Easy to make in one bowl with no chilling required, these vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy and perfectly pumpkin-spiced!
Is there anything better than a warm, soft and gooey cookie fresh out of the oven?
The only thing better might be a warm, pillowy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie that also happens to be vegan.
Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are great for bake sales, dunked in a glass of almond milk, or whenever you need a break from vegan pumpkin muffins and pumpkin smoothies!
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Recipe features
- Texture: These pumpkin cookies are soft, puffy, and have a gooey center. They are more on the cake-y side than sugar cookie side because they are fluffy, not flat or spread out.
- Simple ingredients: These cookies are so simple to make in just one bowl using common pantry ingredients. You don't even need to make a flax egg!
- No chill time: Everything comes together in one bowl, with the cookies out of the oven in under 30 minutes. They dough doesn't need to be chilled but it can be frozen for later use.
Ingredients
- Vegan chocolate chips: You can use mini or regular-sized chocolate chips. For mini chips, Enjoy Life vegan chocolate chips are a good option. Check out this complete guide to dairy-free chocolate chips.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Buying a pumpkin spice blend is an easy way to have an all-in-one fall-flavored spice, instead of combining a few different spices together on your own.
- Light brown sugar: This adds a deeper, more caramel-y flavor than white sugar.
- Pumpkin puree: Choose canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Because these wouldn't be pumpkin cookies without pumpkin puree!
- Coconut oil is the low-fuss fat that we'll use in place of butter. I recommend melting the coconut oil for the most consistent results.
- All-purpose flour is used in this recipe. I have not tested this recipe with any alternative flours or gluten-free flours.
Step by step instructions
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted coconut oil and brown sugar until just combined. Then mix in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. I use a wooden spoon, but you can use a hand or stand mixer on low speed.
Step 2. Add the dry ingredients directly to the wet ingredients: flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix together on low speed.
Pro tip: For an easier way to mix together the cookie dough, stir in just ½ cup flour at a time. This will prevent the cookie dough from becoming crumbly.
Step 3. Use a spoon or spatula to fold the chocolate chips into the pumpkin cookie dough.
Step 4. Use a spoon to portion ou roughly 2-tablespoon-sized cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Roll each piece of cookie dough into a ball (about the size of a ping pong ball). Use your hand to lightly flatten the cookies into a puck shape - pat lightly, they shouldn't be completely squashed. The cookies won't spread much during baking.
Step 5. Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remove from the oven and rest for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool.
Cassidy's baking tips
- Coconut oil texture: The should be mostly melted. See the ingredients photo for reference. If your coconut oil is rock hard or just soft, pop it in the microwave in 15 second intervals until it is melted.
- Measuring flour: For the most consistent results, measure out flour using the spoon and level method. To do this, use a spoon to scoop flour into a measuring cup until overflowing. Use the flat edge of a knife to wipe off excess flour. Do not shake or pat down the flour.
- If the dough is too sticky to roll into a ball, add flour 2 tablespoons at a time until it reaches the correct consistency.
- Batch size: This recipe makes 18 small to medium cookies. To make 9 larger cookies, bake for an additional 3-5 minutes.
- Cool time: Let the cookies cool for at least 5 minutes before eating them. They will be very soft when they come out of the oven and need time to firm up.
- Gluten-free option: I haven't tried making a gluten-free version of pumpkin cookies. If you want to try, I recommend using a 1:1 all-purpose flour replacement like Bob's Red Mill brand. I don't recommend using almond flour, coconut flour, etc.
Storage tips
- Freezing the baked cookies: Cookies are easy to freeze. Simply place baked cookies in a sealable plastic bag or closed container and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave for 15 seconds or enjoy frozen (my favorite!).
- Freezing the cookie dough: Freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Let thaw overnight in the fridge before baking. Or freeze individual cookie dough pieces and bake for an additional 2 minutes. This yields puffy cookies.
- Leftovers are best within 3-4 days. Store at room temperature in a closed container. Let cool completely before storing. They do soften when stored.
More fall favorites
If you're looking for a non-vegan pumpkin cookie, check out these chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
Did you try this recipe? You can leave a star rating in the recipe card or a review in the comments below. Or check out my cookbook and keep up to date with my YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or newsletter!
Recipe
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Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling!
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed into cup
- ½ cup melted coconut oil see note
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Add pumpkin puree, light brown sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla extract to a medium mixing bowl. Mix together using a large spoon or hand/stand mixer on low.
