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!
33 comments are awaiting moderation!
This is not vegan!! They have chocolate in them! Milk? Duh?
You may want to do a quick google (like “is chocolate vegan”) before leaving a less-than-friendly comment like that in the future. ;) Lots of brands of chocolate are indeed vegan and you can read about that here. Now if you choose milk chocolate, that’s obviously not vegan. That’s why I directly link to a brand of vegan chocolate in the ingredients list.
I didn’t get very far: I read chickpeas, peanut butter (pb2, water, avocado oil) and vanilla, threw it in the blender and ate it all…
Next time I will make them completely.
Awesome!!!
Thank you :)
Haha. One of my favorite comments ever. :D I hope you’ll get to the baking step next time! I think they’re even better when baked. Thanks a bunch for your comment. :)
Tried these and was very pleased with the results. Getting out and cleaning my food processor is a beast. Would be nice if I could make up a bunch at once and freeze the dough. Has anyone tried this with any success?
A few commenters have done that with success but I haven’t tried it myself. I’m happy you enjoyed the cookies! Thanks for your feedback. :)
I’ll admit I was a little skeptical of these cookies, but they were awesome! I almost felt like I was eating guilt-free cookie dough because they were so soft. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I’d have been skeptical, too. ;) So happy you liked them! Thanks a bunch for your feedback.
I hope to make these today! I have a question, can you make the dough and store it in the fridge to bake a few hours later? I wanted to make the dough ahead of time if possible. Thanks!
I haven’t tried it myself but several of the commenters have with success! I hope you’ll enjoy the cookies. :)
Have you try this using navy beans? Have you ever seen a recipe for making cookies that are grain free, sugar free using navy beans?
I haven’t tried this or any other cookie recipes using navy beans. Sorry about that!
Thanks Erin! These are awesome! My toddlers and I just made them and they are gobbling them up. Even my hubby loves them. :)
Aww, yay! That’s awesome that the entire family likes them. :) Thanks for your feedback!
i was wondering if substituting the chick peas for black or kidney beans would be tasty or not?
In my opinion it wouldn’t be tasty at all but I guess that’s a subjective thing!
I don’t have a food processor, would a ninja blender work?
I wouldn’t risk it but some commenters have done it with success!
Oh my! Just made these and followed recipe to the letter…..delicious!!! Thanks Erin ??
Awesome! I’m so happy you liked them. Thanks for your feedback! :)
These are spectacular! Thank you so much for posting!!
Thanks! And thanks so much for your feedback. :)
I just made these again tonight. For whatever reason (maybe it was the Kirkland brand natural peanut butter?) I really had problems getting a uniform batter without chickpea chunks. The batter combined into a thick mass in my processor, preventing the blades from being effective. Any ideas for getting the batter to be chunk-free? Have you experimented with processing the chickpeas alone, first? Is there a particular brand of peanut butter that you find to work the best? Thanks so much!!
I haven’t processed the chickpeas alone first so I have no idea how that’d work. My guess is that it may be difficult to do that. Does the Kirkland brand of peanut butter have added sugar and fat? I know that some brands say natural but are thick like Skippy and actually have added sugar and fat. That could be it! If the only ingredients are peanuts and salt, then I have no idea what the problem could be. I use homemade peanut butter (I just process roasted and salted peanuts in a food processor until quite liquid). Did you by any chance use canned chickpeas last time and fresh this time?
These ‘cookies’ were absolutely amazing! Instead of peanut butter, I used natural ABC (almond, brazil, cashew) butter, and they tasted just like delicious chocolate chip cookies… with secret chickpeas (yay). Thank you for an amazing recipe (I’ve already recommended it to my sister), as well as this fantastic site. I’ve actually just finished making your cinnamon apple muffins and they smell so good…can’t wait for after dinner :D
Thanks again!!
ABC butter sounds interesting! I’ll have to look for that. I’m so happy that you enjoyed the cookies and the muffins! Thanks a bunch for the nut butter tip and for your feedback. :)
can you make links to print just the recipe and pictures kind of compactly? thatd be AWEAOME!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Erin :) I tried to print this recipe but the link isn’t working… Please let me know if it’s up & running again- I’d love to direct my clients to your site! thank you
Hi, Krista! It works for me. Are you using Chrome? If so, the print page will come up blank but when you click cancel or escape, you should see a nicely formatted recipe page that you can print (I hope that makes sense!) If you don’t see that, let me know and I’ll send you a pdf! Thanks for wanting to send your clients this way. :)
I feel really ridiculous asking this question because the cookies are supposed to be healthy but I don’t like honey and I don’t have stevia or agave so…..would they work if I just use brown sugar or must it be a liquid sweetener?
It’s not ridiculous. :) Other commenters used brown sugar with success but I don’t know if and how much added liquid they used. Maybe add a tablespoon of milk? It’s just a guess, though!
