Rich, fudgy Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies with brownie-like insides & surprisingly healthy ingredients. Quick & easy to make, no gluten, no oil, no dairy & no eggs!
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FEATURED COMMENT:
"Holy cow, these are so good - also a huge thank you for an oil-free cookie recipe, that are still somehow brownie-like in texture and moisture. Made a batch on Friday for my wife, and they're already gone - I have a feeling I'll be spending tonight on batch #2! :)" - Chris ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies? Um, yes, you heard me right. We are making double chocolate chip cookies with chickpeas. But before you run away, let me sell them to you...
We're talking thick and fudgy cookies with rich, deep, chocolatey flavour and almost brownie-like middles. They are seriously delish! And no. You will have no idea that chickpeas are hiding out in there.
So if you've ever found yourself wondering what you can do with a can of chickpeas, this recipe is your answer!
This combination might have made you raise your eyebrows, and you're not wrong. I get it. Cookies made with chickpeas sounds like a strange concept, but trust me on this one. The chickpeas are what give these cookies their great fudgy texture, and if you've been around for a while, you'll know that I'm no stranger to adding chickpeas to sweet recipes. Enter my:
- Vegan New York Cheesecake
- Healthy No Bake Bars
- Lemon Cheesecake Smoothie
- Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Pops
Mel x
Ingredient Notes
Some important notes & substitution ideas:
- Chickpeas - The main ingredient in this recipe and what gives these cookies their fudgy texture and a great nutty flavour. They also add moisture, bind everything together and add a lot of protein. I recommend using canned chickpeas rather than home-cooked chickpeas because they tend to be a bit softer.
- Flour - This recipe has been tested with oat flour, all-purpose flour, wholewheat flour, spelt flour and gluten-free all-purpose flour and it works great with all of them.
- Cocoa powder - For that lovely chocolatey flavour! It doesn't matter if it's natural or Dutch-processed.
- Sugar - For sweetness. Any sugar will do. White, brown, coconut, etc but don't replace it with a liquid sweetener because the cookie dough will end up too wet.
- Nut or seed butter - Nut butter keeps these cookies moist and fudgy and adds great flavour too. Any such as almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter or tahini will do.
- Aquafaba - To provide some moisture, which makes blending easier. You could add the same amount of dairy-free milk, but as we're using canned chickpeas anyway, we might as well make use of the aquafaba!
- Baking soda and baking powder - When you don't use eggs in baking, you need to make up for the leavening they would otherwise provide by adding both of these. This combination gives them some lightness and helps the texture.
- Espresso powder or instant coffee - A tiny bit of coffee enhances the flavour of chocolate. The cookies don't taste of coffee. This is optional but recommended. Don't make a special trip for it, but if you have some at home, use it.
- Chocolate chips - Use your favourite brand of dairy-free milk, white, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate chips. You can also chop up a dairy-free chocolate bar if you prefer, although it will melt more than chips do.
To make these cookies, you will need a food processor. I don't recommend using a blender because the mixture is way too stiff. I also don't recommend doubling the recipe because it will end up too much for your food processor to handle in one go.
Let's Make Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Can't wait to make them? The full printable recipe is below, but first, let me walk you through the steps to set you up for success in your kitchen. I recommend watching my recipe video if you're more of a visual learner:
Add all of the ingredients except the chocolate chips to a food processor and process until you have a smoothish cookie dough. Then add the chocolate chips and pulse a few times to distribute.
Use an ice cream or cookie scoop to portion out onto a cookie sheet.
Flatten the top of each cookie with a fork, push in some extra chocolate chips, then bake.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! I prefer to freeze these cookies unbaked. Make them as instructed up to the point they are laid out on the baking tray. Then, put the entire tray in the freezer to flash freeze. As soon as the cookies are solid, remove them from the tray and transfer to freezer bags or containers. When you need them, remove from the freezer, lay out on a baking tray while frozen and bake for an extra 3 minutes to account for them being frozen.
Recipe
Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 2 cups (330 grams) chickpeas (canned) , drained (but save 2 tablespoons of the aquafaba/chickpea liquid).
- ½ cup (55 grams) flour , oat, all-purpose, spelt, wholewheat or gluten-free all-purpose all work
- ½ cup (50 grams) cocoa powder
- ½ cup (100 grams) sugar , white, cane, brown, or coconut
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons natural nut or seed butter
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons aquafaba , (liquid from the can of chickpeas)
- ¼ teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee granules OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED, you can omit it but it does enhance the chocolate flavour
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup (100 grams) dairy-free chocolate chips
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176 °C) and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Add all ingredients, except the chocolate chips, to a food processor and blend until fairly smooth and starting to ball up. You might need to scrape the sides down a few times. Then add the chocolate chips and pulse a few times to distribute them throughout.
