Warning: You won’t be able to eat just one of these chewy Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies!
The good news, these are healthier than the usual chocolate chip cookie, so you can enjoy them guilt free!
The BEST Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
This has been our go-to healthy chocolate chip cookies recipe for years now!
Why?
One, they’re easy to make — no crazy ingredients that require a trip to the health food store.
Two, they fit into so many different lifestyles and diets – from gluten free to paleo to dairy free.
These chewy-style paleo chocolate chip cookies are flourless and contain no added sugar (aside from the type of chocolate chips you use), so you can feel good about eating them…even the entire batch! Not that I’ve done that or anything…
Wait! Is Almond Butter Paleo? Are Chocolate Chips Paleo?
When my husband (the chef in our family) first created this recipe, the main goal was to make gluten free chocolate chip cookies, since I started eating gluten free after my last pregnancy.
However, I have a lot of readers that live paleo lifestyles, follow keto diets, etc., so I wanted to be able recommend these cookies whenever possible (because they are SO good!)
Note: For your convenience, I’ve included shop-able ad links to products used to make this recipe. Read our disclosure policy here.
Question 1 – Are nut butters paleo? Are nut butters keto?
The short answer is yes.
Peanut butter is generally avoided on the paleo diet because peanuts are technically a legume and not a nut at all. However, true nut butters, like almond butter, cashew butter, etc. are fine to eat in moderation. They’re fairly low in carbs and provide some protein and plenty of healthy fats.
Nut butters are also regularly eaten on a keto diet, though if you are following a strict keto plan (20 grams or less of daily carbs) they are probably not a food you want to eat every day.
Question 2 – Are chocolate chips paleo friendly?
The paleo diet does allow for a small amount of dark chocolate, but be sure to look for chips that don’t contain additives or artificial ingredients.
Brands like Enjoy Life make chocolate chips you can enjoy on the Paleo diet, or you can make your own (here is a recipe on Bakerita).
Question 3 – Are these Keto chocolate chip cookies too?
Maybe — it depends on your daily carb intake.
These chocolate chip cookies contain dates, which are a fruit, and sometimes avoided on a strict keto diet as they contain fruit sugar.
The total carb count per cookie is 8 grams, which would eat up a good bit of your daily allowance if you are on a strict 20 carb a day plan.
However, they are a much better alternative to regular cookies and sweets, and if this keeps you on your diet in the long run, that’s not such a bad thing after all!
If you’re on a strict keto diet, try one of our keto cookie recipes:
Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
This is a quick-glance shopping list – a full printable copy of recipe/ingredients is available at the bottom of the post. Keep reading for photo step-by-step instructions or click here to jump to printable recipe.
- Dried dates
- Almond butter (natural is best)
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Chocolate chips (look for dark chocolate or paleo-friendly)
- Sea salt
- Baking powder
Want More Yumminess? — Click here to see our 50 favorite gluten free dessert recipes!
How to Make Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
We’ve included photo step-by-step instructions to better illustrate how these paleo chocolate chip cookies are made, but a free printable copy of the recipe is available below.
Start by boiling the dates for a couple minutes, just to soften them.
Once soft, remove from heat, drain, and add to food processor. (Our trusty Hamilton Beach Food Processor
Add remaining cookie ingredients (except chocolate chips) and blend.
Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. It may take some muscle!
Form batter into balls less than 1/4 cup each in size. Place on greased baking sheet or reusable non-stick silicon baking mats (we use these mats for everything!) Do not flatten cookies.
Bake for 9-10 minutes at 350 degrees.
TIP: Oven cooking times may vary, so keep an eye on your cookies to ensure desired doneness.) Remove from oven and place cookies on cooling rack. Try not to eat the entire batch. 🙂
Make Cooking Fun (and Easy!)
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Grab a free printable copy of our Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you love this recipe, rate it! You can also share your thoughts in the comments below.
Chewy paleo chocolate chip cookies are so decadent you'd never guess they're actually good for you!
- 10 dried dates
- 2 cups almond butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips* dark chocolate or paleo-friendly brands
- 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Boil dates for 2-3 minutes, until they begin to soften.
Once dates are soft, remove pan from heat, drain water, and add dates to food processor.
Add sea salt and water. Chop until coarsely ground.
Add almond butter, vanilla extract, eggs, and baking powder. Blend until batter becomes mostly smooth.
Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
Form batter into balls less than 1/4 cup each in size. Place on greased baking sheet or reusable non-stick silicon baking mats. Do not flatten cookies.
Bake for 9-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and place cookies on cooling rack.
Notes: Nutrition information is a rough estimate only; actual values will vary based on the exact ingredients used and amount of recipe prepared.
*A small amount of dark chocolate is generally allowed on the Paleo diet. You can also look for paleo-friendly chocolate chips like those made by the Enjoy Life brand.
