The Original Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites Recipe (aka 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!
- Nutrient-Rich Ingredients: Packed with protein and fiber from chickpeas and natural peanut butter, these bites are as nourishing as they are delicious.
- Naturally Sweetened: Maple syrup or honey provides a subtle sweetness, eliminating the need for refined sugars.
- Diet-Friendly: These bites are gluten-free, dairy-free, and grain-free, making them suitable for various dietary needs.
- Kid-Approved: Their cookie-dough-like texture and chocolatey goodness make them a hit with both kids and adults.
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!
Ingredients Notes
These are just notes on select ingredients. Please scroll below for the full recipe!
- Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans, chickpeas provide the creamy base for these bites. Use canned chickpeas for convenience, and make sure to rinse and drain them well to remove any briny flavor.
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! - Peanut Butter: This should be the kind with only peanuts and salt. No added fat or sugar. Be careful because there are some “natural” brands out there that aren’t really natural.
I find that this peanut butter is usually expensive, so I make my own. Here’s how to make peanut butter! All you need is peanuts and a food processor (which you already have to pull out for this chickpea cookie recipe!).
Other nut or seed butters also work great. I use sunflower seed butter for a nut-free version. - Maple Syrup or Honey: make sure to use maple syrup for the vegan version. For a totally sugar free version, some commenters have used 30 drops of Stevia and cacao nibs with success.
- 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.
- 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.
- Do not double the recipe! It might be too much for your machine and could damage it.
- Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge: A creamy, caramel-like fudge made with just four ingredients. It’s vegan, gluten-free, and comes together in minutes.
- Peanut Butter Apple Crumble: A delightful twist on a classic dessert, combining tender apples with a peanut butter oat topping. It’s gluten-free and vegan.
- Peanut Butter Protein Balls: Perfect for on-the-go snacking, these no-bake bites are packed with protein and flavor, and they’re easy to customize.
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies: Soft, chewy, and flourless, these cookies are a simple yet satisfying treat that’s naturally gluten-free.
- Healthy Peanut Butter Ice Cream: A rich and creamy no-churn ice cream that’s both vegan and paleo-friendly, offering a guilt-free indulgence.
Chickpea Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (205 grams) canned chickpeas well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel1
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 10 tablespons (160 grams) natural peanut butter SunButter Natural or almond butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey or maple syrup or agave for vegan
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips use vegan and dairy-free chocolate chips, if needed
Instructions
- 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 of the chickpeas.
- 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.
Oh man!!! Ok…first I tried the recipe the original way, they turned out pretty good but nowhere near looking like the one’s pictured above! I also didn’t really like the texture…
So! As one comment stated, I removed the skin off of the chick pea’s, added 1 egg and 1 tablespoon, left them in the oven for 2 extra minutes and holy cow…it was the closest thing to my Chips Ahoy!!
The mixture was more liquidy but they came out looking like actual cookies.
I did the toothpick test before pulling them out, let them cool completely and am very, very pleased with this version!!!
Try it!
Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Charles
**Should read: 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of Vinegar!!
Hi Charles! I’m intrigued by your version and think I’m going to try it myself in a few weeks. My cookies always turn out like the pictures but others have said that they don’t. Who knows. ;)
Thanks so much for your feedback and the rating! I really appreciate it. :)
Oh, wow. I am SO sorry for my super slow reply, Charles! I was visiting the US in June and it appears some comments fell through the cracks. You and so many others have mentioned this thing with adding an egg. I’ll have to try that next time! I would love for these to come out more cookie-like so why not give it a try? Thank you so much for your feedback and the rating and please forgive me for the super slow answer!
When Costco quit stocking natural peanut butter for so long, I started making my own by grinding peanuts in the food processor, and we actually prefer it over store bought peanut butter. Now I’ll make my peanut butter and then make the cookies right afterwards without washing the processor. They are just fantastic!!! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Karen! I agree with you. Homemade peanut butter is so much better than the stuff at the store. It’s also what I use in the these cookies. :) Thanks so much for the feedback and the rating!
What a great idea!!! Thank you!!!
These are a-freakin-mazing. I just recently began watching my grain/gluten and sugar intake so these fit the bill. WOW. My husband and I went nuts over them. We’re going to serve them tomorrow at our Father’s Day picnic.
I hope that the people at the picnic enjoyed the cookies! And I’m happy to hear that you liked them. Thank you so much for the feedback. :)
Greetings from Johannesburg, South Africa. I made these this morning and they turned out great! Wouldn’t guess that there are chickpeas in them! Thanks for the recipie!
Hi Brenda! I’m happy that the cookies came out for you. And yeah… it’s a pretty weird recipe, isn’t it? ;) Thanks for the rating and feedback!
i am going to try them when i get home
I need to avoid refined sugar. What can be used in lieu of regular chocolate chips since white sugar is a major component in the chips? Thanks!
You can just leave out the chocolate chips if you like. Other people have and they still enjoyed them. :) You could use nuts or Sunspire grain-sweetened chocolate chips. They use brown rice syrup instead of white sugar.
Unsweetened carob chips would probably be good. Most likely that’s what I’ll be using.
