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Tender and slightly chewy vegan cassava flour chocolate chip cookies that taste 100% traditional, yet are grain-free, gluten-free & nut-free! Easy-to-make, they are made with cassava flour & coconut flour.
It’s officially cookie baking season, huzzah! To begin the cookie festivities, I’ve got an exciting addition to your repertoire: Chocolate Chip Cookies made with Cassava Flour.
Table of Contents
- Recipe Benefits
- Ingredients for the Cookies
- What is Cassava Flour?
- Can Cassava Flour Replace All Purpose Flour?
- How to Make Vegan Cassava Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Step One: Preheat Oven & Prepare Baking Sheet
- Step Two: Whisk the Dry Ingredients
- Step Three: Whisk the Wet Ingredients
- Step Four: Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients
- Step Five: Scoop & Flatten Dough
- Step Six: Bake the Cookies
- Storage
- FAQ
- More Gluten-Free & Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies to Love:
- Vegan Cassava Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies {gluten-free} Recipe
Recipe Benefits
These remarkable cookies are:
- Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
- Gluten-free
- Grain-free
- Seed-free
- Easy to make
Ingredients for the Cookies
The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post. Toggle between US Customary (volume) and Metric (weights) for preferred measurement option.
- Cassava flour
- Coconut flour
- Coconut sugar
- Coconut oil
- Vanilla
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Miniature semisweet chocolate chips
What is Cassava Flour?
Have you tried cassava flour? I’ve used it some, but decided it was time for some serious experimenting, which is what I have been doing these past few weeks.
Cassava–also known as yuca– is a tuber in the same family as taro, yams, and potatoes. Tapioca is made from yuca as well, but cassava four and tapioca starch are not one in the same.
Cassava flour is made from the entire yuca root (peeled, dried and ground), whereas tapioca starch is the product of washing, pulping, and extracting the starch alone. The latter is bright white and chalky to the touch (similar to cornstarch), while the former is off-white and more granular (yet still fine, similar to rice flour) in texture.
Can Cassava Flour Replace All Purpose Flour?
A caution, based on my testing: do not be fooled by websites and packages that claim cassava flour can be substituted 1:1 for wheat flour. It cannot. It has a stretchy, gooey quality when used solo.
However, I am discovering that it can work beautifully when combined with other flours, yielding results that are very similar to all-purpose flour. Exciting!
Combine Cassava Flour & Coconut Flour for Great Baking Results
Coconut flour + cassava flour is a particularly harmonious blend. It is the combination that makes these chocolate chip cookies remarkably similar to a soft-bake cookie made with all-purpose flour and eggs.
How to Make Vegan Cassava Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
In addition to being perfectly delicious, these cookies are a breeze to make.
Step One: Preheat Oven & Prepare Baking Sheet
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step Two: Whisk the Dry Ingredients
In a small bowl, whisk the cassava flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt until blended.
Step Three: Whisk the Wet Ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk the melted coconut oil or vegan margarine, coconut sugar (or the granular sugar of you choice) and a teaspoon of vanilla.
Step Four: Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients
Add the flour mixture,to the wet ingredients, stirring until combined, and then add miniature semisweet chocolate chip (mini chips= maximum chocolate chip distribution). The dough will look very similar to a traditional chocolate chip cookie dough.
Step Five: Scoop & Flatten Dough
Despite looking and tasting like ordinary cookie dough, the cassava-coconut flour combination does not spread much.
Hence, after scooping the dough (I use a small cookie scoop), you will need to use your fingers to flatten the dough into a round cookie shape (about 2 inches across, 1/4-inch thick).
Step Six: Bake the Cookies
Bake the cookies in a preheated 350F oven for 9 to 10 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring from the baking sheet to a cooling rack.
That’s it!
The cookies keep well at cool room temperature, or can be stored longer term in the refrigerator or freezer (they do not last long at our house! :)).
Storage
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at (cool) room temperature for 3 days, the refrigerator for 2 weeks, or the freezer for up to 6 months.
