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!
51 comments are awaiting moderation!
I juat gotta ask… how is sugar paleo? And in other words- do u think i can replace the sugar with maple syrup or honey? Or maybe even date paste?
Coconut sugar is considered paleo (source). Using a liquid sweetener doesn’t work in these cookies. It makes they very cakey and in my opinion, not worth making.
Interesting. In Israel or at least the ppl ive learned from say that its not paleo.. and still think so.. so dont know what to do now cause you really got me curious… anyway thanks for the answer!!
In the US, it’s definitely considered paleo. Hope you’ll give them a try! :)
I made these and they are amazing! Any thoughts on the nutrition facts? Calories etc?
So happy you liked them! I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. :) Thanks for your comment!
if you find yourself in Germany again, the blabbed almond flour sold at Lidl in my area (Southwest Germany) has been great. I ran out of Bob’s too :(
I meant blanched! new keyboard, sorry x.x
I buy that one when they have it, too! I test my recipes with it and when I’m done, I test the final version with Bob’s to make sure it comes out how I really want it. It’s a lot finer than the Lidl stuff. Thanks for the tip. :)
Hello Ms. Erin Thank you so much for sharing your Recipe, I was looking for a sugar free recipe when I came across your page and was absolutely amazed by all your collection but I wanted to see if you have ever tried replacing the sugar with sativa?
and also what would you recommend if I want to do this in bulk?just double or tripling serving size or just making each batch from scratch??
Hi Ruth! Thanks for your kind words. :) Do you mean stevia? I’ve had the worst luck in baking with stevia so I have no advice there. Sorry about that! One guy did some experimenting with low-carb sweeteners and posted his results here. Hope that helps! I think doubling or tripling this recipe wouldn’t be an issue (though I haven’t tried it myself). If you try using stevia, I definitely recommend doing a single or even a half test batch first. Hope you’ll enjoy the cookies!
Can I use xilitol?
I’ve never tried it, sorry.
If we use brown sugar, should it be packed?
Not tightly packed. Do you have a scale? That’s the easiest way to make sure you use exactly the right amount. :)
Wow! The BEST cookies. I’ve brought these to Paleo potlucks, work, family functions and they are a hit! These are the only chocolate chip cookies I will make! Thank you for the recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m very happy to hear that they’re your one and only chocolate chip cookie recipe and that they were enjoyed at the potlucks! Thanks a bunch for your comment. :)
These cookies were delicious but I think the coconut flour bothered my stomach. Could I sub it with any other flour?
I’m happy you enjoyed them but sorry about your stomach! 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.
What is a chia egg?
Check out the last paragraph of the post where I say 6/30/16 update. :)
After trying many different paleo chocolate chip cookie recipes, I felt discouraged none would taste like the “real” thing. But this recipe smelled, looked, and tasted great. The cookie was light and yummy. I think this will be my go to recipe. I used 3TB butter and 3TB coconut oil just because I couldn’t decide which would be better and it worked well. I did refrigerate the dough, as advised, and was happy the dough didn’t spread out or get too greasy.
Thanks for a great recipie!
You’re welcome! :) I’m happy that you enjoyed them and that you’ll be making them again. Half coconut oil and butter is always a good choice. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
The cookie sheet look amazing! I’m just wondering if you think it’s possible to make them without sugar? Just a sweetener. 😬
What do you mean with “just a sweetener”? Did you mean just without sweetener? If so, then I’m afraid not. The sugar is needed to hold the cookies together and they’ll also taste bad without any sweetener. Sorry about that!
Hi Erin,
I haven’t made these yet but can I replace the coconut sugar with Stevia? I can’t have any other sugar then that.
Hi there! I’ve unfortunately never tried that and none of the commenters have mentioned that working so I really have no idea if it’d work. Sorry about that!
Can’t wait to make these but have one question! My boyfriend doesn’t like any type of nut butter. What can we replace the almond butter with? Also, have you made these cookies with ghee or clarified butter? Thanks!
Unfortunately there’s nothing you can use in place of the nut butter. It’s what makes these cookies work. :) Have you tried sunflower seed butter? I haven’t tried them with ghee but I’m guessing that’d work!
Awesome, this is my only chocolate chip cookie recipe now. Can’t wait to try the chocolate chocolate chip cookies and brownies, I have a feeling they will be keepers. I have made them both with coconut oil and butter as well as coconut sugar and brown sugar. Butter and sugar are still my favorite. Thanks for sharing.
It’s hard to beat butter and sugar. ;) I hope you’ll enjoy the cookies and brownies just as much! Thanks for your feedback.
These cookies (and the chocolate version too!) are the BOMB!!! My whole family loves them and I make them at least once a week! One trick I’ve learned to make sure they come out uniform size is after refrigerating for an hour, I put them in plastic wrap and form the dough into a loaf. Then simply slice and bake!! So so yummy!! :)
Interesting! Other people have mentioned the log thing but it never works for me. I just weigh them and they come out all the same size then. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment! I’m happy to hear you like the chocolate version, too!
Thank you sooo much for posting this recipe!
My son was recently diagnosed as on the spectrum and we have found that cutting out dairy and gluten has made a huge difference to his behaviour but he has been so miserable not being able to eat his favourite things.
I have been scouring the internet for good chocolate chip cookie recipes and this is so far the best one I have found. Chewy, delicious and so moorish! In fact, I have to say, I think these have even more flavour than a normal chocolate chip cookie!
A little tip if it takes your fancy….after you roll the dough into little balls, dip them on one side in hundreds and thousands and then put them on the baking tray and lightly press them down while you slightly flatten the cookie ball. They came out fantastic and it was all worth it to see the HUGE smile on my sons face.
You’re so welcome! :) If your son has “only” cut out gluten and dairy, there’s SO much good stuff he can still have! I have a bunch of paleo desserts (and other sweets) that would fit the bill. I hope you can find some other goodies he can have! Although I have to admit, these cookies are one of my very favorites. ;) Thanks for the tip on the sprinkles! I had to look up what hundreds and thousands are. Sounds like a fun idea! Thanks a bunch for your comment.
Okay, I am AMAZED by this cookie. I have been baking for a long time… in fact, I’m known by my friends as a legit baker. THIS COOKIE… honestly BLEW me away. Regardless of it being GF or not, it is a dam* GOOD cookie!! WOW!!! the flavour is spot-on, it’s fragrant, the texture is perfect… I can’t wait for people to try this. Thank you for such a truly perfect chocolate chip cookie (it’s more than perfect IMHO)!
Aww, thanks! What a wonderful comment. :) I love how excited you are about the cookies! I hope your friends will enjoy them just as much. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever had! Thanks for your sharing and tips! Delicious!
Aww, yay! Thanks so much. :) I’m happy you like them so much! Thanks a bunch for your comment. :)
I’ve been making these for months now & they never disappoint. If anyone is interested, they make great cookie bars! I made them in a 8×8 pan that I sprayed with nonstick spray. Baked at 350 for about 35 minutes then cooled completely in the pan. SO GOOD!
I love them as cookie bars, too! So yummy. :) Thanks for the tip and for your comment! I’m happy you enjoyed the cookies / bars.
Delicious! Easy, tasty and simple. I used solid coconut oil. I used 1/2 cup beet sugar instead of coconut sugar. Finally, I used cashew butter instead of almond flour. Great texture, color and crumb size. Thank you!!
Oooh! I’ve never heard of beet sugar. I’ll have to look for that! I’m so happy you enjoyed the cookies and that they came out well with your subs. Thanks for your feedback!