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!
36 comments are awaiting moderation!
Looks like a recipe worth trying. I will let you know what my kids think.
Helen – I hope you enjoy them! Is your cookie recipe online? :)
Brenna – I'm sorry! I don't know what to say if you followed the recipe exactly. Perhaps a difference with the chickpeas? Anyway, sorry. :(
healthy and delicious – Nobody has mentioned using Stevia before so I'm afraid I don't know what to say about that. Perhaps if you added some extra liquid? Sorry I'm not more of a help. Please let us know if it works out! It'd be a big help to other people, I think.
any suggestions for alternate sweeteners for people needing a low carb version? could you sub stevia and/or erythritol? would they hold together without the honey or agave? The more I learn about blood sugar (especially fructose), the less interested I am in even "natural" sweeteners that raise insulin…….
thanks!
rachel
mine look NOTHING like this… i follow the recipe exactly. :(
I have a cookie recipe that uses chickpeas too! These look great. I can't wait to try them. =)
ce32 – Haha. Love your comment. :) I'm thrilled that they worked for you using normal peanut butter! Thanks for letting me know. :)
Jennie – I'm happy the kids still liked them but they shouldn't be crumbly. They should be very soft so maybe you overbaked them, but I think it'd be pretty hard to do if you just left them in there a few minutes longer. Could it be that the oven temperature is off? Just a thought. :)
Marcella – Haha… yeah, black beans aren't my thing, but neither are chickpeas so who knows? Maybe it'd be okay. :) I'm glad that you enjoyed the cookies! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback. :)
Anon – I used the homemade kind that I linked to in the recipe but hundreds of people have made these and I'm sure they all used different kinds. So just use whatever you have! Good luck. :)
Catrina T. – Yay, happy they worked with sunbutter! And also happy that your entire family enjoyed them. Thanks for the feedback :)
I made these using Sunbutter (since I am allergic to all nuts) and they are delish!! Regular staple in our home. :) My hubby and kiddos all loved them.
Hi! This sound great! What kind/brand of natural peanut butter did you use?
Thanks,
Beth
Just made these. Very good. I had to heat up my honey since it had crystallized, so it started melting the chocolate and made the dough a little darker. I used 60% Coco chips, and they are very rich that and chunky laura scudders. I put coconut oil on the cookie sheet and they did not stick. A cookie you can eat without spiking your blood sugar! Thanks! I like idea above for the mashed bananas. Black beans…I'd have to draw the line there. Sounds horrid.
I just made these and they tasted amazing! The texture was crumbly and they didn't hold together, though my children ate them all in minutes flat. Do you think I overbaked them? Regardless, I'll definitely make them again!
OMG!!! I just made these because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and wanted to check them out. These are "slap yo mama" good! Seriously? Healthy alternative and taste good, who knew? I did not have natural PB on hand and used regular and they turned out just fine. Haven't tasted them cold yet, but hot out of the oven they are delicious! Thanks for a Pinterest successful recipe pin!
Anon 1 – Sure, but why? They're already gooey enough. :)
Anon 2 – Yay! Happy you and your family liked them. :) I also dislike chickpeas but love these! Thanks for the feedback.
Guillaume – Happy you liked them! And of course you can do that. Thanks for asking. :)
Anon 3 – I'm happy your friend posted them too! :)
Amanda – Try searching for a recipe nutrition analyzer. Copy and paste the recipe into it… it should tell you the carbs. :)
NES DesignZ – Other people have used it with success! I've never used it, though, so I can't promise it'll work.
How do you think PB2 would work?
If anyone can figure out how many carbs are in a cookie, I would love them forever. :D
If anyone can figure out how many carbs are in a cookie, I would love this person forever. These look great.
So glad a friend posted these on FB. They are awesome =)
Just made them ! Delicious :-) I like to cook with cheakpeas : complete proteins and good texture to make cookies !
Question : Can I traduct your recipe in French and put it on my blog ? Of course I would put a link to here ;-)
Just wanted to thank you for this recipe. My family loved them! My husband said they were phenomenal. He and my son don't even like chick peas. They couldn't believe that the cookies were made with them.
do you think i could throw some coconut oil in there?
