These perfect paleo chocolate chip cookies are thick, chewy and have the perfect texture. Many of the reviewers have called these the best cookies ever and said that nobody had a clue that they were paleo (or even gluten-free)!
This recipe also has vegan and keto options. Thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for making today’s post possible!
I first posted this recipe four years ago and am reposting it today with new photos and more tips. Since I posted it, it’s been my most popular recipe and the photos just didn’t do it justice.
All almond flours are not created equal
When I first made these paleo chocolate chip cookies, it’d been quite a while since I last posted some grain-free recipes. I had run out of my favorite Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour months before and was so frustrated with the brands of almond flour available here in Germany since they’re so inconsistent.
Because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of ordering flour from the US, I thought I’d wait it out until Christmas when I’d be back in the US and could buy all the Bob’s Red Mill I want.
But then I got a hankering for chocolate chip cookies. And I really wanted to make paleo cookies.
So I went to work and while every batch tasted amazing, the appearance and thickness was different every single time. The only variable?
The almond flour. The almond flour I’d been buying varies from brand to brand and even within the same brand.
Variation in baking = bad
They come in tiny 1-cup bags here so I go through a load of them when recipe testing. I’d open up one bag and find some finely ground almond flour, then I’d open up another bag from the same company, and it was overall coarser with bits of sliced almonds.
Sliced almonds! In my almond flour. That was the final straw.
So to save my sanity, I ordered myself some Bob’s Red Mill almond flour. By the way, if you have Bob’s Red Mill in a retail store in your area, you can use one of these $1 coupons.
Consistency matters a lot
The cookies made with Bob’s Red Mill came out thick, chewy and just as delicious and magical as all-purpose flour chocolate chip cookies. I doubt that anyone would be able to tell that these are paleo cookies! And the 750+ reviewers agree with me.
And every batch comes out the same. I can say this very confidently as I’ve made these cookies over 100x in the last 4 years (yes, that’s about 2x a month!). Hooray for consistency!
Some of the reviewers have mentioned the same issues with random brands of almond flour vs. Bob’s Red Mill. And homemade almond flour? The cookies definitely won’t come out the same! This has been confirmed by several commenters.
So the almond flour obviously plays a huge role in the final outcome of these paleo chocolate chip cookies. Another thing that will affect the cookies is the temperature of the coconut oil.
Pay attention to the coconut oil
If you make these in the summer when room temperature coconut oil means melted coconut oil, you’ll need to refrigerate the coconut oil until it’s firmer, like softened butter.
If you make these dairy-free cookies with melted coconut oil, the dough will be very greasy and the chocolate chips will be hard to incorporate into the dough.
It doesn’t work to use melted coconut oil and then just chill the dough. I don’t understand why but it doesn’t work!
Coconut sugar (for paleo) vs brown sugar
You’ll also need to chill the dough if you use coconut sugar rather than brown sugar. I made one version with brown sugar and one with coconut sugar at the same time and the brown sugar cookies were nice and thick while the coconut sugar version spread flat and was super thin.
I refrigerated the remaining coconut sugar dough until firm and that resulted in nice and thick cookies, just like the brown sugar version! Just a little darker colored.
Size also matters
If you can’t tell by the pictures, these paleo chocolate chip cookies are huge. Instead of making 8 cookies, you can make 16 to get regular-sized cookies.
I just prefer how they bake up with gooier and chewier centers when they’re larger! Several of the commenters have said that they make them half that size and enjoy them and other commenters have said that they agree that the key to making these cookies so perfect is to make them huge.
Variations of this recipe
If you’ve had enough chocolate chip cookies lately but like this sound of this recipe, I’ve got you covered! I’ve made several variations of these cookies over the years:
- Coconut flour cookies – they don’t use any almond flour, in case you need a nut-free version! And they’re somehow every bit as delicious as the version below.
- Paleo “Peanut Butter” Cookies – these use sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter for a version that tastes super similar to real peanut butter cookies.
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies – they also only use coconut flour. I spent 4 years trying to make the below paleo chocolate chip cookie recipe with peanut butter. I didn’t like the results. But I finally nailed it and they are the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had!
- Paleo Double Chocolate Cookies – So. Much. Chocolate!
- Paleo “Oatmeal” Cookies – these cookies taste really close to traditional oatmeal cookies!
- Paleo Peppermint Cookies – so perfect for Christmas!
Have you made one of them? Or the original? Which one is your favorite?
