Craving warm, gooey cookies but don’t have eggs? No problem! These eggless chocolate chip cookies are just as chewy, soft, and golden brown as traditional cookies—without the need for eggs. Whether you’re out of eggs, have an allergy, or follow a plant-based diet, this easy recipe will show you the best substitute for eggs in chocolate chip cookies while keeping them rich and flavorful.
With the cost of eggs at an all-time high, these chocolate chip cookies without eggs are the perfect budget-friendly solution to satisfy your cookie cravings! This recipe makes two dozen bakery-style cookies that are just as chewy and decadent as the traditional version—no eggs needed.
If you’re cutting back on baking because of rising grocery prices or need a dessert option for someone with an egg allergy, this recipe has you covered! It’s based on our Costco chocolate chip cookies recipe, but instead of eggs, we use unsweetened applesauce as a substitute. Although these egg free chocolate chip cookies don’t rise as much, their texture and flavor remain identical to the classic one.
And don’t worry—you won’t taste the applesauce at all! The result? A perfectly soft, buttery, chocolatey cookie that no one will ever guess is egg-free.
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Why We Love These Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Eggs
- Budget-friendly and allergen-friendly.
It isn’t necessary to blow your grocery budget making these baked goods, and friends who are allergic to eggs will thank you! - Bakery sized treats, with BIG flavor!
There are 3 tablespoons of cookie dough in each scoopful!! - The perfect chip to dough ratio.
With 2 cups of chocolate chips in a batch of 24 cookies, you will find enough chocolate to satisfy even the biggest sweet tooth.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Applesauce: When you need an egg substitute for cooking or baking, unsweetened applesauce is a great option. It’s low in calories and fat-free.
Some people like to use flax meal as an egg substitute. A “flax egg” is a combination of ground flaxseed and water. The problem is, flax is high in fiber, and fiber can give cookies a crispy, hard consistency. We’re going for chewy and soft, so we need to use a different egg substitute.
Using homemade applesauce to replace egg in baked goods like Bisquick blueberry muffins, cakes, and cookie recipes works really well. This is because apple sauce adds moisture, which is what you need for SOFT cookies. Also, it binds the ingredients together, just like eggs do.
For this cookie recipe, the applesauce to egg ratio is ¼ cup of applesauce for every 1 egg.
- All-purpose flour: This type of flour gives chocolate chip cookies a chewy consistency. For softer, cake-like cookies, use one half all-purpose flour and one half cake flour.
If you need a gluten-free option, any brand of 1:1 gluten free flour blend should work. **Keep in mind that we have never used gluten-free flour in a cookie recipe without eggs, so you may need to do some test batches. - Sweeteners: We use both white and light brown sugar. Brown sugar gives the cookies moisture and also makes them a little more golden in color.
- Unsalted butter: If you like to bake, you may already have unsalted butter on hand. Using salted butter for baked goods does work, but the amount of salt varies by brand. So, if you have to use salted butter, we recommend leaving out any additional salt from this cookie recipe.
- Chocolate chips: We prefer semi-sweet chips, to keep the sweetness of the eggless cookies down a bit. For sweeter chocolate chip cookies without eggs, feel free to substitute milk chocolate, and for less sweetness, use bittersweet or dark chocolate.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
Instead of running out to the store for brown sugar, you can make your own! For instructions, see our recipe for chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar.
Recipe Variations
- Extra chewy cookies: Add a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with water for an even softer texture.
- Dairy-free version: Use vegan butter or coconut oil instead of dairy-based butter.
- Nutty twist: Stir in chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans for added crunch.
- Double chocolate: Swap ¼ cup of flour for cocoa powder to make double chocolate eggless cookies.
- Healthier option: Use whole wheat flour and coconut sugar for a less processed alternative.
Making an egg-free cookie isn’t any more difficult than making traditional cookie recipes. The key to making soft chewy chocolate chip cookies all lies in mixing the dough properly.
Equipment Used in this Recipe
- Baking Sheet
- 3-tablespoon scoop
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
How to Make Egg Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Use an electric mixer.
We recommend using either an electric stand mixer (like a KitchenAid) or an electric hand mixer. There are two big reasons for this.
First, to help eggless cookies rise, you want to whip air into the butter. Also, the dough itself is heavy and thick, While it *is* possible to combine the ingredients together using a large wooden spoon, your wrist will get a workout.
- Be sure to combine the ingredients well.