These cookies are amazing! I am a daycare teacher, it is so nice to have a "treat" for them that is actually full of protein and goodness. One of my personal favorties, everyone loves them & no one knows the secret ingrediant! -S
Hi Sondrea! So happy that the little ones like the cookies, especially considering the ingredients. :) Thanks for the feedback!
Nothing healthy about these at all. They are chocolate peanut butter cookies w/ Chickpeas. The chickpeas don't make them healthy !!!
Jennifer – Hope you enjoyed them!
Anon – I have no idea. :( My batter was super thick. Nothing in there is runny. You drained the chickpeas well, right?
Bridgette – I guess that could be it! Some people have told me that these are almost too sweet. Or maybe like you said, they just don't do it for you. Thanks for the feedback. :)
DuckyCooking – Thanks for the tip! Happy you liked them. :)
Christi – Hehe. Happy to hear! Thanks for your comment. :)
wahoo_mom – Your comment made me laugh. Thank you. :) And happy you liked them!
Lucie – I suppose that could be it. They really need the chocolate to sweeten them! I'm happy you're still happy about the experiment, though. Thanks for the feedback!
I made these yesterday and it yielded 20 for me, plus the dough I ate straight out of the food processor! I also substituted almond butter for 3 tablespoons' worth of peanut butter. I have to say I feel like I can sort of taste the chickpeas but it is a subtle taste. This could be because of my part almond butter substitution or that I used slightly less than a half cup chocolate chips and they were dark, not milk.. however I love the chewy texture and am really glad I made them!
I despise chickpeas, but gave your recipe a try anyway. Guess I don't despise them as I thought. They are DELICIOUS!
I made these for Thanksgiving, and they were all "gobbled" up (including my 3 year old).
THANK YOU FOR THIS RECIPE!!!
I just made these, and they were good! I actually preferred them after they cooled a bit, and were just soft and chewy, but not warm. I used 170 g cooked chickpeas and homemade vanilla sugar instead of the extract, made 20 balls and cooked them for 10 minutes. Thanks for the recipe!
I must say I didn't really care for these. They weren't bad and I couldn't taste the garbanzo beans but they just tasted healthy and weren't very sweet. I'd give them a 2.5/5 but if you like less sweet things, try them! Also the original recipe called for honey which is sweeter than agave
(Continuation on my comment) I used agave so maybe that's why they weren't that sweet. Also I am vegan so I do appreciate healthy and less sweet recipes, these just didn't hit the mark for me. Thanks for sharing and I'm glad a lot of people love these!
Bridgette, I totally agree with your comment. I'm also vegan, also used agave, and while I still devoured several cookies, they didn't quite do it for me. But as I mentioned in my comment below it could also be because I used some almond butter and dark chocolate.. who knows.
so yummy! but my batter was runny. any tips?
wow-i can't believe the comments on these. making today ;)
Sorry for the slow replies everyone! I've been having problems with replying, so I'm doing it this way.
healthhappinesshumour – Haha. Well I'm happy you enjoyed them! Thanks for letting me know. It seems like I'm the only one with dough / cold bites issues. :)
Tara – I'm impressed that your husband liked them too! My husband couldn't be tricked, unfortunately. Only because he saw me with the chickpeas. :( I'm happy that you can enjoy these cookies despite your diet limitations. It makes me happy to hear that gluten-free folks can eat my cookies. :)
Anon – Yup, the chickpeas take place of the flour, so it'd be like making normal cookies without flour. Won't work! I promise you can't taste the chickpeas, though.
Kelly – Wow! That's a lot. I'm so happy you enjoyed them enough to bake them so often. Thanks for letting me know!
Mrs. A – Thanks for the feedback! I'm happy you found this recipe and enjoyed the dough. :) Happy the husband was okay with them too!
lilyk – If you look on the first or second page of comments, a lot of people have posted what they came up as the nutritional info. If I remember correctly, they have about 130 calories.
teri – Yup! Lots of people have used almond butter.
CJG – Someone on the first or second page of comments made it with that. I think they added water or however PB2 works and said that it worked out fine! Let us know if you try. Good luck. :)
I was going to ask the same thing as one Anon — has anyone used PB2 as a sub for regular PB? Trying to watch the calories :)
can you use natural almond butter intsead of peanut butter?
what is the nutritional information??
what are the nutritional facts?? :)
I JUST made (and ate) these. Delicious!!! I actually thought the dough in it's raw state was quite tastey & I have a thing for eating frozen cookie dough (i just love it!) so, I put some aside to freeze. These were really quick & easy to make & hubby could not believe they were made from chickpeas. And talk about being more affordable than cookies made from Almond Flour. Thanks for the recipe! (Found it via Pinterest btw).
