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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Thanks you very much for this recipe my boys loved it. My oldest son said it was, "Fudgulisious." I'm going to try your other recipes. Keep them coming.
acorinne – Wow, what an interesting change! Did they come out as muffins or cookies or something in the middle? I have to admit that I also have the palette of a five year old and liked them. Happy that the others did too! Thanks so much for telling me your changes and for the feedback. Have a great weekend. :)
Kelley – Oh my goodness are you adventurous! I guess chickpea cookies are strange, but I admire you for trying out black beans. I'm happy you and your husband liked them! Thanks for letting me know. :)
Amanda – Awesome! Good to know. And that's a good tip about the honey. Thanks for the feedback. :)
Anon – Oh no. I'm so sorry it killed your food processor. Do you think the dough was too thick or that maybe it was just on it's way out anyway? I killed my last food processor while making almond butter, something that I'd made dozens of times before. I'm happy you liked them but feel horrible about your processor. Did you walk away with it on? It really only took me about a minute. Sorry again!
very tasty for how healthy they are! One has to be careful about the honey though. Some honeys seem to be sweeter than others. Also, they bake fine without parchment paper. Kudos for this healthy but delicious recipe! :)
I just made these but didn't have chickpeas so I used black beans instead. Loved the dough and the cookies are really good too. Hubby even likes them (I didn't tell him what they are made of). Recipe is definately a keeper.
I actually cut out 1/4 C of chickpeas and subbed one small very ripe banana. I blended the two together in a food processor until completely smooth, and then added the rest of the ingredients. I also used raw honey.
The "dough" that I produced was the consistency of batter, so I poured them into muffin tins to bake. Not only was the batter amazing, but the finished product was too! Hot and cold!
I tried them on some of my friends that have the palettes of five year olds (without mentioning the word chickpeas…) and they LOVED it.
Did you still add the peanut butter?
Anon 1 – I hope they did! Thanks for letting me know that you liked them. :)
Anon 2 – Yay! If you liked the dough, I'm pretty sure you'll like them baked, so that's good. :) Thanks for the feedback!
Anon 3 – A few people have mentioned that they were going to try (it's the stuff you mix with water, right? Because you definitely need the liquid-y texture) but they left their name as anonymous, so when they came back to leave a review, I'm not sure if it was the peanut flour people or not.
If anyone sees this comment, could you please choose "Name / url" under "Comment as" and leave your first name? Having 100 anons is kind of difficult. You don't need a url! Just a name. :)
Can you use peanut flour instead of peanut butter?
Just made the dough! About to stick them in the oven…lol I actually like the dough…Thank you this is awsome! :-)
These are super delicious!!! i cant wait to see if i can get my family to eat them.
Cara – Haha. Well I'm happy you liked them! Thanks for leaving feedback. :)
Oh, my…these are SO GOOD! Thank you for the recipe…I think…I can't stop stuffing my face with them!! :-)
Anon 1 – Yay! Happy they worked. :)
Anon 2 – I don't recommend it but other people have tried it and said that it works. But I can't imagine having chickpea chunks is too nice.
Anon 3 – Well regular peanut butter could be a part of it but I have no idea why they would spread! Mine were super thick and didn't spread a bit. Hmm. Well, I'm happy they were still yummy! Thanks for the feedback. :)
sophia – A baking dish? Not a cookie sheet? I'm a bit confused but I hope they come out okay! They definitely shouldn't need any longer than 20 minutes. They won't get baked like regular cookies, but stay soft and gooey. They're supposed to be gooey. I hope it worked out! :)
I'm a virgin baker and have just tried these. Only problem is they've been in the oven for 20min, but it might be because I used a medium depth baking dish. What do you think?
I can't figure out what I did wrong(besides use regular PB). mine are very gooey and flattened out like cookies, but they are amazing! Even had one that wasn't warm, still pretty good! Can't wait for my husband to get home and try them! Thank you!
Patty
I don't have a food processor, can I still make these without it?
