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).
Join over 12,400 readers and sweeten up
your inbox with new posts for free!
This subscription is free of charge and can be canceled at any time.
1632 comments on “Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan / keto options)” — Add one!
51 comments are awaiting moderation!
Please change my rating to 5 hearts!! I made a mistake on my initial comment!!
It showed up as 5 to me! No change necessary. :) Thanks again for your nice comment!
I am hesitant to post because I made alterations but because they turned out so AMAZING, I decided to post. I wanted to recreate an “island cookie” recipe I had which uses traditional ingredients. Because I am fairly paleo and sugar free, including syrup, coconut sugar, etc., I used over ripe bananas (2) with 1/3 tsp stevia powder in place of the sugar. I also used 3/4 cup Lily’s chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and about 1/4 cup dried coconut. I did as some suggested and used 1/2 pasture butter and 1/2 coconut oil. Just absolutely delicious. I so appreciate your recipe and all the helpful tips, thank you! Feel free to not post this since it’s not your true recipe.
Of course I’d post your comment! It’s great that people share their changes so that other people who also need sugar-free (or nut-free or whatever) can see what others have tried. :) That’s an interesting sugar sub! Were the cookies cakey due to the bananas? Could you taste the bananas? I might have to try that. Thanks a bunch for your comment!
Great! Yes, the cookies were cakey but taste great. Next time I plan to flatten them more so they won’t be quite so thick. I made normal size cookies, meant to mention that as well. My hubby and I are devouring them😄. Thanks again for your recipes!!
I’m happy to hear that you’re devouring them! :) Thanks for the answer and you’re welcome for the recipes :D
THESE WERE SO PERFECT! Even my teens loved them and said they were better than “normal cookies”. THANK YOU! You’ve made my paleo life so much happier <3
Aww, yay! What a compliment from your teens! And I’m so happy that your paleo life is happier now. :) Thanks so much for your nice comment!
Made these tonight and they were fabulous! I was out of almond butter so substituted sun butter, so yummy!!!
I love these with Sun Butter, too. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment! I’m so happy you liked them.
Looking to bake these cookies. Is Almond meal/flour the same as Almond flour?
The only difference is that almond flour is made from blanched almonds and almond meal is made from unblanched almonds. So yes, in this recipe, almond meal is fine since the skins won’t make a big difference. :)
Could I omit the coconut flour and use all almond flour? I do not like coconut at all, even the slightest bit of coconut can ruin a recipe for me.
Coconut flour is unfortunately not interchangeable with any other flour as it absorbs so much more liquid. Someone mentioned that they used oat flour in place of the coconut flour but I haven’t tried it myself.
Hi
These cookies are AWESOME!!! Mine came out crnmchy and wondering how to get the soft textture. I followed the recipe 100%.
Keep up the GREAT WORK!!
Thank You.
You’re the first commenter ever to mention them being crunchy so I’m thinking your oven might be running hot. Try sticking an oven thermometer in there to test it! And what kind of baking sheet are you using? Don’t use a black one (if that’s what you’re using). I’m happy you still enjoyed them! :)
Can you substitute the butter with bananas?
I don’t think that’d work but I haven’t tried it.
These are awesome. Like, my kids don’t pretend most Paleo baked goods taste like the real thing (let’s be honest, they usually taste like coconut and have a grainy texture). But they love these! Everybody does! Used half coconut oil and half grass fed butter. They look AND taste like the real deal. So happy. 😊. Thanks for the recipe and I’ll definitely be back to try more from your site!
Haha. Yay! So happy that they passed the kid test. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment! I hope you’ll enjoy the other recipes just as much. :)
Wow that video is sooooo adorable!!! Great job – making these now!
Thanks so much! Hope you’re enjoying your cookies! :D
I am so glad I found this recipe. The cookies are soooo good. My husband really likes them, too. I have to pace myself eating them. I will be making them again. I used the mini semi sweet chocolate chips, so didn’t add all of the chocolate chips stated in the recipe, but there were plenty. I will have to make these for my team at work!
That’s great! And awesome that your husband liked them, too. :) I hope they’ll be a hit at the office. Thanks for your comment!
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 16 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 75Calories from Fat 49
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5.4g8%
Saturated Fat 4.5g23%
Cholesterol 12mg4%
Sodium 121mg5%
Potassium 14mg0%
Total Carbohydrates 6.7g2%
Sugars 6.7g
Protein 0.4g
Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 1% • Iron 1%
Nutrition Grade F
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet
Nutritional Analysis
Bad points
Very high in saturated fat
Very high in sugar
Contains alcohol
Thanks for sharing!
These cookies are amazing. They definitely passed the kid test and we really enjoyed them. They were crunchy and chewy. Perfect. They are definitely a treat. I see someone calculated the nutrition facts for the recipe. I understand they are not to be meant in bulk and/or often but that is good information nonetheless. Does anyone know of an app or a good website that can calculate an entire recipes nutritional information as Erin did? Thanks.
I’m so sorry for just now seeing your comment, Theresa! I don’t know how I missed it. I’m happy that the cookies passed the kid test. :) You can copy and paste any recipe here for the nutritional profile. Thanks for your feedback! :)
Hey Erin, these are by eons the best Paleo chocolate chip cookies I have ever tried, and I have modified them a bit over the last year to accommodate lots of tastes. I have made them with palm shortening as well to great success, they are very crispy on the edges! My workmates love them too, and they don’t really know they are sugar, dairy and grain free.
Also thank you so much for including the grams for each, that is a much better way to bake and I can make baked goods the same every single time. And it’s easier for metric since I live in Ireland. Thank you!
