Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
177 Comments
Updated Jul 23, 2022
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Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies that you’ll instantly fall in love with! They have a soft, chewy inside, perfectly golden edges, and just the right amount of chocolatey goodness with every bite.
After quite a few test runs, I can honestly say these are the best gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Similar to my vegan chocolate chip cookies, they’re ever so chewy, slightly crunchy, and dotted with gooey chocolate chips. And let me tell ya, that first bite is incredibly satisfying.
I’ve kept this recipe as simple as possible, because who wants a complicated cookie recipe when the sweet cravings hit? This means easy ingredients with easy steps to create the perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies. You’re welcome.
Ingredients For The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Unlike other gluten-free cookie recipes, there’s no strange add-ins like gums, stabilizers, or extra sugars. Just clean, wholesome ingredients! Here’s what you need.
- Coconut Oil: I’m using refined coconut oil so it won’t taste too coconut-y, but you can also use butter or ghee.
- Coconut Sugar: My go-to sugar option for baked goods.
- Egg: Just one large egg is needed for this recipe!
- Vanilla Extract: An essential baking ingredient for a touch of sweetness.
- Almond Flour: Yep, no complicated flours here – just almond flour!
- Sea Salt: A pinch to enhance the chocolatey goodness.
- Baking Soda: For a little fluff and improved texture.
- Chocolate Chips: I like to use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you could also use milk chocolate.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
All you need is 15 minutes to whip these babies up! To get started, preheat your oven to 400F/200C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Then follow along below.
- Whisk the first set of ingredients. That includes the melted butter, coconut sugar, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Add the almond flour, salt, baking soda and stir until combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Dollop the cookies onto the baking sheet. Use a medium cookie scoop (which is about 1 ½ tablespoons) to dollop 18 cookies. Then use your fingers to flatten the dough into cookie shape.
- Bake away! Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly golden. But be sure to keep your eyes on them!
Tips For The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Because it took a few tries to get this recipe just right, I’ve got plenty of tips for you to make sure this is a no-fail recipe. Here’s what I learned.
- Keep your eyes on the cookies. If you bake them one or two minutes over, it will make the cookies a bit crunchier and not as soft on the inside.
- Keep them all the same size. Use my favorite cookie scoop to ensure your cookies are uniform in shape. They’ll also cook more evenly!
- Make sure to flatten the cookies. Unlike other cookie recipes, these ones won’t flatten as they bake.
- The type of chocolate you use matters. When I baked these with dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips, the chocolate didn’t melt as much to create that oozy effect when you break the cookie. So if that’s what you’re looking for, opt for milk chocolate.
- They’re super delish slightly warm. While you want to let the cookies cool to the touch, enjoying them slightly warm is heavenly. Especially when dunked in a cold glass of cashew milk or almond milk… hint hint.
How To Store Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
- To store: Pack your leftovers in a bag or container, and they’ll keep for up to one week. You can store them either in the fridge or at room temperature.
- To freeze: If you want to save a few sneaky pieces more than one week, you can freeze them! Just make sure to place parchment paper in between each cookie and store in a freezer-safe bag or container. They will be good for up to 3 months.
- To defrost: Just let the cookies come to room temperature before eating.
More Easy Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes
This chocolate chip cookie recipe is a classic. But if you’re craving something a bit more nutty or even more chocolatey, you’ll love these recipes:
- Flourless Almond Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies
- Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
- Mint Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Video
Want to see how easy these cookies come together? Watch the video below!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Description
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup melted (and cooled) butter, ghee, or coconut oil
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, coconut sugar, egg, and vanilla extract, until smooth.
- Add the almond flour, salt, and baking soda to the bowl, then stir to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (1 ½ tablespoons) dollop 18 cookies on the baking sheet. Use your fingers to flatten the dough into cookie shape, as the cookies will not flatten much on their own while baking.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly golden on the edges.
Lisa’s Tips
- If you’d like extra large cookies, you could make 12 cookies (about 2 tablespoons each) on a single baking sheet. If you do that, increase the cook time by 1-2 minutes. Just be forewarned that they may slightly touch each other when baking.
