These perfect paleo chocolate chip cookies are thick, chewy and have the perfect texture. Many of the reviewers have called these the best cookies ever and said that nobody had a clue that they were paleo (or even gluten-free)!
This recipe also has vegan and keto options. Thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for making today’s post possible!
I first posted this recipe four years ago and am reposting it today with new photos and more tips. Since I posted it, it’s been my most popular recipe and the photos just didn’t do it justice.
All almond flours are not created equal
When I first made these paleo chocolate chip cookies, it’d been quite a while since I last posted some grain-free recipes. I had run out of my favorite Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour months before and was so frustrated with the brands of almond flour available here in Germany since they’re so inconsistent.
Because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of ordering flour from the US, I thought I’d wait it out until Christmas when I’d be back in the US and could buy all the Bob’s Red Mill I want.
But then I got a hankering for chocolate chip cookies. And I really wanted to make paleo cookies.
So I went to work and while every batch tasted amazing, the appearance and thickness was different every single time. The only variable?
The almond flour. The almond flour I’d been buying varies from brand to brand and even within the same brand.
Variation in baking = bad
They come in tiny 1-cup bags here so I go through a load of them when recipe testing. I’d open up one bag and find some finely ground almond flour, then I’d open up another bag from the same company, and it was overall coarser with bits of sliced almonds.
Sliced almonds! In my almond flour. That was the final straw.
So to save my sanity, I ordered myself some Bob’s Red Mill almond flour. By the way, if you have Bob’s Red Mill in a retail store in your area, you can use one of these $1 coupons.
Consistency matters a lot
The cookies made with Bob’s Red Mill came out thick, chewy and just as delicious and magical as all-purpose flour chocolate chip cookies. I doubt that anyone would be able to tell that these are paleo cookies! And the 750+ reviewers agree with me.
And every batch comes out the same. I can say this very confidently as I’ve made these cookies over 100x in the last 4 years (yes, that’s about 2x a month!). Hooray for consistency!
Some of the reviewers have mentioned the same issues with random brands of almond flour vs. Bob’s Red Mill. And homemade almond flour? The cookies definitely won’t come out the same! This has been confirmed by several commenters.
So the almond flour obviously plays a huge role in the final outcome of these paleo chocolate chip cookies. Another thing that will affect the cookies is the temperature of the coconut oil.
Pay attention to the coconut oil
If you make these in the summer when room temperature coconut oil means melted coconut oil, you’ll need to refrigerate the coconut oil until it’s firmer, like softened butter.
If you make these dairy-free cookies with melted coconut oil, the dough will be very greasy and the chocolate chips will be hard to incorporate into the dough.
It doesn’t work to use melted coconut oil and then just chill the dough. I don’t understand why but it doesn’t work!
Coconut sugar (for paleo) vs brown sugar
You’ll also need to chill the dough if you use coconut sugar rather than brown sugar. I made one version with brown sugar and one with coconut sugar at the same time and the brown sugar cookies were nice and thick while the coconut sugar version spread flat and was super thin.
I refrigerated the remaining coconut sugar dough until firm and that resulted in nice and thick cookies, just like the brown sugar version! Just a little darker colored.
Size also matters
If you can’t tell by the pictures, these paleo chocolate chip cookies are huge. Instead of making 8 cookies, you can make 16 to get regular-sized cookies.
I just prefer how they bake up with gooier and chewier centers when they’re larger! Several of the commenters have said that they make them half that size and enjoy them and other commenters have said that they agree that the key to making these cookies so perfect is to make them huge.
Variations of this recipe
If you’ve had enough chocolate chip cookies lately but like this sound of this recipe, I’ve got you covered! I’ve made several variations of these cookies over the years:
- Coconut flour cookies – they don’t use any almond flour, in case you need a nut-free version! And they’re somehow every bit as delicious as the version below.
- Paleo “Peanut Butter” Cookies – these use sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter for a version that tastes super similar to real peanut butter cookies.
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies – they also only use coconut flour. I spent 4 years trying to make the below paleo chocolate chip cookie recipe with peanut butter. I didn’t like the results. But I finally nailed it and they are the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had!
- Paleo Double Chocolate Cookies – So. Much. Chocolate!
- Paleo “Oatmeal” Cookies – these cookies taste really close to traditional oatmeal cookies!
- Paleo Peppermint Cookies – so perfect for Christmas!
Have you made one of them? Or the original? Which one is your favorite?
Substitution questions for these paleo chocolate chip cookies:
- Can I use something instead of almond flour?