Depending on how powerful your mixer is, little bits of butter may fly up onto the sides of the bowl. Just use a spatula to scrape them down.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
Having a few streaks of flour in this cookie dough is okay. But, to prevent tough and dry cookies, do not over mix the dough.
- Stir the chips in by hand.
Yes, this tip does go against what we just mentioned above, but there’s an important reason for our suggestion. If you use an electric mixer to stir the chocolate chips into the cookie dough, you’ll risk overmixing the dough. - Bake in batches to avoid overcrowding the baking sheet.
This recipe makes bakery-style chocolate chip cookies. If you aren’t familiar with them, bakery style cookies are HUGE – about 3 inches wide! That’s almost twice the size of the average cookies from the grocery store.
So, it’s important to leave at least 1 1/2 inches between each scoop of cookie dough on the baking sheet.
- Let the eggless cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
To prevent the cookie bottoms from burning, you will need to remove the baking sheet from the oven before the insides of the cookies are finished baking. As the egg free chocolate chip cookies sit on the pan, the insides will finish baking. As you can tell, this step is very important, so please do not skip it!
🎯 TFN Pro Tip – Thawing frozen cookie dough
We recommend thawing the cookie dough before baking. This is because the scoops of dough are very large, so it takes a while for the frozen dough to warm up in the oven.
If the dough is still frozen, what ultimately happens is, the insides of the cookie will still be raw when the exterior is perfectly golden brown.
Serving Suggestions
These eggless chocolate chip cookies are perfect on their own, but you can also serve them warm with a glass of cold milk, hot chocolate, or coffee. For an indulgent treat, make cookie ice cream sandwiches by layering softened vanilla or chocolate ice cream between two cookies. They also pair well with fruit platters, caramel drizzle, or a scoop of whipped cream for a fun dessert board. Want a fancier option? Crush the cookies and use them as a topping for yogurt, pudding, or cheesecake!
Recipe FAQs
Our recommendation and preference is to use unsweetened applesauce as an egg replacement. It adds moisture, flavor, and helps the dry ingredients to bind together.
There are plenty of cookie recipes that don’t require eggs, such as almond crescents and snowball cookies. However, if you don’t use a substitute for eggs in chocolate chip cookies, they will bake up dense and crumbly.
Freshly baked, the eggless cookies will keep at room temperature for up to a week. Just be sure to store them in an airtight container.
If you want to freeze baked cookies, keep them in a freezer-safe container. They usually keep for 3-4 months.
This being said, you will have a large batch of eggless cookie dough. So, you may want to bake off half right away and freeze the rest of the dough for later.
This is also a great idea if you struggle with portion control, because you can bake off as many as you want at a time. Plus, it’s a helpful solution when you need a quick dessert or treat for friends who stop by unexpectedly.
Adding various amounts of white or brown sugar to the cookie dough will change the texture of the baked treats. More white sugar results in crispy cookies, while more brown sugar makes for chewy cookies.
Make the cookie recipe without eggs as written below, up to the point where you portion scoops of dough onto the baking sheets.
Next, flash freeze the chocolate chip cookie dough, by placing the sheet(s) into a freezer for 1 hour.
Once frozen, place the dough balls in a freezer-safe Ziploc or other container, and return it to the freezer. Frozen cookie dough will keep for up to 3 months.
Place frozen cookie dough on prepared pans. Allow it to thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Bake according to recipe instructions shown in the recipe card, below.
To achieve soft and chewy cookies, cream the butter and sugar well, avoid overmixing the dough, and don’t overbake.
Need some other sweet treat ideas?
If cookies are your favorite, make some old fashioned oatmeal cookies (like your mom used to bake)! If you like raisins, go for this oatmeal raisin cookie dough, or maybe some classic easy M&M cookie recipe.
On special occasions like Easter, Mother’s Day or a graduation, cinnamon coffee cake muffins are a huge hit!
