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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I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these cookies and I’ve been making them every week. What is great about them is that I am able to eat just one each day and it actually satisfies my sweet tooth. This is fabulous however when I calculated the sodium it was about 1850-1900mg. (the almond butter I use has no salt added) I make the 8 large cookies and so each serving comes to btwn 231-237mg of sodium. Is there any way I can make them with less baking soda and salt? Or is there something that has less sodium I can use instead because I would like to make them for my mom but she’s highly sensitive to salt. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I’m thrilled you like them so much! You could definitely reduce the salt or even remove it all together (but they won’t taste as good). I wouldn’t recommend reducing the amount of baking soda but you could experiment with subbing baking powder. Here are some tips on how to do that! Good luck and thanks for your comment. :)
YUUUUUUUUUUUUM. thank you, thank you, thank you!!! these are the best GF/DF cookies I’ve found. and they passed the hubby test who didn’t even realize they were gluten free [win!]. thanks for all the helpful tips on the coconut oil and almond butter temperature and consistency. this is a great day!
can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Woohoo! That’s awesome that your husband didn’t realize they were gluten-free. :) I hope you’ll enjoy the other recipes just as much and thanks a bunch for your feedback!
I just made these this evening and they are wonderful! My husband and I are doing are first full paleo week and these worked great for a family dinner. Everyone, paleo or not, loved them. My husband even asked for a batch to take with him for when he goes out with friends tomorrow!
Aww. I love that he requested a batch to take out with him for his friends! I’m thrilled that they were such a hit. Thanks a bunch for your comment! :)
Finally tried these. Wow! They are delicious! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
And thank you for your feedback! :)
Great cookie recipe! Baking without flour for the first time and am not disappointed. I didn’t have almond butter, so I used 4 T smooth peanut butter + 1.5 T peanut powder and added an extra T. of coconut flour. Also used 1/4 c brown sugar and 1/4 c coconut nectar (as this is all I have). Just sweet enough for me! So delicious! Thank you!
Wow! I’m so happy that all your subs worked. :) Thanks for sharing your tips and for your comment!
These are the best paleo cookies! Every other recipe I’ve tried making before are just not right. I love that these actually spread out while baking. These are the closest thing to “real” cookies I’ve had in a long time.
I have IBS and my sister has ulcerative colitis. Both of us have to stick to a paleo diet or very bad things happen digestively. It gets very boring to say the least. These cookies have been a life savor when I need some sweets. I share this recipe with people all the time.
*I have also tried these using palm shortening when I ran out of coconut oil and they turned out wonderful.
*I tried rating these but it wouldn’t work so I’ll make my own ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Aww, thank you for adding your own hearts! So nice of you. :) And I know what you mean about boring (and some cookie recipes coming out just not right!) I’m happy you found the recipe and that you and your sister have been enjoying the cookies. Thanks a bunch for your comment!
Have you tried freezing the cookies? I would like to make some to take on vacation, but I need them to last longer than 3 days. Thank you!
They freeze well! Enjoy. :)
I made these cookies without the chocolate and added macadamia nuts. They were wonderful! Can’t thank you enough for sharing this recipe !
That sounds delicious! I’ll have to try that some time. :) Thanks for the idea and your comment!
I forgot to include in my first comment that I used coconut sugar. I chilled them, as directed, and they baked up beautifully!
Thanks for you tip! :)
I brought these to a party tonight and everyone was raving about them. They couldn’t believe they were paleo!
Yay! I’m glad to hear that. :) Thanks for your comment!
My family is 1 month grain-free and we were put in charge of dessert for our family BBQ this holiday weekend. (Yikes!) I scoured the web looking for a rich chocolate chip cookie recipe and found yours. Yum! Yum! Yum! Made with dark brown sugar since I love that rich molasses flavor and these were an absolute hit. Fantastic recipe! Thank you!
I’m happy to hear that they came out well! I hope that your family will enjoy them, too. They must trust you a lot to give you dessert duty (just because so many people assume grain-free treats aren’t very good). ;) Thanks for your comment!
These turned out very dry. Any idea why?
You’re the first to mention these being dry so I’m guessing something went wrong (perhaps accidentally added too much flour or too little wet ingredients?) Or did you make any subs or any changes at all to the recipe? Did you maybe pack the cup of almond flour very full?
Thanks for the reply. I weighed my ingredients to make sure they would be exact. I used 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 butter. I also used Truvia brown sugar baking blend… Could that be it? It has the same consistency as brown sugar.
Ah, there we go! It was almost definitely the Truvia. I’ve tried these cookies with some low-carb sweeteners and they came out terribly. They fell apart (because they were so dry, I’m guessing) and tasted pretty bad. I hope yours were at least edible. ;) Mine were so bad they went straight to the trash! One guy did some experimenting with low-carb sweeteners and posted his results here. Hope that helps!
Anyone ever try these with palm shortening in place of the coconut oil?
Nobody has mentioned doing that but I imagine it’d work (though I’m not positive). I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it! Enjoy. :)
First of all, these cookies are fantastic!! I made them exactly like the recipe,but accidentally used 1/3 cup coconut flour. It was fine. Also, I am ver fussy about my chocolate chips and feel Guittard are the best! Another tip… Because I used coconut oil and didin’t want to wait for the 1 hour chilling process, I just put the whole mixing bowl in the freezer for about 20 to 30 minutes. No problem. And…..because I loved these cookies so much, I figured out the approximate calories using coconut oil and coconut sugar. If you make only 8 cookies, they are about 320 t0 360 calories (10 to 20 chips per cookie). These are too large for me! If you make 25 to 30 cookies, they are about 85 to 102 calories per cookie (about 10 chips each). Much better for me. I was surprised (and happy) the calorie count was so reasonable. Also, when you use coconut sugar, because of it’s lower glycemic index, you don’t get that sugar hangover headache, if you are so inclined. Win! Win! I will definitely be checking into more of your recipes and some less expensive almond flour! Sorry, Bob.
