You need to try these easy and delicious Butter-less Chocolate Chip Cookies! Baked with oil instead of butter, these cookies come out perfect every time!
Butter-less chocolate chip cookies, what else can I say? I conducted an experiment last night… I tried making chocolate chip cookies without using butter. Why? Because most of the time when I use all butter in my cookie recipe, they turn out flat and cake-like.
I thought about all the different fats I could use in a recipe; butter, crisco or oil… so I opted to give oil a try.
To my amazement, the cookies baked very nicely! They taste delicious and they’re not even close to cakey or dry. Yay for a delicious butter-less chocolate chip cookie recipe!!
How to make Butter-less Chocolate Chip Cookies – Step by Step
In a few simple steps, you will have some delicious butter-less chocolate chip cookies to eat!
First, combine the dry ingredients in one bowl (flour, baking powder and salt).
In another bowl cream together the oil and sugars and add the eggs, one at a time along with the vanilla and almond extract.
Mix the dry ingredients with the wet, and fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon onto a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven for 8 or 9 minutes.
Cookies with oil instead of butter
Making cookies with oil instead of butter is definitely something you need to try if you haven’t already!
The oil gives the cookies a cake-like crumb texture and because of the high-fat content they stay wonderfully moist.
It’s also a great way to enjoy cookies if you have intolerances to dairy.
What can I use instead of butter in cookies?
For this recipe, I used vegetable oil to replace the fat from butter – it has a neutral flavor, and there’s always some hanging around in most kitchens!
Oils have a higher content than butter, so it is often not a straight swap, you only need to use about 3/4 of the amount called for.
If you are into experimenting in the kitchen, here are some other substitutes you can make (note I only used vegetable oil in my recipe and haven’t tried these variations!)
- coconut oil
- olive oil
- shortening
- applesauce
- soy margarine
Tips for making Butter-less Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Line your baking sheet with parchment or use a silicone mat so your cookies don’t stick to the pan.
- Add the eggs one at a time and mix them well.
- Space the cookies far enough apart on the baking sheet so they don’t spread into each other when they cook.
- Use an ice cream scooper to portion out the dough on the baking sheet for evenly baked cookies.
- Let the cookies cool on a rack before serving them.
Perfect Butter-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
I was so happy with how these delicious butter-free cookies turned out, and with no added effort! It’s so easy to make the dough, and the process is really straight forward so you can whip up a batch in no time at all!
More Cookie Recipes to Try!
If you love cookies as much as we do, here are a few more of our favorite cookie recipes to try!
Butterless Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies
Lemon & Thyme Shortbread Cookies
My Favorite Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Chocolate Cherry Chunk Cookies
Mini Heart Shaped Cookies
Italian Rainbow Cookie Recipe
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Also, check out these recipes too!
- Gingerbread Spice Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
- Fruitcake Cookies with Candied Fruit and Nuts by The Spruce Eats
If you have tried this butter-less chocolate chip cookie recipe, please rate it and let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
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Butter-less Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp almond
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl cream together oil, brown sugar and white sugar.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, then add in the vanilla and almond extract.
- Blend in dry ingredients and fold in the chocolate chips.
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes and then let them cool on the pan before moving them to a wire rack.
Cupcake Carrie says
marshmallow fluff… genius!!!
Mara says
yum these look delicious!! And how interesting that you didn’t use butter. I’ll have to try! (LOVE the milk bottle hehe)
Sweet Jennies says
I am going to give these a shot!! Looks Yummy!
Marie says
Followed each ingredient amount suggested and they came out too oily. Definitely cut the amount of oil in half.
A says
I only had enough oil for half a batch but it turned out cool. They were an odd size though. I was expecting mini side cookies when I used 2 teaspoons of the mix for each cookie, but they turned out enormous. The only grievance I could say was they were surprisingly very oily even though I didn’t really have even half a cup, and that the center was still a little wet even though the edges almost burnt, but i had flattened them out so the middle was the same size. Idk. Very good recipe overall. Tread lightly with the oil!
