Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies are thick, chewy and made with no butter! Completely vegan, 1 bowl and super simple to make whenever a craving strikes.
No vegan butter is required for these mouthwatering chocolate cookies, instead they are made with coconut oil!
I used to think that cookies made with coconut oil were inferior, but it turns out I just needed to keep testing. There are a few tricks that make these cookies unbelievably thick, soft and chewy and they taste nothing like coconut.
While I still love to make my Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, this recipe rivals that one quite well and they are much easier to make! You don’t need a mixer, you don’t have to prepare flax eggs and they are made in 1 bowl with simple ingredients.
Tips & Substitutions
- Use refined coconut oil for no coconut taste! If you don’t mind the taste of coconut, you can use unrefined.
- Melt the coconut oil. I try to estimate the amount of solid coconut oil I need, and microwave it in a glass pyrex measuring cup until melted. Then measure and make sure you have 2/3 cup exactly.
- You can substitute melted vegan butter OR canola oil if desired. They work just as well.
- May sub another non-dairy milk for soy milk.
- Gluten free flour may work okay, but I haven’t tested it. Use an all purpose gluten free flour for best results.
More vegan cookie recipes you may enjoy
- Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Classic Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- The Best Vegan Sugar Cookies
Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup melted refined coconut oil
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two medium-sized baking sheets with parchment paper. Or lightly grease the pans instead.
- Melt the coconut oil in a microwave safe measuring glass (or bowl) for 1-2 minutes until completely liquid and warm. Measure to make sure you have exactly 2/3 cup melted coconut oil.
- Add the warm coconut oil to a large mixing bowl along with the brown sugar and whisk well to combine. Now add the soy milk and vanilla and whisk well until smooth. It should resemble caramel at this point.
- To the bowl with the liquid ingredients, add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix with a large spoon until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Roll into balls about 1 1/2 tablespoons each. Place on the pan, leaving a little room for the cookies to spread. Bake for 9-11 minutes. They will look underdone and too soft, but will firm up a lot as they cook and become chewy.
- Let them cool for 10 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack. Eat and enjoy!
Notes
- Also works well melted vegan butter or canola oil in place of the coconut oil.
- May use another non-dairy milk if desired for the soy milk. Can be sweetened, unsweetened or vanilla flavored.
- May also use tapioca starch for the cornstarch, possibly arrowroot as well.
- Gluten free: These may work with an all purpose gluten free mix, but I haven't tested it.
Can you help me understand which substitution failed?
I followed the quantities exactly and subbed the milk for oat milk, used Anitas GF flour blend, and non refined coconut oil. The dough was extremely liquid like a syrup. I added a bit more flour and waited and it thickened somewhat.
The cookie came out super flat and dry like a crumbly biscuit, not chewy at all…. thanks
So I believe the problem was likely the gluten free flour. I haven’t tried them gluten free, and I believe the flour you described does not have xantham gum added. Usually 1:1 gluten free mixes include this, which is best when you are doing a quick substitution. Flours can vary, and I definitely think that was your issue here.
The best recipe for chocolate chip cookies I’ve tried! My husband have been vegan for more than a year and it’s been difficult to find a “go-to” chocolate chip cookie recipe that doesn’t result in flat, crispy things. I’ve now made these a few times and follow the recipe exactly, and each time it never fails!
I’m so glad you guys are loving the cookies, and use them as your go-to recipe! Thank you for sharing your review!
I see lots of others have had success with this but I haven’t.
I measured everything exact. The first half were like a runny soup.
I saved some mix and added another half cup of flour and they went like a normal cookie dough. However when I went to pick them off the baking tray, they crumble to powder.
I have used GF flour. It seems a few have had that issue too so I’d say don’t use GF for this particular mix. It has great reviews so will try again at some point with normal flour.
Hi Laura, it’s likely due to the flour you used. They work great with regular flour.
I’m a complete slug with measuring, I used regular instead of brown sugar, less sugar, less oil, refrigerated the dough as I’ve seen advised in other recipes and figured what the hey, needed the counter space anyway.
