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!
52 comments are awaiting moderation!
I don’t even understand. How are these so perfect? They are shaped beautifully; like traditional cookies (with a little smashing before baking). They are lightly crispy on the outer edge, but soft and chewy on the inside; just like traditional cookies. They’re completely and utterly perfect. I put them in for 11 minutes, by the way, and they came out gorgeous. Thank you so much for this recipe. I didn’t think I’d ever find a good paleo cookie recipe!
Aww, thanks. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed them so much! And I’m happy you agree with me on the perfect thing. I felt kind of obnoxious calling them that. ;) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
These turned out great! I used coconut sugar and coconut oil–AND used peanut butter! I had only organic Smucker’s peanut butter on hand, so I used that. Baked for 12 mins and they got harder and more cookie-like after sitting for a couple of minutes. Also put the dough in the freezer before adding the chocolate chips for a few minutes to harden. It helped! Thanks!
I just don’t understand how other people are using peanut butter with success! I’ve tried these about a dozen times with peanut butter (thinking if I add a little more or less of something it’ll work). But they never come out nearly as yummy as the almond butter version! They always seem kind of cakey with peanut butter. I’ll have to get my hands on Smucker’s and see how they come out with that. Thanks so much for your tip! :)
My husband is on a paleo diet and doesn’t know it. He was recently diagnosed with CHF, and can’t eat anything with sodium. I used crushed almonds instead of almond butter (same thing really, but I didn’t grind the almonds long enough, and used the crushed almonds instead of flour. Instead of baking soda (Very high in sodium) I used Flax meal (about 1/4 cup) and enough seltzer water to make a batter slightly thicker than pancake batter. Of course, i had to use the drop method, but they turned out wonderfully. I also used less brown sugar and substituted with honey. These cookies turned out wonderfully; my husband thinks he is having “Junk food” but he is getting a lot of nutrition without the sodium. Thanks!!
oh yeah I forgot, the flax and seltzer combo was a substitution for baking soda AND egg…
Awesome! Thanks for the tip. :)
Oh, wow. That’s great that these came out well with your subs! I had no idea about baking soda being so high in sodium. Thanks for sharing your subs! I’m sure it’ll help someone else down the road. :)
This is the second time I have made these cookies.
They are my new favorite.
I’m so happy you like them so much! Thanks for your feedback. :)
Anyone have nutrition info on these bad boys?
Check out my reply to Mischelle 5 comments below you. :)
Oh, im sorry, i meant like carbs, fats, etc for a batch :D
You can copy and paste the recipe here if you like. :)
Hi Erin, We have a coconut allergy in the family – can I use almond flour in place or would you recommend another flour? Thanks!! Marcia
Hi here! Coconut flour absorbs so much more liquid than any other type of flour so unfortunately there’s no sub. I have tried these cookies with more almond flour and they just didn’t work. I’m sorry! I so wish there were a good sub.
I just recently did the Whole30 and have decided to cut out gluten. I was sad to think that chocolate chip cookies were out of my life for good. I’m so excited to try these tonight. Already asked my husband to pick up some almond flour and can’t wait to get started! The comments were so encouraging…seems like a winner! I’ll let you know how it goes. Thank you for taking the time to try and (maybe occasionally) fail so we could all benefit.
Aww. Thanks for your kind comment! All the happy reviews from people made all the trials totally worth it. :) I hope you’ll enjoy the cookies and congratulations on finishing up with Whole30!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these cookies! Your technique is very similar to the one I used when I baked with wheat flour and I’ve searched for a excellent cookie since switching to grain-free with no luck! The cookies were baked last night and placed in the freezer to enjoy later since I couldn’t eat all of them at one setting. Well, yummy! Thank you!!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! And you’ve already frozen them? Wow. What willpower. That’s awesome! :) Thanks a bunch for your feedback.
I made these for a friend who is gluten free and dairy free and they turned out amazing! Much better than my traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe. In fact, they are now my go-to cookie. One quick question–for some reason the chocolate chips didn’t incorporate in with the batter very well so at the end there were chocolate chip cookies that had “fallen” out of the batter sitting at the bottom of the bowl. Did I do something wrong? Thanks again for the recipe!!
I think I know what you’re talking about! Sometimes if the dough is especially wet (like if the coconut oil melts), the chocolate chips don’t want to stay put very well. For me, I end up with just a few at the bottom of the bowl but if you have more of an issue than that, you could chill the dough first. That should fix the problem. And I was thrilled to hear that it’s your new go-to cookie! Thanks a ton for your feedback. :)
Do you happen to have a calorie count on the cookies? They are really really good!
I’m so happy you liked them! It’s better just to pretend that these don’t have calories, though. ;) Here’s a comment with that info! Thanks for your feedback.
Just wanted to share that I just made these using 1/2 cup of organic sugar and added molasses since I don’t keep brown sugar on hand. I also subbed the oil for Palm Oil and used PB (4TB) in place of almond butter. My new favorite paleoish cookie!
Yum! Sounds good. What kind of peanut butter did you use? Thanks for sharing your tips!
I used the MaraNatha organic no stir peanut butter. I loved the flavor it added. It made it almost feel like a real PB chocolate chip cookie and not one made with almond flour. Nice crunchy outside chewy inside! My new favorite, thanks!
I’m so happy it came out well with that peanut butter! I checked out the ingredients and it has added palm oil and sugar. So maybe that’s the difference! My homemade stuff just has salted peanuts and it’s thin like pancake batter. Sorry to ask another question but is MaraNatha peanut butter the super runny kind or the firm kind like Skippy? I googled it and can’t find any pictures other than the jar. Thanks for your comment! :)
This is a great recipe!
