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There’s something magical about pulling a warm Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie straight from the oven, golden and crisp around the edges, soft and gooey in the center, and loaded with melty chocolate chips. This low carb, browned butter dream is everything you love about a classic cookie, baked into one indulgent skillet sized treat.
Made with wholesome ingredients, this skillet chocolate chip cookie recipe is gluten free and keto friendly, with an easy vegan option too. Whether you’re after a guilt free dessert or a spoonable comfort moment, this cast iron skillet chocolate chip cookie delivers pure, fudgy bliss in every bite.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
This Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie is everything you want in a dessert: crisp, buttery edges giving way to a molten, fudgy center that’s pure comfort in every bite. The browned butter adds a rich, nutty depth that takes the flavor to another level, while the chocolate chips melt perfectly into the warm cookie base.
It’s also a treat you can actually feel good about. This skillet chocolate chip cookie recipe is low carb, gluten free, and dairy free, with an easy vegan option for anyone who wants a plant-based indulgence. Baked right in your cast iron skillet, it’s easy, impressive, and perfect for sharing—much like our deep dish chocolate chip cheesecake cookie—if you can resist eating it straight from the pan.
What Goes Into Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
This Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie uses simple, wholesome ingredients that make it rich, chewy, and perfectly indulgent without the guilt.
- Butter: Browned butter adds a nutty, caramel-like flavor that gives the cookie incredible depth.
- Sweetener: A blend of brown sugar substitute and natural sweetener (like Swerve or Natvia) keeps it sweet and keto friendly.
- Almond Flour: Creates a soft, chewy texture while keeping it gluten free and low carb.
- Chocolate Chips: Sugar free dark chocolate chips like Lily’s melt beautifully, but Enjoy Life chips work great for a dairy free option.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements.
How To Make Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Preheat and Prepare: Set your oven to 350°F (176°C). Place a 9-inch cast iron skillet on the stove and get it ready for browning the butter.
- Brown Butter: Melt butter over high until it starts bubbling, then reduce to low. Cover if needed to prevent splattering and cook until the butter turns golden.
- Cool the Butter: Remove the skillet from the heat and let the browned butter cool for about 5 minutes so it doesn’t scramble the egg later.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and vanilla extract. Add the sweeteners and whisk until smooth and well combined.
- Combine with Butter: Once cooled, pour the browned butter into the egg mixture and whisk again until fully incorporated.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Sift in the flour. Add the salt and half of the chocolate chips, then fold until the dough is thick and creamy.
- Bake: Spoon the batter back into the skillet, sprinkle over the remaining chocolate chips, and bake for 25–30 minutes or until golden and set on top.
- Serve and Enjoy: Let it cool slightly before digging in. Serve warm with sugar free ice cream or frozen yogurt for the ultimate indulgence.
This Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie is the perfect way to end a cozy meal. Try it after a comforting plate of Beef and Pumpkin Shepherd’s Pie where the hearty, savory filling gives way to a warm, gooey cookie center that feels like a hug in dessert form.
If you prefer something lighter, pair it with a Spinach and Ricotta Grilled Cheese for a sweet-salty balance, or make it a fun dessert breakfast moment with a spoonful of Nutella Hot Chocolate Oatmeal on the side. However you serve it, this skillet cookie steals the show every time.
Tips For Making Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
- A cast iron skillet works best for this recipe because it gives you those crisp, buttery edges and a soft, gooey middle.
- Keep an eye on your browned butter — once it turns golden and smells nutty, it’s ready. Any longer and it can burn fast.
- Let the butter cool for a few minutes before adding it to the eggs so everything mixes smoothly.
- For a melt-in-your-mouth texture, bake just until set and let the cookie rest before digging in. It’ll finish cooking as it cools.
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes, you can! Use any oven-safe skillet or even a round cake pan. Just keep an eye on it while baking since the edges may brown faster in thinner pans.