FAQ
- What is the Best Way to Measure Cassava Flour? I strongly recommend (URGE!) that you weigh the flours (cassava and coconut) rather than use dry measures. Both flours are very light and powdery, so it is very easy to overload the measuring cups, which can lead to dry, crumbly cookies.
- How should I measure the flour when using cups? If using measuring cups, very lightly spoon in the flours to measure. Cassava flour is especially tricky; for example, the weight for 1/4 cup of cassava flour (as given on many bags) is actually slightly less than 1/4 cup, even when you measure lightly. For this recipe, fill the cup measurements so that you have slightly less than 3/4 cup.
- What Vegan Butter Do You Use? I use Earth Balance soy-free buttery sticks, or Miyoko’s Vegan Butter, in my recipe testing. If using the vegan margarine option, be sure to use sticks, not margarine spread (in tubs). The latter has a higher water content than the former and will significantly alter the recipe.
- Any Substitutions for the Coconut Sugar? An equal amount of brown sugar can be used in place of the coconut sugar. Regular granulated sugar can also be used, but it will result in pale-colored, crisper, and less caramel-y cookies.
- Can I Substitute Tapioca Flour for the Cassava Flour? No. Be sure to use cassava flour, not tapioca flour. Both products are made from the root of the cassava plant, but they are different products. Using one in place of the other will lead to very different results.
Happy baking!
More Gluten-Free & Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies to Love:
- Chickpea Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Quinoa Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies {oil-free}
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies {keto option}
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie (made with oats}
- Soft Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Keto & Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Cassava Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies {gluten-free}
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cassava flour , (see note about measuring)
- 1/4 cup coconut flour , (see note about measuring)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 oz vegan butter, (1 stick, not tub style spread. See notes for options)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar, (see notes for options)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips, or more, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the melted butter, coconut sugar and vanilla. Add the flour mixture, stirring until combined; stir in chocolate chips (mixture will thicken in 30 to 60 seconds).
- Using a small cookie scoop, or tablespoon, scoop the dough into rounded mounds onto the prepared baking sheet (space about 2 inches/5 cm apart). Using fingertips, flatten and shape dough into a small circle (about 2 inches/5 cm in diameter). If desired, press a few additional mini chips on top.
- Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven. Cool cookies on sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
- Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi.
Can I replace the coconut sugar in this recipe with maple syrup?
Thank you 🙂
Hi Annu,
I’m not sure if that would work as a 1 to 1 swap without making some adaptations since you are adding much more liquid to the recipe by using maple syrup rather than a dry sugar. The cookie will be softer and a little bit chewier with maple syrup. You will want to reduce the amount of sweetener if you try it: in general, you use about 3/4 the amount of maple syrup for every 1 cup of granulated sugar, such as coconut sugar. I would love to know if you give it a try!
Hi Camilla : ) I’m super excited about making these cookies today! However, I use Vegetable Glycerin to sweeten my baked goods, which is a liquid (it has a syrup consistency, and I will use 1 Tablespoon). How should I make up for the lack of the 1/2 cup granulated sugar? Is there anything I should use to make up for it to get the correct dough texture? Thanks so much! : )
Hi Elise! Ok, you stumped me: I never heard of vegetables glycerine as a sweetener substitute, so I had to google around to get some information (I’m curious!) I found from several sources that you can use – tablespoon glycerine to replace 1/4 cup sugar in cookie recipes, but… the sources said it may affect the fin as k texture (but did not mention how it would affect texture). Cassava flour can be tricky to work with, so I suggest treating this as an experiment, perhaps make a half batch first? See what the dough looks like? Add a tiny bit more casssava flour if needed? I would love to know how it goes… and will have to experiment with glycerine!
Wonderful cookies! I have also made them without chocolate, with pistachios and dried cranberries and a hint of allspice. Use a good quality vegan / plant butter like miyokos
It is extremely annoying that these are SO GOOD! Ha ha. I was expecting them to taste like “healthy cookies” but they are decadent and hard to stop eating. Thanks.
Can you use Ghee in place of oil?
@Sherron Yes!
