Vegan Cassava Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies {gluten-free}

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.

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.

• 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 (although, they do not last long at our house! :)).

FAQ

Storage Recommendations for the Cookies

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.

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.

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 Did You Use?

I used Earth Balance soy-free buttery sticks 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?

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