Our most popular cookie of all time is these butterless chocolate chip cookies. Baked with oil instead of butter, these cookies come out perfect every time. They have the perfect amount of chewiness, sweetness and are filled with flavor. Cookies are one of our favorite desserts and are worth every bite!Â
Also try our populor oatmeal chocolate chip cookies too!
Butterless 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 the 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! They’re a great easy everyday cookie recipe or perfect for a birthday party.
How to make Butterless Chocolate Chip Cookies
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour – We use King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
- Baking soda and Baking powder – Both are used to activate the rise in the cookie.
- Vegetable oil – Vegetable oil is used instead of butter.
- Brown sugar – Dark brown sugar works well. However, if you only have light brown sugar that will work too.
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs – Use organic eggs if possible.
- Vanilla Extract – Pure vanilla extract.
- Almond Extract – Pure almond extract.
- Semisweet chocolate chips or chunks – A few brands we love are Ghirardelli and Ghirardelli.
What Oil Does in Butterless Chocolate Chip Cookies
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. Please note I only used vegetable oil in my recipe and haven’t tried these variations! These variations below will change the outcome of the cookie.
- coconut oil
- canola 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 a cookie scooper to portion out the dough on the baking sheet for evenly baked cookies.
- Let the cookies cool on a rack before serving them.
How to Store Butterless Chocolate Chip Cookies
You can store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about three days. You can also freeze cookies in an airtight sealed bag or container for up to three months. However, there is nothing better than a warm chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven!
Can I substitute margarine for butter in chocolate chip cookies?
Yes! This recipe is made for substituting butter with oil. The cookies come out even chewier and more flavorful.
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!
What to Serve with Butterless Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are perfect to serve year-round with other cookies or a large fruit platter.
Serve them with ice cream and make an ice cream sandwich.
You can also dip them in a delicious snickerdoodle coffee.
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! These are ALL amazing recipes and perfect for all occasions.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Our Favorite Thumbprint Cookies
Also try our chocolate chip cookie pie!
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
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 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.
- Using a cookie scooper, scoop balls of cookie dough and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place them 2" apart.
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes and then let them cool on the pan before moving them to a wire rack.
Notes
- 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 a cookie scooper to portion out the dough on the baking sheet for evenly baked cookies.
- Let the cookies cool on a rack before serving them.
me says
these are relly good .. i saved this recipe
Chris Bassett says
ive used rice bran oil it is fine, they are still lovely. It is a great recipe and I have been experimenting with it. because I like to bake with what I have. I shop for extras on special occasion. I did buy choc chips though
Darci says
Not sure what I did wrong, but even after an extra minute in the oven my cookies came out super flat and way too gooey in the middle. I must have messed up somewhere….either way I like the option of no butter. Thanks for sharing!
Chris Bassett says
i made these with a cup of ricies, a cup of cornflakes, to use them up, also a cup of coconut. and one cup of chips. i was worried they might be abit dry because of the add ons so took out 1/4 cup of flour, also added a tablespoon of cocoa. They are great. and yum. Sorry for destroying your recipe
Zan says
Love these cookies!
Marg says
I made this easier and improved the nutritional value by 1. Using 1 1/4 cups each of white self-raising flour and wholemeal self-raising flour. 2. Instead of 2 cups of sugar I used 1/2 cup dark brown sugar. 3. 2 cups of choc chips is far too much – I used barely 1/2 cup.
Dominique says
These came out great!!!! I had a sugar craving and not enough ingredients for my usual butter cookies. I had to leave out some of the ingredients of this recipe too because didn’t have any white sugar, baking soda or almond extract but they came out perfectly (even with some things missing). Lovely and moist and chewy not like my usual cookies. This will definitely be my new go too cookie recipe ?
Shelby Forester says
Wow, I was skeptical but you really don’t miss the butter in here! Fantastic!
Kristyn says
Love these butter-less option cookies!! The texture is perfect. Totally making these more often!
Jennifer says
These cookies are AMAZING! I love that there’s no butter too!
ALLY says
Love it!
Sophy says
ngl, i don’t really leave reviews on the recipes i’ve tried, HOWEVER, these are kinda easily the best chocolate chip cookies i’ve ever made. i used coconut oil, which i guess according to the other comments, is better for this, because they haven’t come out oily at all. i’ve made this recipe about four times this week ?
Eden says
Love hearing this Sophy! Love that you used coconut oil too!! I will have to try that!
Courtney says
Let me just start by saying I’ve followed hundreds of recipes and I have never felt compelled to leave a rating or review until now. I was just looking for a butter less recipe simply because I was out of butter. I wasn’t expecting much, just something to get the job done. But oh my gosh these are better than any chocolate chip cookies with butter that I have ever had. These chocolate chip cookies will be my new go to!
Eden says
Thank you Courtney, for the sweetest review!! I am so glad they worked for you and I agree the oil makes them so moist and chewy!! They are better than butter!
Kay the Cook says
Hi, can I substitute EVOO or canola oil for the vegetable oil?
Eden says
You will have a much stronger olive oil flavor that might overpower the cookies. If anything, try sunflower oil.
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