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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1630 comments on “Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan / keto options)” — Add one!
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These are my new GO TO for chocolate chip cookies! I love that I can feed my family a delicious snack that has healthier ingredients. Thank you, Erin!!
Oh, hi! Nice to see you over on this recipe. :) And so great that they’re your new go-to recipe! Thanks again for your comments. :)
Can you sub almond flour for all coconut flour? Also, can a milled flax egg be used instead of a chia seed egg for vegan substitute?
You can with certain changes. I link to the coconut flour version in the second paragraph and I’m assuming flax eggs would work but I haven’t tried it (I talk about that in the coconut flour cookies post).
I subbed the coconut flour with cricket flour (yes, ground up crickets) and got good results. I made it with coconut oil and eggs and portioned them out and then froze them before baking. I baked the first batch at 325 in a convection oven and it spread quite a bit so I baked the next batch at 350 (convection oven) and it still spread but much less.
The cricket flour as a slightly nutty taste so it pared well with the almond flour. It also absorbs a lot of liquids like coconut flour so it seemed be a good sub (by weight). Next time, though, I might try decreasing the coconut oil or increasing the coconut flour to get a bit more chewiness in texture.
Thanks so much for the tip! That’s great to know. I’ve never baked with cricket flour so that’s something I’ll have to look into. Thanks again for sharing your coconut flour-free version with us! I’m happy it worked out well. :)
Omg! Soo good. This is going to be my go to cookie recipe from now on. They are awesome ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Yay! I’m glad to hear that. Thanks a bunch for your comment! :)
Can I use maple syrup or honey in the recipe?
Unfortunately not. It makes them very cakey and fall apart.
I used agave! I just added maybe an extra tablespoon of coconut flour (since it’s so absorbant) to take it the extra liquid! I also chilled it for a bit in the fridge before rolling out to make sure the dough would hold, like you said. They came out perfect! Your recipe is amazing!!
That’s great to know! So they were still really chewy? Not at all cakey? Thanks for letting me know how they turned out!
These cookies are DELICIOUS! I made them for a group of friends, some of whom are pretty picky, and the plate was cleaned! I made them a second time for a new mom, and she kept going on about how they were amazing, and couldn’t believe they were “healthy”!! Thanks for posting – It’s been added to my recipe book! :)
So nice of you to make them for a new mom! I’m happy that your other friends (especially the picky ones!) liked them, too. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
These are AWESOME! Magical for someone who loves dessert but has started a Paleo lifestyle! Is there any way to gauge nutritional value on these, specially calories?
Woohoo! So happy that you found them to be magical. :D I don’t have that info but could use this recipe analyzer for the nutritional profile. Thanks for your comment!
Have you tried making these ahead and freezing the raw dough in balls? I usually make a massive batch of cookies and then freeze them and bake as needed. I generally thaw them overnight on the tray and then bake from the fridge.
Yes, that’ll definitely work! Hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
Can you freeze the dough without making the cookies into balls first? I was planning to make 3 batches to put into my freezer tonight but wasn’t planning on making the dough balls until I wanted to use them. Will this be a problem?
Sorry for just now seeing this! That’s not a problem at all. You can freeze the dough in a disc / log / whatever, in balls, or already baked. I hope you’ll enjoy them!
Can you sub anything for the coconut flour? My kiddos can’t do coconut. I’m also thinking of trying maple sugar instead of the coconut sugar.
Coconut flour isn’t interchangeable with any other flour as it absorbs so much more liquid. I think a few commenters have used oat flour but since I haven’t tried it, I’m not sure if the cookies come out like how they’re intended. Sorry about that. Maple sugar would work! Sounds delicious. :)
I subbed the coconut flour with cricket flour (yes, ground up crickets) and got good results. I made it with coconut oil and eggs and portioned them out and then froze them before baking. I baked the first batch at 325 in a convection oven and it spread quite a bit so I baked the next batch at 350 (convection oven) and it still spread but much less.
The cricket flour as a slightly nutty taste so it pared well with the almond flour. It also absorbs a lot of liquids like coconut flour so it seemed be a good sub (by weight). Next time, though, I might try decreasing the coconut oil or increasing the coconut flour to get a bit more chewiness in texture.