- Note: based on feedback (thank you!), the salt in the recipe has been reduced to 1/2 teaspoon.
Nutrition
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I LOVE these cookies!!! They are buttery (if using butter), have a subtle crispiness out the outside and melt-in-your-mouth center (after coming out of the oven), and are really moist and soft the next day. My 19 year old son and his friends all rave about how good they are. After reading various comments, I decided to bake mine at 375 degrees for 9 minutes. That was perfect for my oven.
Hi Ginger – I’m glad you were able to find what works for you for this recipe!
This is the best Paleo chocolate chip recipe I have ever used, wow. I have never baked cookies at 400 degrees but that is what made them so good. I love baking with the ingredients on your list. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Hi Marlene – I’m thrilled to hear you love this chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Are there 184 calories in 1 cookie?
Yes, the nutritional information is per cookie!
Amazing cookies! I followed the recipe exactly, except for the baking temperature and time. I baked them at 375 for 9 minutes. I let them cool completely on the pan before moving to a cooling rack. They were slightly crispy on the very outside and soft on the inside. The flavor was spot on. I highly recommend these!
Hi Ginger – I’m glad your chocolate chip cookies turned out perfectly!
These are amazing!! Even my 18 year old son claims they are the best chocolate chip cookies he’s even eaten. Thank you for such a great recipe.
Yay, love to hear that!
Excellent gf cookie recipe. Similar to the ny times almond flour one. I reduced the amount of choc chips to 2/3 cup and added walnuts. I used about half coconut oil half ghee. I think next time I will try to refrigerate the dough for a bit before baking because they came out a little thin. But they were still excellent. I like being able to use coconut oil and ghee rather than butter for my dietary issues. This will be a go to recipe for the future.
Thank you !!!!!!!!!
Thanks for leaving a review and glad you enjoyed these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, Jennifer!
These cookies are so simple yet so delicious and satisfying! Recommend 10/10. The only thing I will say is, 400F for 10-12 min is way too hot and too long in my experience. I personally baked them at 375F for 9min and they came out perfect. So I would say be conservative when baking them for the first time and keep a close eye on them. Once they start browning around the edges, they should be good to take out. Lastly, first time I made them I used Trader Joe’s branded vegan butter (which I love) and they were good but a little oily/heavy, second time I used Trader Joe’s coconut oil and they were better, light and chewy and didn’t taste coconutty so I personally recommend the coconut oil.
Thanks for letting us know, Kara! Everyone’s oven heats differently, so this is great advice for those who’s ovens cook hotter than mine.
Cookies are great! I finally got to try them! I’m curious – how did you choose the brand and type of almond flour? I see that you have the ingredient linked to Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Almond Flour from Blanched almonds. What do you feel the difference is between almond flour that is from blanched vs. regular?
Thanks!
Marie
Hi Marie – I’ve tested a lot of different flours over the years and prefer a super fine blanched almond flour. It just produces a better texture.
I use Costco almond flour and it turned out great! It’s such a big bag for a great price and lasts me a long time and can use for a lot of recipes.
Thanks for sharing, Kara! I’m glad these chocolate chip cookies turned out perfectly!
YUM!!!! Loved this recipe!
Wonderful! Thanks Katie!
Fantastic recipe, my son who usually won’t eat gluten free anything gobbled up 3 of these in one sitting. Kid and grandparent tested!
Glad your son and grandparent loved these cookies Candice!
Always a fan favorite any time I take these out to events! I love how soft and delicious they are! I was also able to modify the recipe to make amazing cookie dough!
Happy to hear these cookies have pleased many!
Love these cookies – my daughter is gluten free, my husband is diabetic. So I make these with monkfruit and every is happy. This recipe has been passed onto all my celiac friends
Wonderful! So happy your family loves them and thanks so much for sharing them with your friends. :)
Hi! Is it possible to substitute brown rice flour for almond flour? If yes, what’s the ratio? I really need nut free recipe for school.
Thank you!
These cookies are just as described: chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside. I used a smaller scoop and made 2 dozen. However, I tried to cook two cookie sheets at the same time. The bottom sheet was perfect but unfortunately the top sheet burned. So I need to figure that out, perhaps using convection setting might be a better option for cooking multiple sheets.