I JUST made (and ate) these. Delicious!!! I actually thought the dough in it's raw state was quite tastey & I have a thing for eating frozen cookie dough (i just love it!) so, I put some aside to freeze. These were really quick & easy to make & hubby could not believe they were made from chickpeas. And talk about being more affordable than cookies made from Almond Flour. Thanks for the recipe! (Found it via Pinterest btw).
I don't eat gluten free, but I thought I'd try out these cookies and now I'm addicted to them! Just about to make them for the fourth time in about 2 months – I NEVER bake cookies that often!
would it be okay if i dont use chick peas?
Wow, I just made these & am so happy they turned out awesome!! I recently went all gluten free & mostly vegan & I saw these on pinterest & was like "hmmm chick peas in cookies?? I don't know…" But was so surprised with how yummy they are right out of the oven. Honestly i even ate a couple finger tips of the dough & liked it. Thanks so much for the surprisingly delish recipe! Makes me want to experament with odd ingredients more often :) My husband even ate one & really liked it(and he is not as much of a health foodie as I am) Everyone questioning these because of the chick peas…just try them!! I think you'll all be plesently surprised.
~Tara
So I know you warned us about not eating them cold. I did it anyway. And either you are crazy or I am because they were awesome cold..and hot..and just the dough. LOVE these cookies. Definitely on my favourites list!
So I have natural PB, I just want to know so my cookies don't come out oily do I mix the oil in that's on top or not….? Would love to know I want to make then for my brother…. he has an amazing taste palit… nomatter ehat I make he knows so I want to see if he can tell!! I will see what he thinks
I make my own peanut butter (just process peanuts in a food processor) and have never had the oil go to the top. I'm guessing you should mix it in! Good luck and hope you and your brother enjoy them. :)
Do you think you could use white beans instead of chick peas?
Someone else mentioned that they did so but I just can't imagine them being as tasty. Can you get chickpeas where are you? I hate chickpeas but still loved the cookies so don't let the chickpeas hold you back. :)
ooh wrong date and time, or is that just a time zone thing ( might want to look into that)? I wrote my first comment 10/28/12 at 8:39 pm
It's a time zone thing! I'm in Germany. :)
You should TOTALLY put these and on yummly.com ( recipe search engine) they would do soooooooo well! I'm going to have to make these soon!
Thanks for the tip! I'll have to see how that works. And I hope you'll enjoy these! :)
Can these be made without peanutbutter? My boyfriend's allergic to peanuts!
People have used almond butter with success! Good luck. :)
I definitely needed to bake these for more than 10 minutes! I took them out after 10 and thought they looked a little off from the picture. I put them in a bit longer, but then got impatient! Today they have darkened up a lot from being under-done. Ahh well, they still taste delicious! Good news, too, I have enough chick peas left to do another batch. :) Thanks for the recipe!
I hope the next batch works out better! They are supposed to be really very gooey. I wouldn't say that mine ever got that not-underdone look. Happy they were still good and thanks for the feedback. :)
I just made these and they taste AWESOME, but after they cooled they turned green! I made them with sunflower seen butter instead of peanut butter, but I have no idea how that could turn them green. Any suggestions?
Green?! Well, I have no idea how that could have happened. Perhaps they would be good for Halloween? :) Sorry that they turned green. You're the first to say that! And sorry for my slow response.
I added coconut to the batter and rolled them in coconut before baking.
I made these and they were very soft and hard to handle when warm. I refrigerated them over night and tried them cold the next day just to test your theory and they were delicious! In my opinion, they are MUCH better cold and plus easier to pick up.
Well I'm happy you enjoyed them cold. :) I guess I'm just a bit obsessed with gooeyness. Thank you for the tip!
These are so great! Just made them yesterday and the most picky person in the world…my husband.. even likes them!! Its a Keeper!!
Yay! I love hearing things like that. I'm also super picky so I know what that's like. Thanks for the feedback!