Chewy Vegan Sweet Potato Cookies (with Chocolate Chips)

Name: Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 Tablespoon (7 g) flax meal; 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) water; ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar (packed); ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar; 1 cup (225 g) vegan butter (room temperature); 1 medium sweet potato (peeled and finely grated, about 1 cup); 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda; 2 ¼ cups (280 g) all-purpose flour; ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt; 1 cup (170 g) vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips (plus extra for topping)

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These soft and chewy vegan sweet potato cookies are loaded with chocolate chips and a secret ingredient: grated sweet potato! They’re easy to make with simple baking staples in about 20 minutes, and they’re perfect for the holidays or any time you want a cookie with a little extra goodness.

Vegan sweet potato chocolate chip cookies next to a box grater.

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Quick Glance

Recipe Name: Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies
Why You’ll Love It: They are soft, chewy, and chocolatey, with grated sweet potato baked right in.
Time and Difficulty: 10 minutes of prep, 10 to 12 minutes to bake, easy.
Main Ingredients: Grated sweet potato, flour, vegan butter, brown and white sugar, flax meal, and vegan chocolate chips.
Method: Cream, mix, scoop, flatten, and bake. No chilling needed.
Texture and Flavor: Soft and chewy in the middle with lightly crisp edges and pools of melted chocolate.
Quick Tip: Grate the sweet potato on the smallest holes of your grater so it melts into the cookies.

What Makes These Sweet Potato Cookies So Good
Sweet Potato Cookie Ingredients
Recipe Variations
How to Make Sweet Potato Cookies
Toni’s Recipe Tips
Serving Ideas
Make Ahead and Storage
Sweet Potato Cookie FAQs
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

What Makes These Sweet Potato Cookies So Good

If you love my dairy-free chocolate chip cookies, you’ll love this wholesome twist! Like my vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and chickpea chocolate chip cookies, they have a good-for-you ingredient hiding inside.

Grated sweet potato adds moisture and a little vitamin A, fiber, manganese, and vitamin C to every cookie. No one (not even the kids) will guess, because they taste just as sweet and chocolatey as classic chocolate chip cookies.

Soft and chewy: Grated sweet potato keeps the centers tender, with lightly crisp edges.
No cooking the sweet potato: It goes in raw and finely grated, then softens as the cookies bake.
Egg-free and dairy-free: A flax egg and vegan butter make them 100% vegan.
Quick to make: About 20 minutes from start to finish, with no dough chilling.
Easy to customize: Add nuts, dried fruit, coconut, or warm spices.
Freezer friendly: Freeze the baked cookies or the dough balls for later.

Make them for Thanksgiving (find more ideas in my vegan Thanksgiving recipes) with my sweet potato bread and sweet potato muffins, or try my sweet potato brownies and sweet potato chocolate cake for more sweet potato desserts.

You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card below.

Labeled ingredients for vegan sweet potato cookies, including a sweet potato, flour, sugars, vegan butter, flax meal, and chocolate chips.

Sweet potato: One medium sweet potato, peeled and finely grated, gives you about 1 cup. Save any extra for topping.
Flax meal and water: They make a flax egg to bind the dough in place of an egg.
Vegan butter: Use softened, room temperature vegan butter so it creams well with the sugars.
Brown and granulated sugar: Brown sugar keeps the cookies chewy, and white sugar helps the edges crisp up.
All-purpose flour: For soft, bakery-style cookies. See the FAQs for a gluten-free option.
Baking soda and salt: For lift and balanced flavor.
Vegan chocolate chips: Semi-sweet chips are classic, plus a few extra for the tops.

Egg swap: No flax? Use the same amount of ground chia seeds and water, or ¼ cup of unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana (they will slightly change the flavor). Check out my vegan egg replacers for baking guide for more options.

