Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy to make in one bowl with no chilling required, these vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy and perfectly pumpkin-spiced! 

Oh, is there anything better than a warm, soft and gooey cookie fresh out of the oven?

The only thing better might be a warm, soft and gooey pumpkin cookie that's also vegan. And it has chocolate chips.

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!  

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.
• Perfect for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and all things fall!

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.

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

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Author's note: This recipe was updated in August 2022 for more consistent results. The original recipe included ¼ cup coconut oil and the new version uses ½ cup for a more tender cookie.