- Using an ice-cream or a cookie scoop, scoop dollops of the mixture onto the baking tray. About 2½ to 3 tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie. If you don't have a scoop, roll balls with your hands. Leave about 2 inches of space around each one.
- Use the back of a fork to push down on the top of each cookie twice, in a cross shape, so they end up about ½ an inch thick, then stick some extra chocolate chips in the top.
- Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. If you prefer a drier cookie with no brownie-like insides then you can bake for up to 14 minutes. When you remove them from the oven they will be very soft. DO NOT try to remove them from the baking tray. Leave them alone for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
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Tina L. says
LOVE!!!
Easy + real ingredients + clear instructions = delicious cookies.
I added more aquafaba and some dates and made a 9" x9" brownie.
Thank you!!!
Tina
Samantha says
Ah-mazing!! I only had 2 tbsp nut butter so added 2 tbsp applesauce. Worked like a charm. YUM.
Erin says
This recipe is delicious but it murdered my food processor. I used all purpose flour and the gluten developed extremely thick. I was able to salvage the dough and, to be fair, the cookies are delicious. But right as the dough came together, the engine started smoking and my house still smells like burnt plastic an hour later.
Linda says
I haven't tried these yet, but having made black bean brownies, I have no doubt they'll be great. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so might reduce the sugar ( the brownies used dates), but I love chocolate 😁. Will bake these when my brownies are gone!
Lisa says
Hi Mel
These cookies taste lovely, they were a big hit amongst our friends & family, will definitely make them again. I followed the recipe exactly, but after the cookies were in the oven for 9 minutes they still came out soft, so I put them back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes but they were still quite soft after that too. Is there any way to make the cookies harder? E.g: let them bake for longer or turn up the oven temperature?
Melanie McDonald says
These are quite soft cookies. More like a cross between brownies and a cookie with fudgy insides, so if you're looking for a harder cookie they probably aren't for you. You could make them thinner though and bake them a bit longer to make them a bit crisper but with all of the moist ingredients, you might not quite get the effect you're after. I wouldn't turn the oven temp up or they might burn.
Natasha says
This is a very very good recipe. I’m not vegan but I do like to eat plant based when I can and focus on healthy eating.
I don’t have a food processor but what I did worked so so well. All wet ingredients including chickpeas in the bowl with the immersion blender along with the sugar. I got a beautifully creamy and smooth consistency. I then folded in all my dry ingredients and it worked an absolute treat. You could NEVER tell these have chicke peas in them. And the best part? The dough is perfectly fine to eat raw ? my girls and I loved them. Thanks so much!
Melanie McDonald says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed them Natasha and it's great you were able to make it work without a food processor!
Cindy says
Quick to do & delicious!!!! Thank you ❤️
Erik says
This is now my all time favorite cookie recipe! I've been on the hunt for an easy, tastes amazing (as if there's eggs and butter), vegan cookie for a while. Nothing really was doing it for me until Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies! I love that it all goes into the food processor and it's a super easy clean up. I've given these cookies to my non-vegan friends neglecting (oops) to tell them they're made with chickpeas! They all love them!! The finishing salt... is the perfect touch. I've made these a few times since seeing the recipe this Summer. Bravo!!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's so good to hear Erik! I'm really pleased you're enjoying them and thanks so much for stopping by to leave a review. It's much appreciated!
Mei says
This is such an easy and crazy delish recipe! Used immersion blender and everything came together nicely. I was going to bake it, but now decided I’m going to eat it by the spoonfuls!
Sarah says
Yummy! I think I may have burned out my food processor trying to make it. Oops! I need a bigger one anyway.
But...they still turned out good! No chocolate chips, so I increased the amount of sugar to 2/3 cup. Even the batter was good! Thanks so much!
Mary Ann Aldus says
Can you make them without a food processor? I don't want to go out to buy one just for this recipe?
A Virtual Vegan says
You do really need a food processor for this recipe. It would be really hard to get everything combined smoothly without one.
Dennis says
Delicious! I can't believe you can't taste the chick peas!. I used chopped nuts instead of the chocolate chips and I couldn't be happier. I baked them the 14 minutes and they are still soft and perfect.
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad you're enjoying them and thank you for stopping by to leave a review/rating!
Chris says
One of my favorites yet. Holy cow these are so good - also a huge thank you for an oil-free cookie recipe, that are still somehow brownie-like in texture and moisture. Not to mention the low calorie count, and fiber + protein numbers are terrific. Made a batch on Friday for my wife and they're already gone - I have a feeling I'll be spending tonight on batch #2! :)
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! So pleased you both enjoyed them Chris.
Christine says
Thanks so much for the recipe. I made this on the weekend and it turned out really well. The biscuit holds together well yet is beautifully soft inside. Because I used dried chick peas that I soaked and boiled I didn't have aquafaba so I just substituted it with flax egg and it worked well. I also added desiccated coconut and this was yummy! It did make the batter a bit drier though so I had to add some plant milk. I used an almond coconut milk blend. I didn't have quite enough choc chips and without them the biscuits were not sweet enough, so if making again (which I reckon I will be doing pretty soon) I would add a bit more sugar, maybe 2/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup. Or maybe I'll add some dried cranberries instead of extra sugar (or maybe as well as), that would be nice I reckon ? But thanks so much, I reckon these are going to be a bit of a go-to biscuit recipe for me ?
Jennell Greer says
What is difference between kcal and calorie?
Jo says
These cookies are excellent. Thank you for the recipe.
I have made them twice now; on the second try I halved the sugar, and did a 50/50 split between cocoa and cacao nibs (so 25g each). The nibs add some extra texture to the cookies which works very well, and they were plenty sweet enough for my palate.
Rebecca Price says
is 2 cups of chickpeas 400g? xx
A Virtual Vegan says
It would be about 328g. I will add that to the recipe. Sorry I must have missed it when I typed it up!
Deniz says
Hi, have to make these asap they look so good! The drained and rinsed weight of the chickpeas is 330g, right? Thanks!
Melanie McDonald says
Yes that's right. Enjoy!
Pucca says
Would it be possible to make this recipe with black beans instead of the chickpeas?
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven't tried it but I'm pretty sure it would be fine :)
Frankie says
So I was reading all of the comments after baking these and I noticed that someone wrote about the oats being gluten free... What oats? I cooked these and missed adding the oats. Didn't even see it in the list of ingredients. That's from running back and forth to my laptop to check the next ingredient to add. Clearly a method that needs improvement, Gotta say mine turned out great :) I also used peanut butter as you suggested as a sub for almond butter and I used coconut sugar for the sweetener .
I'm hoping that by forgetting to add the oats the calories per cookie went down cos I think I just ate my daily caloric intake - sooo yummy!! Will be making these again!
A Virtual Vegan says
Ha ha! Yes, they are definitely meant to have oat flour in. I'm glad they worked out for you without though. I will have to try them like that next time and compare results!
patty says
Made these they are great ..used carob chips and peanut butter also subbed out sugar and used xylitol which I ground to icing sugar texture in my nutri bullet ..love this recipe thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Patty!
kimmythevegan says
You know, it's always a pleasant surprise scrolling down absolutely luscious looking pictures of ooey gooey chocolate cookies fully expecting them to be full of gluten and finding I can actually eat them. Sah-weet!
These look awesome!
A Virtual Vegan says
Yay! That's great. I hope you enjoy them! ????
robin m says
Hi Mel,
I can't wait to make these yummy cookies tomorrow. You made my evening though. I do make my own chickpeas and have wondered why there is never any thick aquafaba liquid from homemade beans.. Do you know the process that makes the liquid thick in the can? I will try to boil down the liquid from the chickpeas and hope i get the liquidy gel. I have passed up too many yummy recipes that call for aquafaba. Sounds like i might not have to anymore. Will let you know if i have any luck.
Thanks again for all your fantastic recipes.
xoxoxo robin m
A Virtual Vegan says
Hey Robin! There is no need to pass up on aquafaba recipes anymore! When you cook your chickpeas once you've drained them, pour the liquid back in the pan and boil it rapidly until it reduces by about half. Then if you refrigerate it it should go gloppy like the canned kind. Then you can make these cookies and whatever else you like!! I've been making meringue with it recently. It's like magic!! If you end up with too much it freezes brilliantly and still whips up into meringue easily after.
I would imagine the canned type gets thick like that through boiling then from the starch in the beans leaching out while they are in the can.
The homemade version works just as well as the canned kind, it's just a bit more tedious.
I'm so glad you are enjoying my recipes. You will love these cookies!!
robin m says
Thanks for your prompt answer Mel. Much appreciated. I made my aquafaba. Will have to try it again though to perfect that. The cookies are amazing. When i was whirling everything in the food processor i was thinking of adding dried coconut. Will try that next time. I like making most recipes exact for my first go round then make changes and add ins, etc.
Again, thanks for your wonderful recipes.....robin m
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you like them and you are very welcome! And yes coconut would be a great addition. :O)