Almond flour is only really interchangeable with other nut flours so cashew or hazelnut meal would likely work. I’ve heard of some people using sunflower seed meal as a sub for almond flour but I haven’t tried it myself.
- Can I use something instead of coconut flour?
Nope! There isn’t a really good sub for coconut flour. A few people have mentioned using oat flour (for a non-paleo version) with success but I haven’t tried it.
- Can I use something instead of almond butter?
I’ve tried using peanut butter but didn’t like the results. So I really don’t recommend using peanut butter.
Using it in the all coconut flour version? Amazing! It’s linked to above. If using sunflower seed butter, you need to make a few changes (see the Paleo “Peanut Butter” Cookies linked to above).
Hazelnut butter would probably be awesome in this original recipe! Reviewers have used cashew butter but the cashew butter I get and make is SO much firmer than almond butter, I can’t imagine the cookies coming out the same as with almond butter. - Can I use something instead of coconut / brown sugar?
Subbing in a liquid sweetener won’t work. There’s no liquid to reduce to make up for the added liquid, so it’d make the cookies cakey. Any other granulated sweetener would probably work.
- What can I use instead of the egg or chia egg?
I’ve tried flax eggs but I don’t like the taste (people say that flax eggs don’t taste like anything but I think they do). Others have used it with success in this recipe. I haven’t tried it, but Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free Vegan Egg Replacer would probably work.
- Can I make these cookies smaller?
Yes, but I think they have a better texture when they’re baked as huge cookies.
- Can I bake these cookies as bars?
You can make them in an 8″x8″ pan. I’m super forgetful and never remember to write down the baking time but I recommend to start checking around 15 minutes.
- Do you have nutritional info?
There are loads of free online nutritional calculators online. I’m not a dietitian and not legally allowed to post this info. Sorry about that!
If you try these paleo chocolate chip cookies, I’d love to hear how they come out!
Thanks again to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post! Be sure to check out some of their other gluten-free flours if you’re into gluten-free and paleo baking. :)
And here are some resources if you’re new to the vegan or gluten-free diet:
- Are Chocolate Chips Vegan?
- Are Chocolate Chips Gluten-free?
- Is Baking Soda Vegan?
- Is Baking Soda Gluten-free?
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, see my disclosure.
Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan, keto options)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 8 huge bakery-style cookies or 16 regular-sized cookies
Please read the notes at the bottom before beginning!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100 grams) blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup (32 grams) coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (84 grams) coconut oil1 or unsalted butter, room temperature but NOT melted (if your coconut oil is a little melty, put it in the fridge for about 10-20 minutes or until firmer, like softened butter. If you use slightly melted coconut oil, the dough will be greasy and the chocolate chips will be hard to incorporate.)2
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) coconut sugar, very tightly packed for a paleo version (it's best to weigh this!) OR brown sugar OR for keto, use 2 ounces (57 grams) xylitol + 1.5 ounces (43 grams) erythritol + 1/4 teaspoon powdered stevia3
- 6 tablespoons (98 grams) natural almond butter (the kind with just almonds in it and no added fat / sugar), room temperature (here's how to make almond butter)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature (or 1 chia egg4 for vegan)
- 1 1/4 cups (213 grams) paleo chocolate chips or chopped paleo chocolate chunks, divided
Directions
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer or using a stand mixer, beat together the fat, sugar, almond butter and vanilla extract at medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. If you use coconut oil, it may not come together easily. If that's the case, use your hands to combine it and then beat another 20 seconds.
- Beat in the egg on low and mix until well incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture until well combined. Then stir in 1 cup (170 grams) chocolate chips. If you used brown sugar, skip to the next step. If you used coconut sugar, place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 1 hour or until the dough is firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into 8 (75-gram) balls and place the remaining 1/4 cup (43 grams) of chocolate chips on the top and on the sides of the dough balls. You can also roll them into 16 smaller balls but then you need to adjust the baking time (a few minutes less than recommended below). Place 4" apart on the prepared baking sheet. Press the cookies down lightly with the palm of your hand.
- Bake for 11-14 minutes (if using coconut sugar or the keto version) or 14-17 minutes (if using brown sugar) or until the surface of the center of the cookies no longer appears wet. They'll be very soft but will continue to cook as they sit on the cookie sheet.
- Let cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
- If you use unrefined coconut oil, the cookies will likely have a slight coconut taste. I prefer refined coconut oil for absolutely zero coconut taste (but most reviewers have used unrefined and are happy with them!)