Brenna says
These are great, they taste good too! I used sea salt and dark chocolate chips instead. Cooking them was so easy, I also used a hand mixer super easy.
Eden says
Yay! Thank you for sharing Brenna!
linnea paulina says
Oh my goodness… those look AMAZING!
r8chel says
I form my cookie dough into balls and freeze them. Then I put them straight from the freezer into the oven, and they don’t get so flat. Plus, I can pull a frozen ball of dough from the freezer and have a fresh-baked cookie whenever I want.
But your butter-less cookies DO look amazing… 🙂
Allison says
These turned out wonderful! I made them into a giant sheet cookie to save time (cooking for a big group) and they were perfect. Thanks for the great recipe!
Anonymous says
Wow!!!!!!!!! Love this recipe, I didn’t feel like going to buy butter, this was perfect and all the kids in the neighborhood loved the cookies!!!!! Again “WOW” Great Recipe!!!
Anonymous says
weeeee!!!!! im technically baking it nw!!!! cant wait to taste it….yummyyyyy!!!! =)
Kat Sauce says
I stumbled upon this blog/recipe today after I discovered I didn’t have any butter but a strong desire for chocolate chip cookies. They turned out AMAZING! This is my new chocolate chip cookie recipe! Thank you so much!
darkkrystyl says
these were GREAT !! I was skeptical at first, as the oil and sugars looked like a body scub I have.. but all in all they came out great
LMD says
Just pulled out a batch, and they look delicious! Thanks!
Anonymous says
excellent dairy-free alternative!
Anonymous says
Very happy with the look, taste, and ease of this recipie! Thanks for sharing!!!
Anonymous says
These were amazing (even without chocolate chips)! Everyone loved them so much I’m being forced to make more… And print out the recipe!
Anonymous says
They tasted great, but were crumbly and hard to form into balls!
ErinAnn says
Great recipe! I just did a variation since I have a non-chocolate eater and no vanilla. I used almond extract and about 2 cups of sliced almonds. They’re awesome.
Elli Mommy of 5 says
I made a double batch of the butterless cookies for my family and they looked amazing and taste equally as great. I only have one issue with them…I followed the directions to the T, and was curious if they are supposed to smell so strongly of oil.(opened brand new bottle of Veggie oil) It was hard to get past that smell.
Elli Mommy of 5 says
I made a double batch of the butterless cookies for my family and they looked amazing and taste equally as great. I only have one issue with them…I followed the directions to the T, and was curious if they are supposed to smell so strongly of oil.(opened brand new bottle of Veggie oil) It was hard to get past that smell.
Elli Mommy of 5 says
I made a double batch of the butterless cookies for my family and they looked amazing and taste equally as great. I only have one issue with them…I followed the directions to the T, and was curious if they are supposed to smell so strongly of oil.(opened brand new bottle of Veggie oil) It was hard to get past that smell.
Anonymous says
These are amazing! For some reason, the almond is quite overpowering and my partner says it tastes like mushrooms?! He has strange tastebuds though.
Mine didn’t spread like yours, wondering what went wrong? Mine all held their shape exactly as I moulded them onto the cookie sheet…
canuck01 says
I only used 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and added another 1/2 cup of sour cream. It really improves the texture in baked goods. I also used white chocolate and lemon baking chips instead of semi-sweet. Great cookies! So glad that I could find a recipe after I realized I was out of butter!! 🙂
Anonymous says
these sound fantastic! i’m going to half the recipe because its just me eating 🙂 i hope my turn out as yummy as those ones look! thank you!
Anonymous says
thank you! I am a fourteen year old on my last day of summer vacation so i decided to celebrate with cookies. My parents were both at work and I wanted to surprise them, but we had no butter! I used this recipe and it worked awesomely. I also use your little cookie tool~ great minds think alike, if i may compliment myself.
Sugar and Charm says
Awww!!! Thank you so much 🙂 I am so happy they worked for you and that you were able to surprise your parents! Hope school is going well!! Thank you for the very sweet comment!! Made my week!
