We consider a finite element method (FEM) with arbitrary polynomial degree for nonlinear monotone elliptic problems. Using a linear elliptic projection, we first give a new short proof of the optimal convergence rate of the FEM in the L2 norm. We then derive optimal a priori error estimates in the H 1 and L2 norm for a FEM with variational crimes due to numerical integration. As an application we derive a priori error estimates for a numerical homogenization method applied to nonlinear monotone elliptic problems.