These easy vegan coconut macaroons are light, fluffy, moist, perfectly sweet and full of coconut flavor. Simply mix the ingredients, scoop into mounds and bake for 8 minutes. Take them to the next level by dipping or drizzling them with homemade chocolate!
Vegan Coconut Macaroons
Passover is easily one of my favorite Jewish holidays in terms of cooking. My family can count on me to make the apple-walnut charoset as well as my addictive crispy smashed potatoes, but my biggest contribution are these healthy coconut macaroons!
Traditional macaroons consist of sweetened condensed milk and eggs, both of which can easily be replaced to make vegan macaroons. These bite-sized fluffy pieces of heaven are made using just almond flour, coconut, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
The result is a perfect Passover dessert with sweet coconut flavor that nobody would ever suspect is vegan (and gluten-free too!). And while it is delicious by itself, I like to dip the bottoms of the macaroons in homemade vegan chocolate as well as drizzle chocolate on top!
Why You'll Love these Macaroons
- Light and fluffy
- Rich and chewy texture on the inside yet slightly crisp on the outside
- Simple ingredients
- Easy recipe to make - no food processor necessary
- Vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar-free (including the optional chocolate!)
The Coconut-Chocolate Combination
While delicious on their own for any coconut lover, I cannot overstate how unbelievable these macaroons are when dipped in chocolate. Coconut and chocolate is a tried-and-true favorite combination, one that I simply cannot resist whenever I make macaroons!
You can certainly use store-bought chocolate, but to make it refined sugar-free I make my own from cocoa butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, cocoa powder and a little salt.
Ingredients
This tasty dessert requires only a handful of wholesome ingredients! See recipe card below for quantities.
- Finely shredded coconut (not coconut flakes)
- Almond flour (not almond meal)
- Salt
- Melted coconut oil (unrefined)
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Optional garnishes: vegan chocolate, flaky sea salt
How to Make Vegan Coconut Macaroons
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed half sheet baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the shredded coconut, almond flour and salt.
3. Mix in the wet ingredients. Add the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir well.
4. Form the macaroons. Use a 1.5 tablespoon retractable cookie scoop to create mounds of the coconut mixture. Pack the mixture in well for best results. Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Use your hands to reform the mounds if they start to fall apart.
5. Bake. Bake for 8 minutes until the edges are just starting to become golden brown.
6. Allow macaroons to cool. Transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool fully at room temperature before dipping in chocolate. For quicker results, stick them in your freezer to chill before dipping.
7. Make or melt the chocolate. While the macaroons cool, make the homemade chocolate or melt chocolate chips (see note below).
8. Dip and drizzle with chocolate. Once the macaroons have fully cooled and hardened, dip the bottoms in the melted chocolate and place on a flat surface lined with parchment paper. Use a fork or spoon to drizzle more chocolate overtop if desired. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired as well. Allow the chocolate to set before serving.
How to Melt Vegan Dark Chocolate Chips
You can melt chocolate chips using the microwave or a double broiler. To microwave, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or avocado oil) to a microwave-safe bowl of chocolate chips and heat for one minute. Stir and then microwave again for another minute.
To create a double broiler, bring 2 inches of water to a rolling boil on your stovetop and place a larger glass bowl overtop the saucepan. Add the chocolate and oil to the bowl and stir regularly until fully melted.
Storage
Store leftover macaroons in an airtight container in your refrigerator for about 4-5 days. They can be frozen for up to three months. Allow macaroons to return back to room temperature before serving or they will be hard.
More Vegan Passover Desserts
If you are looking for another dessert recipe to serve for your Passover seder, try any (or all!) of these:
You can find all of my Passover-friendly recipes here.
This vegan coconut macaroons recipe will be an instant favorite to serve for Passover. They are gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and refined sugar-free. I cannot wait for you to give these bite-sized fluffy pieces of heaven a try!
Print
Vegan Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate Drizzle
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: 15 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These easy vegan coconut macaroons are light, fluffy, moist, perfectly sweet and full of coconut flavor. Simply mix the ingredients, scoop into mounds and bake for 8 minutes. Take them to the next level by dipping or drizzling them with homemade chocolate!
Ingredients
The Macaroons
- 2 cups unsweetened finely shredded coconut (not flaked)
- ⅓ cup blanched super fine almond flour (not almond meal)
- pinch of fine salt
- 5 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, melted
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Optional Garnishes
- 1 cup vegan refined sugar-free chocolate, melted [or ½ batch of my homemade vegan chocolate]*
- Flaky sea salt for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed half sheet baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Process the ingredients. Add all ingredients (shredded coconut, almond flour, salt, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract) to a 7-cup food processor and process for 30 seconds. Scrap down the sides and process again if needed to fully incorporate everything.
