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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Delicious! In your photo, it looks like there is a nice ‘crust’ on your cookies. Mine came out very dough-like and soft all the way around. Recommendations? I followed the recipe to the T. Thanks!
Same here LB… made them this morning, and after 10 mins in the oven I took them out and they still looked like raw cookie dough.
They should still be soft and doughy but not completely like raw dough. The only idea I have to is bake them a little longer until they form a slight “crust.” When you take them out, they’ll have that crust but the inside will still be doughy and not set like a normal cookie.
Thanks Erin! I did leave them in the oven a few minutes longer, they didn’t look like the picture, but they were still yummy. I made them to bring to a cookout, but ended up keeping them at home :)
I’m happy you liked them! I honestly have no idea what you could do other than bake them a little longer. I’ve made these several times and they always come out like this but I’ve seen other people post this recipe and sometimes theirs don’t come out looking the same way. Sorry I couldn’t be more of a help!
I’m sorry if this question has already been asked but has anyone used ‘whipped’ peanut butter?
The only natural peanut butter I keep finding in the supermarkets is crunchy! I assume crunchy can also be used as it will get processed in the blender?
Crunchy would work! And you’re the first person to ask about whipped peanut butter. :) I actually have no idea what that is so I’m off to check it out. Good luck with the cookies! :)
Ummmm thank you Erin for a gorgeous recipe! So quick and easy to make!
Whipped peanut butter worked a treat and mind you, so easy to work with because it’s aerated.
It did come out a little oily but personally, I loved it.
Yum, yum, yum!!
So happy that it worked out for you! Thanks for letting me know. :) And this whipped peanut butter stuff sounds nice!
I just wanted to clarify that these cookies are not vegan. A true vegan will not eat honey!!!!!!!!! But I have made these for my sister who is on a gluten free diet and they are very good! Thank you!!
Check out the last bullet point and the ingredient list. Agave is listed in both for the vegan version. ;) I’m happy that you liked the cookies!
I added a big scoop of 100% whey and a scoop of maca powder to these! Yuuummy!
Ooh, sounds interesting! Thanks for sharing your idea. Now they’re like, ultra protein cookies! :)
Hi,
I was wondering if I could use raw, brown sugar instead of honey, agave or maple syrup, and if so, should I use the same amount?
Thanks,
Michael
The problem with that is I don’t know how much liquid you’d have to add to make up for the loss of liquid in the liquid sweeteners. If you do try, less us know how they come out! :) If this is something you often do (sub brown sugar for liquid sweetener), just use whatever conversion you normally do. I’m sure it’d they’d be great with brown sugar!
I would experiment with adding 100% natural unsweetened applesauce with the brown sugar to get the same consistency as honey. I think it would work out great. You can also finely shred carrots and mix in applesauce to get a good sweet substance the right consistency for cookies and breads. It adds great nutrients without adding sugar. This mixture can also be substituted for oil in recipes too.
Thanks for the tip! It sounds great. I’ll have to try that because a lot of people have been asking how they can use sugar in place of honey. Thanks again!
A friend shared this page on FB and I just knew I had to try it. Wow! They are delicious. I have a terrible problem with a sweet tooth in the evening and these will make it not a problem anymore. I have made them off limits for my husband because he would eat them all at once. Love the recipe and will probably look to you for more ideas. Thank you so much!
Hahaha. I love that you actually made them off limits for your husband. That’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear that you can again enjoy sweets in the evening. I hope you’ll find some other nice recipes! Thanks a ton for your feedback. :)
These were so delicious! I used almond butter and carob chips and they were so yummy. My kids devoured them! Thank you so much for this recipe!
I’m so happy that you and the kids liked them! I’m happy to hear that carob chips worked. Some people complained that they didn’t melt. Thanks for the feedback and rating. :)
Just made these… Used sun butter and the whole family is loving them!! They are ridiculously good!!!
Awesome! So happy that they came out well with Sun Butter. :)
Do you remove the skins from the chickpeas? Some people do and some people don’t. What did you do for this recipe?
