
  • 1 bar vegan chocolate, chopped into chunks
  • 1 cup (100 g) unshelled unsalted pistachios, chopped
  • 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (57 g) dairy free yogurt, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (150 g) packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) organic granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract, optional
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour*
  • 1–2 tbsp dairy free milk

Crema al Pistacchio (Pistachio Cream):

  • 160 g (about 4 bars) vegan white chocolate
  • 1/2 cup (120 g) pistachio butter*

Instructions

  1. Prep: Measure out all ingredients. Roughly chop the chocolate and pistachios. We’ll make the cookie dough first, chill it, and while it’s chilling we’ll make the pistachio cream. Then we’ll bake the cookies!
  2. Brown the butter: In a medium saucepan, heat the vegan butter on medium heat, constantly stirring until melted. Continue heating until light brown flecks appear in the butter. Then remove from heat and pour into a large bowl to cool for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Make the dough: Once the butter has cooled slightly, add in the brown sugar, sugar, dairy free yogurt, vanilla extract, almond extract (optional), baking soda, and sea salt. Whisk together until combined. Then add in the flour. Switch to a silicone spatula and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients JUST until mixed. Use the dairy free milk to help if the dough is not coming together easily.
  4. Fold in the pistachios and chocolate chips: Add in the pistachios, chocolate chips, and chopped chocolate, and fold just until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
  5. Chill the dough: Cover the bowl and place the dough into the fridge to chill for 1 hour (though the longer you chill the dough, the deeper the flavor develops!).
  6. Make the pistachio butter: In a heat-safe bowl, melt the vegan white chocolate in increments of 20 seconds in the microwave. Be careful, as vegan white chocolate burns more easily than chocolate in the microwave, so stir frequently and air on the side of caution. Once melted, add in the pistachio butter, and whisk to incorporate. Place the bowl into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
  7. Scoop the pistachio cream: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a tablespoon scoop to scoop the pistachio cream into tbsp-sized dollops. Place onto the baking sheet and into the refrigerate to chill until ready to shape the dough. 
  8. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. 
  9. Scoop the dough: Use a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tbsp) to scoop the dough into your palm. Press your thumb into the dough ball to create a cavity for the pistachio cream. Place one pistachio cream ball into the center. Then scoop another cookie dough ball, indent the ball again to create another cavity and place it on top of the pistachio cream. Seal the edges of the cookie dough ball together to form one large cookie, and place onto the cookie sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. You should yield 10-11 large cookies. 
  10. Bake: Place the cookie sheets into the oven to bake for 15 minutes (I baked mine for exactly 15 minutes- yours might need more or less- look for the edges turning slightly golden brown. For smaller cookies, they’ll need 10-12 minutes in the oven).
  11. Serve and enjoy! Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Then serve and enjoy!

Equipment

Notes

Gluten free: I love using King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour here. Make sure your mix contains Xanthan gum in the ingredients section if not using KA.

Pistachio butter: Often times, there will be milk added to pistachio “butter” to mimic the pistachio cream (crema al pistacchio) found in Italy. I used Blue Mountain Organics Pistachio butter, which is single ingredient pistachio butter, but you can also make homemade pistachio butter following my cashew butter recipe, only swapping in pistachios.