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.
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2106 comments on “The Original Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites Recipe (aka Chickpea Cookies)” — Add one!
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hi there! i’m excited about trying these, but my daughter does not like peanut butter…any idea how i could alter the recipe? thx!
Hi Serina! You can use Sun Butter or almond butter. :) I hope you’ll enjoy them!
I found your recipe and tried them today. I was a little hesitant, but wow, they came out great! I used too many chocolate chips (didn’t measure them), but still came out great! Looking forward to trying your other recipes too!
http://blog.gregoryjwright.com/baking-gluten-free-vegan-cookies-on-a-rainy-day/
You used too many chocolate chips?! Oh, what a pity. ;) I’m happy you liked them and I’ll go check out your post. Thanks for the feedback and review! :)
I’m wondering if anyone has made these starting with dry chick peas. My kids are histamine intolerant and can’t have canned beans. I wonder if soaking dry chickpeas would be enough or would I need to boil them?
I’m pretty sure you’d need to boil them, Karen. I don’t recall anyone mentioning using dried chickpeas, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t work. If they’re boiled, they should be like the canned ones, shouldn’t they? Good luck! Let us know how it goes. :)
Erin,
I’m sorry for the really bad thoughts I thought about you when I first saw this recipe. I’m sorry I doubted you. I’m really sorry I rolled my eyes and said “those are GROSS and stupid and I’ll never make them!”
Because, jokes on me and here I am, like 3 months later, trying to go gluten-free and I needed cookies. So I tried them. And they are REALLY good. You’re right in that they are much better warmed up than cold. BUt overall, these are perfect for my oooey gooey chocolate chip cookie craving.
Bahaha. Thanks for this comment. :D And it’s definitely natural to think of these as gross before or even after trying them. I mean, there’s chickpeas in there! How weird is that? I’m happy that you enjoyed them! And good luck with the gluten-free thing. I have lots of other gluten-free recipes but this one is definitely the oddest. ;) Thanks again for the comment and the rating!
I made these with Jiff natural PB. Would that qualify as “natural”? Also used dark chocolate chips. They turned gooey but not as cookie like as they look in you pics. Much darker.
I wouldn’t say so. I really like Jif natural, but it’s not natural. Natural peanut butter should just have peanuts and salt listed as the ingredients. I hope you can try them again with “real” natural peanut butter! ;)
Any ideas how to make them amazing and gooey without regular chocolate chips but 70% cocoa? Im pretty big about no processed foods and easy easy on sugar…but soooo want these!! :)
I think they would lose some of that gooey chocolate factor without the chips. Can you use organic/natural chips? Or high quality chocolate shaved into chunks?
Chocolate chunks / shavings would be great! That’s actually what I use. And organic / natural chips sounds great, too!
I’m sorry I don’t know. I’m afraid that if you add cocoa, you’d need to add some more honey, which kind of defeats the purpose. But hey, how about cacoa nibs?!
What if you made them with coconut oil chocolate?? It’s very very easy, just melt coconut oil and mix in sweetener of choice and cocoa powder, then freeze until hardened and break into chips. It also makes a delicious “frosting” for cupcakes, bars, etc.
Oh, I like that idea! Thank you. I will definitely try something like that in the near future. :)
I found this recipe from someone who was making GAPS approved s’mores. She has a separate listing for the homemade marshmallow, graham crackers, and dark chocolate bars. The chocolate bars are made with unsweetened Ghirardelli chocolate (no soy lecithin), coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract. You could make the bars and then break them into chips for the cookies. It’s a lot of work, but if you want unprocessed chocolate chips it may be worth it.
http://homesteaderkitchen.com/recipes/homemade-honey-sweetened-chocolate-bars/
Thanks for the link, Jessica! I like the thought of this. It sounds like a lot of work, like you said, but perhaps worth it. And you can always make a big batch… meaning less work. Thanks for the tip! :)
These were really good. I used 1 can of chick peas (a little over 15oz) and subbed with cashew nut butter. I kind of miss the crunch of the outside of a normal cookie, but these are soft and delish.
I did not like the batter at all, so I am glad the cookie tasted much better. I will be trying different nut butters in the future – perhaps some hazelnut butter.
I’m happy that cashew butter worked out! I think you’re the first to mention using that so thanks for the tip. I hope your future experimentation with the nut butters goes well! Thanks a bunch for the feedback and the rating. :)
Sorry, I forgot to rate the recipe. Five hearts, definitely!
Thanks for the rating! And thanks for coming back to rate them. Very nice of you. :)
I just made those and they are delicious. I used a full can (540ml) of Chickpeas, well-dried, and
I just used a hand-held blender to make them smooth. Putting the vanilla in with the chickpeas helped with the blending.
I used a full cup of chocolate chips and added 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut.
I don’t think I’ll tell my husband that the main ingredient is the abominable chickpea!
Haha. Yeah, definitely don’t tell him! And I like your doubling of the chocolate chips. That’s never a bad idea. :) And I love peanut butter, chocolate and coconut together so I’ll have to try your version! Thanks for the feedback. :)
I have made these twice now, the first time they turned out beautifully!! This time I tried to double the batch, which was a huge mistake! I almost broke my industrial strength food processor!! It was too much for it. I still managed to finish them. Haven’t tried one yet but I’m sure they will be just as delicious as the last time I made them!! I also put in a little Saigon Cinnamon. Outstanding.