Anonymous says
Is it possible to substitute the baking soda with anything?
Sugar and Charm says
You could try baking powder, but I’m not really sure how that would turn out!
Anonymous says
Could I possibly substitute for/leave out the almond extract?
Sugar and Charm says
try vanilla extract
Layla_Villanueva says
I don’t ever put almond extract in. They turn out fine, and taste delicious!
Charlie Turso says
You can always leave out almond extract and/or replace it with any other extract or pure vanilla extract. To same a ton of money regarding almond extract, get a no-name brand of almond liquore. It will last forever and considering the $3.00+ cost of that small bottle of supermarket extract, it is a true savings. Actually most other alcohol products are great for baking!
Anonymous says
These are amazing! Such a cute website! xx
Eden says
Thank you!!
Rachel says
I don’t know why but my batch were terrible. They would barely come off the cookie sheet, were a strange consistency, and the almond was over powering.
Eden says
Sorry to hear Rachel! Wish I could have helped!
Jasmyn says
I love this recipe. My mom wanted cookies to put in her new cookie jar and we didn’t have any butter laying around so I found this. I kinda made it my own by adding almonds in half of the batter. They look and taste amazing! I did pretty good for being 14! You are awesome!
Eden says
Yay!! Awesome job Jasmyn!! So happy they turned out yummy for you and your mom! Love the idea of adding almonds too… great work!!
Jasmyn says
Thank you! I found a new recipe to make for Thanksgiving! Thank you so much!! Keep making AWESOME recipes!
elisabeth degenhart says
i thought they were great!i am ten and i cant make a lot of stuff but these were mostly easy
Joanna Llopis says
I made mine for breakfast and they were amazing! I’m twelve and the directions were very easy to follow. It’s the first time I baked something on my own, I ended up SUCCESSFUL!!!
Dora Dondi says
How many does this serve? Thanks! x
Eden says
depends on how big or small you make them 12-18 usually
Charlie Sours says
Do you grease the cookie sheet
Eden says
You can yes! or use parchment paper
Lucy says
Is almond extract necessary?
not important says
four stars
Aicha says
I had tried this cookies recipe yesterday, they turned amazing
I have tried many recipes in the past I never had a result like this, this one is quick easy with few ingredients, The whole family was happy
I don’t make any change, the recipe is perfect
Thank you
Emily says
Tried these today. Easy recipe and so delicious! Thank you
Eden says
Love to hear this! Thank you!
Lara says
I tried out this recipe but they kept coming out unbaked, so I would put them back in for a few more min and when its cooked, its like a bit of a crumble 🙁
Ashley says
These were absolutely amazing! The best cookie recipe I’ve tried so far that requires no butter. This is definitely going to be my go-to recipe for when I’m craving cookies but I don’t have butter on hand. You are a wonderful human being for coming up with these! <3
Eden says
Yay! Thank you Ashley! So happy you liked them… they are one of my favorites!! You don’t even miss the butter!
Dewa says
Very good recipe! I tried them, I put 1/3 cup less sugar in total and only had 1/3 cup of brown sugar left so I used that in addition to white sugar. I would put a little less salt in these cookies. The shape comes out phenomenal, they are a good cookie recipe if you are gifting cookies. I added a couple table spoons of cocoa and some chopped almonds to half of the batter which also turned out great. OH and after the original 9 minute bake time i did broil for about a minute in a half to give the tops of the cookies a bit more colour. But overall, a great recipe , its going in the recipe collection!
Eden says
Love hearing this! What a great idea to broil too! Never thought about that!
Pn says
Just made them and came out delicious!! Definitely a keeper, tasted like store bought frozen dough cookies. The recipe says to bake for 8-9 min. I did 10 and was perfect.
Thanks so much!
Eden says
We love hearing this! Thank you so much for sharing and I’m so happy these worked out for you!
Marshmallow says
Made these today, and they are the first cookie recipe that worked!!! Will definitely be my go-to cookie recipe. Thanks!