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More Gluten-Free Desserts on the Soccer Mom Blog:
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- Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes
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Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
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Last updated on July 25th, 2019 at 02:42 pm
leighleighspeaks says
March 4, 2015 at 7:49 pmMmmmm I’m for sure going to try these!!! Thanks
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
March 5, 2015 at 12:09 amThey’re soooo addicting!
bcbonusmom says
March 5, 2015 at 1:52 pmOMGness…these look and sound amazing! We have been wanting to try the Avocado Chocolate cookies and now we have two to try! LOVE that these are so much healthier than buying…and regular recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
March 5, 2015 at 2:56 pmYou definitely have to try both recipes– so delicious and not difficult to make, even for me!
bcbonusmom says
March 5, 2015 at 3:08 pmTotally going to! Thanks! My SS’s are totally into helping out in the kitchen so this will be fun! Cheers!
bcbonusmom says
March 5, 2015 at 1:54 pmReblogged this on A Day In The Life of A BCBonusMom ……….. and commented:
We are TOTALLY trying these this month! As well as the Avocado Chocolate Cookies! 🙂 Mmmmmmm
leighleighspeaks says
May 28, 2015 at 10:47 pmSeriously!!!!! I don’t know how hall domit but these look so wonderful! Having to save to try and attempt to make one day!!! Mmmmmm
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
May 29, 2015 at 12:37 pmWell, hubby is the genius in the kitchen — I just eat, photograph, and write about it! 🙂 These are pretty easy — you should definitely try them!
Jessica says
May 29, 2015 at 7:31 pmI made these tonight and they didn’t turn out right! They were extremely sticky and didn’t bake through. The flavor was good, very very rich, but the texture was awful. So sad 🙁
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
May 30, 2015 at 5:29 pmHi Jessica– thank you for trying the recipe and for your feedback! Individual ovens vary, so it’s possible that yours might require a slightly longer cooking time and/or raising the temperature. Oven thermometers are helpful for seeing the actual temperature so you can make adjustments. Since these cookies are flour-less, the texture will be on the softer side, but they should cook through. Let me know if you give them another shot! 🙂
Laura says
August 6, 2015 at 7:45 amTruly amazing! I made homemade chocolate almond butter and added some dried cherries. I brought them to a party and I think the guys even raves about them more than the women. Thanks-this is a keeper.
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
August 6, 2015 at 10:19 amWow — you went one step beyond making your own chocolate almond butter! Those sound amazing 🙂
Genoa says
September 13, 2015 at 11:30 amJust made these with ground pecans. I needed to cook them for 13 minutes and they turned out perfect and so delicious. Awesome easy recipe.
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
September 13, 2015 at 11:27 pmI’m so glad that you enjoyed them Genoa! Thanks for the tip on the pecans and thanks for letting me know you loved the recipe 🙂
tiffany says
November 4, 2015 at 11:07 amMade this…Cannot wait to make again as a base for different flavor combos!!!!! THANK YOU! DELISH!
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
November 4, 2015 at 7:37 pmAwesome Tiffany! Let me know what you come up with! 🙂
JNoble says
November 18, 2015 at 2:16 pmwhat brand of choc chips are those?
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
November 22, 2015 at 10:44 pmI believe in this particular batch pictured we used Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips. I also love the Enjoy Life brand dairy free chips, though they are actually mini-chips. You can use whichever brand/type you prefer 🙂
Cerena says
January 16, 2016 at 11:45 pmThese are soo delicious!!! We cooked them for 12 minutes and they were perfection!! We are trying to stop ourselves from eating them all! We used a little less than 12 oz of almond butter and yum yummm yummmmmmm. Thanks for the AMAZING recipe! Will keep making over and over again!
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
January 17, 2016 at 10:45 amSo glad you loved them!! It IS hard not to eat them all 🙂
Amina Begum says
May 12, 2016 at 10:19 pmCan I use almond oil instead of almond butter? I have the former but not the latter. If yes how much should I use? Many thanks!
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
May 13, 2016 at 1:15 amHi Amina — you could substitute cashew butter, peanut butter, sunflower butter, etc. but almond oil won’t work in this recipe.
marierose13 says
July 13, 2016 at 8:06 pmDo you think i could sub honey or some other sweetener for the dates??
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
July 13, 2016 at 10:09 pmYou could substitute prunes or another sweet dried fruit, but using honey or a powdered sweetener would change the consistency. It would take some experimentation. 🙂
Linoya says
September 5, 2016 at 2:48 pmHi! I’d really like to make them, they’re the healthiest I’ve found so far, but I don’t eat eggs.. Is there some way I can replace them with something else? I’m new to all the replacing stuff… 2 tablespoons of Tahini, or maybe 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed with water would be good?
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
September 5, 2016 at 10:55 pmHi Linoya, we haven’t tried the substitutions, but my husband thinks that flaxseed should work like you suggested. Applesauce, chia seeds, and even tofu might also work. Let me know how it turns out if you do!
Linoya says
September 6, 2016 at 6:41 amWow, it turned out DELICIOUS!!! I used 2 TB ground flaxseed mixed with 5-6 TB water as a sub for the eggs and I ran out of almond butter (oopsie doopsie) so I used 1 cup of almond butter and 1 cup tahini.
I just gotta say, though, that my batter looked crumbly, but when I formed it to balls, it was so oily, that the oil was dripping. But even though I didn’t understand the batter, it’s still chocolate chip cookies, and the best healthy ones I’ve ever tasted!
Thank you so much :))))
stacey says
October 22, 2016 at 2:05 pmWow these look and sound amazing!! Yum Yum Yum
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
October 22, 2016 at 2:41 pmThanks! They are one of our favorites!