Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

169 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.

Jump to RecipeJump to Video

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.

Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies spread out on a baking sheet.

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 gluten-free chocolate chip cookies on a table.

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.

Mixing gluten-free chocolate chip cookie ingredients in a bowl.
Dolloping cookie dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

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!
A metal sheet pan with gluten-free chocolate chip cookies lined up.

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.
A stack of gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.

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.
Holding a bitten gluten-free chocolate chip cookie

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:

Want to see how easy these cookies come together? Watch the video below!

Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies scattered.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

4.79 from 56 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Servings: 18 cookies
Author: Lisa Bryan

Description

The best gluten-free chocolate chip cookies! They have a soft, chewy inside, golden edges, and chocolatey goodness with every bite. Watch how I make them on the video above!

Video

Ingredients 
 

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.
    Whisking ingredients for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies in a bowl
  • Add the almond flour, salt, and baking soda to the bowl, then stir to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips.
    Stirring gluten-free chocolate chip cookie ingredients in a bowl.
  • 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.
    Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies lined up on a sheet pan.

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

Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 4mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 36IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!

You May Also Like

About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

Leave a comment

All comments are moderated before appearing on the site. Thank you for sharing your feedback!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




169 Comments

    1. You can use granulated if you’d like. Just be aware each type of sugar might have a different sweetness level.

  1. I was excited to make this as I don’t really cook much of anything. I did substitute coconut flour for almond so don’t know if this affected the outcome. I also used MCT coconut oil from Costco instead of butter. The mixture was horribly dry, so added another egg, still dry so added water & more water & more water. Finally got it to a consistency where I could scoop & shape into a ball. All in all it was a disaster & I threw everything away. Even after cooking the cookies were so dry you could choke on them. I live at pretty much sea level (Houston, TX) so not sure if that had anything to do with it either. Lisa always posts recipes that look delicious. I’m sad this one didn’t work out.1 star

    1. Yes, the substitutions you made are unfortunately what ruined the cookies. You cannot sub coconut flour for almond flour. Coconut flour is highly absorbent and it’s what made the cookies dense and dry. If you make the recipe as written and tested, they turn out beautifully!

  2. I think there’s too much sugar, i used only 1/3 cup of stevia and it was enough, and only a pinch of salt. But really yummy cookies, the best I ever did actually. Will do them again!

  3. I have been on the hunt for a GF choc chip cookie recipe and this appeared to be the only one that wasn’t complicated in both ingredients and instructions. I cannot find any Australian recipes and all the ones that I found were 1. Too salty and 2. Too sweet.

    The reason why I gave this 3 stars is because of the the proportions. It was way too salty and sweet. And the choc chips?! It felt like there was more chips than cookie dough haha

    I have a big sweet tooth so I am surprised it was too sweet for me. My husband and I aren’t fans of super soft cookies but that’s just a minor thing that cooking time easily fixes. 

    I was determined to to tweak the recipe and it’s taken me 2 attempts (after making it the first time) to get it to a state I was happy with. 

    I ended up reducing the coconut sugar to 60g, the salt to just a small pinch instead of 1 tsp and I also reduced the choc chips (70% dark) to 170g-180g.

    Cooking time was 11 mins at 200c to have cookies that weren’t too soft. I may experiment in the future with a slightly lower cooking temp and slightly longer cooking time to see how that works too. 

    Oh and another tweak I found worked beautifully was half unsalted butter and half cacao butter. Worked a treat!

    I should mention that when I made this the first time, my husband thought they tasted like chips ahoy cookies. Which he enjoyed.

    The recent attempt of my tweaks managed to be the winner though, so I appreciate your recipe is a good base for a gf cookie. 3 stars

  4. Made them!! but Im on keto diet so i had subs the coconut sugar to Lakanto, i find it bit sweet but still okay. what I loved of this recipe is sooooo quick and very easy to make.. thank you its gonna be my permanent keto cookie recipe 🥰🥰 I do have a photo but I dont know how to add to my comment 😆5 stars

  5. I was look forward to your new emails. Curious if you have recipes for children that are allergic to nuts, dairy and egg? Was hoping for a chocolate chip cookie recipe of some sort? Also, I feel bad anytime we go to a family event or a birthday party when my two-year-old grandson cannot have any of the cupcakes or cake. Serious if you have recipes for those activities for children as well.

