The Best Vegan Purple Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookie (Paleo)

Chewy, soft and fudgy, this thick chocolate chip cookie has a beautiful color that comes from mashed purple sweet potato. It’s also vegan, paleo and gluten free, and made with other good-for-you ingredients like almond flour, coconut flour and ground flaxseeds!

It’s true. A chocolate chip cookie can never go wrong. A decadent chocolate chip cookie with a crackling outside and the gooey middle is the ultimate comfort dessert that transports me back to my childhood days. As a child, we all loved the thrill of having a delicious cookie either with milk or just as it is. It never mattered that if it was straight from the oven or from the mother’s favorite cookie jar.

But today, with this recipe, I’m bringing back the same comforting memory of chocolate chip cookies but with a vegan, gluten-free and purplish twist. Enter purple sweet potatoes!

The ingredient may seem odd but it works absolutely.

All you need are just few basic ingredients like almond flour, coconut flour, and ground flaxseed or flaxseed meal. The flaxseed has a high protein profile as its own, and purple sweet potatoes provide a perfect combination of texture and taste and nutrients, fiber, and protein. And finally, high-quality vegan chocolate chips or chopped chocolate complete these cookies.

Ingredients used to make this

_{**I’ve linked some of these ingredients to amazon.com to give you an idea of what they are, but you should also be able to find them in your local grocery store (usually, the natural & organic food section). They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same for you, link or no link 🙂}

• Almond flour – I used blanched almond flour. But you can also make your own by blending raw or blanched, slivered almonds in the food processor and sifting them through a sieve.
• Coconut flour – Coconut flour does not substitute well, and I can’t recommend swapping coconut flour with other ingredients unless you absolutely had to (2 Tbsp coconut flour = ½ cup almond flour). Unfortunately, you probably won’t get the same texture or mouthfeel as the original recipe.
• Salt – Pink Himalayan salt is what I have at home, so it’s what I use, but you can use any kind for this recipe.
• Sugar – You can use any granulated sugar of your choice, but I used raw cane sugar. Coconut, date and maple sugars are the three less processed sugars I would recommend. Honey and maple syrup should also work, too. For keto options, you could also use stevia (but be sure to convert according to package instructions).
• Flaxseed Meal- you can make your own flaxseed meal by grinding whole flaxseeds in a high-powered blender.
• Olive Oil – Instead of olive oil, you can use coconut oil, or avocado oil here if you’d like.
• Purple Sweet Potato – Purple sweet potato (also called Japanese Purple Sweet Potato or Okinawan Sweet Potato) can be found in most Asian grocery stores. The easiest way I know how to cook sweet potatoes is to microwave them on high for 6-7 minutes (or more depending on the size of the potato). Afterward, I mash it with a fork.

For the Add-Ins, I used:

• Chocolate Chips – regular or paleo / vegan chocolate chips like this one.

Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins:

• You don’t have to keep this as is. Add some nuts, dried fruits or white chocolate chips to keep this cookie interesting.
• Double Chocolate Chip cookies! Just add 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder to the batter.
• Coffee or mocha? Add either a teaspoon of coffee extract or espresso powder.
• With natural flavoring / extracts. Feel free to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract (I didn’t feel like it was essential so I left it out in this recipe).

More Sweet Potato Recipes

How to Make this Healthier

• Make this even healthier by adding a handful of nuts, seeds and old-fashioned oats to add texture and nutrition.
• Looking to lower calories? You can reduce the sugar by half (to make this less sweet), or substitute the sugar with a sugar-free substitute.

How to Store

• You can store these cookies covered at room temperature for up to 48 hours. For longer storage, you can place them in the fridge for up to 7 days, or freeze up to 4 months.

Final Tips

• Be sure to use a microwave-safe bowl (preferably glass, like this one)
• Use batter right away after prep. They will deflate over time, so I’ve found that you don’t want the batter sitting out on the counter for too long.
• Baking time (as well as serving size) will vary based on the size of your cookie, the material (silicone vs metal) of the pan. Bake until the color is slightly golden on the top.

More Cookie Recipes