Thank you! These are great – I substituted white bean for garbanzo and they were fabulous!
marla – Thank you! :)
Patricia :) – First of all, thanks for leaving your name and adding a smiley. I had a huge smile when I saw it! Hehe. Are these vegan?! I thought they weren't because of the honey. Or is honey one of those questionable items that some people think is okay and others don't? But to be honest, I'm sure these would be lovely with some brown sugar! Although a little more liquid might be needed. A smoothie with peas?! Can you taste them? I need a way to make eating vegetables not such a terrible ordeal so that sounds interesting. Thanks again for your lovely comment!
Erin-I have just "stumbled" onto your site or I should say it "stumbled" onto my fb news feed. lol. These cookies look absolutey yummy!! I plan to try these soon!!This recipe is absolutely perfect as I am gluten free and a vegan!! I had guessed that the "secret" ingredient was a type of bean since I bake some cookies with another type of bean in it. I make a chocolate smoothie and the "secret" ingredient is frozen freen peas!! Is it ever good! Keep on baking!Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Oh do these look great ~ love that you used chickpeas!
Anon 1 – I'm happy they came out! Were they still gooey or more set?
Anon 2 – Yay! I'm so happy that your family liked them and thanks for letting me know. :) I love comments like this.
ALM – Woohoo! So happy you were happy with them. Thanks for the enthusiasm. I love it. :)
Anon – Great! Did you freeze the dough or the already baked cookies? If you let me know, I'll make a note of it in the directions. Thanks a bunch. :)
Emily – Hi! Ctrl + F and type "calorie". A few people have posted what they came up with.
HI there would you know the nutrition info for these cookies at all?
So I tried freezing some, and they tasted exactly the same afterwards :D I'm so happy. Wonderful recipe
i just want to say THANKKKK YOU!!! THESE ARE AMMMMMMAZING!!!
*family's oops! ;)
I have made these twice in the past 24 hours! They were fantastic. The only thing that I changed was I used dark chocolate chips (my favorite). I was able to make 20 cookies each time which took the calorie count down to 95 per cookie bite. Thanks for the great recipe this is now one of our families favorites.
These cookies are delicious! However, I had to bake mine for 20 minutes instead of 10 minutes.
Anon – Someone said that they were going to try that powdered peanut butter but I don't know if they actually made it because they just left their name as anonymous and then dozens of people left their reviews as anonymous. I haven't tried agave but the other people have said it works fine. If they used more or less, I don't know. Good luck. :)
Anon 2 – Two people above calculated the calories. The last one said 130 calories per cookies.
These look great. Can't wait to try them out. Has anyone figured out the calorie count on them. Just wondering
Can't wait to try these! I don't have natural peanut butter but I have PB2 (it's a powder PB that you mix with water), has anyone tried using this yet? Do you use the same amount as Agave as honey in the recipe?
Anon – Oh no. I hope this recipe didn't cause it's death. :( Sorry that happened. But a food processor shouldn't have a problem with the task at all. You gotta get one! They're really, really useful. :) I'm so happy you still liked them and thanks for leaving feedback!
It broke my mini cuisinart! They were delicious though. Would like to make again in my new mini cuisinart but don't want to kill it again!
These are AMAZING. I just made them and they are great. Unfortunately my blender died halfway through the recipe so I'm sure they'd be even better if the chickpeas were all smooth.
Anon – Really?! Maybe it depends on the type of chickpeas you use. I hope the frozen ones come out well. We were wondering the same thing in some of the comments above.
Olivia – Someone in the comments used the "normal" type and said they came out a little crumbly and these definitely shouldn't be crumbly. If you don't want to buy the natural stuff, you could just buy some peanuts and process them in the food processor until it turns into peanut butter. It only takes about 5 minutes! The natural stuff is just way gooier than the other stuff.
J-me Odom – Please tell me you're going to serve them warm at your party?! Warm is the key to these. Just wanted to make sure. :) And haha, yeah. Good idea about not telling others what's in them!
