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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These were super good! My husband gobbled one up before I told him they were made from chickpeas and his jaw dropped when I told him. My kids also loved them. They were great! I love cookies and always feel a little guilty making them. Now I can make these guilt-free!
Haha. I love your husband’s reaction! And I’m SO happy to hear that you no longer have to feel guilty about making cookies. Yay! Thanks for the feedback. :)
These are delicious!!! I plan to save some of the batter and freeze it next time for a midnight snack ;D
Good idea! I’m happy you liked them. Thanks a bunch for the feedback! :)
I’m glad I found this. I had made these a few weeks ago and posted them on my blog, but wasn’t entirely sure where the recipe came from. I have now updated my recipe source to include your website as the originator! Oh, and the cookies were excellent–everyone loved them and thought it was so neat that chickpeas were the main ingredient!
Sorry for the slow reply, LeAnn! I’m happy that you were able to find the source of the recipe and thanks so much for linking to it! And great that the chickpeas didn’t turn anyone off. Thanks for the feedback. :)
Could I use PB2 instead of natural peanut butter.
Yes, that should work!
I, didn’t see anything about being diabetic friendly. But I’m sure they are. Keep the goodie recipe ‘s coming.
Sandra,
Being a type 1 Diabtiec myself, I would be cautious as chickpeas(many beans) have natural sugars in them and 1 serving size would in fact raise my sugar level… However, they are most likely better for(a diabetic)you than regular chocolate chip cookies!!!
Who said they were diabetic friendly? ;) I guess they are if you do the sugar-free version. But I’m not sure about that, just for the record!
Hello!
I just wanted to let you know that I saw these on pinterest a year or two ago, and have been making them ever since. Everyone LOVES them! They never stay around long. Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh no. Sorry I haven’t replied until now! :( I’m so happy to hear that you like the cookies so much that you’ve remade them! Thanks so much for your feedback and sorry again.
These are AMAZING! I made them to bring to a party over Labor Day weekend. I tried them out on my daughter first to make sure they were good enough to bring. I knew I was safe when she asked for another one!! (even after I told her there were chickpeas in them) You are not alone Erin, I like them warm too!
Oh no. So sorry for my slow response, Liz! I don’t know why I didn’t see this comment until now. Thank you so much for the feedback! And I’m impressed that your daughter liked these, even knowing about the chickpeas. And finally – someone who agrees that these are better warm! They’re just so messy and gooey. ;) Again, sorry for the slow response!
My whole family loves this recipe -even our picky daughter who turns her nose up at almost everything ‘outside the box’. I successfully doubled the recipe without harming my food processor.
I’m happy that your picky daughter liked them! :) And great that doubling worked in your food processor. Thanks a bunch for the feedback and rating! :)
I absolutely love these cookies! I have to hide them from my 8 and 15 year old daughters if I want any left! I must have different taste buds tho as my favorite way to eat them is after they have been in the fridge for awhile.(and I even like the raw dough!)
I’m so happy that your kids liked them! And nice idea on hiding the cookies. :) I seem to be the only one who only likes them warm so I seem to be the odd one out. ;) Thanks so much for the feedback!
Hi,
I didn’t read through all the other comments, so I apologize if you’ve already addressed this…
I don’t have a good blender. My first time baking them I had to mash chickpeas by hand with a fork. Any way I can use garbanzo bean flour instead? If so, do you know how much?
Thank you for such a great recipe!
Alex
I don’t think garbanzo bean flour would work. I believe it’s missing the moisture and I don’t know how much liquid you’d have to add in to make up for the loss of moisture. Sorry. :(
Hi! I would like to try these, wondering about using PB2. Would you suggest using it as is, or making it into peanut butter? I see in the comments people use it, just not sure how :-)
Now to get some chick peas!
I suggest making it into peanut butter so that the consistency is the same. :) Hope you’ll like the cookies!
Great cookies!!! I didn’t expect them to taste like a real cookie but, to me, it does!
My 16 month old really enjoyed them! Thanks for a great recipe! I shared with Facebook friends and gave the link to your site.
Thanks so much for sharing the recipe with your friends! And I’m happy you and your little one liked the cookies. Thanks so much for your feedback. :)
This recipe is my absolute favorite!!! It’s my go to when I need something with chocolate and best of all its healthy for you! :)
Aww, I’m so happy to hear that, Ivy! That’s great. :) Thanks so much for the feedback and the rating, too!
I’ve been eating a gluten free diet for about six months and a friend shared this recipe and I had to try it…..
Followed the recipe exactly and then felt that the cookies could have two more minutes…..after mocking their appearance, my fifteen year old son said they were great and inhaled six of them. My daughter also pronounced them ‘pretty good’ though quite rich. I shared the ingredients with neither of them.
Unfortunately, I did not pay close enough attention to Erin’s comments about the cookies……..”they need to be warm”! I think that I might be the only person on the planet who doesn’t like warm chocolate chip cookies, with or without wheat. I’ll give them a try tomorrow (if there are any left) when they are cold…….I really miss chocolate chip cookies :(
Haha. I’m happy that even your 15 year old liked these! And good call with not telling your kids the ingredients. ;) I hope that there were some cookies leftover for you and that you enjoyed them room temperature! It seems that most people like them that way. Thanks so much for your feedback!
Just made these cookies and although I love peanut butter and chocolate chips I was reluctant about using chickpeas ,but was pleasantly surprised! Followed the recipe exactly with the exception of baking 12 minutes versus 10 and they turned out perfectly. I even saved some of the dough and refrigerated so I could have some warm and fresh for the kids when they got home from school. They loved them and are none the wiser as to what is in them…I will tell them another time…shhhhh…Great recipe! Thanks!
Hehe. Good idea not telling your kids! Why ruin a good thing? ;) I’m happy that you all enjoyed the cookies! And great idea to refrigerate some of the dough. Thanks a bunch for your feedback and rating!
These are my new favorite!! So good i have to hide a few from the hubby so i can have some the next day :)
Thanks for the recipe!
Hehe. Nice move! Hiding cookies from the husband is always a smart move. ;) Thanks a bunch for your feedback and the rating!
They are edible, but you can taste the chickpeas. Not my favorite. If I ever make it again I will add bananas too.
I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t like them all that much! I hope the bananas help.
I like the flavour of these, but my cookies came out soggy and super soft after following the recipe to a t and using the maple syrup option in lieu of the honey. Maybe next time I will use brown sugar.
I’m sorry they came out soggy! I have no idea why that would happen. They are super soft but they shouldn’t be soggy. Let me know if you try the brown sugar!
This will be about the sixth time I’ve made these! I think I’ve told everyone I know (and some I don’t) about them lol. They are that good :) Thank you, Erin, for such a great recipe!
Haha. Nice! Thanks so much for sharing the recipes with your friends. And thanks for the feedback, too! :)
Any thoughts on the use of WOW Soy butter? I wanted to make these for family but my nephew is allergic to peanuts, almonds and sunflower!
I’ve never heard of soy butter before so I looked it up just now and it looks similar to peanut butter. I guess it would work! People have been putting all kinds of crazy things in these cookies and they all seem to work. Please let me know if it comes out! Good luck. :)
I made these with WOW butter so that my kids could take them to school. They are definitely more “beany” and the texture isn’t as smooth but my picky daughter couldn’t get enough of them. I prefer them with almond butter but alternate butters work too!
I’m happy you found something your picky daughter likes! As a picky eater myself, I realize how difficult that can be. ;) Thanks for the tip on WOW butter!