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.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, see my disclosure.
Join over 12,400 readers and sweeten up
your inbox with new posts for free!
This subscription is free of charge and can be canceled at any time.
2106 comments on “The Original Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites Recipe (aka Chickpea Cookies)” — Add one!
37 comments are awaiting moderation!
I have done these a few times now. Took some to work and everyone enjoyed them and they are asking me about the recipe and so forth. My kids also love them. Thanks a lot for sharing!
I concur that trying to do 2 portions at one time will put your food processor at risk :). Do one portion at a time.
I am curious to know the nutritional value of these, any idea?
It’s always a good sign when people ask about the recipe and even better that your kids liked them! For nutritional info, check out the first bulletpoint in the post. :) Thanks so much for your feedback! It’s much appreciated.
Hi! What a great recipe! I didn’t have a special blender so I added 1/4 -1/2 cup water and processed in my ninja. I forgot to measure out the beans I used the whole can! I added 1 Tbsp of coconut flour to take up the extra moisture. I used a one inch ice cream scoop and flattened a bit. Cooked them at 350 for 12 minutes…relly hard to stop eating them! Thank you!!!
Hi, there! Good call on adding a little coconut flour to suck up the extra moisture. :) I’m so happy that they worked out in your Ninja! And your ice cream scoop sounds like a much better idea than rolling them into balls. I’ll have to try that next time! Thanks so much for the feedback. :)
I made these cookies and used regular Jiff PB, then added 1/2 cup of Oatmeal they are delish! I used a 1″ cookie scoop and baked them in my mini muffin tins…super easy. And I like them cold as well as warm from the oven…
I love the idea of baking them in mini muffin tins! Sounds fun. And awesome that they came out with regular peanut butter and added oatmeal. :) Thanks so much for your feedback!
how much oatmeal did you use?
I’ve been making all kinds of stuff with chickpeas since reading your chickpea cookie recipe. Who knew they were so versatile?
What else have you made? I’m curious. :)
These came out tasty and delicious. They have somewhat of a mushy consistency but the peanut butter and chocolate flavoring make them yummy. I used regular skippy low fat pb. I would bake them for 12 minutes instead of ten next time.
I’m happy you liked them! They do come out kind of dough-like but like you said, the peanut butter and chocolate make them nothing but good. :) Thanks for your feedback!
A friend passed this recipe along to me yesterday and I made it today. I love the fudgy consistency and my kids enjoyed them as well. I will definitely make again and share over at The Fountain Avenue Kitchen. Thanks for the brilliant, healthy recipe!
Thanks for sharing! And I’m happy that you and your friend enjoyed the cookies. :) Thanks a bunch for your feedback!
Even my younger son–who does not like beans one little bit–enjoyed these. :-)
I don’t like beans, either, so I can totally appreciate that. ;)
I love this recipe…I use Almond butter, and added a egg for one batch just to see what would happen. Weirdly I got 6 more cookies out of the batch and they came out looking more like cookies made with flour..tasted good. But I still prefer no egg.
It’s good to know that the egg-free version is the best one. :) Though now I’m curious, too! Thanks for the feedback. :)
I use a good-tasting pure stevia (powder) in smoothies & my coffee, but haven’t had great success w/ baking w/ it. Have you ever tasted these cookies made w/ liquid stevia? How do they compare to using say maple syrup?
Thank you!
I’ve never tried these myself with stevia, but lots of commenters have used the liquid kind with success. They said they used about 30 drops. I’m not sure how it tastes in comparison to using maple syrup, though. Sorry about that! I personally don’t like using stevia in baking but maybe that’s just me. And so sorry for my slow reply!
I was wondering if I could use PB2 in place of the peanut butter or almond butter. :)
Other people have mentioned using it with success. I’ve never used it but I think they just followed the directions on the container on how to mix it up. I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
Sorry, my previous comment was meant for another cookie recipe :/ that’s what I get for trying to comment and hold my 10 month old at the same time. I’ll let you know how they turn out when I do make them.
No problem! I hope you’ll enjoy them. :) I’ll delete the other comment for you!
OH MY GOD. These cookies could talk a suicidal person off a ledge! Right out of the oven they tasted like the richest, creamiest most sinful thing. THANKYOU. It really speaks to the fact that you don’t need all of that gross stuff to make delicious desserts!
Haha. That’s awesome that you liked them so much! And I’m with you. Desserts don’t need to have nasty stuff to be yummy (and healthy desserts don’t need to be yucky! ;)) Thanks so much for the feedback. :)
Hi. I was wondering if you know the carb count for these? My sister and I are on a low carb diet and haven’t been able to make a successful batch of low carb cookies yet and are becoming frustrated. Would love to know if these are low in carbs or not.
Thanks!