Love these! 🍪🥛 Thank you ☺️
I used the metric but 236g chocolate chips sounded like a lot!! I did 1 cup and weighed them, it was 166g. Still I feel like there’s chocolate chips everywhere in the cookies ;D they’re in the oven now, excited to try them! :)
This was my first time using almond flour. They tasted delicious! I didn’t have coconut sugar so I substituted brown sugar. My oven is small, so I lowered the temperature to 375 and checked them a few times. They only took 8 minutes. Every oven is different so keep checking them! Everyone enjoyed!!
So happy you enjoyed them!
Hi Lisa! So excited about your cookbook release – a fellow longtime Downshiftology-following friend received it from me as a birthday present and it made her week!
I was thinking of making these cookies for my uncle, whose health challenges only allow him to eat coconut sugar. Do you have a favorite chocolate chunk or chocolate chip brand that’s 100% free of sugar? Thank you! :)
I don’t have one at the moment, as I normally use a semi-sweet chocolate chip. But I’ll do some research for one!
Hu chocolate chips don’t have any sweeteners and are somehow still delicious.
Hi Lisa
I made the gluten-free cookies followed your instructions. Mine came out a little darker baked in for 11 minutes mine taste very grainy. I wish I could try yours to see what I did wrong.
Hi Fran – all ovens do cook a bit differently, so yours might cook a little hotter and faster. In terms of graininess, did you use blanched and finely ground almond flour?
These are delicious my whole family loved them!
Glad the whole family enjoyed these cookies Cynthia!
We are studying oils if my church group tonight so I said I would make a dessert with coconut oil and I’ve been a long time follower and pretty much all my meals are from your recipes. I can’t wait to see what my church women think about your cookies tonight.
I wanted to add a picture but couldn’t figure out how. Lol
Hope everyone enjoyed these cookies Kristi! Also, you can attach a photo in our Facebook community group if you’re not a part of it yet :)
Very good, very easy to make. Eight minutes was enough time in my oven. I really liked the texture. This will be my go-to chocolate chip cookie from now on.
I just made these.
They Smell really good, haven’t tasted yet.
I had to add an extra 1/2 Cup of almond flour as my dough was very loose.
This recipient is fantastic. I reduced the coconut sugar to a 1/4 cup and added a 1/4 cup Craisins.
They turned out wonderful soft and chewy. Yum Yum. Only I had to put them in the freezer so I wouldn’t eat them all at once 😊.
Glad these cookies turned out great!
I was looking for a recipe to use up my almond flour and I came across this one. No regrets! These were so good and the right amount of sweetness (I usually have to tone down the sugar in most recipes but not this one). I used ghee and baked for 11 mins. I like cookies on the crisper side and for almond cookies, these were crispy! Looking forward to trying then again and doubling the recipe!
Oh and I only sprinkled some salt, definitely not use a whole tsp! I think that would have been too salty!
Glad you enjoyed these chocolate chip cookies Jay!
Any replacements for the coconut sugar ? For which and for what amount ? Thanks you
These are really good!! Last night I was craving some chocolate chip cookies, but I wanted them to be healthier and gluten-free so that my mom could have them and this recipe really hit the spot!! My dough was definitely much looser than the pictures, but they baked up great and chewy!!
Oh, BTW, I used 1/2 tsp salt and baked for 8 minutes at 400 (my oven tends to run hot)
Happy to hear these chocolate chip cookies were able to hit the spot!
Overall the recipe is a keeper and baked up nicely. The only thing I would change when making again is to reduce the amount of salt. We found the full tsp to be overpowering and too salty for our tastes. Otherwise the recipe was great.
So sorry you found this a tad on the saltier side! But like you said, you can always reduce it a bit :)
Good taste, but the texture was off and they were pretty dry. Probably my mistake though. I used coconut oil and a 1:1 gluten-free flour. Not sure which of those made this go wrong. I didn’t think using a 1:1 flour instead of almond flour would be a problem.