- Form the macaroons. Use a 1.5 tablespoon retractable cookie scoop to create mounds of the coconut mixture. Pack the mixture in well for best results. Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Use your hands to reform the mounds if they start to fall apart.
- Bake. Bake for 8 minutes until the edges are just starting to become golden brown.
- Allow macaroons to cool. Transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool fully at room temperature before dipping in chocolate. For quicker results, stick them in your freezer to chill before dipping. I prefer to freeze them for at least one hour before dipping.
- Make or melt the chocolate. While the macaroons cool, make the homemade chocolate or melt chocolate chips (see note below).
- Dip and drizzle with chocolate. Once the macaroons have fully cooled and hardened, dip the bottoms in the melted chocolate and place on a flat surface lined with parchment paper. Use a fork or spoon to drizzle more chocolate overtop if desired. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired as well. Allow the chocolate to set before serving.
Notes
*If you don't want to make homemade chocolate, you can also melt vegan dark chocolate chips in the microwave with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or avocado oil. I typically microwave for 1 minute, stir and then microwave for another minute. You can also create a double boiler by bringing 2 inches of water to a rolling boil on your stovetop and placing a larger glass bowl overtop the saucepan. Add the chocolate and oil to the bowl and stir regularly until fully melted. Hu chocolate gems work well here if you want to keep it refined sugar-free and you don't need to add any coconut oil to the Hu chocolate gems - they melt perfectly on their own.
The original recipe hand mixed the ingredients together. The recipe process photos in the blog post above show the hand mixing method. This will work but for best results, I recommend using a food processor.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 8
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven Baked
Alexandra says
Super easy and amazing passover (or anytime) recipe! Definitely going to make these again.
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Alexandra! So happy you loved them and found them simple. They are favorite for us too! Happy Passover!
Cindy Allwell says
Hi! I just pulled these out of the oven. When they went in the oven, they were beautiful little mounds, but now they look like hats....flat brims around the mounds. Is there a trick to getting them to look as pretty as yours?
Elaine Gordon says
Hi Cindy, Thank you so much for messaging me about this. Did you use parchment paper? The only thing that would make them spread is too much liquid ingredient and specifically the coconut oil. Be sure the measurements are exact and don't round out your measurements at all. That is all I can think of that would cause this to happen. It could also potentially be your oven temperature or climate? Please let me know more and I can try and help from afar! Best, Elaine
Cindy Allwell says
Thanks Elaine. Maybe I should have packed the coconut a bit more? That way there wouldn't be as much liquid.
Elaine Gordon says
Yes, good point! That could be it as well. Either way, I'm sorry this happened to you... macaroons are so delicate since coconut doesn't really absorb the way flours/oats do. Were you using shredded or flaked coconut?
Jenna says
These are phenomenal cookies! I can’t believe there aren’t more reviews celebrating these fluffy pillows of joy! One tip — scoop out your coconut oil with tablespoon measure, heat it up, and then re-measure it in liquid form into the bowl. The precision is key in this recipe. Thank you so much Elaine! Merry Christmas if you celebrate!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Jenna! I really appreciate that! And, yes, measure the coconut oil once already melted for sure. Thank you for calling that out. And Merry Christmas to you too! Happy New Year as well (since I'm late to respond!). Best, Elaine
Becca says
Tried these twice - once before I read that the coconut oil should be melted before measured and once after. Both times I couldn't get the mixture to bind and hold it's shape! Curious to know what might have gone wrong.
Elaine Gordon says
I'm so sorry Becca. I retested this Passover and got better binding results when all ingredients are processed in the food processor. I covered this recently on my Instagram stories - do you follow me there? The results held together better. That being said either method should work and they are a bit more delicate when not processed but should still hold together well. I made both versions for Passover this year. The coconut oil definitely needs to be melted though. I put them in the freezer to set after too and then dip the bottom in the chocolate once FULLY cooled and set so they don't fall apart. The chocolate on the bottom also helps keep them together. Again, the food processor method is the best way to go moving forward if you are having difficult. I hope that helps! Best, Elaine
Karen says
Updating my comment, I didn't have time to remake my truffles which were missing the maple syrup. I added some simple syrup and powdered sugar and topped them off with a freeze dried raspberry. I received so many compliments and passed the recipe on to one of the joyful diners. Brava Elaine!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Karen! I so appreciate this thoughtful review! Thank you for passing the recipe along too! Best, Elaine