This quick and easy butterless chocolate chip cookie recipe uses coconut oil instead of butter for a soft, chewy cookie.
Full disclosure: I am WEIRD about chocolate chip cookies. I don't know what it is, really. I'm just PICKY. And I'm picky, but, like, in the WRONG ways?
Example: I DO NOT like chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven. Sometimes you get burned by a still-really-hot chocolate chip, which UGH. Give me room temperature cookies all day every day.
I also refuse to dip cookies in milk - milk makes cookies soggy and I just don't get the appeal, I guess.
SO. Just give me a soft, fluffy, room temperature chocolate chip cookie with no milk, please. This is the way to my strange, anti-all-the-regular-chocolate-chip-cookie-things heart.
These butterless chocolate chip cookies are actually kind of wonderful, though. Made from scratch? Check. Without butter? Check. Soft and chewy? Check annnnnnd check.
(And you are totally allowed to eat them hot from the oven and dip them in milk if those things make your heart happy. We accept all kinds of cookie monsters here at Life As A Strawberry HQ!)
Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Butter!
These cookies have NO butter! There's just a bit of smooth, melted coconut oil for body and flavor.
(Note: Coconut oil at room temperature is usually solid, but just spoon it into a glass measuring cup and zap it in the microwave to melt it down for this recipe):
I've been having a lot of fun baking with coconut oil lately, and it's a great alternative if you prefer to avoid butter/dairy in recipes (or have a craving for chocolate chip cookies but no butter in the house!)
You can taste a bit of coconut flavor in these chocolate chip cookies, but it's definitely not overpowering. The coconut oil also lends a very slight crispness to the outside of these butterless cookies - but the insides are soft and chewy just like a perfect chocolate chip cookie should be!
PS - You can also use coconut oil instead of butter for our small batch chocolate chip cookies!
How do you like YOUR chocolate chip cookies? Let me know in the comments!
Video: How to make butterless chocolate chip cookies
📖 Recipe
Butterless Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut Oil
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Makes 25-30 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy, chewy chocolate chip cookies with no butter.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup liquid form coconut oil (180 grams) (see recipe notes)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (8 grams)
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup white sugar (150 grams)
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar (160 grams)
- 2 ½ cups flour measured correctly by scooping and leveling (330 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt (4 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (5 grams)
- 1 heaping cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine liquid coconut oil, vanilla, eggs, sugar, and brown sugar. Whisk to combine.
- Add flour, kosher salt, and baking soda to bowl and stir until ingredients are incorporated and you have a smooth dough.
- Fold chocolate chips into dough until they are evenly distributed.
- Line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper.
- Use a large cookie scoop (I like this 3-Tablespoon one) to scoop dough, and place dough scoops 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake cookies at 375 degrees F for 9-12 minutes until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to let cool.
- Serve cookies immediately or let them cool completely and then store in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week.
Notes
How to melt coconut oil into its liquid form: Coconut oil is generally solid at room temperature, but we want to melt it into a liquid form for this recipe in order to incorporate it more easily into our chocolate cupcake batter. (We’ve used virgin unrefined coconut oils from 365/Whole Foods, Nutiva, and Carrington Farms and like them all). To melt coconut oil, scoop about 1 cup of coconut oil (in its solid, room-temperature form) into a microwave-safe glass measuring cup, and then microwave for 30-40 seconds until it’s melted down. Give the coconut oil a stir and then check the measurement – you may need to add another spoonful of room temperature coconut oil to bring the liquid up to the correct amount. Melt too much oil? Pour any excess right back into the container.
Work quickly when you bake these cookies – as the coconut oil starts to come back to room temperature, the dough will stiffen and be a little more crumbly and harder to work with, so plan to bake these in just one or two batches as opposed to storing the dough in the fridge for later!
If you use a larger or smaller scoop to form the cookie dough, you may need to adjust your bake time – just keep an eye on the cookies as they bake and pull them out when they’re very lightly browned!
Adjustments and Substitutions. Feel free to use more chocolate chips than called for, or to add nuts or white chocolate chips. Add a sprinkle of flakey sea salt on top if you like! You can also swap the chocolate chips for chopped baking chocolate (we like dark or semi-sweet) for chocolate chunks.
These chocolate chip cookies are relatively soft and slightly dense. If you like a thinner, crispier cookie, you can reduce the amount of flour in this recipe by ¼ cup. For an ultra-thick, especially dense cookie, you can increase the flour by up to ¼ cup.
