Dairy free chocolate chip cookies - chewy and delicious! If you want one of the best dairy free cookie recipes, you’re in the right place!
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And for more dairy free goodness, try my Dairy Free Banana Bread, my Almond Lemon Cookies, and my Vegan Couscous Salad with Charred Corn!
Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies - Chewy with Crisp Edges!
If you want a batch of delicious chocolate chip cookies without the dairy, these dairy free cookies are calling your name! They're a simple and yummy chocolate chip cookie recipe, soft and chewy in the center with a nice crispness on the edges. And this fantastic lactose free cookies recipe contains no dairy in the butter or chocolate chips!
Jump to:
- Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies - Chewy with Crisp Edges!
- What is a substitute for butter in chocolate chip cookies?
- Do chocolate chips have dairy products in them?
- Dairy Free Chocolate Cookies Ingredients
- Equipment
- Tips and F.A.Q.
- More Dairy Free Recipes You'll Love
- 📖 Recipe
- Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies -Chewy and Buttery!
- 💬 Comments
What is a substitute for butter in chocolate chip cookies?
Many of the best dairy free cookies recipes are made with coconut oil, but I think you'll love these if you want more of that buttery flavor! For these chocolate chip cookies, we're using vegan butter or butter-flavored shortening!
They are both made from vegetable oil, and they're both an ingredient that is easy to find in your local market. Plus, you won't miss out on any of that yummy buttery goodness!
Do chocolate chips have dairy products in them?
Yes, typically chocolate chips are made with milk fat, butter fat, or other types of dairy products. The key to making these dairy free chocolate cookies is to use dairy free chocolate chips! I've tried Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips and Nestlé Tollhouse Allergen-Free Chocolate Chips and both worked great!
Dairy Free Chocolate Cookies Ingredients
- melted vegan butter - I like Earth Balance Organic vegan butter, or you can also use butter-flavored shortening. I haven't tried these dairy free chocolate chip cookies with coconut oil, so let me know if you try that instead!
- light brown sugar - I love the rich flavor of brown sugar in these dairy free cookies! Or if you just realized you're out of brown sugar, check out my recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar!
- egg - make sure your egg is room temperature so that the dough bakes evenly.
- pure vanilla extract - make sure you use a good-quality pure vanilla extract. Or better yet, check out my post on how to make vanilla extract at home with just 2 ingredients!
- all-purpose flour - (measured by weight or fluffed using the spoon-and-level method)
- cornstarch - cornstarch is a secret ingredient for soft, thick cookies, and helps to keep these dairy free chocolate chip cookies chewy!
- baking soda - reacts to the acid in the brown sugar to give just enough lift to this recipe!
- salt - adding a bit of salt helps to bring out the flavors.
- dairy-free chocolate chips - I like using Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips -- you can use either semi-sweet or dark chocolate.
- flaky sea salt - this is optional, but I always like to top chocolate chip cookies with a little flaky sea salt to balance out the sweetness.
Equipment
To make these dairy free cookies, you'll want to grab a kitchen scale to help you measure your flour with perfect accuracy to get that chewy, gooey texture that you like. Also, an oven thermometer will help to correct any temperature disparities to make sure that your cookies bake perfectly. And a #30 cookie scoop helps to measure out your cookies to the exact size you'll need. You'll also want to grab a large baking sheet -- I use the Nordicware Baker's Big Sheet lined with a Silpat ¾ sheet liner.
Tips and F.A.Q.
The Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips that I like to use contain dried cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, and dairy-free cocoa butter.
The regular Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chips are made with milkfat, so they're not dairy free. But you can use Nestlé Tollhouse Allergen-Free Chocolate Chips in these dairy free chocolate chip cookies with great results!
Absolutely! I like to use Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer for an easy substitute for eggs. Or you can make a flax egg and add that in to replace the egg!
I've got some of the best dairy free cookie recipes for you! Try my Vegan Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Banana and Cacao, my Almond Lemon Cookies, or my Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies!
And for more ideas, check out my roundup up the 30+ Best Gluten Free Dairy Free Cookies!
If you like this recipe, you'll love my Lemon Lavender Cookies and my Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies! Or check out my Lemon Blueberry Cookies for an easy cake mix recipe bursting with fresh berries!
And if you love mix-ins, check out my Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies or my Kitchen Sink Cookies! Or, for LOTS of cookie ideas, check out my roundup of the Best Cookies for a Cookie Exchange!
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
More Dairy Free Recipes You'll Love
- Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Peanut Noodle Salad
- Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte (Starbucks Copycat)
- Pumpkin Nice Cream
📖 Recipe
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cup (167 g) all purpose flour - measured by weight or fluffed using the spoon-and-level method
- 2 teaspoon (4 g) cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
- 8 tablespoon (112 g) vegan butter - melted (or butter-flavored shortening)
- ¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar - packed
- 1 large egg - room temperature (see below for vegan substitution)
- 1½ teaspoon (7 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (237 g) dairy-free chocolate chips - semi-sweet or dark chocolate
- flaky sea salt - for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside
- Fold in dry ingredients gradually until dough comes together and is well combined. Fold in chocolate chips.1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
- Use a small cookie scoop to place scoops of dough onto prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes, or until tops of cookies are set and edges are golden brown. For soft cookies, be sure not to overbake.
- Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Pin these dairy free chocolate chip cookies for later!
Last Updated on September 27, 2025 by Chenée Lewis
Kim says
Such a yummy recipe! These cookies were a big hit with the kids this week!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you so much! Glad to hear that you like them!
Casey says
I'm very sensitive to dairy, so I normally avoid baked goods. Not anymore! These were so good! Great flavor and texture!
Chenée Lewis says
Wonderful! I love these cookies too!
Karen says
Can you make these with Gluten Free flour?
Chenée Lewis says
I haven't tried it but i don't see why not! 🙂
Darla says
This is my go-to recipe. So delish! I receive tons of compliments when i serve them to friends and family. One question, how could I adjust the recipe so it works in higher altitudes? Having issues with them over spreading
Chenée Lewis says
I'm not super familiar with high-altitude baking, unfortunately, but if you're having issues with spreading, you could try adding an additional 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken the dough up a bit.
Merel says
I have made chocolate chip cookies that took a lot more effort with regular butter and not received as many compliments as I received with a batch of these. Definitely the best regular chocolate chip cookies, no fuss and exactly what you want
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you so much! I love these cookies too!
Crystal says
My son was diagnosed with a dairy allergy recently. So this was first attempt at baking without dairy. They are great. My mix was a little runny so I chilled and added a couple minutes to the bake
Chenée Lewis says
So glad they worked out for you!
Breanna says
I tried them with coconut oil instead of vegan shortening or vegan butter. I was a little worried at first as they were very crumbly after 10 mins plus of cooling. So I let them cool overnight and they were great. Nice chewy consistency!
Chenée Lewis says
So glad you liked them!
Dee says
Hi! Looking forward to making these for work tomorrow. I don’t have light brown sugar, could I use dark brown sugar instead? Thank you!
Chenée Lewis says
You definitely can!
Tykena says
These came out beautifully, I melted the butter just a bit and allowed it to cool some before mixing with the B.sugar. I also added 2 tablespoons extra of flour and they came out perfect.
Chenée Lewis says
Wonderful! Thank you for the feedback!
Erika says
These came out very good! I weighed my measurements. (I just recently became overcome by sourdough so I learned the importance of this finally😂) I did chill the dough first because it was very wet even after adding the chocolate chips. But they came out delicious!! Definitely my go to cookie recipe!
Chenée Lewis says
So glad you liked them!! Thanks!
Sarax says
Killer! I measured by weight. Dough looked quite a bit wetter than the video, but firmed up more when I added chocolate. Baked perfectly without over spreading. I made these with Bob’s Red Mill egg substitute and dark choco so they were vegan.
Chenée Lewis says
Lovely! I'm so glad they worked out for you 🙂
Kathryn says
We loved these dairy free chocolate chip cookies! They taste similar to the original cookie and I love dipping these in almond milk!
Chenée Lewis says
So yummy! Glad you like them!
Jeff says
Great recipe. I use gluten-free flour and they are a hit.
Chenée Lewis says
Wonderful! So glad you like them!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
I was looking for a recipe like this, thank you for sharing! I can't wait to try it soon!
Shelby says
Everyone needs this simple dairy-free chocolate chip cookie recipe. They're soft yet crispy and they turn out perfect every time!
Chenée Lewis says
So glad you like them! 🙂
Casey says
These were so moist and tasty. I really enjoyed them with a big glass of almond milk!
Chenée Lewis says
That's the best way to do it!!
Christina says
Not sure how yours come out looking thicker without chilling the dough. The dough is sticky from the melted butter and the cookies just go flat… the taste is good, but next time I’d try chilling the dough first.
Chenée Lewis says
Sorry to hear that yours spread too much 🙁 Hopefully you like them better with chilled dough!
Nina says
They were really tasty me and my flatmates loved them! Crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle. The only slight problem was the top turned out to look kind of wrinkly on top probably because the butter I used was different it was the Naturli Organic Vegan Butter Block and I hadn't used it before but will definitely make it again! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Chenée Lewis says
Awesome! I'm so glad you liked them! 🙂
Linda C says
These came out just perfect -- and I don't have any of the fancy tools suggested! I did find my melon baller was a good way to get the dough onto the baking sheet.
My dairy-allergic husband was so happy with these -- especially after my first try using Earth Balance was a big mess!
Chenée Lewis says
Yay! So glad they worked out well for you!
Meghan says
Delicious!! Great texture. Crispy outside soft middle!
Chenée Lewis says
Wonderful! So glad you liked them!