    1. Hi Sherry – Unfortunately, I don’t have any cookie recipes that are nut, dairy, and egg-free. But I’ll keep that in mind for the future!

    2. Liquid vegan egg substitutes have suddenly appeared in all of the grocery stores near me, but if you can’t find them the Mommy’s Home Cooking blog has great tips on cooking egg free that you can use to adapt recipes on your own (although this takes some trial and error). I still find the vegan egg substitute to be the easiest because it has worked perfectly in every recipe so far. The ingredients vary a lot from brand to brand (so far I’ve found three brands) so if one doesn’t work then maybe look for one of the other brands. 

  6. I luv these cookies and I have tried numerous 
    I baked them for exactly 10 min and used refined coconut oil but they came out perfect and so delicious chewy and crispy. Thanks5 stars

  7. Absolutely delicious!

    The search is off! Been on the hunt for a yummy grain-free chocolate chip cookie for awhile, and this is definitely the ticket! My husband absolutely loves these and my 2.5 year old is a huge fan! I love how they’re just a touch saltier than most cookies. Such a wonderful contrast of sweet and salty, ooey gooey buttery deliciousness with a crisp edge! And they hold together beautifully! Taking a double batch to a get together tomorrow actually! Thanks again for the lovely cookie recipe, Lisa! 5 stars

  8. Do you have another suggestion for those with nut and gluten allergies. What other type of non nut/gluten flour would work?

  9. I loved these cookies, next time I will bake them for less time as I felt mine came out overcooked. Is it possible to make the batter ahead of time and freeze the cookie dough rather than the actual baked cookie?5 stars

  10. I tried the chocolate chip cookie recipe they were delicious that was my first cooking from a gluten free recipe I am going to. try some other thank you.5 stars

  11. I would give this 10 stars if I could!! BEST gluten free chocolate chip cookies I’ve had in my life  !!!!5 stars

  12. Another amazing recipe Lisa, thank you. My fussy son said ‘delicious can I take them to school?’ (high praise), but sadly no, as no nuts in school! Shame, the cookies will have to be eaten at home (when the kids are in bed!)
    I had to use white sugar as I couldn’t find my coconut sugar, but looking forward to trying them as written.5 stars

  13. These are everything they promise, soft, chewy and delicious. My family is gluten and dairy free and I love when I can find new and  yummy recipes. My husband’s exact words were, they are great, they taste like real cookies! Anyone who has made a dietary change knows sometimes this can be a struggle. Thanks for another wonderful recipe!5 stars

    1. Amazing to hear everyone loved this cookie recipe Carrie! Going gluten-free and dairy-free can always be tricky, especially when it comes to baked goods. But, I’m on a mission to provide recipes that hopefully tastes just like the real thing :)

  14. Absolutely love these…..I cut back a little on the chocolate chips (used 3/4 cup).  I will definitely make these again.5 stars

  15. Hands down THE best gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve tried. I had actually almost given up trying to find one comparable to the wheat flour version. Thank you so much for this recipe. And I appreciate that you made it without coconut flour which so many recipes call for. I can’t tolerate coconut flour–though, I can tolerate coconut sugar and oil.5 stars

    1. Happy to hear you loved these chocolate chip cookies! I tried to keep this recipe as simple as possible :)

  16. Fantastic web site. Lots of useful info here. I am sending it to several friends and additionally sharing in delicious. And certainly, thanks for your sharing!5 stars

  17. I plan to try these, do you know how I could successfully substitute the egg? My son can’t have eggs. Love your recipes! 

    1. Hi Jessica – I’ve got a separate recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies. Make sure to check that one out! :)

  18. I doubled the recipe and added some dried cranberries to them 😊😊😊 these are the MOST AMAZING choc chip cookies ever !5 stars

  19. Your recipe was easy to follow but my batter wasn’t quite as thick as yours, so my first attempt was disappointing. I got 12 and they spread out and touched as you suggested. Mine are browner too, so maybe the 12mins was too long. I’ll try again. Hopefully 2nd time lucky 5 stars

    1. Hi Michele – you can always chill the dough for 15 minutes, if you feel yours is a bit thinner. And for color, all ovens bake slightly differently (and butter vs oil can change color too). Definitely play around with it. Hope your next try is even better!

