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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Thank you for the recipe. I was really excited to try it, as I have made other bean based cookies, with success. Turns out I didnt have any garbanzo beans in my cupboard, but used Butter Beans instead and almond butter. I cant compare them to the original recipe yet, but they tasted great! Will be making these again. I like the simplicity!
I’m happy that the butter beans and almond butter worked out for you! :) Thanks for letting us know. And thanks for your feedback and the rating!
Was skeptical but tried them. Glad I did! They were very yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
So happy that you liked them! Thanks for the feedback. :)
I just made these, and they’re WONDERFUL…. While warm, they were as satisfying as a “regular” cookie.
Agreed! Now if we could just find a way to make them “regular” cookie like even when cold. ;)
I just found this site I am going to try as much as I can .
Well I hope you’ll enjoy the goodies. :) Let me know how they come out!
This recipe is making the rounds and it took me a while to find your site, but I’m guessing that you are the originator of this recipe? It looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it!
Oh no. I didn’t mean to overlook your comment, Julie! So sorry. Thanks so much for taking the time to find the original recipe and not just relying on the copy and pasted version which seems to be floating about. :) I hope you enjoy the cookies!
These were wonderful! I added about a tablespoon of lemon zest which made them taste a bit fresher. I also ran out of peanut butter, so i replaced it by tahini and it worked. Thank you for the recipe!
Lemon zest and peanut butter? Interesting! And awesome that the tahini worked out, too. Thanks a bunch for your rating and the lemon zest / tahini tip!
Ohhhhhh my goodness! These are fantastic. My little three year olds gobble these protein cookies so fast (ok, so do i). I love the fact that I’m serving my kiddies a healthy alternative to a Nestle Tollhouse. Thank you for helping me feed my family delicious wholesome goodies.
Aww. That’s so nice to hear! I’m happy that your family enjoys them. :) Thanks a bunch for the feedback and the rating!
I want to make these with regular white or brown sugar any idea how much to use/if it would work?? Don’t care about sugar is unhealthy just want to make a vegan cookie with no agave, blek.
I’m afraid that I don’t know. I’ve never tried and I don’t know how much liquid you’d have to add. You can use maple syrup instead of agave! Or 30 drops of Stevia.
Frances, there are a couple possible solutions to substituting sugar for honey in baking. You’re going to have to test them to see what works though. Some people recommend replacing the honey with an equal amount of brown sugar. If that throws off the moisture content too much, another possibility is to use an equal amount of simple syrup in place of the honey (try the rich simple syrup found here http://tinyurl.com/5tq8vk ).
Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s been a huge inspiration. Since I’ve been forced to eliminate wheat and corn from my diet due to new sensitivities, I haven’t been able to have cookies (and gluten free baking is way down on my priority list). These satisfy my desire for sweets and I love the amount of fiber and protein they contain!
I created a Nutella version based on your recipe. ( http://wp.me/p2N4v8-6f ) I’m also working on a cranberry white chocolate version, a chocolate peanut butter (Reese’s) version, and an oatmeal version (with raisins, chocolate chips, or both). Thanks again!
No cookies?! That stinks. I’m happy that you found these. :) I’m going to go check out your version! I’ve also been working on different versions but none of them are as good as the original. My oatmeal raisin version was SO bad that I had to spit it out. So I hope you can come up with something!
I really hope that you like the Nutella version. As it turns out, the Nutella cookies are really good with white chocolate chips too! I’m excited to know what you think of them.
I’m excited to try these tomorrow, but I’ll being using dried chickpeas (soaked overnight) as the sodium in canned ones is so high – no matter how much they are rinsed. Thanks for sharing:)
I do the same, but I found that I still needed to boil them to soften them up more once they were done soaking. Otherwise, when I tried to puree them they wouldn’t quite become completely smooth.
Beyond description, out of this world, absolutely awesome!!! I have been making these for a few weeks, and we can’t get enough of them. My husband, a true chocoholic, calls these his favorite dessert. Thanks much!
His favorite dessert? That is amazing to hear! Especially from a chocoholic husband. :) Thanks so much for the rating and the feedback! And I’m so happy that you liked them enough to make again and again. :)
Took some figuring out re net carbs, but for anyone counting carbs, I guesstimated approximately 7.5 net carbs per cookie and this was using liquid stevia in place of the honey or aguave and 74% dark chocolate cocoa chips. Would be way too high in net carbs using anything else. This would be an occasional treat for sure and sure looks yummy.
Thanks for sharing, Sharron! I’m surprised by how many carbs there are even after subbing stevia and such dark chocolate. But like you said – it’s a treat. :)
Made this recipe twice I the last three days!! Everybody, including my picky kids, loved them!! Thank you so much for some great recipes. I am currently dairy and wheat free so it can be tough finding yummies to enjoy :)
Just wanted to give some alternatives in the recipe that I have tried seeing as we are making these what seems like everyday! I replaced the extra 2 tbs of peanut butter with coconut butter and I peel all the skins off my chickpeas for a smoother cookie. Thanks :)
Oh and another great comment from you! That sounds AMAZING. I just got some Artisana coconut butter and this sounds like a perfect use for it! Thanks so much for the tip. And again for the rating. :D
Wow! So you’ve made them a lot it seems. :) I’m happy to hear that you all enjoy these! I have to admit that I’m awful with the dairy-free thing but I’m going to try harder to work some more dairy-free yummies onto the site. :) Thanks a ton for the feedback and the rating!
I want to try these but am deathly allergic to honey. Can I substitute stevia for the honey?
You can use the alternatives listed in the recipe or 30 drops of Stevia.
This cookie was absolutely delicious, thank you so much for sharing it! I have to respectfully disagree with you, though, these DO taste wonderful cold, too. Also we inhaled half the dough before it made it into the oven! :-). I baked them 2-3 minutes longer, I guess baking time might vary depending on the type of oven you have. Again, thanks for this recipe, it will definitely have its place in our family cookbook. Wish you the best in all you do.
Thank you for your very nice comment! And hehe. A lot of people have said the same about eating them cold. I seem to be the only one who dislikes them that way. ;) And you liked the dough, too?! That’s just awesome. I’m so happy that you enjoyed them! And thanks a bunch for the rating and the review. :)
I don’t have a food processor can I use a blender?
I don’t see why not. It may just take longer to blend up the chickpeas.
OH MY GOODNESS! We absolutely loved these. The kids & hubby devoured them. They will definitely become a regular in our home. Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear that your entire family enjoyed them, Renee! Thanks a ton for the review and the rating. :)
Do you take the skin off the garbanzos?
You don’t have to but some people have said they do it that way.
thank you!!
You’re welcome! Hope you like them. :)
So what are the nutritionals
Any nutrition info on these?