These vegan coconut macaroons are incredibly easy to make with only two ingredients needed! They're so chewy and delicious, you'll never guess they’re eggless and gluten-free!
Are you ready to make the easiest cookies of your life? I should warn you, you'll probably end up making these all the time. Don't come after me if you can't stop eating them!
This recipe was originally published on February 14, 2020. It was updated with new photos and information on December 11, 2022.
Table of contents
- Why you'll love this vegan coconut macaroons recipe:
- Are macaroons and macarons the same thing?
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- How to make vegan macaroons:
- Recipe pro-tips:
- How to dip macaroons in chocolate:
- Storage and freezing directions:
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Tools needed to make gluten-free vegan macaroons
- More gluten-free vegan cookies recipes
Why you'll love this vegan coconut macaroons recipe:
Aside from being super delicious, these macaroons are:
- Quick & Easy - It can't get any quicker or easier than this vegan macaroons recipe! You only need 3 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep time to make the dough.
- Kid-Friendly - This is a great cookie recipe to get your kids involved because it's so easy! They can help with any of the steps, whether it's mixing, scooping, or dipping them into chocolate.
- Allergen-Friendly - This recipe is dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and gluten-free!
Are macaroons and macarons the same thing?
No! Although they sound similar, macaroons and macarons are two very different cookies.
Macarons are delicate French cookies made from egg whites, powdered sugar, and almond flour. The tops are smooth with ruffled "feet" at the bottom, and a sweet filling like buttercream or ganache is sandwiched between two cookies.
Macaroons, on the other hand, are dense and chewy cookies often made from sweetened shredded coconut. Some recipes use egg whites and sugar, while others use sweetened condensed milk.
Are macaroons naturally vegan?
Most macaroons are not vegan, whether it's the addition of egg whites or dairy sweetened condensed milk. However, it's easy to make macaroons vegan by using dairy-free sweetened condensed coconut milk!
Ingredients & Substitutions
As I mentioned, this recipe only requires 3 ingredients, with an optional (but scrumptious) 4th ingredient! Here is what you'll need to make the cookies:
- Desiccated coconut - It's crucial that you get desiccated coconut. Not shredded, not flaked, but desiccated. If you get anything other than desiccated coconut, your macaroons won't hold their shape.
- Vegan sweetened condensed coconut milk - Nature's Charm has both sweetened condensed coconut milk and sweetened condensed oat milk, and both are great in this recipe.
- Vanilla extract - I highly recommend using pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste, rather than artificial or imitation extract.
- Melted chocolate - If you want to take your dairy-free coconut macaroons up a notch, add some melted chocolate! You can dip the bottoms or drizzle on top or both. I used melted vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips, but feel free to use your favorite chocolate chips or chocolate bar.
How to make vegan macaroons:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a bowl, combine desiccated coconut, sweetened condensed coconut milk, and vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
- Scoop out the macaroon dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 14-18 minutes.
- Dip the bottoms of the cooled macaroons in melted chocolate and drizzle some chocolate on top.
Recipe pro-tips:
- Use a cookie scoop. Using a cookie scoop makes portioning out the eggless coconut macaroons easy peasy and mess-free.
- Space the cookies out by an inch on the baking sheet. These vegan macaroons won't spread out but a little space in between the cookies just ensures that they won't stick together.
- Bake until golden. Because these cookies don't have any eggs in them, you can underbake them and still enjoy them safely. You can bake them until they're your favorite shade of golden.
How to dip macaroons in chocolate:
If you want to dip your gluten-free macaroons in chocolate, first make sure they are completely cooled.
Melt some chopped chocolate or pure chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. I like to keep it simple and heat mine in 15-second increments in a microwave, but here's a handy article on how to temper chocolate if you're feeling extra fancy.
Dip the bottoms of each macaroon in the melted chocolate and place it on a piece of parchment paper. If you want them even more chocolatey, drizzle chocolate on top with a fork or spoon.
Storage and freezing directions:
Any leftover macaroon can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
If you're freezing them, keep them in an airtight container in the freezer for a month. When you're ready to eat them, take them out of the freezer and let them come to room temperature before enjoying them!
Frequently Asked Questions
Traditional macaroons will contain either egg whites or dairy sweetened condensed milk, so vegans cannot eat macaroons. But my dairy-free and eggless macaroons are safe for vegans to enjoy!
While coconut macaroons are made with coconut as their main ingredient (obviously), macaroons can also be made from almonds. In fact, macaroons were originally made with almond paste and egg whites back in the 1700s.
If you didn't use desiccated coconut and used shredded coconut instead, your gluten-free coconut macaroons probably turned into a big pile of goop. Make sure you're using desiccated coconut, sometimes called fine shred coconut, to make this recipe!
Tools needed to make gluten-free vegan macaroons
More gluten-free vegan cookies recipes
- Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies
- Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies
- Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
- Easter Egg Sugar Cookies
Gluten-free & dairy-free cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chewy Ginger Cookies
- Fudgy Chocolate Cookies
- Marshmallow-Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
Coconut Macaroons (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 9 oz desiccated coconut increase up to 10 oz (300g) for denser macaroons
- 1 can Nature's Charm sweetened condensed coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup melted chocolate (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine the desiccated coconut and condensed milk. Add vanilla extract if using. Using a cookie scoop for minimal mess, dish out the dough onto the parchment paper. Each ball of dough should be about a heaped tablespoon amount.
- Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 14-18 minutes. Take out of the oven and let it cool completely before moving them onto a wire rack. Drizzle with melted chocolate if using.
Nutrition
SAVE TO PINTEREST FOR LATER!
Disclosure – Thank you to Nature’s Charm for sponsoring this post! I love both their products and brand values, and I’m so excited to be working with them!
Links included in this post might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product using these links I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you 🙂
Rochelle says
These look so good. Thanks for sharing! I am always looking for vegan recipes 🙂
Ai says
Thank you! I have several vegan recipes on my website. Hope you find something you like 😉
Gem says
I tried making these with vegan condensed milk available to me in the UK (its oat based and not coconut based) and 200g of coconut and during cooking they collapsed and became more of a large bar than individual macaroons. Do you think adding more coconut will help? They tasted good but just didn’t hold their shape.
Ai says
Hi Gem! Thank you so much for leaving me a comment! Hmm... not sure why it collapsed, but adding more coconut should definitely help! Did you use desiccated coconut? I can see it collapsing if you had used shredded instead of desiccated... but if you did use desiccated coconut, then maybe your oven runs slightly cooler? (all ovens run slightly differently and none of them are perfect). Let me know if you try it again with 300g of desiccated coconut! Would love to know how it turned out!! Have a lovely day 🙂
Skye Lucking says
All of the coconut condensed milk oozed out of the cookies and they are big piles of goo. 🙁 I think you would need some kind of binding agent.
Ai says
Hi Skye. I'm so sorry the recipe didn't work for you - how frustrating!! I'd love to see what went wrong. How many grams of desiccated coconut did you use? In the post, I explain that you can go up to 300g of desiccated coconut without the macaroons being too dry.