- I haven't tried these with ghee or shortening or anything other than coconut oil and butter.
- The sweeteners I used were 100% xylitol, 100% erythritol and 100% stevia. If you don't have a scale, then this is about 1/4 cup + 3/4 teaspoon xylitol, 3 tablespoons + 3/4 teaspoon erythritol + 1/4 teaspoon stevia.
- To make a chia egg, mix together 1 tablespoon of ground chia seeds and 2.5 tablespoons water. Let sit 5-15 minutes or until goopy like an egg.
- For paleo: use coconut sugar, coconut oil, and paleo chocolate (some consider Enjoy Life to be paleo, some don't. If you really don't want to use cane sugar, try Pascha's 100% cacao chocolate chips.
- For dairy-free / vegan: use coconut oil and dairy-free chocolate.
- For keto / low-carb: use the keto option. Some consider it paleo, some don't. I had previously listed Lakanto but this other mixture works much better! Also use sugar-free chocolate chips, such as Pascha 100% cacao chocolate chips (paleo) or Lily's Chocolate Chips (not paleo, due to soy).
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1632 comments on “Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan / keto options)” — Add one!
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Made these delicious cookies last night and they did not disappoint. Does anyone happen to have the nutritional information on them? (calories per cookie specifically)
I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. I’m happy you enjoyed them! Thanks for your comment. :)
Made this recipe just last night. Used coconut oil and coconut sugar. Made normal-ish sized cookies (so, not the giant ones).
The dough tasted like almond butter and coconut oil bahaha, I was concerned that my need for chocolate chip cookies would not be completely satisfied. That they would be almond-butter flavored cookies with some chocolate, or something.
But when I baked them? Oh gosh. They taste just like chocolate chip cookies should taste. It is a darker chocolate chip cookie, like the kind made with mostly brown sugar or with a dark brown sugar rather than a light brown sugar. No almond or coconut flavor whatsoever. Delicious. Chewy!
We refrigerated some later, and they were just as tasty today. And now they are gone.
This is THE recipe. Keeping it! Going to try out those paleo-friendly chocolate cupcakes next, I think.
Yay! What a relief that you weren’t disappointed. The beginning of your comment had me worried. ;) I hope you’ll enjoy the cupcakes just as much! Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :)
Wow! Thank you. So tasty. This is officially my chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on. Making dough n freezing so I can pull out a couple of cookies when I want some.
Freezing them is a great idea as they can be a little dangerous. ;) I’m thrilled that you like them so much. Thanks a bunch for your comment!
I prefer these cookies over any recipe that I have ever tried. They are truly wonderful! And I love that they are Paleo! Also, the most healthy way of eating that I have found.
THANK YOU!
Wow, thanks! Such a nice comment. :) I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying them so much! Thanks again. :)
YUM!!!!
Thanks! :D
Do you think oat fiber could be substituted for the coconut flour?
I’ve never used oat fiber but I found this comment that could be of help to you. :) I really have no idea if it’d work in this recipe, though! Sorry about that.
OMG!!! I made these cookies last night and they were AMAZING!
I only made one small change. I did 2tsps of vanilla.
I can’t believe how delicious they were!
I will be making up another batch soon :)
Haha. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed them so much and that you’ll be making them again soon! Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :)
i made these today. Really delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
And thanks for your review! I’m so happy that you liked them. :)
In the oven now. If they taste half a good as the batter I can’t wait!! Kids and I love to try out new recipes. Hope it’s a new keeper.
I hope it’ll be a keeper for you, too! And the batter is quite good, isn’t it? ;)
These are literally my favorite thing. I’ve made them like 4 times in the past month. I make them with regular butter, coconut sugar, and cashew butter. Have you (or anyone else who had tried this recipe!) ever made it with a different type of flour other than almond flour? My fiancé is allergic to every nut except peanuts, so I’m looking for an alternative that won’t kill him so I can continue to eat these daily when I move in with him :)
I’ve tried them with hazelnut flour but I know that doesn’t help you! Sorry about that. Peanut flour exists but I haven’t tried it yet (though I have plans to do that soon!). The problem is that nut flours are really only interchangeable with other nut flours and not other types of flour. I’m so happy you like the cookies so much! Thanks a bunch for your comment. :)
If i missed it, sorry. I need the sugar, carb, fiber, count on these. I’m on atkibs. 12lbs is 25 days. Can’t go back now!
I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for that info, if you like. :) I can tell you they’re not good for weight-loss! You could make them much smaller, though. ;)
Best paleo cookies ever! Thanks for posting.