Recipe Variations

Dried fruit: Stir raisins, cranberries, or currants into the dough at the end.
Toasted nuts or seeds: Toast walnuts, almonds, pecans, or pumpkin seeds, then fold them in.
Spices: Whisk a pinch of cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, or nutmeg into the dry ingredients.
Vanilla extract: Add 1 teaspoon to boost the natural sweetness.
Brown vegan butter: Gently simmer the vegan butter in a light-colored skillet for 5 to 10 minutes until golden and nutty, then let it cool before adding it to the dough.
Shredded coconut: Fold in a handful for extra chewiness.

How to Make Sweet Potato Cookies

Here’s a quick look at how to make these cookies. You’ll find the detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

Pouring water into flax meal to make a flax egg.

Step 1: Make the flax egg. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees Celsius) and line a baking sheet. Whisk the flax meal and water in a small bowl and let it thicken for 5 minutes.

Creaming vegan butter and sugars in a stand mixer bowl.

Step 2: Cream the butter and sugars. Beat the vegan butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.

Finely grated sweet potato next to a box grater.

Step 3: Grate the sweet potato. Use the smallest holes of a grater to grate the sweet potato until you have 1 cup.

Folding grated sweet potato into vegan cookie dough with a spatula.

Step 4: Add the sweet potato and flax egg. Add the grated sweet potato and flax egg to the butter mixture and mix well.

Flour, baking soda, and salt for sweet potato cookies in a bowl.

Step 5: Add the dry ingredients. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt, then add them to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Pouring vegan chocolate chips into sweet potato cookie dough.

Step 6: Fold in the chocolate chips. Fold in the vegan chocolate chips. The dough will be thick.

Sprinkling grated sweet potato over cookie dough balls on a baking sheet.

Step 7: Scoop and top. Scoop the dough with a medium (2 Tablespoon) cookie scoop, top each one with a little grated sweet potato and a few chocolate chips, then flatten them with your hand or a spatula.

Baked vegan sweet potato cookies on a cooling rack.

Step 8: Bake. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack.

PRO TIP: The cookies are very soft when they first come out of the oven, so let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them. This helps them firm up and keeps them from crumbling.

Toni’s Recipe Tips

Grate it finely: The smallest side of the grater gives tiny shreds that soften completely as the cookies bake.
Flatten the dough balls: These cookies don’t spread much, so press them down before baking.
Give them time to firm up: They’ll look a little underdone when they come out of the oven, but they set as they cool.
For firmer cookies: I like mine soft and chewy at 10 to 12 minutes. Bake them 2 to 3 minutes longer if you like a crunchier cookie.
Measure the flour correctly: Spoon and level the flour so the dough doesn’t get dry.

Soft and chewy vegan sweet potato cookies on a cooling rack.

Serving Ideas

With a mug of vegan hot chocolate or a vegan pumpkin spice latte.
On a holiday cookie platter with triple ginger cookies and gingerbread oatmeal cookies.
As an after-school snack with a glass of plant-based milk.
Packed in lunchboxes for a sweet treat.

Make Ahead and Storage

Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
Fridge: Keep them in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Freeze baked cookies: Freeze them on a cookie sheet until solid, then store them in an airtight container with parchment between the layers for up to 3 months.
Freeze the dough: Freeze the scooped dough balls on a baking sheet until solid, then store them in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 3 to 5 minutes.

Vegan sweet potato cookies stored in a container.

Should I peel the sweet potato?

Yes, I recommend peeling it so the grated sweet potato is softer in the cookies. You can leave the peel on to save time, just scrub the skin well before grating.

Do you have to cook the sweet potato first?

No. The finely grated sweet potato softens as the cookies bake. If you prefer a sweeter flavor and softer cookies, you can steam or boil the sweet potato first, then mash it and add it with the flax egg.

Can these cookies be made gluten-free?

I haven’t tested them with gluten-free flour yet, but a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend should work in place of the all-purpose flour. Let me know if you try it!

Do you need to chill the cookie dough?

Only if your vegan butter is very soft or it’s a hot day. Otherwise, these cookies don’t spread much, so you can bake them right away.

Can I freeze the cookie dough?

Yes! Freeze the scooped dough balls until solid, then store them in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Bake them from frozen and add 3 to 5 minutes to the bake time.