I didn’t but some of the commenters have and said they prefer it that way. But I can never taste anything skin-like in my cookies so maybe it just depends on the person. :)
Simply FABULOUS recipe!
Thank you! :)
I’m very particular when making vegan goodies for my great friend, little Annie, who LOVES treats. I used agave & they turn out looking chocolate (no problem there). Since I only have a blender, I pulverized the chickpeas as much as possible, & then mashed them further with my heavy cooking gavel. Worked pretty good. My husband (who doesn’t go for things marked ‘vegan’) seems to like them. I only had 2, but they’re almost gone…..hmmmmmm?????????
Wow, you went to a lot of trouble to make these… the blender and then the gavel. I’m so happy that they came out well for you! And funny that your husband ate almost all of them. ;) I hope your vegan friend will get to try a few. Thanks so much for the feedback and the rating!
Made the chocolate cake recipe with Chickpea (Garbanzo) base. Delicious! No clue as to the garbanzos being in there!
Cake or cookies? I’d be interested in seeing the cake recipe. ;)
Was so excited to try these dough bites and was not disappointed. Totally delicious, warm and yummy. Both my daughters loved them (ages 22 and 17). We love chickpeas and chocolate and were happy to have a gluten free option that was healthy, yummy, and full of protein. Can’t thank you enough for all your effort and imagination. The leftovers were zapped in the microwave and were good as new. Will make them over and over.
Thank you very much for your nice comment. It was a lovely way to start the day. :) I’m so happy that you and your daughters enjoyed the cookies! I agree – microwaving does a world of good for these! And thank you for the feedback and the rating. I really appreciate it! :)
I just made these after my three year old Grandson Liam Skyped me to show me his finished cookies he helped Mom make. He said he loves them.He has a dairy allergy. Well I can see why. You would never know that chick peas exist in these cookies. This is my new favourite healthy cookie recipe. I have shared it so many times already with friends.This is a great recipe for children as well as adults. Thank You for a Great Recipe. Dianne H.
Aww, that’s so sweet that your grandson Skyped you about his cookies. :) I’m so happy that you and your grandson enjoyed them! Thank you very much for sharing the recipe, the rating and the feedback. I really appreciate it. :)
I just made the batter for these and it’s really runny. I followed the recipe to a T so I don’t know what went wrong. There’s no way I can form it into balls. Any suggestions?
Hmm. You’re the first person who has mentioned a runny batter. Were the chickpeas drained well? There’s nothing in the recipe that would cause runniess so I’m afraid I have no idea what that could be. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you!
These are our new go-to treat. Don’t even mind them when they’ve come to room temperature. But, heating in the microwave is best. Great recipe!!
I’m happy that you like them! And I agree that microwaving them is better. :) Thanks for the feedback!
I added 1 cup of quick oatmeal and pressed them down with a fork like regular peanut butter cookies- I thought they were better.
I’m happy you liked them with oatmeal! Sounds interesting.
Crazy question but anyone know the nutrional info for this recipe? I would love to know.
Did anyone figure out the nutritional info? Trying to change my lifestyle to be low carb and I am not sure about these. I know Chickpees are high but also have a lot of protien. Any info would be great. Thanks!!
I just made these too and I will be keeping them as the go-to sweet snack in my house. I am also wondering about the nutritional info for these as well. Thanks for the great recipe!
Using the recipe analysis at
https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Per Serving (14 Servings)
Calories 193
Calories from Fat 80
Total Fat 8.9g
Saturated Fat 2.6g
Cholesterol 1mg
Sodium 24mg
Total Carbohydrates 21.8g
Dietary Fiber 4.1g
Sugars 10.7g
Protein 7.6g
Add cocoa powder? Healthy chocolate cookies. Yumm
Sounds good! :)
Just made these Vegan and Wow just Wow!! I can’t stop eating these. They are going to be my new go to cookie.
Haha. I’m happy that you enjoyed them! Thanks for the feedback. :)