I am going to make these cookie bites but do not know how many grams of chick peas to use the recipe says 1 1/4 cups so how many grams is that please
See the first note in the recipe. :) I’m guessing that’d be about 210-220 grams.
thank you so much for your reply I going to try them later wish me luck x
Good luck! I hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
Just made these to use up some chickpeas from my newly discovered aquafaba addiction.Had to make my own peanut butter (I will never buy again) I made them vegan and I’m going to make some aquafaba and coconut cream marshmallow topping.Thank you for the recipe-now I can eat chickpeas too!
I had to look up what aquafaba is. It’s so funny that you had to find something to use up the chickpeas on. :D I’m so happy these were able to solve your chickpea usage problem! I love the topping idea. Sounds delicious! Thanks so much for the feedback. :)
Made with carob chips instead of chocolate and I learned that carob just doesn’t melt the way chocolate does! Bites are still good though, but next time I’ll either use real chocolate chips for sweetness or add some stevia to the dough along with the honey/agave.
Bummer that the carob chips didn’t melt! I hope you’ll enjoy them more next time using real chocolate chips. :)
Oh. My. Gosh. Just made these and OBSESSED! Truly the definition of a guilt-free cookie. Thank you for sharing!!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them! Hooray for guilt-free cookies, right? Thanks for your feedback. :)
Wow these look great! Pinning to try soon :)
Thanks, Megan! I hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
FYI: Of the five brands of chocolate chips currently in my refrigerator, four have sugar as the first ingredient and the fifth lists semi-sweet chocolate as the only ingredient with its ingredients in parenthesis and the first ingredient in the parenthesis is sugar. While most people who NEED to avoid white sugar probably know this, it would probably be best not to say your recipe has no white sugar in it.
I have made these many times and they are delicious… Wanted to add my changes. :). Add a tablespoon of molasses… Gives you the “brown sugar” flavor while also giving additional nutrition. Also, highly recommend adding salt… Like 1/4 teaspoon or so. I have also subbed baking soda for the powder without issue. Yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
I love your molasses addition! Sounds yummy. :) And it’s good to know that baking soda works. Thanks for your feedback!
Hi Erin,
I just want to inform you that Sai from Road to Glory (https://www.youtube.com/user/roadtogloryJILSAI) is posting your picture of The Original Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites Recipe (aka Chickpea Cookies) on facebook. They use your content to get facebook likes. Furthermore they post it in conjunction with affiliate links to make money. I think this is not ok. You should to get your share from that money.
That is the link to the post:
https://www.facebook.com/SaiFitness/photos/a.127120700783672.27607.125036604325415/485014324994306/?type=1&theate
Hi, Frank! Thanks for letting me know. I think it’s totally ridiculous that they say that the first ingredient is whey protein when that’s not even an ingredient in the recipe (to which they don’t even link to!) I just reported that post to Facebook so I’m sure it’ll be removed shortly. Thanks again for taking the time to write me! I really appreciate it.
I have to say I was really skeptical about this recipe.. I only tried it cuz it looked so good in the picture.. but I don’t like any healthy substitutes in my sweets.. no applesauce, black bean brownies etc. so i went ahead and made these anyway, but did it really quickly… didn’t wait for peanut butter to cool and totally screwed up by adding a 1/2 cup instead of 1/4 cup of agave.. just cuz I wasn’t paying close attention.. instead of trying to make balls, I just scooped them on the parchment paper as I would chocolate chip cookies… when they baked they spread out and looked exactly like chocolate chip cookies and they were phenomenal!!! I know that is a lot of sugar, so I will try these again with the correct amount, but if you would like to try them as a grain free cookie as opposed to a cookie bite and are ok with the added sugar, I’d recommend that way as well. my 15 year old son ate one and loved it and didn’t even know that it wasn’t a “real” chocolate chip cookie :) thank you sooo much for this recipe!
I certainly don’t mind more sugar so I’m definitely going to try them your way! I’d love to see how they come out. :) I’m so happy that you gave them a try and that you and your son enjoyed them. Thanks so much for your feedback!
Yum! I overheard someone in a restaurant talking about these and found this recipe. Glad I did! Used dried chickpeas I soaked and cooked myself. Only had hubby’s Jiff on hand for pb :( but they still taste awesome and not greasy at all. Very happy and will make them again!
I love how you heard about this recipe. :) It seems as though people have mixed results with regular peanut butter so I’m happy to hear that it worked out for you. And good to know that soaking your own chickpeas works, too! Thanks a ton for your comment. :)
Last night my boyfriend requested black bean brownies, but when I went to make them, I realized I had used my last can. I did have garbanzo beans though, and I stumbled across this recipe. BF was super skeptical (why are they ALWAYS so skeptical?), but we both loved these! I had to keep him from eating the whole batch, and we each had one this morning with breakfast and thought they were just as good the next day.
Also, to add my 2 cents on the calorie count, I used a recipe analyzer and the ingredients I used (almond butter was the only substitution) came out to about 120 per bite.