Substitution questions for these paleo chocolate chip cookies:
- Can I use something instead of almond flour?
Almond flour is only really interchangeable with other nut flours so cashew or hazelnut meal would likely work. I’ve heard of some people using sunflower seed meal as a sub for almond flour but I haven’t tried it myself.
- Can I use something instead of coconut flour?
Nope! There isn’t a really good sub for coconut flour. A few people have mentioned using oat flour (for a non-paleo version) with success but I haven’t tried it.
- Can I use something instead of almond butter?
I’ve tried using peanut butter but didn’t like the results. So I really don’t recommend using peanut butter.
Using it in the all coconut flour version? Amazing! It’s linked to above. If using sunflower seed butter, you need to make a few changes (see the Paleo “Peanut Butter” Cookies linked to above).
Hazelnut butter would probably be awesome in this original recipe! Reviewers have used cashew butter but the cashew butter I get and make is SO much firmer than almond butter, I can’t imagine the cookies coming out the same as with almond butter. - Can I use something instead of coconut / brown sugar?
Subbing in a liquid sweetener won’t work. There’s no liquid to reduce to make up for the added liquid, so it’d make the cookies cakey. Any other granulated sweetener would probably work.
- What can I use instead of the egg or chia egg?
I’ve tried flax eggs but I don’t like the taste (people say that flax eggs don’t taste like anything but I think they do). Others have used it with success in this recipe. I haven’t tried it, but Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free Vegan Egg Replacer would probably work.
- Can I make these cookies smaller?
Yes, but I think they have a better texture when they’re baked as huge cookies.
- Can I bake these cookies as bars?
You can make them in an 8″x8″ pan. I’m super forgetful and never remember to write down the baking time but I recommend to start checking around 15 minutes.
- Do you have nutritional info?
There are loads of free online nutritional calculators online. I’m not a dietitian and not legally allowed to post this info. Sorry about that!
If you try these paleo chocolate chip cookies, I’d love to hear how they come out!
Thanks again to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post! Be sure to check out some of their other gluten-free flours if you’re into gluten-free and paleo baking. :)
And here are some resources if you’re new to the vegan or gluten-free diet:
- Are Chocolate Chips Vegan?
- Are Chocolate Chips Gluten-free?
- Is Baking Soda Vegan?
- Is Baking Soda Gluten-free?
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, see my disclosure.
Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan, keto options)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 8 huge bakery-style cookies or 16 regular-sized cookies
Please read the notes at the bottom before beginning!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100 grams) blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup (32 grams) coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (84 grams) coconut oil1 or unsalted butter, room temperature but NOT melted (if your coconut oil is a little melty, put it in the fridge for about 10-20 minutes or until firmer, like softened butter. If you use slightly melted coconut oil, the dough will be greasy and the chocolate chips will be hard to incorporate.)2
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) coconut sugar, very tightly packed for a paleo version (it's best to weigh this!) OR brown sugar OR for keto, use 2 ounces (57 grams) xylitol + 1.5 ounces (43 grams) erythritol + 1/4 teaspoon powdered stevia3
- 6 tablespoons (98 grams) natural almond butter (the kind with just almonds in it and no added fat / sugar), room temperature (here's how to make almond butter)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature (or 1 chia egg4 for vegan)
- 1 1/4 cups (213 grams) paleo chocolate chips or chopped paleo chocolate chunks, divided
Directions
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer or using a stand mixer, beat together the fat, sugar, almond butter and vanilla extract at medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. If you use coconut oil, it may not come together easily. If that's the case, use your hands to combine it and then beat another 20 seconds.
- Beat in the egg on low and mix until well incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture until well combined. Then stir in 1 cup (170 grams) chocolate chips. If you used brown sugar, skip to the next step. If you used coconut sugar, place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 1 hour or until the dough is firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into 8 (75-gram) balls and place the remaining 1/4 cup (43 grams) of chocolate chips on the top and on the sides of the dough balls. You can also roll them into 16 smaller balls but then you need to adjust the baking time (a few minutes less than recommended below). Place 4" apart on the prepared baking sheet. Press the cookies down lightly with the palm of your hand.
- Bake for 11-14 minutes (if using coconut sugar or the keto version) or 14-17 minutes (if using brown sugar) or until the surface of the center of the cookies no longer appears wet. They'll be very soft but will continue to cook as they sit on the cookie sheet.
