Easy vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are thick, chewy, and loaded with pumpkin, chocolate chips, and warm pumpkin spice. We use simple ingredients and I provide make ahead instructions so you can bake later. They will become your favorite vegan fall cookies!
These homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are dairy free, egg-less, no butter, with a soft and chewy texture, loaded with gooey pockets of chocolate, and flavored with warm pumpkin spice.
If you are looking for fluffy and cakey pumpkin cookies, you are in the wrong place my friend. You won't find any cakey cookies here. Instead, they are thick and chewy, with a crisp exterior. Believe me when I tell you that they are hard to put down.
These easy vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are healthy, freezer-friendly, with no special equipment needed, and you can even make them ahead of time. And don't miss these vegan pumpkin brownies!
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⭐️ Why These Cookies Are The Best
- Thick, soft, chewy, and crisp texture with pumpkin spice and gooey pockets of chocolate
- Quick and easy vegan pumpkin cookies made with simple ingredients
- Healthy cookies that are vegan, dairy free, egg-less, and no butter
- No special equipment needed
- Make ahead instructions provided so you can bake later
- Freezer-friendly cookies
🍫 Ingredient Notes
- Dark brown sugar - contains molasses which adds extra flavor to these cookies.
- Unsulphured molasses - provides a deeper and more complex flavor and makes our cookies extra chewy.
- Pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix) - provides moisture as well as lots of fiber. Use any leftover puree to make pumpkin cream cheese muffins.
- Baking soda - acts as the leavener in this recipe; we don't want the cookies to become soft and fluffy, so we don't use baking powder.
- Pumpkin spice - a mixture of warm fall spices that makes these cookies taste like autumn.
- Vegan chocolate chips - I prefer to use dark chocolate chips (60% or higher), but if you are not a strict vegan, use your preferred chocolate chips.
📝 Variations & Substitutions
- Oil. Substitute any neutral vegetable oil or coconut oil for the vegan butter.
- Make gluten-free: Substitute using a 1:1 ratio with your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Molasses. I highly recommend using molasses because of it's deep and complex flavor. However, maple syrup would also work great.
- Oats. Add ½ cup of old-fashioned oats for a slightly nutty flavor and added fiber.
- Milk. Substitute your favorite plant-based/vegan milk.
🔪 How To Make These Cookies
*See recipe card below for printable instructions
Mix your wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together vegan butter, both sugars, and vanilla extract until well combined and mixture looks creamy.
Add molasses, almond/soy milk, and pumpkin puree, and whisk until well combined, about 2 minutes.
Combine dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice.
Add dry ingredients into wet mixture, and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix thoroughly. Fold in chocolate chips (cookie dough will be very thick).
Refrigerate cookie dough (not required but highly recommended): Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Bake cookies: Using a cookie scoop or large spoon, scoop 1.5 -2 tablespoons of dough onto baking sheet (you might be able to fit 12 cookies on one baking sheet, but I placed 8 cookies on each sheet to spread them evenly). Use your palm to press down on each cookie.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers are soft but set. Let cookies rest for 15 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
👩🏼🍳 Expert Tips and Tricks
- Make sure you are using canned pumpkin (often sold as "100 % pure pumpkin"), which only contains pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling is a different ingredient, and contains sweetener and spices.
- Don't overbake your cookies. They might not look done after 10 minutes, but take them out of the oven anyway. They will continue to cook as they cool.
- Refrigerating your dough before baking isn't required, but I highly recommend it. This helps to concentrate the flavors and creates more texture.
- Try your best (I know it's hard!) to let cookies cool completely before eating them. They firm up as they cool, creating that thick texture.
- Serve on a Halloween platter with spider cookies and a steaming mug of vegan hot chocolate for a decadent treat.
- Make ahead: Freeze cookie dough to bake your cookies later. Freeze portions on baking sheet first, then place them in a freezer-safe bag and store in the freezer. Bake straight from the freezer, but you will need to add 2-3 minutes to your baking time.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the fridge) for up to 5 days.
- How to freeze: After completely cooled, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in refrigerator overnight.
- Make homemade pumpkin spice: In a small bowl, mix together 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, ¾ teaspoon allspice, and ¾ teaspoon cloves.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
It's so easy to make them vegan! In this recipe for vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, we make thick cookies, with a chewy interior and a slightly crisp exterior. They're loaded with chocolate chips and pumpkin spice, and you don't need any special equipment to make them.
Cookies can spread too much when baking if the butter is not firm enough. In this recipe, I recommend that you chill your cookie dough before baking to create thick and chewy pumpkin cookies.
No, an egg substitute is often used, like flax eggs, applesauce, avocado, and even nut butters. For our vegan pumpkin cookies, we use both canned pumpkin and molasses to replace eggs, creating a soft, thick, and crisp cookie.
Pumpkin cookies will last up to 5 days in the fridge if stored in an airtight container. Alternatively, they can be placed in a freezer-safe container and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
🍪 Related Recipes
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Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon unsulphured molasses
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened almond or soy milk
- ⅓ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice
- 1 ½ cups vegan chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together vegan butter, both sugars, and vanilla extract until well combined and mixture looks creamy.
- Add molasses, almond/soy milk, and pumpkin puree, and whisk until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Add dry ingredients into wet mixture, and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix thoroughly. Fold in chocolate chips (cookie dough will be very thick).
- Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a cookie scoop or large spoon, scoop 1.5 -2 tablespoons of dough onto baking sheet (you might be able to fit 12 cookies on one baking sheet, but I placed 8 cookies on each sheet to spread them evenly). Use your palm to press down on each cookie.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers are soft but set. Let cookies rest for 15 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Make sure you are using canned pumpkin (often sold as "100 % pure pumpkin"), which only contains pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling is a different ingredient, and contains sweetener and spices.
- Don't overbake your cookies. They might not look done after 10 minutes, but take them out of the oven anyway. They will continue to cook as they cool.
- Refrigerating your dough before baking isn't required, but I highly recommend it. This helps to concentrate the flavors and creates more texture.
- Try your best (I know it's hard!) to let cookies cool completely before eating them. They firm up as they cool, creating that thick texture.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in refrigerator) for up to 5 days.
- How to freeze: After completely cooled, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in refrigerator overnight.
Kristen Wood
We made these with gluten-free all purpose and they turned out amazingly well! Great recipe! 🙂
Gastronotherapy
Yay, that makes me so happy to hear, Kristen! 🙂
Emily Flint
CHocolate chips and pumpkin go together so well. These are my new favorite cookie!
Gastronotherapy
So glad you loved them, Emily! I also love all things pumpkin and chocolate!
Heather Perine
Love pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! One of my faves...and these were easy to make and very tasty 🙂
Gastronotherapy
Thanks for the kudos, Heather!
Tara
Such a fantastic seasonal cookie! That texture looks perfect with the pumpkin and so many wonderful flavors.
Gastronotherapy
Yes, I am all about the chewy texture when it comes to pumpkin cookies; I really dislike cakey cookies!
Nathan
Even though I don't eat vegan, I'm definitely going to be making these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! I love that flavor combination. Thanks for the recipe!
Gastronotherapy
I hope you love the result, Nathan, and I bet you won't be able to tell they are vegan! 🙂
Anjali
We made these today and couldn’t believe how soft and chewy they turned out to be! No one could believe they were vegan!
Gastronotherapy
So glad they were a hit, Anjali! 🙂