I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed them so much! And yeah, the full-sized cookies are a bit big. ;) I just like the way they bake up. It’s interesting to know that 1/3 cup coconut flour works just as well. Thanks a bunch for your feedback and for sharing your calorie count (and other tips). I hope you’ll enjoy the other recipes just as much!
I buy Anthony’s Coconut Flour off of Amazon Prime…very reasonable and works great!
Oops…meant to say Anthony’s Almond Flour…sorry!
Thanks for your tip! :)
These are so good!
Next time, since I like things less sweet than most, I’d like to make them with less palm sugar. Do you recommend making other adjustments to the recipe to accommodate the reduction in Palm sugar?
Also, I made them using 4 tablespoons of smooth, super liquidy, unsweetened, room temp peanut butter instead of almond butter since I didn’t have any. Worked beautifully!
I think you could reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup without making any adjustments. If you want to reduce it even more, then I’m afraid the texture would suffer. And thanks for the tip on the peanut butter! I’m desperate to make a peanut butter version work. :) Thanks for your feedback!
I used all natural peanut butter too! Worked like a charm! Love these cookies!
I’m happy that that worked out for you! Thanks for your feedback. :)
Hello! I made these last night on a cookie craving whim and they were fab! I did make a few substitutions of ingredients and process based on what I had on hand and, frankly, laziness (I hate baking, it’s too exact of a science as opposed to cooking and I like just throwing things in a pan and calling it done! Haha). I ran out of brown sugar, so I used only 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup maple syrup. Also, I don’t own a stand or hand mixer, so I whisked everything. The coconut oil/sugar mixture did not look pretty (rather than creaming nicely, there were little pebbles of coconut oil in a sea of maple brown), but it worked out ok. My batter was gooey, but delicious. I had no trouble incorporating the chips, but I chilled it about a half hour before baking. I should have chilled them longer, but I’m impatient! (See, not a baker). Rather than rolling them into nice little balls, I threw 8 haphazard scoops onto my sheet pan. The cookies DID come out minorly greasy (probably due to not chilling enough?) and spread out like crazy. They were flat and each the size of my whole hand. BUT, after cooling, they got that perfect crisp/chew and flat, crispy cookies are actually my favorite so I’m calling it a win! I had one for breakfast today. :)
Just wanted to let you know even a lazy, terrible baker like me can pull these off. Now, if someone could come wash my dishes…
Haha. And that’s why I prefer baking! It’s harder to mess up if you’ve got a trusty recipe and just follow it exactly. :D So if you whisked everything together, was your coconut oil melty? Because if it’s even a little melty, it results in greasy cookies (even if you refrigerate the dough! I’ve tried it). So you really have to have firm coconut oil. But I’m happy they still came out well! And I’m with you. I’d sure love someone to do my dishes. My husband usually ends up doing them but then I feel a smidgen of guilt. ;) Thanks for your comment!
Can I sub Stevia for Coconut Sugar?
I’ve tried these with Sukrin Gold and Swerve and they came out terribly (taste and texture). So I unfortunately don’t have any advice when it comes to a sugar-free alternative. Sorry about that!
Thank u for ur quick reply
No problem! By the way, one commenter experimented with making these sugar-free / low-carb and posted his results here. I hope that helps! :)
I used truvia baking blend (available at Safeway), you use 50% vs sugar.. And it reduces added sugar calories by 75%…the cookies come out awesome. Also I used unsalted butter, instead of coconut oil. Only because I didn’t have coconut oil.
That’s great that that worked out! Thanks so much for the tip. :)
Wow!Tried these for the first time today and they are amazing! Chocolate chips cookies are my favorite dessert and I’m always on the hunt for a healthy version that I like. These are a winner! Thanks for sharing.
Yay! I’m so happy that you enjoyed them. :) Chocolate chip cookies are a favorite of mine, too. Thanks for your comment!
Really good! I made these exactly how you have it written. They turned out perfectly!
Awesome! So happy to hear that. :) Thanks for your feedback!
These are the best cookies ever. My neighbors went crazy. I tried to make a double batch but found I didn’t have enough chocolate chips so,I used chopped chocolate bars. And I was tired and put the eggs in first with the butter and cocoanut oil. I used half and half butter and coconut oil. I just hope I didn’t mess up to bad by putting the eggs in at the wrong time. It was late and I was tired. So never double up when you are tired lol. I also added in chopped walnuts. So good yummy. Sorry Erin. I meant to go,to,the end.
Haha. Well if you think they’re the best cookies ever, then I don’t think that you messed up too badly by putting the eggs in at the wrong time. ;) Whatever works sounds good to me! And I’m totally with you on not messing with recipes when you’re tired. I usually make 1/4 or even 1/8 recipes when recipe testing and considering that I’m usually tired, I have waaay too many mess-ups. ;) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
I’d love to make these, but unfortunately, every time I eat almonds I get sick. Like..stomach ache, cramps…I’m wondering what I can substitute? I seem to be able to tolerate all other nuts.
You could try subbing the almond flour with another type of nut flour (like hazelnut flour) and the almond butter with another type of nut butter. They won’t come out exactly the same but they should still be tasty. :)