It should look golden on the edges and slightly soft in the center. The cookie will continue to set as it cools, so don’t overbake it if you want that gooey middle.
Yes, the dough can be made up to a day in advance. Store it covered in the refrigerator, then bake it straight in the skillet when you’re ready.
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Low Carb Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 egg large
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sweetener brown sugar substitute, or coconut sugar if not strict KETO
- 1/4 cup natural granulated sweetener (Swerve Granular or Natvia Baking Blend)**
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup sugar free chocolate chips Lily's Dark Chocolate Premium but you can use Enjoy Life chocolate chips for a dairy free option
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Heat the butter in a 9-inch cast iron skillet over high heat until bubbling. Reduce heat down to low; cover pan (optional but prevents butter spitting everywhere), and continue to cook while stirring occasionally until the butter begins to brown. (Be careful when lifting the lid off the pan as the butter may spit.) Once browned, remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
- While butter is cooling, whisk together the egg and vanilla extract. Add the sugar and sweetener and whisk again until combined. Add the butter once it has cooled and mix well.
- Sift in the almond flour (press any lumps gently over the sieve to sift quicker); add the salt and half the chocolate chips; mix through gently until the batter is well combined and creamy. It will be a little thicker than cookie dough. Spoon batter into skillet; top with remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set on the top when pressed lightly and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cookie comes out clean.
- Serve with No Sugar ice cream or frozen yogurt and enjoy!
Notes
- Replace egg with 1 flax egg for VEGAN substitute
- Natural sweetener can be subbed with coconut sugar or regular white sugar if you like. You will need to recalculate nutritional macros.
- Make sure you use fine almond FLOUR (light yellow in colour) and NOT almond MEAL.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Natasha! It will be fine with a sugar sub!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! I just made it for the first time and though I cooked it about 5 minutes too long (which resulted in a slightly dry finished product) it was DELICIOUS. I will be making this one regularly!
For those asking about subbing the Swerve with Truvia baking blend, I just did this with outstanding results. I also used 2 T of Truvia brown sugar instead of the coconut sugar.
THANK YOU!!! for an awesome recipe . I too react to sugar with a blood sugar dump….even “natural sugar” in fruit. I’m anxious to try coconut sugar and this looks like a treat my grandchildren will love!! Our bodies can certainly throw us a curve ball, but there are a lot of things we have control over and what we put in our mouths is one.
I didn’t think coconut sugar was low carb….. I’m going to have a have a go at it using xylitol (naturally occurring sugar from beech trees) looks amazing! TFS!
This looks amazing, found you via Pinterest-I can’t eat nuts though, would coconut flour work do you think or maybe spelt flour? x
I would lean more towards spelt flour (light spelt if possible!)
I missed the instructions for adding the remaining half of the chips.
Hi Eunice! I’ve just fixed that up. Thank you for noticing! 🙂
Sunflower seeds meal worked great. You caused an emergency grocery trip for chocolate chips!
I am LCHF, and sugar is a big no because of the fructose/insulin reaction. I do use swerve. Have you tried replacing the sugar in this recipe with all swerve?
I Naomi. I’ve used swerve in this with success, but to replace the coconut sugar, I use a brown sugar substitute 🙂
Hello,
These cookies look amazing! However I’d like to make them completely with out any kinds of sugar. Have you tried using just truvia and if yes, how much? I’m a complete THM and want to avoid all sugars. Thank you!
Hi Debbie. I haven’t substituted with Truvia but I have used a natural sweetener that measures a cup for cup with sugar. If Truvia measures a cup for cup with sugar, I’d suggest following the the measurements in the recipe 🙂
Kudos for beating the Stage 4B Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer. I just made your great cookie, thanks for sharing it with us. I’ll never again be without a Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookie, Instead of butter I used low cal. margarine. Next time I’m going to use sunflower meal, to see how it works, instead of almond meal.
Thank you so much Earl! Please let me know how you go with the Sunflower meal. I’d love to hear of it works out with the same result!