When your sweet tooth strikes but you still want something healthy, these chickpea cookies are the perfect solution! They’re soft and chewy, completely vegan, gluten free and so easy to make.
Chickpeas? In cookies?! I know. That probably sounds like just about the weirdest thing you’ve ever heard, but trust me, these taste nothing like chickpeas!
And my edible chickpea cookie dough has been so popular and I always get questions about whether or not they can actually be baked, so I figured I would just make a bake-able chickpea cookie dough recipe to make things easier!
I promise they don’t taste like chickpeas, just a delicious, soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie with a nice serving of protein and fiber! You’ll have to try my chickpea blondies or classic vegan chocolate chip cookies after!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- SImply, healthy ingredients
- Vegan & gluten free
- Easy to make
- Soft & chewy
- 5 grams of protein per cookie
How to make chickpea cookies
STEP 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
STEP 2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add to a food processor. Be sure to rinse them really well! Add in all remaining ingredients aside from the chocolate chips.
STEP 3. Process until smooth. It might look a little bumpy in texture, but you just want to make sure there are no chickpea chunks remaining.
STEP 4. Add in the chocolate chips and pulse a couple of times just to combine, you don’t want to completely puree the chocolate into the dough.
STEP 5. Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough and add to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They might not hold their shape really well (they may spread out a bit), but that’s totally fine since they don’t actually spread a ton while baking.
STEP 6. Top each cookie with a few additional chocolate chips and bake for 11-15 minutes.
STEP 7. They won’t spread a ton while baking (they’re supposed to be thicker cookies), but if you slam down the cookie sheet halfway through baking, it can encourage more spreading if you prefer that.
STEP 8. Remove from the oven and let cool, they’ll firm up a bit as they cool. Sprinkle with salt flakes and enjoy!
What is the texture like?
These cookies are CHEWY. If you’re more into crunchy or crispy cookies, these aren’t for you.
Even if you bake them for longer, they tend to just dry out rather than getting crispy- this is just the nature of baking with chickpeas. So, if you like chewy cookies, you’re in luck because these are very chewy!
As far as flavor goes, they’re sweet, but not too sweet, and taste like a regular old chocolate chip cookie!
If you choose to go the peanut butter route (as opposed to almond butter) they’ll have a delicious peanut butter flavor that is just right and not too over powering.
Peanut butter will also increase the protein content! Or, just try my vegan protein cookies!
How to store
These chickpea cookies do best at room temperature in a container and will keep this way for about 3 days. I don’t recommend sealing the container off completely because the cookies will get a bit mushy, so keep the lid slightly ajar for best results.
Alternatively, you can store them in the fridge for 3-5 days. They will firm up a bit from the cold temperature, so keep this in mind!
You can freeze these cookies as well! Let them cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 1 month. Reheat in the oven at 300 until warm through the center.
Ingredient swaps
FLOUR. This recipe calls for just 1/3 cup of oat flour which helps bind all of the ingredients together and absorbs some excess moisture.
You can sub for almond flour, but I haven’t tested this myself so I can’t guarantee the result. My guess is you will need closer to 1/2 cup of almond flour.
SUGAR. These chickpea cookies use a mix of granulated sugar and maple syrup which gives the best flavor and texture.
I used regular white cane sugar, but you can easily use brown or coconut sugar, just keep in mind the color will be much darker if you go the coconut route.
I don’t recommend swapping the granulated sugar for more maple syrup because the dough will be a bit too wet.
You’ll also love..
- Almond Flour Cookies
- Almond Flour Brownies
- Grain Free Blondies
- Protein Cookie Dough
- Protein Brownies
If you want more recipes straight to your inbox, be sure to subscribe to my email list. As always, if you make this recipe, be sure to tag me on instagram and leave a comment below so I can see your creation!
Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas
- ½ cup unsalted almond or peanut butter
- ⅓ cup oat flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar of choice white, brown or coconut all work
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add to a food processor. Add in all remaining ingredients aside from the chocolate chips.
