These molten chocolate lava cake-like cookies are SO delicious and made paleo, gluten free, grain free, and refined sugar free with just a few, healthy ingredients. This almond flour cookie recipe is designed to balance your blood sugar with a mix of healthy fats, fiber, and protein plus a TON of other health benefits. If you choose to make only ONE of my recipes in your life, let it be this amazing Chocolate Lava Cookie recipe. You’ll have warm, gooey healthy chocolate cookies in only 15 minutes.

It’s been quite the Healthier Together paleo cookie evolution: first, there were my viral Best Healthy Cookies, followed by Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Hot Chocolate Cookies, and now these insanely delicious Chocolate Lava Cookies. I’m so excited to bring you one of my new favorite, easy desserts using almond flour.

These cookies are made with ingredients that will be loved by all, whether you’re looking for foods to balance your blood sugar or be the ultimate go-to dessert in your paleo, gluten free, refined sugar free, or vegan lifestyle. So lava-y on the inside, perfectly crispy on the outside. It’s exactly how we like our cookies here in the Healthier Together community.

I personally love to use Alter Eco’s Truffle Thins in the center of these almond flour cookies because of how melty and gooey they get in the middle, and because this brand supports regenerative agriculture! I also love that they’re packed with antioxidant-rich ingredients and are organic, no GMO, fair trade, gluten free, soy free, and have no artificial sweeteners. They do contain a splash of whole milk, though. So, if you’re paleo, dairy free or vegan, be sure to swap out the Truffle Thins out for your favorite dairy-free or paleo friendly dark chocolate square or cashew butter cup!

Here’s what you need to make chocolate lava cookies

These paleo cookies are made with almond flour for the perfect texture and are naturally sweetened with coconut sugar so you’ll feel great after eating them!

Here’s what you need to make them:

• An egg: go for pasture-raised and ethically farmed if possible. See below for a vegan option!
• Vanilla extract: I recommend real organic vanilla extract for the best flavor and anti-inflammatory health benefits
• Cashew butter or almond butter: use an unsalted, all-natural creamy kind with only cashews or almonds on the ingredients list! No added oils.
• Almond flour: a grain-free flour that makes cookies fluffy, yet crisp and packs in way more healthy fats and fiber than regular flour.
• Coconut sugar: a low-glycemic sugar that’s rich in minerals and antioxidants.
• Cacao powder: I love using cacao powder in healthy cookie recipes because it’s richer in flavor and contains more antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals than cocoa powder.
• Baking soda: for perfect cookie texture
• Avocado oil: this heart-healthy oil adds the perfect moisture and flavor to these cookies.
• Dark chocolate squares: use your favorite paleo-friendly dark chocolate squares or cashew butter cup!
• Flaky sea salt: For the perfectly sweet and salty vibes.

What health benefits do these cookies have?

The powerful ingredients in these paleo cookies have been shown in research to:

Reduce the risk of chronic diseases, which we love talking about on the Healthier Together Podcast. This paleo chocolate cookie recipe uses cacao powder in place of cocoa, which has flavonoids and antioxidants that are proven to reduce the risk for disease like chronic inflammation, certain types of cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases, and obesity. Check out this episode with chronic disease expert, Megan O’Rourke, to dive deep into living with chronic illness.

Balance blood sugar: these cookies are naturally sweetened with coconut sugar which has a low glycemic index. Then, we make it even more blood sugar friendly by mixing it with healthy fats and dietary fiber from the cashew or almond butter and almond flour. Cashews and almonds are both shown to have anti-diabetic properties that help control blood sugar levels. To learn the science behind balancing blood sugar and how it effects weight loss, hormones, skin health, and more, listen to my podcast episode with Jesse Inchauspe, The Glucose Goddess.

Boost weight loss: if you’ve listened to the How I Learned to Love My Body series on my Healthier Together Podcast, you know that I believe that the real health goal is self-confidence and body love. But if losing weight is your personal goal, you’ll love that this recipe uses almond flour because it’s been shown to aid in weight loss because it helps you feel full.

Easy ingredient swaps

I’d recommend staying true to this recipe just because I personally haven’t tested other ingredient swaps. But if you’re out of an ingredient or follow a vegan diet, here’s what I think would work well:

For the egg: Use a flax egg instead. You can easily make a flax egg at home by whisking together 1 tablespoon of flax meal with 3 tablespoons of filtered water to make one flax egg.

For the avocado oil: Feel free to use olive oil here. The flavor will differ slightly, but it will still be delicious.

For the almond flour: You can substitute oat flour 1:1 in this recipe! I haven’t tried other flours, but if you do, let me know in the comments how it goes!

For the chocolate: If you’re paleo, dairy free or vegan, remember to use a paleo-friendly, plant-based chocolate square. Otherwise, feel free to use whatever square of chocolate you like!

Follow these cookie baking tips!

• Pack your almond flour. Scoop your measuring cup directly into the almond flour and then level it off, like you would pack sugar.
• Bring your egg to room temperature first. Let it soak in a cup of warm water for about 5 minutes before mixing it into the batter. This will make sure it doesn’t coagulate and make the batter lumpy!
• Let the cookies sit a few minutes before enjoying. It’s always hard to resist that first bite right out of the oven, but I promise it’ll be worth waiting a few minutes so the cookies crisp up a little but still have the warm, gooey center.

Storing and re-heating tips:

To store: These cookies will stay fresh in a tightly-sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or at room temperature for 24 hours.

To reheat: microwave the cookie for 15 seconds to re-lava the center before serving.

More chocolate desserts you’ll love:

Chocolate Mug Cake

Chocolate Chai Cookies

Grain Free Fudgy Brownie Cookies

Healthy Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Grain Free S’mores Blondies

I hope you love these amazing Gooey Paleo Chocolate Lava Cookies! Enjoy, and tag me if you make it on Instagram (@lizmoody)—I can’t wait to see!

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