Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Butter (2024)

Published: Jun 14, 2023 · Modified: Nov 16, 2023 by Katalin Nagy · This post may contain affiliate links. This blog generates income via ads. Please read our Disclosures.

These fudgy, gooey, homemadechocolate chip cookies without butterare the perfect solution for when you've run out of butter at home or need to replace the butter altogether. Thisbutterless chocolate chip cookierecipe uses oil to createmoist, rich chocolatey cookieswithout sacrificing flavor or texture. They're so delicious; you won't even notice the difference!

🌟 How to substitute butter in Cookies

Butter helps to add richness, structure, and a tender texture to baked cookies. However, you can also make delicious chocolate chip cookies with oil instead of butter! Oil is one of the bestsubstitutes for butter, creating a moist texture that lasts much longer than butter.

To use oil as a substitute, use ⅘ of the amount that you would of the butter. For example, if a recipe calls for 100 grams of butter, you would use 80 grams of oil instead. For each cup of butter, you would use a little more than ¾ cup of oil (⅘ cup to be exact).

🌟 Why this is the best No-butter chocolate chip cookie recipe

1. It does not require chilling. Since this recipe uses oil, it does not require chilling the cookies before baking for them to solidify. Unlike butter, oil is liquid at room temperature as well as at fridge temperature and will never harden. Additionally, since the flour-to-fat ratio is higher, the cookies will spread beautifully but not overspread.
2. It is the most detailed. Unlike other butterless chocolate chip cookie recipes, this recipe provides expert tips and explains the science behind creating the perfect chocolate chip cookies without butter.
3. It is the most delicious. This no butter chocolate chip cookie recipe uses only the highest quality ingredients to create the most decadent chocolate chip cookies.
4. It is versatile. There are many different varieties of cookies that you can make using this chocolate chip cookies without butter recipe. See the Variations and Substitutions section below for more cookies without butter recipes!
5. It is easy for anyone to make.These butterless cookies do not require fancy ingredients or equipment. You likely already have everything you need in your kitchen!

📝 Ingredient notes

1. Oil- Since this is abutter-free recipe, we will use a neutral, flavorless oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or corn oil to make the cookies super moist. I do not recommend coconut or olive oil as they will change the flavor.
2. Brown sugar-Brown sugarwill add molasses flavor to your cookies. For a deep, rich flavor, use dark brown sugar. For a milder taste, use light brown sugar.
3. Granulated sugar- Combiningwhite granulated sugarwith brown sugar will help balance the molasses flavor.
4. Egg- Always use room temperature eggs when baking.
5. Vanilla extract- You can also use pure vanilla instead ofvanilla extract.
6. All-purpose flour- I recommend using a sifter to help remove any lumps in the flour to create a smooth dough.
7. Salt- Salt is an essential ingredient that helps to balance the flavors, especially in recipes with chocolate. Don't skip it!
8. Baking Soda- Baking soda helps the cookies to rise and spread and gives them a crackly surface and chewy texture.
9. Chocolate chips- Always use high-quality, semi sweet chocolate chips (e.g., Callebaut) for the best results and ease of melting. I recommend using dark chocolate chips with 70% cocoa or higher as it gives the cookies a deep cocoa taste. For much sweeter chocolate cookies without butter, use milk chocolate chips instead.

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

1. Step-by-step process of makingChocolate Chip Cookies Without Butter

1. Preheat the oven to 175 C /347°F. Do not use the fan.
2. Using anelectric mixer, whip the oil with the white and brown sugar for a few minutes until well blended.
3. Next, mix in the egg, then add the vanilla. Mix until the two are combined.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Once combined, add to the wet ingredients and use arubber spatulato combine the two mixtures. Do not overmix.
5. Fold in some of the chocolate chips, leaving some for later to place on top of the half-baked cookies.
6. Prepare two separate baking pans, lining them with parchment paper.
7. Divide the dough into 10 equally-sized balls. Place them onto the parchment paper, leaving enough space between each cookie to spread.

💡 Top Tip: Use adigital scalewhen dividing the cookies into balls to create equally sized cookies.

2. How to bake these cookies

1. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, then remove them from the oven to place more chocolate chips on top.
2. Press the additional chocolate chips onto the surface of the cookies. There is no need to rest the cookies before returning them to the oven. Bake for an additional 5 minutes.
3. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest for a few minutes. Then, carefully remove them from the parchment paper, set them on acooling rack, and sprinkle them with sea salt. The cookies will continue to set as they cool.
4. Serve the cookies while they are slightly warm.

💡 Top Tip: For no butter chocolate chip cookies with a nice, crackly surface, do not attempt to soften the surface of the dough. The rougher the surface, the better the outcome!

🍫 Flavor Variations & Substitutions

Walnut chocolate chip cookies: Add some additional crunch to your cookies by adding walnuts. See mychocolate chip walnut cookies recipefor more tips!

Pecan chocolate chip cookies: For a crunchy cookie with a sweet cinnamon flavor, throw in some pecans as I do in mypecan chocolate chip cookiesrecipe.

Biscoff chocolate chip cookies: Add crushed Biscoff cookies for spicy, caramel-flavored cookies, as I do in myBiscoff butter cookie recipe.

Coffee cookies: Add some espresso powder to the mix to create delicious, aromaticcoffee cookies.

Oatmeal cookies: Add oatmeal and craisins to the mix for deliciousoatmeal chocolate chip cookieswithout butter.

Peanut butter cookies: Add a ½ cup of creamy peanut butter to the wet mix for delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

No-brown sugar cookies: If you've run out of brown sugar or prefer not to use it, you can still make delicious chocolate chip cookies without butter and brown sugar! See mychocolate chip cookies without brown sugarrecipe for more details. There are also manybrown sugar substitutesyou can use in its place.

Chocolate chip cookies without eggs: There are severalegg substitutesyou can use instead to make chocolate chip cookies without butter and eggs. You may need to adjust the other ingredients to achieve the same result. For vegan cookies, be sure to use high-quality vegan chocolate chips.

Different flour: Instead of all-purpose flour, you can also use a blend of low-protein flour (i.e., pastry flour) and high-protein flour (i.e., bread flour). For more information on how to use different types of flour in baking (including gluten free options), refer to myflour guide. Why not try Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies?

Air-fryer version: Why not try these Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies?

Marshmallow version: These Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies are full of chocolate chips and marshmallows!

🎓 Expert tips

1. Use high-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips for the best flavor and baking experience.
2. Always measure your ingredients with adigital scalefor the most accurate results and evenly-sized cookies.
3. When baking, it is critical to preheat the oven first. To avoid underbaking or overbaking, use a digital oven thermometer to ensure the oven remains at the correct temperature while baking.
4. For a fudgy, gooey texture, do not overmix or overbake the cookies.
5. Bake only five cookies at a time to ensure each cookie has enough room to spread in the oven.

🥣 Equipment notes

Use adigital scaleto accurately measure the ingredients and create evenly-sized cookies. Adigital oven thermometerwill ensure that the oven reaches and remains at the right temperature while baking.

Anelectric hand mixercomes in handy when mixing the wet ingredients.Therubber spatulawill help to fold the wet and dry ingredients together.

Use acooling rackto cool the cookies once you remove them from the oven for the best results.

❓Recipe FAQs

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Have you tried this recipe?

Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your dessert turned out and your feedback also helps other Readers!