- Process until smooth. It might look a little bumpy in texture, but you just want to make sure there are no chickpea chunks remaining.
- Add in the chocolate chips and pulse a couple of times just to combine.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough and add to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- They might not hold their shape really well (they may spread out a bit), but that's totally fine since they don't actually spread a ton while baking.
- Top each cookie with a few additional chocolate chips and bake for 11-15 minutes.
- They won't spread a ton while baking (they're supposed to be thicker cookies), but if you slam down the cookie sheet halfway through baking, it can encourage more spreading if you prefer that.
- Remove from the oven and let cool, they'll firm up a bit as they cool. Sprinkle with salt flakes and enjoy!
Deb L says
Very tasty and I like being able to make all in blender!
Michael says
Thank you. Great recipe. The texture was great, and delicious. I didn’t even taste the chickpeas, I was surprised how well it pared wit the recipe. And the cookie felt filling.
Claire Cary says
Perfect, thanks Michael!
Michael says
Came out great, I was surprised how good they were. You don’t even taste the garbanzo beans, and they are more filling than your average cookie. Also, good soft texture,and delicious.
Ann says
If there was 5 more stars I would give this recipe a 10. This is a real W (winner) recipe. When I first looked at the recipe I admit I had my doubts. So I had to try it. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a favorite for me. I do suggest shaping the cookies before putting in oven and I also sprayed olive oil on the parchment paper. I am trying not to eat anymore tonight. Delicious 😋
Claire Cary says
Amazing, thank you, Ann!
Taren says
Do you think I could use tahini instead of nut butter?
Claire Cary says
Yes, that will work!
Gracey says
So good and easy to make! I was honestly surprised by how good the cookies were!! Most vegan/healthier desert recipes are not that good, but these are for real amazing.
Claire Cary says
Thank you, Gracey! So glad you enjoyed these.
Kate says
Is the dough supposed to be sticky?
I’m making them right now.
Chickpeas are healthy but have a lot of carbs. I’m just trying to find a way to make the keto cookies not so dry and maybe adding chickpeas will help.
Thanks for this!
Ps. I used almond flour…
Claire Cary says
Yes, the dough will be fairly sticky! Just the nature of the chickpeas
Laurie says
These cookies were so good! I reduced the sugar to 1-2 TBSP instead of 1/4 cup and used quick oats instead of oat flour. I also found that pulsing the chick peas in the food processor first before adding the rest of the ingredients helps the dough turn out smoother and without any small chunk of chick pea. These are my husband’s new healthy favorite. We store them in the freezer but the bag empties quickly!
Claire Cary says
Great idea to pulse the chickpeas first. So glad you both enjoyed these!
Brandy says
So easy and delicious. I made my own oat flour. Literally you just blend oats until they are close to a fine powder. I also used whole earth monk fruit sweetener. You would never guess these are made from chickpeas.
These cookies are so good!!
Claire Cary says
Yum, sounds perfect! Thanks, Brandy.
Jody says
These are delicious! I subbed honey for maple syrup as I was out of syrup, so mine weren’t truly vegan. I was having trouble not eating all of the batter before I could even get them in the oven. Next time I’m going to try to sub dates for sugar and syrup and I think it’ll also be a great, even healthier version. Thanks 🙂
Claire Cary says
Perfect, let me know how it works with the dates!
Victoria says
Thank you for this recepie! I like it a lot!
Claire Cary says
Thank you Victoria!
Agata says
These are amazing! Thank you so much! I’ve only replaced maple syrup and brown sugar with 100 grams of fresh dates, added few tablespoon of oat milk to reach desired consistency and voila! By far the best healthy cookies I’ve ever come across and believe me, I’ve had tried many! Irresistible!
Claire Cary says
Amazing, so glad the dates worked well!
Doreen says
I wish I would have used some walnuts as well. My husband does not eat cookies and he liked them. I just wish they were not so soft. I also used Swerve brown sugar and sugar free maple syrup.