  20. Mine did not turn out very well. They cooked too fast and I think I burned them. My oven is the worst. It was hard looking to see if they looked ready because mine looked very brown to begin with. 

    1. Hi Kimberly – Sorry to hear yours didn’t turn out. All oven do cook a bit differently, so I’d recommend pulling them out a couple of minutes earlier next time. :)

  21. Another hit. Lisa just brings it every single time. I’ve literally never had a less than stellar recipe from her. Even my very anti-traditional cookie husband LOVED these!5 stars

  22. Can I use Gluten Free Oat Flour? If so do I use the same amount? We have nut allergies in our family.

    1. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried this with other flours yet. But I will keep that in mind for a nut-free cookie recipe in the future.

  23. Is it possible to get the amount salt you put in the recipe is wrong.
    I made this recipe as written and the cookies were salty. And I incorporated the ingredients evenly. I made cookies all the time.  The texture was amazing. Will definitely try again but with less salt. 

    1. Hi there – make sure you’re using sea salt or kosher salt. Table salt has a much “saltier” flavor and can be overpowering.

  24. Hello! I really want to try them! Could I use oat flour instead or 1 cup of oat flour and 1 cup of almond flour maybe?? 

    1. I haven’t tested this with other flours yet. But if you do try it, please let me know how it turns out!

  25. This is a really nice recipe. Simple, quick and few ingredients. I did a few minor additions; a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon and a scoop of cocao powder for extra chocolate flavor and some chopped walnuts, cause I put nuts in everything! They turned out great!5 stars

    1. Hi Joan – I think it would be hard to do with this recipe and maintain the right texture. I’d recommend some of my other lower-sugar dessert recipes instead.

  26. Just whipped these up. So yummy Lisa. Your recipes never let me down and your classic recipes nsil it every time. I froze some uncooked to be able to make fresh!

  27. I made these tonight and they are delicious! I used coconut oil and baked them for about 9 minutes – they were perfectly chewy. Thanks for the recipe!5 stars

  28. I made these today for a BBQ, turned out great :) thank you!
    A bit on the salty side for me, would it still work if I cut that down by a 1/4? I found they did actually spread out a bit, but kept their shape nicely.  5 stars

    1. Hi Courtney – make sure you’re using sea salt or kosher salt. Table salt has a much “saltier” flavor and can be overpowering.

  29. These cookies are perfect for my family and I can’t wait to make these soon! Going to be such a big hit here! So excited!5 stars

  30. Hi!  I’m so glad you made this recipe, and I always appreciate the beautiful instruction videos.  May I ask which method you used to measure out the almond flour?  Or do you have the weight you used?  Thank you!

    1. I used cups to measure it out, but there’s also an option to switch to metrics if you’d like :)

  31. Delicious cookies in 15 minutes? Sign me up! These cookies like so good, I can’t wait to try them. Love the look of those melty chocolate chips. Thank you!5 stars

  32. I love how you made these chocolate chip cookies gluten free using almond flour! That texture looks perfect. Yum!5 stars

  33. This cookie recipe is truly a no fail recipe. The kids love chocolate chip cookie and I love trying healthier recipes for them. Thanks for sharing.5 stars

  34. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Is there any substitute for coconut sugar? We do not use coconut sugar at our home. Thank you! 

  35. I can’t wait to try this recipe out as here we really enjoy our chocolate chip cookies. I gave it a five star because I already know when you say it’s great you have honed the recipe until it is just right. I have truly enjoyed the many recipes of yours I have tried. I print them and stick them in page protectors. I can’t wait for your book to come out and no rush as I know good thing take time. All the best.5 stars

  36. These look fabulous Lisa! Love that they are made with just almond flour.  Quick question – is the nutritional info for 1 cookie?  And thank you for including it!!!! So helpful.  

  37. Hi thank you for the recipes. On the cookies is it possible to use another flour I am allergic to all nuts

    Thanks

    1. Hi Kathy – unfortunately, gluten-free flours aren’t easily substitutable. But I’ll add a nut-free chocolate chip cookie to my list!

  38. will be making this soon i love chocolate and cookies sooooooooooooo much perfect for my after office snacks and home snacks while i work on the computer and phone after this i will be taking a break from commenting on your recipes until my birthday on 19 September will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya