If you need to satisfy your sweet tooth but don’t feel like cooking, look no further than this chickpea cookie dough! It’s naturally vegan & gluten free and made with simple, wholesome ingredients.

Vegan chickpea cookie dough in small glass jars with chocolate chips.

I’ve been making this chickpea cookie dough, chickpea blondies and my chickpea chocolate chip cookies for years so it’s a mystery why it took me so long to get it up on the blog.

While technically all vegan cookie dough is edible since there aren’t any raw eggs, sometimes you just need something sweet that doesn’t have sticks of butter and heaps of sugar.

I like eating this cookie dough straight off the spoon, but it’s also great as a dip with apples or graham crackers or rolled into balls for little cookie dough energy bites!

If you love this recipe, try my almond flour chocolate chip cookies or protein fruit dip next!

Ingredients for the recipe arranged in bowls on a wood board.

Key ingredients

CHICKPEAS. Chickpeas of course make up the base of this chickpea cookie dough! You can sub for another white bean such as navy beans (they’re actually white!) for a similar result.

OATS. You can use oats, oat flour or almond flour to help absorb some of the excess liquid. You can also use coconut flour for a grain free/paleo option, but you will only need about 2-3 tablespoons since it is so absorbent.

Oats are naturally gluten free but can be contaminated with gluten during processing. Be sure to use certified gluten free if you have Celiac.

NUT BUTTER. I suggest cashew or almond butter if you want a more mild flavor, but peanut butter would also be delicious.

SUGAR. A mix of maple syrup and a granulated sugar of choice. You can use coconut sugar to keep it refined sugar free, but white sugar also works!

VANILLA & ALMOND EXTRACT. The almond extract is an ingredient I use in my cake batter energy balls which gives the recipe more of a cake batter flavor.

It’s totally optional though and this recipe will still be delicious without it!

Two images of the food processor with chickpeas showing how to make the cookie dough.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas (rinse them really well) and add to a food processor. I used canned chickpeas for this recipe, but homemade chickpeas will work just as well! Rinsing the beans really well is important for the best flavor.

Add in all remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips and process until smooth, about 1 full minute.

Taste and adjust sweetness as desired. I like using the brown sugar for extra sweetness, but adjust to your preferences.

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You can add as much brown sugar as you like, but I wouldn’t recommend too much maple syrup since you want to keep this thick.

Pulse in the chocolate chips just until combined. I like to use mini chocolate chips, but anything works. You can also chop up a chocolate bar if that’s all you have.

Transfer to a container and place in the fridge. The cookie dough warms up as it processes and it’s best cold, so let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes to chill.

Enjoy as is with a spoon, as a dip for apples, graham crackers, or roll into balls for energy bites!

Up close and overhead shot of the vegan cookie dough with sea salt on top.

What does it taste like?

Surprisingly, it doesn’t taste like chickpeas! I never have an issue with any bean aftertaste in this vegan cookie dough, but in the event that you do, there are a few things you can do to help mask it.

But before you need to mask it, the best thing to do to prevent it is to rinse the beans really well.

One is to add more sweetener. The recipe as is calls for 1/4 cup of maple syrup, which should be plenty to add flavor and sweetness, but I also like adding a tablespoon or two of brown sugar to get a nice caramely flavor. You can also make it with dates for a refined sugar free option as well.

The second is to add more vanilla! It’s simple, but it really goes a long way.

Finally, if you notice any bean taste, let it sit! Add it to the fridge and let all of the flavors blend together. I find this recipe is best after a few hours!

Two small glass jars with the chickpea cookie dough pouring out the top.

How to store and freeze

Once prepared, this chickpea cookie dough will keep in the fridge for about 5 days. Store in an air tight container for best results!

While I don’t think freezing the recipe as is would work, I do think it would work if it were frozen as small energy bites.

Roll about 1 tbsp of the dough into your hands and add that to a container, then freeze. The texture will hold better in a smaller portion than in one big container.

Can I make it without a food processor?

Yes! But you’ll need a blender. You need some sort of blender to make this recipe, mashing my hand unfortuntately won’t suffice.

Gold spoon with the chickpea cookie dough on top.

Other vegan recipes to try!

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