Soft and delicate in the center with lightly crisp edges, these Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are a real treat—but made without the butter, egg or any dairy ingredients. Instead, we've replaced those with healthy pantry staples. Plus, we've added real peanuts and dark chocolate for that crave-worthy salty sweet dessert we think you'll love!
From Rachel: These Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies were an assignment from my husband, whose favorite treat is a traditional peanut butter cookie. Since he can no longer have them I needed to overcome the biggest obstacle which was to create a cookie that held together and still had the soft center without using egg.
The secret weapon in this recipe is the banana which binds the dough and luckily I always have some extra ripe ones on hand.
This was inspired by our Healthy Banana Brownies, which also use bananas as a natural sweetener and binding agent. And these Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies pair well with our 3 ingredient Dirty Iced Chai for the ultimate afternoon pick-me-up!
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Ingredients
Using pantry staples, these Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are an easy dessert to to whip up for a crowd or for family game night. And with no chilling or waiting for ingredients to come to room temperature, these come together super quick!
- All-purpose flour - or gluten free flour substitute, like King Arthur Measure for Measure (our favorite)
- Salt - kosher or table salt is fine
- Baking powder & Baking soda - we use both in recipes that have heavy ingredients, like peanut butter and bananas, to provide extra "lift" so the cookies are not too dense.
- Unsalted dry roasted peanuts - be sure they're roasted, otherwise the peanuts have a burned flavor when baked.
- Vegan butter - see below for substitution options
- Brown sugar
- Granulated white sugar - be sure it is vegan if you're on a strict vegan diet. (Some granulated sugars are processed with animal bones.)
- Crunchy peanut butter
- Pure vanilla extract
- Banana - very ripe works best—the browner, the better!
- Vegan chocolate chips - these are easier to find than you may think! Just read ingredients and avoid any chips with dairy.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Nothing fancy going on here, just a simple combine dry, combine wet and then bring together cookie recipe. Great for beginners or experienced bakers who want to try something a little different.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a food processor pulse dry roasted peanuts 10 times (or roughly chop). Set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream vegan butter until smooth.
- Add in sugar, vanilla and banana, cream until combined and smooth.
- Wipe down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula as needed.
- With the mixer on low add in the flour mixture, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Gently mix in chopped peanuts and chocolate chips.
- Using a medium cookie scoop or spoon, scoop out dough, about 2 tablespoons worth, and place on a lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Using a fork, very lightly push down on the dough to create a cross hatch pattern.
- Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Careful not to overcook as these will be lightly browned around the edges but not on top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
Hint: Handle with care! If you mix (or roll out) cookie dough too much, you'll add excess air to the dough, causing it to rise and then fall flat in the oven. Over-mixing the dough can also lead to excess gluten development, resulting in dense cookies.
Substitutions
Want to make these awesome cookies but need to make some adjustments? We understand and we've tried these a few ways.
- Gluten Free - no problem here! Simply replace the flour with your favorite 1:1 gluten free flour substitute. We like King Arthur Measure for Measure. You can ready why here in our gluten free flour comparison post.
- Vegan Butter Substitute - if you do not have vegan butter on hand, it can be replaced with canola, vegetable or avocado oil at ¾ the amount. So in this recipe, simply replace the vegan butter with ¾ cups oil. The texture will change slightly and they may need to be refrigerated, but Amy has done this trick with multiple cookie recipes and it works great!
Even if you don't follow a specific diet (eg. gluten free), this is still a great way to mix up the common cookie and provide a healthy alternative. If you're looking for another great vegan cookie recipe, we have tried and love these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies by Chocolate Covered Katie.
Variations
There are a few easy ways to make variations of this Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, but here are a few of our favorites.
- Smooth peanut butter - it's ok to switch the crunchy peanut butter for smooth if you prefer, it will just reduce the crunch a bit.
- Salty - one of our favorite ways to make cookies extra special is to sprinkle a touch of kosher salt on top.
- Add-ins - feel free to change up the chocolate with white chocolate chips, semisweet, milk or your favorite kind of chocolate.
See this Toasted Pecan Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies on my website for a similar cookie with a nut/chocolate combo!
Equipment
We love these large cookie sheets for even baking and we like that they hold lots of cookies at once. And scoop in 3 different sizes with these OXO cookie scoops. This recipe uses the medium size, and we use the large and small scoops all the time as well. We love how these cookie cooling racks fold up easily and can cool all your cookies at once.
Our last favorite cookie baking tool is these silicone mats or pre-cut parchment paper cookie sheet liners. Both of these make for even baking and easy cleanup.
Combine all of these cookie baking items for a fun birthday, Christmas or bridal shower gift! And then print off a few of our best cookie recipes to add on top!
Storage
The best way to store baked chocolate chip cookies is in a large zip top bag WITH a piece of bread in the bag. The cookies will breathe in the moisture from the bread and keep them fresh much longer. These Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies will last in a sealed bag at room temperature for a week and taste like they were made that day!
Top tip
If you want to make cookie dough ahead of time, place mixing bowl in the refrigerator, covered with saran wrap for up to 24 hours before baking. Or scoop dough and freeze in a zip top bag for up to 3 months. Just remove and bake from frozen to have fresh cookies any time. Add another 1-2 minutes of baking time when cooking from frozen.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 subsitute
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts
- 16 tablespoons vegan butter (1 cup)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ of a ripe banana
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Set aside. In a food processor pulse dry roasted peanuts 10 times. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer cream vegan butter until smooth. Add vanilla extract, sugar and banana. Cream until combined and smooth.
- Using a rubber spatula wipe down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low add in the flour mixture, scraping down the sides again as needed.
- Add in chopped peanuts and then chocolate chips.
- Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop out dough, about 2 tablespoons worth, and place on a lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Using a fork, very lightly push down on the dough to create a cross hatch pattern.
- Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Careful not to overcook as these will be lightly browned around the edges but not on top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
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