First time making these I used brown sugar and it was good! Second time I used coconut sugar and they were even better!! Thank you for this, just started paleo and we’ve been struggling with cravings for desserts and this did the job!
Yay! I’m happy to hear that! I also like the slightly caramely taste that coconut sugar adds to goodies. Thanks for your comment! Good luck with paleo (I have lots more paleo desserts you might like :))
Hi Erin!
I just made these for my hubby, and he loved them! I even lowered the sugar to 1/2 cup, and he was still raving about them. We just discovered he’s a bit gluten intolerant, so I’ll be keeping this recipe on hand for him. Thanks girl!
Hi Lauren! Nice to hear from you. :D That’s great that they came out well with only 1/2 cup. I’ll have to try that, too! Thanks for your comment. :)
I have NEVER commented on a recipe review… until now! Yesterday I transitioned from Whole30 to more Paleo and given the holiday, I wanted to make a sweet treat for all to enjoy. I made these cookies and OHHHH.MMMMMM.GGGGGG! Simply amazing!!!! Even my super picky husband liked them– and thats HUGE because he is not adventurous with food, especially anything “healthy” :-) These are soo good I plan on making them again… but this time, I need to take them into work so I don’t eat them all!!!
Woohoo! I’m so happy that the cookies were good enough to inspire you to write a recipe review. Thanks so much for taking the time to do that! I’m thrilled that you liked them and I hope your co-workers enjoyed them. :)
Do you have any idea how many carbs are in each cookie?
I don’t have that info but could use this recipe analyzer if you’d like for the nutritional profile. :)
Hi! I am making these now, and I used coconut sugar and coconut oil. I just placed it in the fridge to set. It’s really crumbly right now. Is that normal?
Hi there! It shouldn’t be crumbly but if your coconut oil was slightly melty, the dough might be greasy and I guess kind of crumbly. Did it firm up in the fridge?
Hi Erin,
I just wanted to let you know that I stumbled upon another website, that I think is pretending to impersonate your blog. As a fellow blogger, I knew that I would want to be notified if this happened with one of my recipes. So I wanted to let you know. Here’s their website link: https://www.damnluscious.com/2018/05/perfect-paleo-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
Best,
Tatianna
Hi Tatianna! Oh goodness. Thank you for letting me know! I really appreciate you taking the time to write me. I sure hate when people just copy and paste entire posts like that. :( I’ll definitely write them. Thanks again!
OMG! These are delicious! My husband and I are both grain and dairy free due to celiacs disease. I am so glad I found your site. I love, love, love all of the recipes I have tried so far.
Yay! So happy that you’ve loved the recipes you’ve tried! I hope you’ll enjoy the others just as much. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
This was the best paleo cookie recipe I have ever tried !! Thank you !
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear that. :)
These are amazing. Period!!! I love them. They are perfect!! Thank you so much. I’m diabetic and I used sugar free chips. Made me feel I was cheating.
Yay! So happy you liked them! What brand of chips did you use? Thanks for your comment!
I have made these with brown sugar and butter and couldn’t stay out of them. Best cookies ever. I have to do keto now so this time I used butter, Sukrin gold (brown sugar sub) and Know Better mini chocolate chips. They are good like that but not as amazing as the other way. But thank you for a recipe I could modify and stick to keto.
You’re welcome! I’m happy that you enjoyed them and that your keto version worked out okay! Thanks for sharing how you made them low-carb. :)
literally THE BEST paleo chocolate chip cookies EVER!!! I served them to my friends without telling them what they were and they all LOVED them!! I have already made this batch 2xs and will continue forever!!
Aww, yay! So happy that you’ll make them forever and that your friends loved them! Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :D
Hi Erin, I made these cookies tonight for our vacation! I made the butter and coconut sugar version. I am very very pleased about how they turned out. They taste wonderful! The texture is wonderful. They look like chocolate chip cookies :)
Thank you from a little boy and his mother who can’t make glutenous cookies!
Hi Mary! I had to laugh at your comment about them looking like chocolate chip cookies (I guess instead of blobs like some other GF cookies look ;)) I’m so happy that you and your son liked them. You’re welcome for the recipe and thank you for your feedback!