And the cookies came out delicious! I sure do appreciate a forgiving recipe that can still turn out well even when it’s being made by slugs like me. 😉
Hi Emma! I’m glad to hear the cookies turned out delicious, even with all the changes! Thank you for taking time to share your review!
Started preparing these cookies when I realized we didn’t have enough brown sugar. I hate modifying baking recipes that I’ve never made before but decided to give coconut sugar a try and it worked. The cookies are amazing.
Hi Deborah. I’m glad the cookies turned out amazing for you, even with your modification! Thanks a lot for taking your time to share your great review!
We love these cookies! The first time I baked them I had to make a second batch the same day…
Every single one of Nora’s recipes turns out and 95% are a hit! I love your recipes and all the hints you give for gluten free or subbing.
Thank you, you make my vegan life a lot easier living with omnis!
Hi Jeanette. It means a lot to me to know you love my recipes, and that the information I share is helpful for you! Thank you for taking your time to share your review. Happy cooking!
I have lost count on the number of batches I have made. so yummy.
The entire family loves them. EvEn my Dad, who is a cookie expert.! 🙂
Thanks!
Thanks Jennifer! I’m glad everyone loves the cookies!
Hi! I followed the recipe as best as I could (I used the metric system and measured everything by weight, and used unrefined coconut oil), but the dough was much softer and ‘wetter’ than my usual cookie recipe. It had quite an oily shine to it once I rolled it into balls, and spread out super flat in the oven. When I opened the door the cookies were all rough looking, flat, and the dough was bubbling (kind of similar to hot bubbling syrup but a little less bubbly). What could I have gone wrong? Is it supposed to turn out like this? Thanks so much! (by the way the flavors were so amazing. it wasn’t too sweet and the salt is really delicious in the dough, plus the coconut taste works really well too)
Hi Meg, I’m guessing something was off in measuring, but it’s hard for me to know for sure. I don’t bake with using metric measurements, so while I believe the metric conversions are correct, I don’t personally bake that way. So that could be the difference. They dough is a bit greasier than most cookie dough, but it shouldn’t be super wet, so I’m guessing you added either too much oil/milk or not enough flour. They shouldn’t be very flat, they actually are quite thick. Sorry it’s hard for me to say what else could have gone wrong!
Okay I’ll probably try again with cup measurements! The cookies flavor is amazing though! (and oddly my dad likes the crunchy flat cookies so that’s a good thing) thank you for explaining.
I hope you try again, I love these cookies because they are delicious and so easy to make. 🙂 My mom also likes crunchy flat cookies lol. I like them big and soft.
I made a batch for my partener and he absolutely devoured them. they’re so easy to make even for a disasterous baker like me. I decided to do another double batch and give them to some close friends for an early holiday treat and I quote: “these cookies are fire, vegan??? I’ve already had 4 omg i need to pace myself”
Thank you so much this is going on my recipe wall for sure ♡
That’s so great to hear!
Every recipe I’ve tried from Nora has been super delicious and these cookies were no exception. They are so fluffy and yummy and literally the best cookies I’ve ever had!
Thanks so much!
Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfect! They are so delicious.
I’m so glad to hear that!
Hi, I love your recepies!! Thank you for sharing!
I just try these cookies and I have not the same visual results as you… Endeed after the caramel part 7when I put dry ingredients in, the oil started to come out of the dough, to separate itself.. Can you help me with that? ?
Thank you, have a nice day! ☺️
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoy the recipes! This cookie dough is oilier than most, but they will bake fine and not be greasy. If it’s separating, you just haven’t mixed in enough, or you may not have mixed the sugar/oil mixture enough in the step before adding the dry ingredients. If needed, add a few tablespoons more of flour, perhaps you under measured how much flour to put in. Hope that helps!
I have now made these at least 15 times! Amazing every time. I use 1/2 a cup of cane sugar but that is my only substitution, otherwise I follow it to a T. Sometimes I make them huge and it works great! My partner says they are the best cookies he’s ever had and I agree!
In my next batch, I’d like to add walnuts…do you think I need to adjust another else? Should there be equal parts walnuts and chocolate chips?
Thanks!!