- Once combined, add ½ cup flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine. Stir in the remaining flour ½ cup at a time to avoid a crumbly mixture.
- Continue mixing until a large uniform ball of cookie dough forms. The dough should be soft but not sticky. You should be able to roll it into a round ball.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Measure out 18 cookies, each about 1.5-2 tablespoons in size. Use your hands to roll each cookie dough scoop into a ball. The ball should be about the size of a ping-pong ball.
- Place cookies 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. You may need to bake in 2 batches. Lightly press each cookie with the palm of your hand to flatten into a puck shape.
- Place the cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 9-11 minutes at 350 degrees. The cookies are ready when firm at the edges and cooked but still soft on top. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool.
- Keep at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Coconut oil: To melt coconut oil, microwave it in 15-second intervals or heat on the stove over medium heat until melted.
- I recommend using an oven thermometer. Oven temperatures can vary widely and the only way to know if your oven is the temperature it says it is is to use an oven thermometer.
- For the most consistent results, use the "spoon and level" method for measuring out flour. Simply use a spoon to add flour to your cup measure until overflowing, then use the back of a knife to level off the excess flour.
Ellie says
I've made these cookies over and over again every autumn for years. People love them!
Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD says
That's wonderful! Thanks for making them year after year! 🙂
Kathy says
I made these cookies for my son who is Vegan. He loved them! I used mini semi sweet chocolate chips and I think that helped keep them moist. Also baked them 8minutes because he likes his cookies super soft. I tasted them too, and they had lots of flavor. Thank you for this great recipe!!
Cassidy Reeser says
So great to hear! Thanks for the review.
Deb says
These cookie are so delicious and so easy to make! Both my vegan and non vegan family and friends loved them!
Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD says
So happy to hear they were a hit! Thanks for the review! 🙂
Barb says
I'm on a WFPB -whole food plant based diet (vegan/oil free) Any suggestion to swap out coconut oil with something else?
Cassidy Reeser says
Applesauce is probably your best bet but I haven’t tried it myself so I’m not 100% that it would work!
Kristy says
Made exactly to recipe - dry and flavorless. Have that weird vegan texture. Reminds me of the stuff I made when I first went vegan before I knew what I was doing.
Cassidy Reeser says
I'm sorry that you didn't like it but thanks for trying the recipe!
max louse says
These cookies are really good.
Cassidy Reeser says
Thanks for the review!
Gina says
These are delicious!! I love them!
Cassidy Reeser says
Thanks so much!
Andrea says
I love these! Soft and chewy. Actually my friend made them and I liked them so much I made them too last night. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Cassidy Reeser says
Thanks so much for the review! 🙂
Pate says
Very tasty seasonal cookies, good for fall!
Jen says
I just made these exactly like the recipe and they were wonderful. So soft and moist. Definitely will make them over and over. Thanks for the recipe!
Cassidy Reeser says
Thanks so much for the review! Glad you liked them.
Joanne says
Can all vegetable shortening be used instead of coconut oil?
Cassidy Reeser says
Hi Joanne, I haven’t tested it out myself but I think vegetable shortening should work. Let me know if you try it out!
Kaley says
I followed this recipe perfectly and the dough was very dry and crumbly, couldn't even make a cookie ball out of it. WAY too much flour.
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
Hi Kaley, I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out for you. Did you do the spoon and level method for the flour? I have made this a few times without any issues, so possibly too much flour was added?
Ashley says
Is 1/2 cup pumpkin the right amount? Mine didn’t turn out quite like the pictures. Definitely not as orange.
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
Hi Ashley, yes 1/2 cup pumpkin puree is right. They are a subtle orange but the longer they bake the more brown they become, that could contribute.
SE says
Perfect fall treat! Followed recipe as written, cookies came out soft and chewy 🙂 This is a great, no-fuss vegan cookie recipe!
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
Thank you! No-fuss is just what I was going for. Glad you like them.
chloe says
YUM! Was searching for a vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe that I already had all of the ingredients for and this one was amazing.
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
Thanks for the kind comment, glad you enjoyed!
Annette says
Loved this vegan recipe! I added walnuts and raisins.
Lori says
Do you know whatGF flour would work
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
An all-purpose baking flour like this Bob’s Red Mill one would probably work best: https://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free-1-to-1-baking-flour.html