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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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.
mmmm they are just about to come out of the oven, kitchen smells wonderful!
AllBlueZoo – Wow, that's awesome. Thanks for letting me know! I might have to try them your way and see which is better. :)
Sarah F – Thanks! I hope you like them. :)
Anon – Thanks for the tip! Maybe my food processor is just more powerful than a "normal" one. It didn't have any problems blending it smoothly. Thanks again for letting us know. :)
granolamommie – Chickpea flour is gross. At least in my opinion! And you're right – the peanut butter hides the chickpea flavor. :)
I might have to try them. I've baked with Bob's Red mill that uses chickpea flour and hated it- but they look soooo good!! And I bet the peanut butter masks the chickpeas
These look amazing! I can't wait to try them!
Oh boy – the almond meal/flour worked wonderfully and even my chocolate hating husband gobbled up 3 of them with his coffee! I did only use 1 cup of almond flour but did everything else exactly as you set out. I needed to bake them a few extra, ended up being about 13.5 minutes. Now I must go put them somewhere out of my sight!
dilan – Frightened? So was I! And hahaha. I love that you ate 8 of them. I'm happy you liked them and thanks for letting me know. :)
I tried this recipe today, I am from Turkey and it does not actually get along with our country's taste. So at first i was frightened.
But still i tried, and then i ate 8 of them.
They are AMAZING! Thank you very much.
Anon – Do people avoid eggs, too? I know vegans do but I thought the honey canceled these out for them.
Brittany – I'm happy you liked them! Thanks for letting me know. :)
Martina – I hope they still come out with maple syrup! It has such a different consistency, but it does sound yummy! And you're right about the calories, they're not low calorie, but think about the ingredients. Peanut butter is a really high calorie food, but the fat is the "good" fat. And okay, chocolate chips are just bad. But I still think these are incredibly healthy compared to a normal cookie. :)
AllBlueZoo – Hmm. I'm thinking that wouldn't work, but you never know. I hope it wasn't a total disaster! Almond flour and chickpeas aren't at all similar in texture which worries me.
Anon – I've used lots of different brands (and I live in Germany so brand names wouldn't help) and I used homemade peanut butter . I'm sorry they didn't look how you wanted. :(
We just made a batch ours did not look anything like yours. Do you use a certain kind of peanut butter and certain chick peas? They were ok but yours looked amazing..
Wonder how almond meal would do instead of the chickpeas? I don't have any chickpeas on hand but do have almond meal – I'll give it a whirl and report back!