Yes, baking is an exact science, so when you change ingredients it can definitely alter the texture. Give them another try with the almond flour!
Yumm. So good! I also make your blueberry muffins but sometimes sub chocolate chips for the blueberries or do a half batch of each and those are delicious. My daughter wanted cookies though so I googled to see if you had a cookie recipe and of course you did. These are also delicious! 8 minutes was all we needed.
Love the idea of chocolate chip muffins instead! Glad both you and your daughter are enjoying that recipe.
1:1 gluten free flour is meant to replace all purpose wheat (not whole wheat) flour in recipes. Even then, it won’t produce great results with every recipe. If you want to convert one of Lisa’s other cookie recipes into gluten free, I highly recommend making the flour blend from the Let Them Eat Gluten Free Cake blog.
Delicious
These were divine! Had my doubts looking at the dough, but I checked the ingredients positive that I did something wrong. 12 minutes later they were magnificent! Thank you! Always looking for a reciepe that is actually good and gf!
Wow these are amazing! I’m needing to eat gluten free and they were better than the gluten kind and without the misery for me!
I am gluten free, but can’t do almonds, cashews or peanuts. Any possible substitutes for the almond flour? Thanks!
Unfortunately I haven’t tried this without almond flour, so will test nut-free options in the future!
is it 184 calories per cookie or for the whole batch?
The nutritional information is per cookie.
Very nice recipe! Only thing I would recommend doing differently is lowering the bake time. Before baking the whole batch, I did a tester cookie at 10 minutes and it came out too dark. I found 8 minutes to be perfect for my oven, but for anyone else I would recommend starting them at 7 minutes and working your way up from there. Every oven is a little different.
Otherwise, these are super easy and a delight to eat! Thank you!
I get confused when using coconut oil, do I melt if first and then measure or do I measure out the 1/2 cup solid coconut oil, then melt. I’ll use butter this time since I’m not sure but would love to make these with coconut oil.
The coconut oil should be measured as melted.
Wonderful, like all your recipes! These are very nice, I used high quality everything and they turned out amazing. Grass fed butter, free range eggs, freshly ground non pasteurized raw almonds from Spain, Sel de Guerrande, organic vanilla extract and organic coconut sugar. Organic semi sweet chocolate chips (1/3 less than suggested). Baked 10′ at 400 F. My favourite cookies from now on, fast and easy to make. Thank you very much Lisa!
Amazing!! I’ve been searching for a great GF choc chip alternative and these cookies are it! Thank you!
I made these and used butter (which I did not regret! It was delicious). I also did a mix of dark chocolate chips and carob chips. I rotated the cookies halfway through baking. Mine got a little darker even though I only baked for 9-10 min and I was alarmed at first but they weren’t burnt! Just more caramel-y :) Two of my siblings said A+ for these cookies. Very good and you wouldn’t know they are gluten free.
Happy to hear these cookies turned out great Lark!
Is one cookie 184 calories? I don’t think the serving size was included. This will determine if I will make them or not.
The nutritional information is per serving, which is one cookie.
I made these using ghee and brown sugar because I didn’t have coconut sugar, they turned out perfectly and they were so quick and easy to make. They will be my go-to cookie recipe.
I think this recipe is off. Dough turned out too thin, too sweet, and I followed it exactly. Reduce coconut sugar to 1/4 due to sugar in c.chips? I put it in the fridge for an hour. Hoping it thickens up.
If you reduced the sugar by half, that’s a significant change to the recipe (baking is an exact science) and would have resulted in dough that is too thin.
It looks very soft and crunchy . I must try it.
Dear Lisa,
I am a long time fan of yours and practically live only on your recipes, haha. My family and I usually love them a lot. <3
Sad to say that these cookies turned out absolutely horrible. I bought all the ingredients and exactely followed the instructions. But the baked cookies were dark brown, bitter and sour. I suspect the brand of the chocolate chips or the coconut sugar. Or both. Will try again with a different kind of chocolate chips and a different kind of sugar (we live in Germany). I will also leave them in much shorter. As far as my oven is concerned, 12 minutes seem way too much.
Will get back to you and report the results of me trying again. ;-)