- Let cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
- If you use unrefined coconut oil, the cookies will likely have a slight coconut taste. I prefer refined coconut oil for absolutely zero coconut taste (but most reviewers have used unrefined and are happy with them!)
- I haven't tried these with ghee or shortening or anything other than coconut oil and butter.
- The sweeteners I used were 100% xylitol, 100% erythritol and 100% stevia. If you don't have a scale, then this is about 1/4 cup + 3/4 teaspoon xylitol, 3 tablespoons + 3/4 teaspoon erythritol + 1/4 teaspoon stevia.
- To make a chia egg, mix together 1 tablespoon of ground chia seeds and 2.5 tablespoons water. Let sit 5-15 minutes or until goopy like an egg.
- For paleo: use coconut sugar, coconut oil, and paleo chocolate (some consider Enjoy Life to be paleo, some don't. If you really don't want to use cane sugar, try Pascha's 100% cacao chocolate chips.
- For dairy-free / vegan: use coconut oil and dairy-free chocolate.
- For keto / low-carb: use the keto option. Some consider it paleo, some don't. I had previously listed Lakanto but this other mixture works much better! Also use sugar-free chocolate chips, such as Pascha 100% cacao chocolate chips (paleo) or Lily's Chocolate Chips (not paleo, due to soy).
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1632 comments on “Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan / keto options)” — Add one!
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These are delicious! I used butter, coconut sugar, and substituted gf oat flour for the coconut flour and they turned out perfect! You’d never guess that they are refined sugar free. Thank you!
I’m really surprised that the oat flour sub worked out! Thanks for sharing that. :) I’m so happy they came out well!
These cookies are OMG delicious!!!! I made the unsalted organic butter and brown sugar version and they definitely rival the best chocolate chip regular flour cookies I made in the past. Next, I’ll try the paleo version and then the vegan version. Thanks so much for putting this recipe out there! :)
Woohoo! I’m so happy to hear that! I hope you’ll enjoy the other versions just as much! And I love that you’re trying them all out. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
These cookies are great! I’ve made them now several times using coconut oil and coconut sugar.
I made them tonight and tried a new method that worked out really well – When it came time to chill the dough, I put it in plastic wrap and rolled it into a tube (kind of like store bought cookie dough.) I let it chill and then sliced it into discs to bake (made about 22 2 inch cookies, baked for 13 minutes.) The cookies came out perfectly, and were more traditional chocolate chip cookie shape, plus it was easier and less messy!
I’m so sorry I just now saw your comment! I love your idea of slicing them. I’ll have to try that! Thanks a bunch for your tip and your feedback. :)
These are delish and might just be my new favorite paleo treat! Plus, I love that they held up overnight. So many paleo cookies get soft and mushy! FYI – I cut the sugar down to less than a 1/2 of a cup and everyone still loved them. My husband even told me how good they were and he’s pretty darn hard to please;)
That’s great that they worked with less sugar! That’s good to know. :) And I’m so happy that your husband enjoyed them, too! Thanks for your comment.
This was my very first paleo sweet of any kind and I am happy to report that they were awesome. I like them more than regular chocolate chip cookies!
That’s awesome! I’m so happy you liked them. :) Thanks for your feedback!
These sound awesome! What is the carb count?
Thanks! I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. :) And sorry for my slow reply!
Just wondering if it would be possible to use maple syrup instead of sugar for this recipe?
I’ve tried it and adding all that extra liquid makes the cookies cakey and not very tasty (in my opinion).
This is absolutely my favorite paleo grain-free chocolate chip cookie recipe! They are so delicious, and even my very picky family members like them! That is quite an accomplishment. Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂🍪
I don’t know how I missed your comment! I’m so sorry. :( I’m happy that they pleased even the picky eaters! Thanks so much for your comment.
Thanks so much for the great recipe! I used homemade almond butter and flour. It worked a treat!
Awesome! I’m happy it worked out well. :) Thanks for your feedback!
Perfect is right! I made these using the butter and coconut sugar exactly as listed and they were wonderful. My only comment would be that i made what i would consider to be fairly decent sized cookies and made 21 cookies, if only making 8 they would have been really huge 😀
Oh no. I’m sorry I didn’t see your comment until now! And yeah. A lot of people find my cookie size a little too big. ;) Thanks for your comment!
Is there a low carb alternative to coconut sugar? Would stevia work?
One guy did some experimenting with low-carb sweeteners and posted his results here. Hope that helps!