Oh no! So sorry to hear that doubling didn’t work out. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll add that to the notes in the recipe so other people can learn from your experimentation. And cinnamon? Sounds interesting! Thanks for the feedback and rating. :)
These cookies are amazing! I too found them on facebook, but not under your name, and I’m so glad I’ve found your website. I had four very picky boys gobble these up today and beg for more, as they had no idea they were so good for them. Thanks for sharing your recipes! The only addition I made was a splash of vanilla, and the dough itself was out of this world!
Well thanks for coming to find the recipe. :) And vanilla sounds great! I never realized there wasn’t any vanilla in this recipe, which is just plain silly. Thanks for the feedback and rating! Much appreciated. :)
This FB group seems to have posted your recipe without giving you credit.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/jbdixon/?directed_target_id=0
“Jump on the Skinny Bandwagon with me”
I guess that means the cookies are popular. :)
Thanks so much for letting me know! It’s a private group so I can’t see the post but I’ve written the moderator. I hope she will add a link to the recipe. :) And thanks for coming to find the original recipe and not just using the copy and pasted version (I’m assuming that’s what they did) And I guess the cookies are a little popular. Maybe because they’re a little weird? I honestly don’t know. ;) Thanks again!
This is how I found the recipe – but then rather than scroll through my entire facebook feed to find it, I googled “chickpea peanut butter cookies” and got here. Thanks so much!!! These were awesome. I flattened them out and they turned out great. ALSO, in case anyone is wondering, brown rice syrup also works as a sweetener. It was all I had, and it worked great :)
Your recipe is way too popular Erin, I’ve also found a website posting it without giving you credit.
Thanks for letting me know. I really appreciate it! I’ve just sent an email. Thanks for the rating, too! :)
Okay, this was the conversation in my house when I was making these delicious cookies. They’re made from chick peas-chick peas? I don’t want any….lol. I went ahead and made the cookies and let’s just say everyone loved them and are begging me to make more. Thank you for this delicious recipe-who would have ever guessed these cookies are made with chick peas! We love them!! <3
Haha. I love that your family still had an open mind after finding out that they were made with chickpeas! That’s awesome. :) Thanks for the feedback and the rating!
They taste amazing, but why are mine crumbly?
I’m sorry they came out crumbly. I think you’re the first one who has mentioned having that problem. Did you use natural peanut butter? And follow the recipe exactly? Or did you maybe bake them a little too long? They should be gooey when taking them out of the oven.
They weren’t dry crumbly,they just fell apart, I didn’t have a food processor but I did have something similar to grind up the chickpeas, but no complaints, they were yummy
I am gluten intolerant and my daughter is diabetic. We LOVED these cookies. It has been hard to find recipes that go with both diets. Thanks for letting me enjoy cookies with my kids. Keep the recipes coming!
Thanks for your feedback, Suzy! I’m so happy to hear that these fit both your and your daughter’s diets. :) Cookies are an important part of life (at least according to me ;)) so I’m thrilled that you and you kids can eat them together now! Thanks again for your very nice comment.
Am I able to use a blender instead of a food processor? Would it turn out the same way?
I don’t think that’d work unless you have a super high power one like a Blendtec or Vitamix. In my blender, you need a lot of liquid for it to work and this just doesn’t have that.
I made these twice now.. the first time I put all the ingredients (minus the choc. chips) into my blender and, like you said, it didn’t work. I ended up mixing with spoon and muscle, LOL. Tonight I got my chickpeas ready (I peel the skin off them first) and just put those in the blender and almost got a flour out of it. Although you say chickpea flour won’t work (not sure why) this worked out really well for me. I added the rest of the ingredients and all was great! actually one more alteration I made.. I used 1 cup chickpeas and 1/2 cup gluten free flour. Yummy cookies! thank you. I was reading the comments and will add coconut next time too.
I’m happy to hear that it worked out in the end! And interesting sub with the GF flour. Nice! And yeah… I think the coconut sounds great, too! I said that chickpea flour won’t work because it’s missing the moisture that canned chickpeas have. I’m sure there’s a conversion or something like that somewhere, but I haven’t done it myself and don’t want people messing up their cookies and then complaining. ;) Thanks so much for the rating and feedback!
I just made these delicious morsels, and they’re absolutely delish! Great way to eat chickpeas, refreshing change from the usual chickpeas in hummus, salads, and soups.
Thx for great recipe!
And thank you for your feedback and rating! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the cookies. :)
Are all your recipes health-minded, like for diabetics?
I think all except about 4 are. Not for diabetics exactly, but definitely healthier. They’re either 100% whole grain, gluten or grain free and reduced sugar. And healthier options to butter, which I rarely use. I hope you find something you like! :)
My breastfed baby is has MSPI and more and im a chocolholic, so I make these every week!!
Every week?! Woohoo! So happy to hear that you enjoy them so much. Thanks for letting me know! :)
Just made these and they were amazing! I though the dough was really good too! Thank you soooo much for the recipe. /Love from Sweden
Jag är så glad att du tyckte om den och degen! Tusen tack, Ellinor. :)