That is amazing! I’m so glad you love them! Walnuts are so good in cookies. I would probably just add 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or so, a little less or more if you’d like, and keep the same amount of chocolate chips. No need to adjust anything else. Thank you!
Used vegetable oil instead of coconut oil and the dough turned out very oily, and runny. Added ~1/3 cup of flour and baked, still very oily dough, but turned out delicious, thick and chewy! I think that the substitution caused the issue as I measured everything else precisely.
The dough for these cookies is quite oily, but they work out once baked. Like you said, the dough was a bit oily but they turned out great. 🙂
Hi, the metric button option doesn’t seem to work.
Also, can you prepare the dough balls ahead of time and freeze them?
There was a technical issue, thank you for bringing it to my attention! It’s fixed now and working. You could freeze the dough balls ahead of time, yes. I would let them thaw before baking though. Thanks!
Just made these!!! Oh ya!!! Super easy and just right!!!! Oh and I forgot the salt. Hahaha. Opppps
Glad you enjoyed the cookies!
I made the recipe as written, but reducing the brown sugar by a bit, and used melted vegan butter for the coconut oil, But I don’t think the cookies really turned out. They didn’t flatten out in the oven, so I had to flatten the cookies with the back of a spatula. They were also very dense and thick, and not chewy. Do you have any idea what I could have done wrong??
Simply reducing the sugar affects the texture of the cookies, and I’m not sure by how much you reduced it, so that could be it. I do think these work better with coconut oil, which is why I created the recipe. Though I’ve tried them with vegan butter and it worked fine. For best results, follow the recipe exactly.
Could I use granulated sugar instead of the brown sugar?
You could but it will change the texture and flavor quite a bit. They will be drier, crispier and missing that extra flavor brown sugar gives.
Hi Nora. I had a lot of trouble with these the first time I made them where they were super oily however I wanted to give them another shot. I measured out everything the same with the only difference this time being that I used urefined coconut oil and I whisked the sugar/oil/milk mixture for even longer than I did last time.
This time however the cookies came out perfect! I can’t imagine the coconut oil made a difference so it must have been the added whisking. I guess you just really have to whisk it all together to make sure it “sets”? Anyway thanks again and wanted to let you know how I fixed the issue from the first try.
I’m so glad they came out great this time! Thanks for the comment!
Best chocolate chip cookies!! We made them exactly like the recipe using unrefined coconut oil. Sprinkled a little bit of salt on top too. Made 11 big cookies instead of 16! Going to try with walnuts next time.
Thank you for this recipe!!!
You’re so welcome!!
So you’ve made these with canola oil and they turned out the same?? Just checking before I go for it. They look delicious!?
Yes, I have. Enjoy!
Wow! I was pretty sure that vegan chocolate chip cookies needed earth balance, but this recipe has changed my mind! It is so easy (one bowl, no “egg”( and they are DELICIOUS. My husband bought a hug rub of coconut oil from Costco months ago, and now I know how I will get rid of it. Haha. Note: I’ve made this recipe twice in one week that’s how good it is.
I’m so happy to hear that!!
So delicious and easy! Thanks(:
You’re so welcome!!
Hi Nora! My daughter and I tried this recipe tonight! We used virgin coconut oil and the dough was very oily! We couldn’t even roll them into balls because they were dripping in oil. Is that because we didn’t use refined? I was under the impression you could swap them out interchangeably? Other than the texture of the dough, the flavor was amazing! Love how quickly they come together! Thank you for all your hard work! ❤️
Hmm no they shouldn’t be dripping with oil by any means! I don’t think it would make a difference using virgin coconut oil. It’s more likely a measurement was off slightly, like perhaps you used a bit too much oil, or not quite full cups of flour. And the oil should be measured AFTER melting. Hope that helps, and I’m glad they still came out good!
Oh Nora! these look SO delicious:) I think I’m going to make them tonight – can’t wait!
Hope they’re great!
What can i use instead of cornstarch?? Thank you !! Seems delicious!
You could tapioca starch or arrowroot. Either should work.
Hi nora, I have tried these. Unfortunately they are not really spreading out ? Not sure why.
I’m not sure, perhaps you added a bit too much flour or not quite the correct amount of oil.