Homemade cookies can dry out after a few days - to keep them soft, store them in an airtight container on the counter along with a small slice of bread (they’ll absorb moisture from the bread and stay softer!) or pop a cookie in the microwave for a few seconds to warm. These cookies also freeze well once cooked!
For more butter-free recipes, check out our Coconut Oil Chocolate Cupcakes or Salted Olive Oil Dark Chocolate Cookies!
Adapted from Nestlé Toll House.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cookies
- Calories: 201
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 95.2 mg
- Fat: 9.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.3 g
- Protein: 2.4 g
- Cholesterol: 14.9 mg
marni
I will never use butter again. Best cookies ever!! thanks for sharing your recipe
Jessie
Wahoo! I'm so happy you liked it!
Mandy M.
Absolutely perfect, I followed the directions to a T. My cookies came out better then expected. The only thing I did differently was replace the wax paper for light coating of coconut oil. The bottom of my cookies were soft,not burnt. I baked my cookies for exactly 12 minutes. This is my new favorite cookie recipe.
Jessie
I'm so happy you liked the recipe, Mandy! Thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out!
Gulnar
Hi Jessica I'm gonna try this recipee as in baking completely vegan I'm...find it very interesting...im thinking of using canoia oil.or coconut virgin oil. I like doing something different so.i think my extra ingredient is cream cheese
Anon
Cream cheese isn't vegan
Amanda
Hi. I just wanted to let everyone know I used self rising flour just used same amount that it called for and didnt put the baking soda or salt in it and they came out wonderful not to thick not to thin just right! So from now on my family will not be using butter for cookies anymore thanks
Jessie
Hi Amanda, thanks for letting us know how the self-rising flour worked! I'm so happy you liked the cookies!
Christy
Just beware if you're in Europe, as I am, at least on the continent: European self-rising flour does not have salt in it, as I found to my chagrin.
Amanda
Hi just wondering if u could use self rising flour if don't have baking soda
Jessie
This recipe hasn't been tested with self-rising flour so I'm unsure of the outcome, but you could certainly give it a try if you like!
Aidan
Followed instruction thoroughly and cookies turned out fantastic!
Jessie
I'm so happy you liked them! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out!
Lexi
Mine were really gooey but really good (probably because I halved the recipe lol). Super easy to make and I can't really bake or cook. 10/10
Jessie
I'm so happy you liked it, Lexi! Thanks for letting me know how the cookies turned out!
Tommy
Recipe worked out well. Now I have share them before I eat them all!
Thanks
Jessie
I'm so happy you liked the recipe, Tommy! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Amanda
Hi. I just wanted to let everyone know I used self rising flour just used same amount that it called for and didnt put the baking soda or salt in it and they came out wonderful not to thick not to thin just right! So from now on my family will not be using butter for cookies anymore thanks
cookielover27
These cookies were absolutely amazing. I am happy that people found a substitution for butter. I am not a huge fan of fatty butter but am up for any healthy fat like coconut. Are these cookies healthy? Because they sure taste like it. (That's a compliment.) These cookies were so delicious and I would 10/10 recommend to anyone who loves coconut.
Jessie
I'm so happy you liked the cookies! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out!
Susan
LOVE this recipe! I cut the recipe in half to not make as many, it came out a perfect dozen. Fantastic!
Jessie
Wahoo! I'm so glad you liked it, Susan! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out 🙂
Farah
Every time I have made these, I shared with my family and friends. And they all LOVE them. I seriously finally found my go to cookie recipe. The only issue I'm facing is that they don't look as nice as yours! For some reason they don't come out flat but more like a mound. But they still taste amazing!
Jessie
I'm so so happy you like them, Farah! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out! If they're a little too tall or dense, I would try using a few tablespoons less flour - sometimes with different kitchens/humidities/measuring styles the exact amount of flour can vary, but these cookies are pretty forgiving so it's an easy thing to play around with.
CarolineG
I made these when I had no butter in the house. They turned out delicious!!!
Jessie
I'm so happy you liked them!! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out!
CC
Can you use table salt?
Jessie
Yes! I'd recommend reducing the amount of salt a little bit though since some iodized table salt can taste a bit sharper/saltier than kosher salt.
Katrin
Hi Jessie,
your recipe made it all the way to austria! The result is delicous! thank you
Jessie
I'm so happy you liked the cookies, Katrin! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out!
Zoey
Used Canola oil instead of coocnut oil, you can also use iodised salt instead of kosher salt. They turned out amazing! Also might've put A LOT more than one cup of chocolate chips. ?
Jessie
I'm so glad you liked them (and I totally support adding extra chocolate chips!)
isra
can I use iodised salt for kosher salt