Gracey says
Love these cookies and I like how they didn’t have to have butter!!!!
Eden says
Yay! So happy you loved them!
Esther Berger says
I didn’t have brown sugar so just put one cup of white sugar and I put a drop less oil than a cup but they came out AMAZING! Nice late night snack for me and the hubby!
Eden says
Oh good to know!! Thank you for sharing! The perfect late-night snack if you ask me, haha!
Matt Taylor says
Chocolate chip cookies are awesome! I always make mine with butter. Will give this a shot sometime!
Natalie says
Beautiful cookies & delicious!! Who knew oil would make such yummy cookies! Making these more often!
Kimberly says
The texture of these cookies looks perfect!
Jimtown says
This is great I didn’t have chocolate chips but just made the dough and it actually turned out better then the ones I made the other day with butter and ended up softer also I give this 100 out of 1 to 10 thank saving the recipe in case I forget it next time
Lana says
Very confused. Followed the recipe exactly and mine came out like giant puffballs. They look absolutely nothing like yours, they are smooth, a weird consistency and puffy (didn’t spread, just rose up).
Maria says
Same thing happened to me the first time. I suggest you try to make them again- pay attention to packing the brown sugar and levelling off the flour. I tried them again today and now they look just like the picture. The almond extract is nice if you like it, otherwise just replace with vanilla extract for the classic chocolate chip cookie taste. Hope this helps:)
Patty-cakes says
Instead of vegetable oil I like to use coconut oil (it adds nice flavor:). Should I melt it and then measure it or just measure it while it’s hard?
Karolina says
You should melt the coconut oil that tastes better for me
Karolina says
I liked this recipie but it was just to oily and hard
Jennifer Roberts says
Really nice! Took quite a bit longer to cook than the recipe said – think I made them a bit big, but came out really well.
Zuleika says
Just made these cookies and they are AMAZING!!! My two sons and husband (and I) love them. I was low on butter which inspired me to find a “butteries” recipe – and these are actually better than cookies I’ve made with butter. Thanks for making this recipe available.
Also, one batch I timed correctly and the second batch I forgot about – even slightly over-baked, they’re still great!! No fail recipe – that’s my kind of baking. 🙂
Eden says
Yay! We are so happy you loved them!! They really are SO good! The oil makes them so chewy and delicious!!
Heather says
These turned out great! Would definitely recommend making them!
Stephanie says
Such a great cookie recipe!
Natalie says
These have me craving a chocolate chip cookie!! Love this butter-less option! They are chewy & chocolate-y & really are perfect!
Vicki says
Wonderful, tasty, and easy cookies! We are currently quarantined aboard our sailboat in Spain due to Covid9. We can only go out for groceries when absolutely necessary, about once every 10 days to 2 weeks–and we are low on butter. When my husband asked me to bake chocolate chip cookies I thought he was out of luck! But then I found your recipe and gave it a try even though I was skeptical. Man was I wrong! They are delicious and have a perfect consistency. My husband could not tell the difference between them and my usual butter recipe. This is a keeper….and I will make them again! Thank you for the recipe.
Eden says
Oh my goodness, Vicki! Stay safe on the water and I am SO happy these cookies could be a little treat for you and your husband during this time! Sending you all the love and cookies!!!
Natasha says
This is an amazing recipe! It was very easy to make and a good thing that I had all the ingredients needed for me to make these cookies. This is definitely one of our favorites at home. Thank you for sharing!
Chelsea says
These are sooo delicious!! We’re obsessed! Thanks so much for sharing!
Rachael Yerkes says
I can’t believe these don’t have butter in them. They turned out amazing!
Simp says
Lovely recipe. My family loves it.
Jane says
Had some left over large choc chips from a “cowboy cookie” disaster (subbing oil for butter). Decided to find butterless choc chip recipe and chose yours. The other cookies I bake all call for oil, but i was getting tired of oatmeal and molasses !!! These turned out so amazingly large, light and chewy, even using my 26 year old convection oven and a mix of 3 oils (not intentional just using up) Even had a satiny gloss to them. Puffed up and flattened out perfectly. My new fave !!! Thank you !!!