I love what you said about the melted stuff. It's so true. Literally the only reason I pinned this. Making them tonight for a party based on nothing but sheer faith in the beauty of your "melted stuff" pictures! I also don't plan on telling anyone what's in them until after they start "mmmm!!!"ing. It'll be much more fun to watch their reactions.
Do you have to use all natural peaunut butter? can I use Jiff reduced fat?
Made them last night, it was quick and easy (crushing the chickpeas can be a pain). I really liked them, but I could taste the chickpeas.
I froze half and I can't wait to make more!
Trista – Well these aren't the best for weight loss but at least they're healthier than most cookies. :) I hope you liked them!
Jamie – Yay! Thanks for letting me know. I'm happy the kids liked them in dough form. :)
Gina – Haha. Yeah, the chick peas thing is kind of weird but at least you can't taste them. I hope you'll like them!
Okay, okay I will try them. Not! Definitely trying them! I have been on the hunt for a good cookie like this and whoever thought of using chick peas? Brilliant!
I just made these. They are so good. Two of my kids thought the dough was better than the baked cookie. Good thing there's no egg to worry about!
Have these baking right now! So glad I found this, chocolate pb stuff is my weakness and trying to lose weight. So thank you!!
Anon – I can't believe these still came out okay without the honey! Thanks for letting me know. :)
Jenny – Yay! I'm happy that you all liked them. Thanks for the feedback. :)
Just made these and forgot the honey. They were still great. Also tried edamame and almond butter. Did not turn out so well, but it was worth a try. I will be making these again. Thanks
Just made these today and all four of my kids LOVED them! Thanks for sharing! -Jenny
Jasmine – I thought about that too. I always freeze my cookie dough, but this cookie dough is a bit weird with the chickpeas and I don't know how well chickpeas freeze. If you experiment, please let me know how it worked out! And normally people say cookie dough lasts for a few months in the freezer, but I always leave it in there a lot longer than a few months and have never had a problem. But like I said, this isn't normal cookie dough! So it's all really a big mystery.
Blandiloquently – Thanks! The only unhealthy thing about these is the chocolate but I just don't see these as being good without some chocolate. And honey is sugar, but it's supposedly a little better than white sugar. But sugar is sugar and these obviously need some sugar so unfortunately, I don't see a way of making them healthier.
I know I'm several months late here, but chickpeas freeze really well. I cook a few pounds of dried beans at a time and freeze them in pint jars, and I have a friends who makes huge batches of hummus and freezes it.
We're eating the cookies right now. YUM! Huge hit with my 7-year-old. I even liked the dough raw too. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you for this recipe! I had to feature it on my blog! http://blandiloquently.blogspot.com/ Do you have any other suggestions on making this recipe even healthier?!!?
I'm definitely going to try make these. They look amazing. However moderation aint my middle name! I'm worried i'll scoff the entire batch before sharing!
So i'm just wondering about freezing them and baking them later. How long would you reckon they could be kept frozen, already shaped into little balls, and be ok?
Thanks Jasmine
Julie – Thank you so much for leaving feedback and the link to your post! I'll go check it out. I'm happy that you liked them and that they worked out with sunflower seed spread. :)
hi erin! i made your cookies today. i used sunflower seed spread in place of peanut butter and dairy, soy, and nut free chocolate chips. they were a huge hit! thanks for sharing your recipe!!
http://californiaparkers.blogspot.com/2012/06/good-morning-afternoon-today-is-tuesday.html
Lindsaylou – I hope you liked them!
Kendra – Thanks for letting me know that they came out well! I didn't even know that peanut butter kisses exist. I guess that's a good thing because I would be living off of them.
Jen – Great! Thanks for the feedback. I'm happy that they worked with non-canned chickpeas and that your little ones enjoyed them. :)
I used chickpeas that I'd soaked and cooked, and walmart brand peanut butter and everything else and they were great–worked fine. I made them with my small scoop and made 27 of them… my 16 month, 3 yr old and 5 yr old boys scarfed them down. Thanks, Jen :)
I made these (er um my daughter made them for me), they were good. They would even be good as a straight peanut butter cookie with no chocolate in them or a peanut butter kiss. I will eat those again.