And thank you for your comment! I’m so happy you like them. :)
Hi Erin, I have made these 5 times since my original post. I should have said best cookies ever – Paleo is just a plus :)
Hi Cara! That’s about once a week, isn’t it? Sounds reasonable. ;) And thanks for coming back to clarify your previous comment (though I was already super happy with it!) :D
I’m trying to cut some carbs and refined sugars out of my diet. Do you have any idea what the nutritional value is compared to regular cookies? I followed the recipe as given. Thank-you
You can copy and paste the recipe here for that info, if you like. :) I hope you enjoyed the cookies!
Are we supposed to bake them and if so at what temp and how long? I couldn’t seem to find it and this is my first time on using a Pinterest recipe
When you find a recipe that looks good on Pinterest, click on the picture and that’ll bring you to the recipe page (like you did to get here). The full recipe, including the instructions, are on this page. :) It’s important not to go off of the ingredients that Pinterest gives you because they’re not always complete! Bloggers unfortunately don’t have any control over what information Pinterest pulls and show on Pinterest. I hope that helps!
Totally love these! I didn’t have almond butter so used coconut oil and regular butter. Turned out great.
I’m happy they turned out well! Especially with that sub. :) Thanks for your feedback!
Can you substitute date paste for the sugar? And if so, to what proportion?
I’m sorry but I’ve never used date paste so I’m no help. If you do try it, I hope it goes well!
I substituted date paste for the coconut sugar/brown sugar. They still taste great but because of the extra moisture they fall apart pretty easily. I’m sure there is a way to adjust the rest of the recipe to make up for the extra moisture but I just haven’t taken the time to figure it out yet.
I’m happy they tasted good with date paste! But you’re right, it’d take a bit of experimentation to figure out how to adjust the recipe. I’ve tried these with maple and the extra liquid just made them too cakey. Thanks for your comment!
These are so freaking good. My three year old and I made them together using coconut oil and coconut sugar. I didn’t follow the instructions either, by accident. I threw all the ingredients into the mixer and then put the jumbo sized cookies in the oven on convection bake at 350 for 11 mins. Perfection. Oh yeah, added some cinnamon bc I love it in my choc chip cookies and used crunchy almond butter. I put them right in the freezer to firm up and snuck one after five mins. It was perfect. Thank you !!
Haha. Good to know that you can just throw everything together! That’s normally my style. ;) I’ve tried a more autumnal version of these with cinnamon and love them that way, too! Especially with the almond butter. Thanks for sharing your tips and feedback! I hope your kid had fun baking. :)
These tasted wonderful, and best of all my son, who is a picky eater, couldnt get enough of them. They were a bit crumbly straight out of the oven but stored overnight in the fridge made them perfect. Thank you so much for sharing!
That’s great that your picky eater son enjoyed them! I’m super picky but cookies almost always make me happy. ;) And you’re right – they definitely need to cool completely as they’re very soft when you remove them from the oven. Thanks a bunch for your feedback!
I am craving these cookies and don’t have any coconut sugar or brown sugar on hand. Can I sub maple syrup? If so, how would you adjust the liquid in the recipe?
I haven’t had good luck with maple syrup here. I tried reducing the liquid but it still made the cookies cakey. To make your own brown sugar, you can mix 1 tablespoon of molasses into 1 cup of granulated sugar. I hope that solution works for you. :)
Hello, I made these cookies. First of all they are delicious. My son and husband ate them all up. But instead of using almond butter, I used regular butter (I didn’t have almond butter at the time). They fell apart. Could this be because I did not use the almond butter?
Hi there! It’s definitely why they fell apart. Using regular butter instead of almond butter in a recipe is like using peanut butter in a recipe instead of regular butter. It just won’t work. ;) But I’m so happy that they were still delicious! Thanks a bunch for your comment and I hope you’ll enjoy the version with almond butter even more!
Yum! Love the crunch of these cookies, my kids loved them too, even my older son who does not usually like any chocoalte in his cookies! My only problem was they were way sweet, too sweet and I have a bg sweet tooth. I did half coocnut sugar and half brown sugar, my only guess is was the brown sugar supposed to be UNPACKED rather than packed. If so, please specify so that others don’t make the same mistake. I will definitely be making again, just with less sugar!
I’m happy that you enjoyed them! You’re the first commenter to say that these cookies are too sweet so perhaps you packed your sugar quite tightly? I recommend weighing the ingredients next time to ensure that you get the right amount of sugar. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!