Kara says
Absolutely DELISH! And…I didn’t burn them! This is my new go-to recipe…thank you!!
Eden says
Thank you Kara! We’re so glad you liked them!!
Maria says
I made these a couple of weeks ago and remarked how different mine looked from yours. I decided to make them again paying attention to packing the brown sugar and levelling off the flour and I have to say it’s an entirely different cookie!! Today’s look more like yours, thin crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. This time I put an extra tsp of vanilla extract instead of the almond extract so it tastes like a classic chocolate chip cookie!! Please let me know if your cookie dough was a little sticky? I did keep the dough refrigerated between baking. I’m determined to get the perfect consistency.
Chelsea says
These cookies are so delicious and we’re obsessed! Thanks so much for sharing!
wilhelmina says
These cookies came out so well! I love the texture and I really didn’t miss the butter one bit!
Melissa says
The best! Thin and crispy on the outside chewy in the middle just the way we like them!
Brittany Folland says
These actually turned out really well! I had to make a few changes though because I didn’t have any granulated sugar or almond extract. So I simply omitted the almond extract and used one cup of powdered sugar in place the the granulated sugar. I will agree with a lot of the posts on here though, that the cookies did have a very pungent oil taste and smell. Missing was that buttery aftertaste you love with chocolate chip cookies. However, I placed them in a tin and tasted them again the next day, and for some reason the pungent oil taste faded and you were left with a fairly good cookie. I probably won’t make these again, because I do miss that buttery aftertaste in a good chocolate chip cookie, but they are decent if you are in a pinch.
Quarantine Queen says
Delish
Jen says
I never knew this would work! I’m always having a craving for cookies but never have enough butter. This is perfect!
Sara Welch says
What a great way to cure my sweet tooth! Definitely baking these this afternoon; looks too good to pass up!
Jessica says
SO yummy! I love this for when we are out of butter!
Krissy Allori says
Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite. I haven’t tried making them without butter but I have the same issue you do. I’m going to give it a shot.
cocoanne says
Amazing!!! (>^-^<) It's such a clever recipe. I am definitely going to try this out!
Anabella says
HI I just wanted to know if I can refrigerate these overnight and take them out when ready to bake.
Eden says
Yes you can refrigerate the dough overnight!
Anabella says
Hi I just wanted to know if I can refrigerate these overnight and bake when ready.
Anabella says
I’m sorry I accidentally posted this comment again. Thank you for the reply, your recipe is amazing.
Aimie says
Very nice cookie very crunchy.
Kayla says
I just made these for my kiddies and I used half of the amount of oil, per suggestions in the comments, and they are so so so yummy!!! This made a ton of cookies as well! The kiddos love them and I have had probably 6 myself! ?? Such a good recipe!
Eden says
Thank you for sharing Kayla!! I am so glad they worked for you!!
Michelle says
Absolutely love these!! Best cookies I have made!
Eden says
Love hearing that!!
Louisa says
these are the best shaped cookies ever !
Doh says
Good ? recipe I love them
Jennifer says
These tasted delicious – with a few adaptations.
Def only 1/2 cup of oil
1/2 cup each of white sugar and brown sugar
Pinch of salt
100g of mini choc chips
Seriously, give this version a go and if it’s not sweet or oily enough for you then top it up next time. :o)
Bea says
I was looking for a chocolate chip cookie recipe without butter and when I found this one, I was happy to try it out. When I read the comments about it being very oily, I decided to cut the oil by half and use 4 oz of applesauce along with 4 oz of oil instead of the full cup of oil. I also cut the sugar in the recipe by using 1 c brown sugar and 1/2 c white sugar. One more change that I made was by using 1/2 c oatmeal in an effort to make a healthier cookie. The results were widely accepted by my grandkids and husband!! Keeping with the changes I made, I would make this recipe again.
Bea