Looking for the chickpea cookies from Pinterest or Facebook? Here’s the original recipe! Scroll to the bottom of the post for a how-to recipe video.
Chickpea cookies! Chickpea cookies with no flour, no oil, no white sugar. These are just full of chickpeas. And they’re my very favorite healthy cookie so far!* I don’t know if they really classify as cookies so I’ll go with cookie dough bites.
And as a bonus, they’re grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. Just in case that matters to anyone out there! And if you’re worried about the chickpeas, don’t be. I don’t like chickpeas and won’t eat them but that didn’t prevent me from inhaling these.
* 2017 update: this post is 5 years old and I have a new favorite. :D You HAVE to try these paleo chocolate chip cookies if you haven’t already! There’s also a vegan option. And for hot summer days, these no-bake oatmeal cookies (naturally gluten-free + vegan) are my favorite!
I used homemade peanut butter in these cookies but store-bought (the kind with just peanuts and salt) works just as well.
Here’s how to make peanut butter! There’s also a video included. All you need is peanuts and a food processor (which you already have to pull out for this chickpea cookie recipe!).
These need the chocolate. Don’t go making them without the chocolate and then tell me that they weren’t sweet or gooey enough! These would be incredibly boring without the chocolate.
And for some weird reason, these cookie dough bites do not taste yummy in dough form. Baking them somehow brings out the sweetness and peanut butter flavor. Or maybe it’s just all that melted chocolate.
One thing I’ve learned since starting this blog is that people really love closeups of melted stuff. So there you go. :)
These aren’t the most beautiful cookie dough bites, but fresh out of the oven, with all that gooey chocolate, I bet you can’t tell that these are made with chickpeas. Or are grain-free. But cold? Yuck. These need to be warm!
You can either freeze the balls and pop a few in the oven whenever it’s on, or simply put them in the microwave until they’re warm and gooey again.
By the way, if you’re a peanut butter lover like I am, you have to try these healthy peanut butter balls. They’re also gluten-free and vegan!
Please read the following before asking a question! It will probably answer it. :)
- Tons of people have posted the nutritional analysis for these. They’re supposedly anywhere between 80-130 calories, which seems like a huge range to me. Please use a recipe analyzer like on CalorieCount if you need more information.
- You can use almond butter, sun butter, or whatever nut butter you like.
- The peanut butter should be the kind with only peanuts and salt. No added fat or sugar.
Be careful because there are some “natural” brands out there which aren’t really natural. I find that this peanut butter is usually expensive so I make my own.
You can make your own in only 5 minutes with a food processor. Check that out here. - Chickpea flour won’t work. I don’t think plain hummus will either.
- I haven’t tried anything other than chickpeas but others have used butter beans, navy beans, red kidney beans, great northern beans, and lentils with success. I generally don’t like goodies made with those types of beans but I love these cookies made with chickpeas. Please use chickpeas unless you have an allergy!
- Doing this in a blender won’t work and might kill the blender. Making these in a Blendtec blender or something equally powerful might work but I haven’t tried it.
- Adding random stuff like eggs… probably won’t work either. ;) Experimenting is great but I think this is a bad recipe to experiment with.
But thanks to the experimenters who left feedback, I’ve been able to update the recipe with alternatives to honey and peanut butter. Thanks everyone!
For my readers who are really sensitive to gluten, you might want to read my post on Is Honey Gluten-free? - For a totally sugar free version, use 30 drops of Stevia and cacao nibs.
- Do not double the recipe! It might be too much for your machine and could damage it.
- For a vegan version, you can’t use honey. Use agave.
- For a dairy-free version, use Enjoy Life chocolate chips. They’re just as delicious as regular chocolate chips. SO good!
And thanks for everyone who has pinned and left feedback. I really appreciate it. :)
Want more gluten-free treats? Here are some of my favorites!
Grain-free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites (gluten-free with vegan and dairy-free options)

- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 14 1" cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel1
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (165 grams) natural peanut butter, SunButter Natural or almond butter - room temperature2
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey (agave or maple syrup for vegan)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder3
- a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn't have salt in it
- 1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips (use vegan and dairy-free chocolate chips, if needed)
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C. Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined.
- Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky.
- With wet hands, form into 1 1/2" balls. Place onto a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. They don't do much rising.
- Bake for about 10 minutes. The dough balls will still be very soft when you take them out of the oven. They will not set like normal cookies.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the fridge) for up to 1 week.
Notes
- My can of chickpeas was 400 grams, 240 grams without the water, and I used all but a few tablespoons.
- Don't even try with regular peanut butter! They'll come out oily. You MUST use natural peanut butter. :)
- If you need grain-free baking powder, you can use 1 part cream of tartar + 1 part baking soda + 2 parts arrowroot.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, see my disclosure.