Thanks for the tip!
These couldn’t be more simple! So few ingredients and so quick to whip up. I was skeptical even though I’m a huge chickpea fan–but chickpeas in cookies? That’s just weird. But I’m a big fan of weird, too, and so I made these tonight and thankfully only baked a few (the dough is safely tucked in the freezer), because I’d have eaten far more than I did.
Looking forward to trying these with cashew butter, but otherwise I love them as is. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Haha. I’m a few of weird, too! And cashew butter? Sounds interesting! I hope you’ll enjoy them! Thanks for the feedback and the rating. :)
It was time consuming to make this batter but quite delicious. Would you have the nutritional value and calorie count on these cookies.
I’m happy that you liked them! I don’t have the nutritional value but if you click on “Older comments” a few times, you can see where a few people have shared that info. I think the average calorie count was around 120 calories.
do you know how many grams of carbs and sugar are in these cookie dough bits?
Sorry, I don’t! If you click on “Older comments” you can find that info. Or you can enter the recipe into a recipe analysis site like Calorie Count. Good luck! :)
Erin! I just made these last night and of course they are shockingly amazing! So glad I found your site for healthy, clean eats!
Thanks, Bianca! I’m happy that you found me, too. And that you liked the cookies. Thanks for the feedback! :)
Love your recipes! I recently have had to go gluten free because of celiac rash. I can’t wait to try these cookies and the muffins!
I hope that you’ll enjoy them! So happy that you found the blog. :) Happy baking!
I have an allergy to chickpeas. Any ideas for a substitute? Thanks!
I don’t like the aftertaste chickpeas leave so I have been substituting lentils. Seems to work out OK. Next time I make them I’m going to try white beans.
Good luck with the beans! I’m happy that your substitution worked. :)
Hi! I haven’t tried but commenters have said that they used butter beans and kidney beans with success. Good luck! :)
Thanks so much for the recipes. Could you add a PRINT option on each one? It would be so convenient for me.
Hi Shirley! Thanks for the rating. :) If you look at top right of the recipe box (under the little picture), you’ll find a print button. I hope that works for you. :)
Used blackstrap molasses in place of honey. Delicious!
Sounds great! Happy that it worked out for you. :)
I found these two days ago on Pinterest on had to make them today! They are AHMAZING!!! I used my Ninja to mix it up which worked well but b/c the blades got hot my chocolate chips started melting when I mixed them in. They still tasted delicious and everyone in the house gave them 2 thumbs up! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Yay! SO happy to hear that everyone enjoyed them! And melted chocolate… sounds good to me. :) Thanks for the feedback!
I made these today but not sure I’ve got the consistency right.
Even when cooked 10mins longer than said the cookies still resembled batter texture. Did I add too much honey?
Hi Danielle! I am SO sorry about the slow reply. I’ve been on vacation and haven’t really had laptop access. These never really become cookie textured, hence the cookie dough in the title. ;) They should still be soft and gooey in the middle. I hope that they were at least tasty! Sorry that the texture didn’t come out as well as expected.
OMG! I found this on Pinterest, and I NEVER leave comments but seriously these are SOO good. I have been experimenting with gluten-free, ‘clean’ desserts, and so far I can always tell a HUGE difference and am never fully satisfied, I don’t really mind but my husband is “anti-healthy tasting desserts” and he had NOO idea that they were good for him, let alone that one of the ingredients was chickpeas. I also surprised all the ladies in my church with these, and didn’t tell them what was in them until after the entire batch was devoured within minutes. “chickpeas?! no way!!!” these will be making appearances at all my family get togethers, holidays, potlucks, etc.! Thanks for a new family fav!– FINALLY a healthy dessert worth making for EVERYONE!!
I’m so sorry for the slow response, Danielle! I’ve been on vacation for the past few weeks and have been just awful with the comments.
Anyway, thank you so much for leaving a comment! I am honored that you would take the time to do this. :) And I’m thrilled to hear that your husband and the ladies at church enjoyed these, despite the chickpeas! These are a fun cookie to trick / surprise people with. ;)
Thanks again for the feedback! I really do appreciate it.
These look great! You inspired me to mix it up and bit and come up with the most delicious cookies with Almond butter, butter beans and gloden syrup! The recipe is up on my blog if you would like to take a peek.
That sounds amazing, Judith! Thanks so much for the feedback and rating. :) I tried finding your blog but can’t seem to find it. I hope you see this and leave a link so I can check it out!
Didn’t have a food processor – so hand mashed the chickpeas :) also replaced baking powder with 3/4 baking soda + 1 tbs vinegar (need to stock my kitchen next time!)… And everything came out wonderfully! Thanks for the recipe & the tips! :)
Yay! So happy that mashing the chickpeas worked. And the baking soda vinegar thing, too! Thanks a ton for the feedback and for the tips. :)
DELICIOUS…
Thanks! :)
I used regular peanut butter and they worked just fine, not too oily at all. I also put them in the freezer for around 10 minutes then popped them in the oven for 15 minutes and they turned out delicious
Interesting! Why did you freeze them first? I would have never thought of that. :) I’m happy that they came out for you! Thanks for the feedback.