Sometimes, there’s nothing better than a good, old-fashioned chocolate chip cookie and a glass of ice cold milk.

Having a vegan or a plant-based diet doesn’t mean you need to give up these simple, mouth-watering pleasures. In fact, it means you can indulge even more, and in a healthy, nourishing way. You just need to get a little creative.

In experimenting with different ingredient swaps, I’ve found that a few simple substitutes work wonders and satisfy that craving for your favorite oozy, chocolaty, fresh-out-of-the-oven delight.

Here are a few vegan-friendly ingredient swaps and tips that have worked really well for me:

Overripe banana in place of eggs
Coconut oil in place of butter
Coconut palm sugar in place of granulated / brown sugar
I also add in a little bit of nut milk to make the dough nice and smooth
Also, dark chocolate chips tend to be naturally vegan (and much cheaper than chocolate chips that are officially labeled “vegan”) so that’s what I typically use for my chocolate chips

These swaps may not work for every single cookie recipe in the world, but they are some basic guidelines to follow that may help give some direction to your experimentation!

Here is my sample vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe, using the ingredient swaps mentioned above:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil
1 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut milk
~half of a ripe banana
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups vegan (or dark) chocolate chips

Process:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Blend all ingredients (minus chocolate chips) in a food processor until nice and smooth. Then, stir in chocolate chips with a spoon. Let the dough sit in the fridge for about 10 minutes or so.
Dip a paper towel into coconut oil and rub just a little onto a baking sheet. Roll dough into ball and place evenly along baking sheet.
Pop them in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until a little golden on top.

Once they’re done, let them cool for a minute or two, then indulge! I always like my cookies best when they’re hot and fresh out of the oven (who doesn’t!) so I have a hard time waiting longer than two minutes for them to cool. Fill a glass with your favorite chilled nut milk (coconut milk for me!), dip your cookies, sit back, and enjoy your tasty, healthy treat.

Great for kids and adults alike! If you make this recipe or try out the ingredient swaps with another recipe, please let me know how it turns out! I always love feedback. And don’t forget to tag us on Instagram if you post your results!!