Hi Kerry! I’ve never actually tried palm shortening but it’s time I try. Thanks for the tip! And I’m happy that you appreciate the grams. I much prefer them, too! It guarantees that your cup of flour is the same as my cup of flour. Less room for error then. :) Thanks a ton for your comment!
Thanks for this very tasty recipe! I had to make a few alterations. I didn’t have any almond flour or butter on hand, but I had sliced almonds that I had soaked. So I dehydrated them and ground half up as the flour and the other half as almond butter. The difference is just in how long the almonds are in the processor. I also didn’t have chocolate chips, but I melted down some bakers chocolate, maple syrup and honey, vanilla and a little palm shortening. I then spread the chocolate mixture on a pie plate, put in freezer to harden and cut into chocolate chunks. I appreciated the note about what the consistency of the coconut oil should be. The recipe turned out so well! I didn’t even need to refrigerate (I had used a combination of coconut sugar and brown sugar since I didn’t have enough coconut sugar.) Although, I wish there was a way to only use honey or maple syrup. I, too, felt these were the best grain free chocolate chip cookies I have made and I’ve tried so many recipes. I’ll happily return to this one again and again and stop searching for the best recipe. They had the perfect combination of crispness and chewiness. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe.
Oh my. You put in a lot of effort to make these cookies! I’m so happy that everything worked out well and that it was worth making your own almond flour and chocolate. Did your homemade chocolate melt into puddles once the cookies were baked? And I’m thrilled that you feel like you’ve found the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. :) Thanks a ton for your thoughtful comment!
This recipe is awesome! I’m currently on a sugar free diet so I substituted the sugar for xylitol and it worked a treat! Thanks :D
Great to know that xylitol works in these! Thanks for the tip and your comment. :)
Well I guess I locked out. The cookies came out great. Funny even though they are hard to form they’d worked. I still don’t know what I did wrong though. This is a great recipe. Thanks so much.
Awesome! I’m happy that it ended well. :) Thanks for coming back to let me know!
HI I love these cookies and have made them many times my neighbors also loved them. I don’t know what happened but the dough is crumbly. That never happened before. Is there anything I can do to save these as I made a double batch. I have put the dough back in the frig so hopefully that will help but I chilled the formed cookies before I baked them. I haven’t tried them yes as they are cooling. It doesn’t look good though. Where did I go wrong.?
Thanks
Was the coconut oil melted or almost melted when you made the cookies? Because that’ll cause the dough to be crumbly. If the coconut oil was solid and you didn’t make any changes or subs at all, then I’m not sure what it could be. I hope chilling helped. :)
These are so good! I felt the need for some comfort food tonight and these totally fit the bill! I will be making them again. Thanks!
Awesome! I’m happy to hear that you’ll be making them again. :) Thanks for your feedback!
Helllo! This recipe was AMAZING!! I thought I’ll never be able to have cookies again 😃. Thank you so much for sharing it! Do you think I can reduce the sugar to about 1/2 cup or would that affect the whole recipe? I wouldn’t want to ruin this beautiful texture but just found it too sweet 😊.
I think you could reduce it to 1/2 cup! It’ll affect the texture (making them a little more cakey) but I think they’ll still be good. I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it out! Thanks for your comment. :)
Hello again! I made them with 1/2 cup coconut sugar the second time and they did come out slightly cakey but I actually loved them even more like that! Wanted to know if it is possible to double this recipe :). Also, do you have an idea on how many days I can leave this batter in the fridge before baking?
Thank you!! :)
Well that’s good you prefer them cakey! :) Thanks for letting me know how they came out with less sugar. You can double the recipe and I’d probably only leave the dough in the fridge for 2 days. You can always freeze it, though!
I was wondering if there is any way to make these paleo without using any nut products. My daughter has a severe allergy to all nuts…Thank you!
Unfortunately, nuts flours aren’t interchangeable with non-nut flours. I’ve heard of people using sunflower seed flour as a sub but I’ve never tried it and have no idea if it’d work here. Sorry about that! For the nut butter, you could use sunflower seed butter. I’d love to hear how they come out if you try it!
Have you ever tried oat flour?? I have substituted oat flour in almost all almond flour recipes I’ve seen and haven’t had any problems…. do you think oat flour would work the same here as well?
Oooh! That’s interesting. I’ve never heard of anyone using that sub before. One person mentioned using oat flour in place of the coconut flour but I don’t think anyone has tried using it instead of almond flour. I normally tell people to only use other nut flours / meals in place of the almond flour but if you’ve had a good experience with that, I’m guessing it might work. If you try it out, I’d love to hear how it goes!
Erin, I made your recipe tonight except I substituted oat flour (I make my own in a food processor = cheaper!) for both almond & coconut flour & also subbed organic creamy peanut butter (it’s all I had) and I’m happy to report they came out great!! Absoutley Delicious!! So for those who don’t have almond/coconut flour, feel free to use oat flour ;) So good, I don’t want to put them away, I want to eat them all!!! ♡♡ thanks for this recipe!
Wow! That’s awesome. I’m definitely going to give it a try! Did you use 1 1/4 cups? If you used a scale, how many grams did you use? If you didn’t, did you spoon and scoop the flour into the cups or did you scoop the cups into the flour and measure that way? I want to do exactly what you did to make sure I have good results. ;) Thanks so much for your tip and your feedback! I’m excited to try your version. :)
I made them with just coconut flour and coconut oil, no almost flour or butter and they were really good! :)
So you omitted all the almond butter? And what amount of coconut flour did you use? Thanks for the tip!