2106 comments on “The Original Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites Recipe (aka Chickpea Cookies)” — Add one!
37 comments are awaiting moderation!
Has anyone calculated the calorie and protein content on these? Very excited to try these.
Hi there! Someone posted the nutritional profile two comments above yours. :)
I am unfamiliar with grain free and the baking powder you used for these but I sooo want to try them!! Is the baking powder something I can purchase "as-is" at Whole Foods or do I have to "create" it?
Wait… do you have to have grain-free baking powder? Because you can just use normal baking powder! I don't live in the US so I'm not sure if Whole Foods has it but a quick googling of grain-free baking powder only brings up results with the homemade version. So I think you'll have to make it if you need a grain-free version.
I calculated the nutritional information, using 2 Tbsp of agave syrup and dark chocolate chips, instead of the honey and chocolate chips, and it comes out to:
151 calories
8.5 g fat
2.6 g sat fat
143.3 mg Na
37.8 mg K+
14.4 g carbs
2.2 g fiber
6.8 g sugar
3.6 g protein
The caloric breakdown per "cookie" is 75 cals for peanut butter; 40 for chocolate chipsm 26 for chickpeas, 9 for agave syrup, 2 for vanilla extract.
Trying to figure out how to play with the peanut butter to decrease the caloric values. Anyone have any healthy suggestions for peanut butter replacement?
Delicious cookies though! FABULOUSLY delicious!
-Jenn
Someone in an earlier comment mentioned cutting some of the PB and adding sugar-free applesauce. Not sure if it would be a one-to-one substitution, but it would definitely cut calories!!
Good luck! Let me know if you try it!
Hi Lindsay! The thing with adding applesauce… I’d be afraid that it’d mess with the texture. The fat from the peanut butter is basically the only fat in these (and it’s good fat :)) so it’s pretty important. But it would be nice to cut the calories in these so I hope someone tries it. :)
If you can get past that these are actually chickpeas that you are eating…these are so yummie!! Thank you
these are so yummy hot or room temp!!! my daughter & niece have NO idea they are eating chickpeas :) i shared them with my chiropractors wife because she avoids gluten & she loved them too!! i'll be making these for soccer tournaments in the future :) thanks again erin!!!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I made them and LOVED them! Actually I've made quite a few batches already and they are always amazing.
Blogged them here: http://wingitvegan.blogspot.com/2013/02/fine-ill-bake-chickpea-cookies.html
Can I replace the honey for rice syrup?
They were absolutely wonderful, haven't tried them cold yet. Have had 4 in a row so far, no more tonight. Thanks for the great idea.
These are currently in the oven… well, a few are. (the rest are in the freezer for another occasion!) I'm anticipating they'll be delicious, cuz the "raw" dough is pretty good! :)
These are currently in the oven… well, a few are. (the rest are in the freezer for another occasion!) I'm anticipating they'll be delicious, cuz the "raw" dough is really good!
These are in the oven as I type this!
Do you have calorie info for these? I made them last night and was impressed! Telling all my friends about them :)
I made these last night and substituted a liquid sweetener (Sweetz-Free) for the honey. They turned out great! THANKS! I was diagnosed with Diabetes almost a year ago and I have been CRAVING cookies! So this really helped to hit the spot.
I loooove chicpeas and I lover your recipe. I tried 'meatballs' out of chickpeas, I tried smashed chickpeas but really, I never ever tried to make them with sweet things and with chocolate. These cookies / cookie dough bites look amazing! I definitely have to try them.
I just made these today using raw natural almond butter. OMG, they are SO good! Since I learned I was gluten intolerant almost a year ago, I havent eaten a single warm chocolate chip cookie. Thank you.
Tried the recipe as is; disappointed :/ Maybe substituting ripe banana would work next time.
Hey Erin! One of my friends brought the most amazing GF chocolate chip cookies to a gathering last night, and after I asked her for the recipe, lo and behold — they are yours!!! SO good! :-)
I hope yo're well!
This is a test comment. Something weird is happening with the comments… I can't reply to anyone and it's not publishing my comments. And one got deleted when I replied to it.
And if this actually goes through, thanks for the feedback! I'll try to reply once it works again. :)
Wow, these are so good!! What a great recipe, I too will inhale these anytime my wife whips up a batch. We've made them for other people too, they can't believe the recipe. Yep, no GMO's and no nasties. Way to go Erin.
These cookies are out of this world!!! I made one batch as you said…awesome, and then added one whole banana (but kept the rest of the recipe the same)…also awesome (the whole banana made them a touch sweeter and gave them a gooey-er texture)