More Desserts To Love…
- Easy Blueberry Cobbler with Bisquick
- Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies
- Simple Chocolate Mousse
- Chocolate Dr Pepper Cake
If you tried this eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- 2 parchment lined baking sheet
- cookie scoop - or 3-tablespoon scoop
- stand mixer - or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter softened, but still cool
- 1 cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips or substitute with dark or milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prepare two cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.Preheat oven to 375º F.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use electric hand mixer and a large mixing bowl), add softened butter and both sugars. Mix at high speed for 2 minutes, then stop the mixer. Use a mixing spatula to scrape down the sides of bowl. Add applesauce and vanilla extract to the bowl and mix at medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Use the spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
- With mixer running on low speed, add baking soda, salt, and flour, one cup at a time. Continue mixing on medium-low speed for 1-2 minutes, until ingredients are just combined. ** It's okay if there are a few streaks of flour in the dough. Do not over mix or your cookies will be tough and dry.Add chocolate chips and mix on low speed for 15 seconds to incorporate. Alternatively, use a wooden spoon to stir chips in by hand.
- Using a medium-sized cookie scoop (3-tablespoon size), portion dough onto prepared cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches of space between each scoop of dough.
- Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes, or until edges of cookies look slightly dry and tops are very light golden. Remove pan from oven and let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes. Then, use a spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Store cool cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
- What is the best egg substitute for chocolate chip cookies? Our recommendation and preference is to use unsweetened applesauce as an egg replacement. It adds moisture, flavor, and helps the dry ingredients to bind together.
- What happens if you don’t add eggs to cookie dough? There are plenty of cookie recipes that don’t require eggs, such as almond crescents and snowball cookies. However, if you don’t use a substitute for eggs in chocolate chip cookies, they will bake up dense and crumbly.
- How do I store these cookies?
Freshly baked, the eggless cookies will keep at room temperature for up to a week. Just be sure to store them in an airtight container.
If you want to freeze baked cookies, keep them in a freezer-safe container. They usually keep for 3-4 months.
This being said, you will have a large batch of eggless cookie dough. So, you may want to bake off half right away and freeze the rest of the dough for later.
This is also a great idea if you struggle with portion control, because you can bake off as many as you want at a time. Plus, it’s a helpful solution when you need a quick dessert or treat for friends who stop by unexpectedly. - What makes cookies chewy or crispy? Adding various amounts of white or brown sugar to the cookie dough will change the texture of the baked treats. More white sugar results in crispy cookies, while more brown sugar makes for chewy cookies.
- Can I freeze cookie dough?
Make the cookie recipe without eggs as written below, up to the point where you portion scoops of dough onto the baking sheets.
Next, flash freeze the chocolate chip cookie dough, by placing the sheet(s) into a freezer for 1 hour.
Once frozen, place the dough balls in a freezer-safe Ziploc or other container, and return it to the freezer. Frozen cookie dough will keep for up to 3 months. - How do I bake frozen cookie dough?
Place frozen cookie dough on prepared pans. Allow it to thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Bake according to recipe instructions shown in the recipe card, below. - How do I make the cookies extra soft? To achieve soft and chewy cookies, cream the butter and sugar well, avoid overmixing the dough, and don’t overbake.
- After portioning the dough on the pans, place baking sheets in the freezer for 1 hour, to flash freeze the scoops of dough.
- Once frozen, place the dough in an airtight container, and return it to the freezer.
- Frozen cookie dough will keep for up to 3 months.
- Place frozen cookie dough on prepared pans. Allow it to thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Bake according to recipe instructions shown above. **NOTE: We recommend baking the cookie dough after thawing rather than straight from the freezer. This is because the scoops of dough are very large, so the inside of the cookie will undercooked when the exterior of the cookies are golden brown.
- Instead of running out to the store for brown sugar, you can make your own! For instructions, see our recipe for chocolate chip cookies recipe without brown sugar.
- Having a few streaks of flour in the eggless chocolate chip cookie dough is okay. But, to prevent tough and dry cookies, do not over mix the dough.
- We recommend thawing chocolate chip cookie dough before baking. This is because the scoops of dough are very large, so it takes a while for the frozen dough to warm up in the oven.
- If the dough is still frozen, what ultimately happens is, the insides of the cookie will still be raw when the exterior is perfectly golden brown.
- Extra chewy cookies: Add a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with water for an even softer texture.
- Dairy-free version: Use vegan butter or coconut oil instead of dairy-based butter.
- Nutty twist: Stir in chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans for added crunch.
- Double chocolate: Swap ¼ cup of flour for cocoa powder to make double chocolate eggless cookies.
- Healthier option: Use whole wheat flour and coconut sugar for a less processed alternative.
Nutrition
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Sky says
Made these for a friend and she loved them! Glad to find a recipe that is eggless that she loves! Thanks for sharing!
Sonia says
These were fabulous – everyone loved them! Thank you for the recipe!