Chewy Cassava Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free) (2024)

These classic cassava flour chocolate chip cookies are amazing and taste like they’re made with real flour. You won’t know the difference, nor will you miss the gluten! This recipe is based on the famous Nestle Tollhouse recipe. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.

As someone who can’t eat gluten (I have celiac disease), I’ve had to learn a new way of baking using many gluten-free flours.

One flour that has risen in popularity is cassava flour. Cassava flour is made from the cassava root, a starchy tuber vegetable. Tapioca starch also comes from the cassava root. However, it’s just the starchy part of the root, whereas cassava flour contains the entire cassava root ground up into fine flour.

I attempted to make the Nestle Tollhouse recipe (slightly adapted) using grain-free cassava flour, and here’s how it turned out!

Please note this recipe was updated in March 2023 to reduce the amount of cassava flour and pare down the recipe to make just one dozen cookies instead of two.

Ingredients Needed

You’ll need to purchase cassava flour for this recipe. You can use either Bob’s Red Mill Cassava Flour, Otto’s Cassava Flour, or another brand.

You’ll also need granulated sugar, brown sugar,baking soda, salt, butter, vanilla, and an egg. Oh, and don’t forget the chocolate chips!

Make Cookie Dough

To make the cookie dough, combine the cassava flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set it aside. Use a kitchen scale to get the most accurate measurements.

Using a handheld or standing mixer, cream the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, then add the vanilla and one egg. Mix together on medium speed until all the ingredients are well combined.

Slowly fold the flour mixture into the butter dough before turning your mixer to medium-high. Cassava flour is very powdery, and you’ll have a dust storm if you don’t gently fold it in first.

Then fully blend all the ingredients with your mixer until you form a cookie dough that is slightly sticky.

Gently fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula until all the ingredients are well combined.

Roll dough by hand (or scoop using a small cookie dough scooper) into 1.5-inch balls and place each ball on a baking sheet about 1.5″ apart. The dough will spread when baked so use a large baking sheet, if possible, in order to give the cookies plenty of space.

Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes until the bottom slightly browns. You want the cookies to be lightly browned but not overcooked. These cookies taste best slightly undercooked and soft.

Allow the cookies 5-10 minutes to cool time before transferring them to a wire rack to cool fully.

Store the cooled cookies in a zip-top bag. They surprisingly taste great for several days after baking.

The Taste Test

These chocolate chip cookies are the real deal! While there is a distinct flavor of cassava flour, you really won’t notice much difference between these cookies and cookies made with other gluten-free flour blends.

The cookies are sweet and buttery, and they have crispy edges with a soft center. They are delightful to eat and oh-so-addictive too!

Troubleshooting

Cookies spread? Did you make the cookies too big? Did you flatten them too much? Did you melt the butter (vs. using softened butter)? All of these can impact the shape of your cookie. Manage the spread by making them 1.5″ thick and only slightly flattening them on your cookie sheet. NEVER use melted butter to make cookies, or they’ll spread like crazy! If your house is warm, refrigerate the dough for 60 minutes before baking.

Cassava flour? I recommend using Otto’s Cassava flour or Bob’s Red Mill Cassava Flour for this recipe.

Dairy-free? I have not made dairy-free cookies, but you could try using vegan butter sticks (like these from Earth Balance). Also, be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips. Cassava flour is already dairy-free.

More Cookie Recipes

These tasty Classic Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies are delicious and soft. If you don’t want to use cassava flour, these cookies will be your go-to cookies.

This Healthy Edible Cookie Dough recipe is made with chickpeas and is meant to be eaten raw. Grab a spoon!

Try these tasty Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies. They’re buttery and sweet – yum!