I encountered an interesting outcome making them for the first time. I followed the recipe you posted with two differences: maple syrup as a substitute for the sugar, and sunflower seed butter instead of almond. They came out delish but upon biting into the cookie, I was surprised to see a distinct green colour in the batter (it wasn’t there before being cooked and I double checked I didn’t add some leafy green by mistake). They taste great though and my partner and I figure we have found a great Xmas cookie recipe :)
Thanks for sharing!
How much maple syrup did you use? I’d like to try it with syrup, as well!
I used about 9 tablespoons. Maple syrup is my favourite sweetener :)
Thanks for your reply and feedback, Peter! I love your changes. :) Did you add any extra flour or anything to make up for the extra liquid in the maple syrup? I’m also interested in trying your maple syrup version! And the cookies turning green is due to the sunflower seed butter. I’ve never used it myself but I’ve read about it here. Thanks again for your comment!
Hi! I just wanted to let you know I actually tried peanut butter and they worked out fantastic!! Not sure why or how, but so tasty:D Thanks for the recipe.
Oh, neat! What kind did you use? I’ve tried with homemade peanut butter and the texture of the cookies comes out weird and they’re super greasy. Thanks for letting me know!
It’s an organic creamy peanut butter, I think it was Adams!
Awesome! I’ll check it out. Thanks for letting me know. :)
Amazing! I am a baker, and I recently began eating Paleo. I was skeptical when I made these, I will be honest. They were my first paleo dessert! I was blown away! Thank you for all of your time and recipe trials! You have a winner with this recipe!
Thanks so much, Sarah! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the cookies so much. Being skeptical when making any paleo dessert is probably a good idea. ;) Good luck with paleo baking and thanks so much for your feedback!
Where have you been all my paleo life. Finally a grain free cookie that tastes like its not grain free. Made these cookies for Valentines day and OMG they were amazing. The texture, the taste were absolutely fantastic and delicious. I didn’t make mine huge so they were perfect the regular cookie size. My husband, kids, the neighbors kids all loved them. This one is definitely a keeper and I will be making this again and a lot more of your other recipes. Thank You!!!
Haha. I’m thrilled that you all enjoyed them so much! And I guess I need to come up with some more paleo recipes. ;) I don’t have all that many and I haven’t even labelled most of them as paleo. I guess it’s time to change that! Thanks a ton for your feedback. :)
OMG!!!! These cookies are absolutely amazing! I substituted cocoa nibs instead of the chocolate chips because I’m trying to cut out sugar. Oh boy! They are to die for! Next batch I will try it with hazelnut butter instead of almond butter. Girl… you are amazing! I wonder if there is a way to cut down on the fat. The 6 tablespoons of coconut butter seems like a lot. Have you tried it with less oil by any chance?
I have tried it with less oil (I went through loads of trials to arrive at the final recipe ;)) and thought that 6 tablespoons was the best amount. You could try decreasing it by a tablespoon next time and see if you like them just as much. :) All nut butters are different so these come out a little differently with hazelnut butter but they’re still yummy! I hope you’ll enjoy them. And I’m so happy you like the recipe! Thanks a ton for your feedback. :)
Thank-you kindly for sharing this amazing recipe!! These cookies are heavenly!
I’m so happy you liked them! Thank you for your comment and feedback. :)
The texture of these cookies looks absolutely fantastic. :-) Have you ever tried making these with applesauce instead of an egg?
Thanks! I haven’t tried that but one commenter used a flax egg and said it worked perfectly. :)
These were to be my one “treat” to myself for completion of my first Whole30 and I was super excited. Sadly, after letting them cool and firm up after coming out of the oven, I realized that they were literally falling apart (almost like sand). Not to be deterred, I grabbed a fork and dug in right off the cookie sheet – they were TO DIE FOR. My husband wanted to see what I was fussing about and then grabbed a bite too – massive double thumbs up (and he did NOT do a Whole30). Still, I was sad about the texture and was about to chalk it off to not having worked much with almond flour…..until, as I was doing the dishes, I spotted a lone egg sitting on the counter…my “room temp egg” – WHOOPS! Obviously, no egg = no binder – duh. So, other than that little guffaw, all turned out perfectly and the taste was exactly what I was hoping for :) The massive headache that came later from having detoxed from sugar for 30+ days wasn’t the best, but in the future these cookies will be “worth it” when I’m looking for a treat. Thank you!
The first half of your comment had me freaking out. ;) I’m so happy you found the egg! I accidentally omit ingredients way too often (which is one of the reasons why I test recipes several times before posting!) so I know your pain. And I’m even happier that the eggless version still tasted good. Thanks so much for your feedback and I hope you’ll like the version with the egg even more!
I can’t wait to make these! My kids have had two snow days in a row and I think this is the perfect afternoon boredom buster :) I’m planning on using butterscotch instead of the chocolate chips because I’ve been craving it lately! When you chill the dough, have you made the individual cookies and chill them on a baking sheet, or stick the whole batch of dough in the fridge? About how long do you cool it?
I bet these would be great with butterscotch chips! Yum. I haven’t tried chilling the individual balls of dough on the baking sheet but I think it’d work. I’d let them sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before putting them into the oven. When you say cool it, do you mean how long do you cool them on the baking sheet after they’ve baked? If so, I’m guessing about 15 minutes. Or maybe 30! I need to take note of that next time. If you mean how long would you chill the balls of dough, I’m guessing 30 minutes. It’s just a guess, though! I hope you and your kids will enjoy the cookies. :)