Hi there! I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for that info, if you like. I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
Holy crap these were good!! I forgot to add chocolate chips, and realized that after getting over halfway through the “dough” (I used a meatballer btw – much quicker!) and didn’t want to have to undo all the work I just did, so I baked them and melted chocolate and rolled them in it. Then froze them. They were like chocolate-covered peanut butter cake balls. And tasted amazing cold. I’m going to link you up on my blog when I post my Christmas cookie line-up, these are fantastic!!
I’m happy they came out well for you! And you dipped yours in melted chocolate?! That sounds amazing. I definitely want to try that. :) Thanks so much for the feedback and for linking to the recipe!
OHMYGAWD!
Such goodness should be illegal!
Haha. I’m happy you liked them. :)
I stumbled across these and am now addicted! They are so amazing! I did not experiment although I may try in the future- if I may suggest that using a light hand while rolling does make all the differance.
It took me a second to figure out how to stop getting PB stuck on my hands… In any case, thank you for sharing. I can’t wait to bring these to a cookie exchange although I am worried people won’t warm them up…
Awesome that you’ve enjoyed them so much! And I can pretty much guarantee you people won’t warm them up. I’ve brought them to friends and specifically told them to warm them up first but they’ve all told me that they don’t even bother. On the bright side, most of the commenters seem to like them room temperature. :) Thanks so much for your feedback!
Just like Aubrey mentions, I really never comment on anything. . . BUT I could easily become addicted to these cookies. My previous fave, buckeyes, have nothing on these because there is so much more nutrition (protein and fiber) instead of just sugar and fat as found in buckeyes.
I used about 1/3 cup agave and added a few tablespoons of Splenda because I am prediabetic. Also, I used Lily’s sugar free chocolate chips (sweetened with Stevia and erythriol). It all turned out beautifully the first time. I even had to fight off my kids who wanted to eat them, including my picky eater who never likes anything, particularly not anything new or different. I did share, but under duress!
THANK YOU!
I’m so happy you could adapt these to have less sugar and have them still come out enjoyable! And haha… I’m thrilled to hear that these cookies were worth fighting off the kids for. :D That’s always a good sign! Thanks so much for your feedback. I definitely appreciate it. :)
Is nut butter a must for this recipe, or is there a way around having to use it?
I’m afraid it is. If you have nut allergies, you could use SunButter! I haven’t tried it myself but I’m assuming it’d work.
I just pulled a batch out of the oven and can’t wait to dig in! However, while preparing, I noticed my food processor was slowing down and I’m worried it may be on the fritz. :( Think this recipe would work out if prepared by hand? Perhaps using a potato masher or something?
I think a potato masher might work but I’m not sure since I haven’t tried it. Do you have an immersion blender? That could possibly work, but I’m not positive. I think even using the bottom of a drinking glass may work! I hope you enjoyed the cookies. :)
I thoroughly enjoyed the cookies and just made a second batch! I think the food processor was only slowing down because the dough was well blended and pretty much done blending, thank goodness! (Whoops, my bad.) I find, contrary to your comments, that I actually enjoy the dough and the cookies when cool or refrigerated. Anyway they’re wonderful and I’m so glad I rediscovered this recipe! I do wonder if a lower fat version would be possible.. at about 100 calories a cookie I start to worry after I’ve inhaled 6 or 7! Thanks for replying to my comment :)
Whew! That’s a relief with your food processor. :) I’m happy you liked them enough to make twice and that you enjoy the dough / cookies when not warm. Thanks again for the feedback!
I bake healthy treats at least once a week, if not more, and this is the first time I’ve felt I HAD to leave a comment. Just made these – Holy YUM, Batman! I used a whole can of chickpeas (439 g before draining) and they came out fine! Probably slightly less gooey than yours, but still delicious. I used 1/2 raw honey, 1/2 coconut nectar (which is just pure coconut sugar in syrup form – low glycemic, etc.). My dough ended up being one big mound but that doesn’t really matter when you’re working with dough balls! I think it’s helpful to note that the dough tastes slightly sweeter than the cookies end up tasting, but the amount of sweetener in your recipe was perfect (I thought). Haven’t tried them cold yet (they literally just came out of the oven and I couldn’t wait). But thanks for sharing! Highly recommend this recipe!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback (especially since it’s not something you normally do!) I’m happy that they worked out well for you. Your changes sound great! I hope you liked them cold but if not, they’re good reheated. ;) Thanks again!
Wow, I just took made these and they were a hit with the kids (2 and 4-year-olds) and my hubby! I didn’t have any chocolate chips in the house, but couldn’t wait until I did, so I just put in 4 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder, and added a touch more honey. I also didn’t have peanut butter, so I used homemade cashew butter! They turned out great. Next time I will try with chocolate chips :-)
Your version sounds super yummy! I’m happy that your entire family enjoyed them. Thanks so much for the feedback and I hope you’ll like the chocolate chip version even more! :)