My attempts they keep turning out incredibly fragile and sandy? Any reason for this as I did the measurements as recommended for flour.
Hi Jeff,
Oh no, I am sorry to hear that. It sounds, from the texture you describe, that there may be too much flour (cassava and/ or coconut). Are you weighing the flour? Or measuring with volume measuring cups? I ask because it can be very tricky to measure coconut flour and cassava flour by volume. Weight is the best way to go, otherwise it is very easy to overload the measuring cup.
Delish! I had been struggling to find bvegan cassava flour recipes…chocolate chip cookies was a great option and worth making. Thank you!
I tief tue recipe but adjusted it cause I wanted orange Cookies. Results were meost delicious cookies ever. I have to say I added liquid to the though and did not put so much oil. It was my first recipe with cassava flour.
FANTASTIC, Mayra! Way to make the cookies your own 🙂 So happy you gave cassava flour a try.
excellent cookies, Camilla! I weighed everything and they turned out great. Thanks!
It sounds weird but bacon drippings take these cookies right out of this world!
Yum these are so good!!!! Will definitely be making them again. Thank you!
This recipe is really good! This is the best cassava flour cookie recipe I’ve made, I love it!
This recipe should have a lot more reviews because they are SO GOOD! it took me awhile to get used to using cassava flour but it works so good in so many recipes. Be sure to weight it, everyone! That’s the secret, go by the weight given! These disappeared fast (boyfriend did not even know that they were gluten free or vegan)
Hello, will using coconut oil instead butter affect the taste of the recipe?
Hi Kar,
Yes, the taste will be different (very light coconut favor if using an unrefined coconut oil, also the vegan butter has a “buttery” flavor that will be absent) but it will still be very delicious.
Hi there,
I had a bit of a time getting the dough right. After mixing in the dry to the wet ingredients the dough was quite crumbly. It was hard to make cookie rounds out of it. Any recommendations? I do live in Canada so measurements may be different if your using US measurements? Maybe I used to much flour…
Overall though they were quite tasty! Thanks for the recipe
Thanks for your time. I’m looking forward to making these cookies again and trying your other recipes!
Hi Sterling! I am sorry the cookies did not turn out as well as you hoped. I think I know the answer.
In a later post (for my applesauce cassava cookies) I mentioned some frustrations I was having with cassava flour. As much as I love it, it is challenging to measure without a scale. And the amount for cup measurements differs dramatically from one brand to another. Ugh! I have tips at the bottom of the chocolate chip cookie recipe about measuring both cassava flour and coconut flour, but I have added some additional information from the applesauce cookie post (i.e., if using cups to measure, measure slightly less than 3/4 cup for the proper weight needed). I hope this helps and that you give these another try!
hello to you! this is my first time to use your recipe ~ wow, so amazingly delicious, I added walnuts and apricots to one batch and walnuts and choc nibs to the other ~ the consistency of the cookie held together and the flavor of the cassava flour mixed with coconut flour rendered a recipe I will share with others ~ thank you
I am thrilled to hear it, Mona! Ooh, walnuts and apricots with the chocolate sounds HEAVENLY! Yum!
Can I leave out the coconut flour?
Hi Destiny,
I am not sure how that would turn out, or if it would turn out. You could try replacing it with an equal amount of cassava flour, but again, not sure how that would work out, sorry.
These are so good!! I love love love your recipes. Your website basically saved my life. I’ve been grain free, dairy free, soy free, nut free since my baby girl has suspected food allergies. It’s been really hard but finding your website has been a game changer. I love how most of your recipes require simple ingredients and easy to follow directions. This cookie recipe is definitely my favorite so far. Somehow they even taste buttery even though there’s no butter in them! My other favorites are the coconut biscotti and the chickpea chocolate cake.
Yippee! So happy these were a (sweet!) success! Ok, now I am craving some cookies and cake even though it is 7:30 in the morning 🙂
These were super good! I used monk fruit, because I didn’t have coconut sugar. They didn’t flatten in the oven, and were a tad dry, but still a hit! Will definitely save and try again with the intended coconut sugar. Thank you for sharing!!