I can’t wait to check out the rest of your site! :)
That’s awesome that your boyfriend ended up liking them! I so wish that I liked them the next day. I wonder if I’m the one doing something wrong as everyone else seems to like them at room temperature. ;) Thanks so much for your feedback and sorry for my slow reply!
I am not a vegan but I started cooking vegan meals and bake vegan. I made these cookie balls tonight and I must say I have had maybe 4 of them. They were so delish. I really like this recipe. Thanks!
So happy that you liked them. :) Thanks for your feedback and sorry for my slow reply!
Thank you for this recipe! It’s yummy. :-) My hubs and I have been on an elimination diet and this has gotten us through! I just realized the last time (like the 5th time) I made these that you say room temp peanut butter. Duh! It helped a lot to have it room temp. They came together much better and required less scraping of the food processor bowl! I also used agave and it worked great! Thanks again!!
Interesting that room temperature peanut butter makes such a difference! Good to know. :) (it’s been a while since I’ve made them!) Thanks a ton for your feedback and so sorry for my ridiculously slow reply!
Tried your recipe last weekend. They taste quite special but delicious. But all my non-vegan and not-so-healthy friends didn’t like it *lol*
I will sure bake them again!
Greetings from Switzerland
Aww. I’m sorry your friends didn’t like them! Did you tell them that there were chickpeas in there before they tasted them? If you did, don’t mention that the next time you share with people. ;)
instead of chocolate chips, I bake them without and then spread a thin layer of jam on the top and they are super yummy!!
Mmm! That sounds like a great variation. Thanks for sharing. :)
Hi – I don’t have a food processor…do you think a magic bullet would work instead?
I haven’t tried it but other commenters have with success. I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
I substituted the honey with maple syrup and the penut butter for almond butter and used dark chocolate chips. After they sat out for night they were amazing the next day! Thank you :)
So interesting that you preferred them sitting out overnight! That’s great. Much better than only liking them fresh from the oven. ;) Thanks so much for your feedback!
Is there a way to get the nutritional value for the cookies?
Yup! Check out the first bullet point in the post. :) Hope you’ll enjoy them if you try them!
I used regular peanut butter (Skippy, to be exact) and they turned out perfect! Very delicious!
That’s awesome that they came out well with Skippy! Some others have said that it makes their cookies greasy so maybe it also has to do with the chickpeas, honey, or something else. Thanks a bunch for the feedback! :)
Hi Erin!
I have been eying these cookies for almost 2 years and I finally made them tonight! They are delicious but I had a really hard time rolling them out; they kept sticking to my hands and I couldn’t roll them into pretty balls. Any suggestions?
I’m glad that you finally got a chance to make them! Next time you could try using wet hands to roll the balls and other commenters have mentioned using cookie scoops (which I think would destroy the kind of cookie scoop I have). One time I just forgot about the dough for about 30 minutes and when I got back to it, it was somehow less sticky and much easier to roll into balls. I hope that helps and thanks for your feedback!
Step 3. With wet hands, form into 1½” balls.
Wetting your hands really helps :)
My batter was also a little but on the thin side so I added a tablespoon coconut flour to help thicken it which also helped it be less sticky.
Don’t have the patience to deal with the sticky cookie dough? Eating it raw is totally an option ;) delicious
Thin? I think that’s a new one! As long as they came out tasty, I guess all is well. :) And I like your idea of adding some coconut flour! Sounds yummy. Thanks for the feedback!
I’ve made these twice, the first time, the peanut butter was sitting out at room temperature and the dough was really sticky when I rolled them.
The second time, I got the peanut butter straight from the fridge and the dough was much easier to work. I think it’s actually better if the peanut butter is a bit cold.
I always refrigerate my peanut butter and have never had really stick dough, so that could explain it. Thanks for the tip! I hope you enjoyed them. :)
Thanks for posting this great recipe. I boldly omitted the chocolate (and had no cacao nibs) so my 18 month old could enjoy without me then navigating a refined sugar high and crash… if you add adequate PB and honey the flavour is still deliciously peanutty and sweet without the choc guilt. Yum.
I’m happy that you and your little one could still enjoy them without the chocolate! I’ll have to try it that way one day, just to see how peanutty they truly are. Thanks for your feedback!
Wow! Made these no-bake and they were truly delish! covered each ball in chia seeds for extra nutrition and some crunch. thanks for a true winner!
So sorry for my slow reply! I’m happy that you enjoyed these. :) I love your chia seed addition!
How many cookies does this make??
14. Enjoy. :)
I have a nut allergy, is there anything else I could use to make the cookies?
Others have used SunButter with success but I haven’t tried it myself.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these! Thanks for sharing. I have made them for non- paleo company, and people always want the recipe, and that says a lot!
That’s awesome that everyone enjoyed them! I love it when a healthy recipe is a hit with all kinds of crowds. :) Thanks so much for the feedback!
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!