Hi Erin, While I have bobs red mill coconut flour I cant find the almond meal in my grocery store.Can I grind up some almonds instead? I’ve got a powerful blender that can turn nuts into paste easily. Thanks!
Here’s a tutorial on how to make homemade almond meal. :) I haven’t tried it myself but it seems to work for that blogger! If I were you, I’d sieve out the larger pieces of almonds to try to make it as fine as possible. I’d love to hear how it works out!
Thanks Erin! I am definitely going to try this!!
Good luck! :)
Hi Erin, I tried making my own almond flour using whole almonds with the skin on. My blender is powerful so I had to be careful not to grind too much. After sifting i used the leftover coarse meal to make almond butter and then followed your recipe for everything else. My cookies tasted great but were flat and slightly greasy. Kids liked them but there were no rave reviews! I am definitely going to try again with bobs red mill
Hi Fatima! Aww, what a pity. I also had mixed results using other brands. :/ I definitely recommend Bob’s Red Mill! It’s worth ordering. I hope (and I’m pretty sure :)) that your next attempt will go much better!
Can I replace the almond butter with grass fed butter
I don’t recommend it. They have a totally different texture and I think they’d come out super greasy with butter in place of almond butter.
Made a double batch and they just came of the oven. They look and smell awesome. Anyone try to freeze them after they’re baked?
I haven’t tried it but I believe a few comments have done that. :) I hope you’re enjoying them!
Yes I froze a batch & a week later they are still fantastic! Thanks Erin! I love being able to satisfy my sweet tooth occasionally in a healthy way!
Awesome! That’s great to know. That seems like a much better method than the one I use which is to eat them all within 24 hours. ;) Thanks for your comment!
Could I freeze the dough after forming cookie balls? If so, would I pop them right in the oven afterwards or defrost to room temperature before popping them in the oven?
I defrost them first and then bake them but I think a commenter or two has baked them straight from the freezer. :)
I make a huge batch (using butter and coconut sugar) and freeze them in round logs. Then I slice the logs to make individual cookies and bake straight from the freezer – works great!
Awesome! That’s a great tip. Thanks a bunch for sharing! :)
Hi can I substitute de almond flour for cashew flour my kids are intolerant to almonds.
I haven’t tried it but I think that’d work. I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it out! :)
Just tried these and they are wonderful! I replaced the coconut oil with butter and they baked up beautifully. Will definitely be my go to choc chip recipe from now on. Love ’em Erin, Thanks for sharing!
Aww, yay! I’m happy you’ve found a new favorite. :) Thank you for your comment!
What brand almond butter do you use? Since almond butter has oil, do you use the no stir kind?
I used homemade. It just has almonds in it. Any brand of almond butter that just has almonds in it (added salt’s okay) should work. I don’t recommend using one that has added fat or sugar. Enjoy! :)
I love these! I will never make regular chocolate chip cookies again! My husband loves them too!
That’s awesome! I’m thrilled to hear that you’ve found a favorite. :) Thanks for your comment!
I’ve been searching for a good paleo cookie recipe for months with not a whole lot of success until now. My entire family loved these. Even my 8 year old daughter, who usually groans when she finds out that mom has made “healthy” cookies, said they were better than “real” chocolate chip cookies. Thanks for the recipe.
Haha. Well, I’m happy you found a recipe that your daughter likes! I’ve made tons of less-than-stellar healthy cookies so I have sympathy for her and the healthy cookie situation. ;) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
I made this recipe using a few substitutions (with chia instead of egg), split the oil as 1/2 earth balance butter and 1/2 coconut oil, and for flour used 1/2 c. Almond flour (all that I had left), 1/2 c quinoa flour, & 1/4 c. Coconut flour, 1/4 c coconut sugar 1/4 c brown sugar & 1/8 c stevia extract baking blend (I wanted to try a little more, but wanted to make sure the taste was still good)…mini m&m’s instead of choc chunks set on top before baking, so it looks like sugary fun to the kids!)…after baking the flavor was great and they even had a Little crisp on the edges (which is what I was hoping for)-but they were quite crumbly, any thoughts as to what could be added to help these stick together? ( Maybe more chia?)
I’m happy they came out well! Chia eggs are binders but at the same time, they make things more cakey, which I think wouldn’t help your crumbly problem (I could be wrong). Maybe you could try the recipe without the flour sub? I think that’s probably the issue. I hope the kids enjoyed them! Thanks for your comment. :)