Will be making again. Thanks.
Claire Cary says
Walnut sound great! Because of the nature of chickpeas, these cookies are naturally very soft and there isn’t a way around that.
Jona says
These were awesome!! Made some tweaks to meet personal tastes.
Used peanut butter instead of almond
Subbed out the oat flour for 75% almond flour, 25% coconut flour
Used 1/2 cup brown sugar (no maple syrup)
Scooped with a cookie scoop and gently flattened slightly before baking. These are SO tasty!!
Iwona says
They are great. I subbed out flower for almond flour 1:1 and they were great. Moist and delicious. I made them right after your chocolate chip almond cookies so while the other once were in a fridge i quickly whipped these up
Tamara Shukha says
These were so delicious! I used almond flour instead of oat! My husband was shocked after he tasted them and I told them I made them with chick peas! My 15 month old loves them! ❤️
Claire Cary says
Amazing! So happy ya’ll enjoyed these!
Erin says
Love this recipe! I’m grain free so I used arrowroot flour instead of oat flour and just for fun used macadamia nut butter instead of peanut butter. Yum!!!
Claire Cary says
Perfect! So glad the arrowroot worked well as a sub.
Vinnie says
I followed the recipe except for the flour and maple syrup. I used brown sugar and water in equal
amounts heated till steaming as a sub for syrup and I ground rolled oats to make the oat flour.
the result was a bit wet so I adjusted with more oat flour. The cookies are delicious, however, they have become a dark shade of “Green” starting from the inside! I just ate another one and the taste is the same but they look rather “Scary” Any thoughts as to what caused this?
Claire Cary says
Interesting! it could have something to do with the chickpeas, I’m honestly not entirely sure. perhaps a weird reaction between the baking soda and something?
Joanne G says
Did you use sunflower butter? The chlorophyll in the sunflower causes a reaction that results in a green color.
Vinnie says
Thanks Claire!
Vinnie says
Another question, the Aquafaba liquid from the canned chickpeas, can it be used in the recipe?
Claire Cary says
No, you won’t want to use that in these!
Vinnie says
I’ve ground raw chickpeas into a flour and I’m interested to know if it can be used instead of grinding oats into a flour?
Thanks, Vinnie
Claire Cary says
I don’t recommend that, I suggest oat flour here!
Melissa says
What size can of chickpeas please?
Claire Cary says
15 ounces!
Liberty says
Could you use almond flour instead?
Claire Cary says
I haven’t tested that, but it should be ok!
Serena says
Hi! Can I sub the almond butter for regular butter?
Claire Cary says
No, that will completely change the cookie, but you can sub for another nut/seed butter of choice!
Kassandra says
Super easy to make and SO delicious! Very hard not to eat all of them at once.. tastes like chewy chips ahoy! Husband is not vegan and loved them too!!
Claire Cary says
OMG yes so accurate with the chewy chips ahoy. So glad you both loved them!
Meghan says
I just made the Chickpea and Chocolate Chip cookies and my whole family is OBSESSED 🤩 my husband says they are the best cookies he has ever had! Can’t wait to try more recipes!
Claire Cary says
What a compliment! Thanks Meghan, so glad you all loved them!
Sarah Eckhardt says
These cookies were delicious and my husband agreed that you would never know they have chickpeas in them! I ground my own oat flour for a few minutes in the food processor- so simple! If you’re looking for a moist/tasty cookie give these a try.
Allan Theron says
I will start off by saying I do not have a food processor so tried using my bamix which worked well but a processor would be ideal.
Cookies came out not as smooth but the chunky feel and look is fine for me. Left out the salt on top as trying to cut out salt.
Recipe is simple and easy and cookies easy to make. Honestly can’t taste the chickpeas.
Will definitely make again but try a few things differently.
Thanks Claire, for a super cookie recipe.
Claire Cary says
So glad they turned out well! A food processor is best to achieve a softer texture without chunks, but glad they were good regardless!