Chickpea Cookie Dough (and cookies!)

Delicious chocolatey gooey chickpea cookie dough. Eat it with a spoon or scoop it out onto a cookie sheet to bake into perfectly fudgy chickpea cookies. Oh and the best part.. my chickpea cookie dough recipe is totally healthy!

My Healthy Chickpea Cookie Dough recipe is:

• No-bake
• Naturally sweetened
• Gluten free
• Dairy free

There is nothing better than making chocolate chip cookies and of course licking the spoon... and the bowl. 🙂 But, when I start to think about the raw eggs, the raw flour, and all that processed sugar.. it doesn't sound so appetizing anymore. That's when I turn to this incredibly healthy, easy, and just as delicious chocolate chip chickpea cookie recipe!

If you love making healthy desserts at home, make sure to read my Ultimate Guide on Making Healthy Easy Dessert Recipes featuring healthy cookie dough bars.

HEALTHY CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH INGREDIENTS

My chocolate chip chickpea cookie dough recipe is made with all good for you ingredients! And I've included some substitutions here on what to use if you want chickpea cookie dough with no peanut butter, or chickpea cookie dough without maple syrup!

My chickpea cookie dough recipe serves 6, or makes 6 baked chickpea cookies.

Edible Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookie Dough Ingredients:

• 1 cup soft chickpeas (canned or dried and cooked- I personally cook my dry ones)
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup (or ½ cup pitted dates, soaked in water 30 minutes)
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter (or ½ cup almond butter, cashew butter, etc.)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup 85% or higher dark chocolate chips or chunks

If you are baking your edible cookie dough recipe into chickpea chocolate chip cookies instead, because so so many people have asked me to do this, then just stir in ½ cup baking powder!

IS CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH HEALTHY?

As a registered dietitian and expert in women's gut health, this is one of THE healthiest chocolate chip cookie recipes out there. Not only is it packed with protein from the chickpeas and peanut (or almond) butter, but it's also loaded with gut friendly fiber!

Let's look at the health benefits of chickpea cookie dough:

1. Chickpeas are loaded with plant based protein and fiber to feed your good gut bacteria! Plus tons of essential vitamins and minerals.
2. Peanut butter (or almond, cashew butter) is another great source of plant based protein and also contains healthy fats. Just make sure your are buying 1-ingredient nut butters that don't have anything other than "peanuts," "almonds," or "cashews."
3. Maple syrup is a great alternative to bleached and refined white cane sugar. While it does spike your blood sugars similarly to regular sugar, it is not as artificial as white bleached sugar. If you want something with a lower glycemic index you can simply substitute dates which you can soak to soften before blending into your chickpea cookie dough recipe.
4. Sea salt is a less refined option to table salt with all it's naturally occurring minerals in tact- the way the body was supposed to process salt. If you actually need iodine, don't get it from salt and instead try more fish and seaweed in your diet, which your body with process and absorb far better than artificial iodine in salt.
5. Vanilla Extract adds amazing flavor to any recipe! Just make sure you buy pure vanilla or vanilla bean paste and not artificially flavored.
6. Dark chocolate chips I always choose 85% cacao or higher because the more cacao there is, the more chocolate flavor you will have and the more nutrients! Did you know pure cacao is one of the highest fiber foods you can eat? And it is filled with healthy fats!

Chocolate chip chickpea cookie dough is surprisingly smooth and sweet. It tastes just like gooey and sticky raw cookie dough, so it is sure to satisfy your cookie dough craving!

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH

INGREDIENTS NEEDED:

• 1 cup chickpeas
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup 80-90% dark chocolate chips

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

• Food processor

STEP 1: Add the chickpeas, maple syrup, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and sea salt to a food processor. Leave the chocolate chips aside while you blend your ingredients completely.

Food process it for about 5-7 minutes. Don't turn it off too soon or it won't be super smooth and creamy. Make sure to scrape it down every minute or so to ensure that all the small particles of chickpeas are getting pureed too!

Next, take the blade out of the food processor.

Fold in the ½ cup of chocolate chips.

You will notice the chocolate chips will start to melt because blending heats the ingredients up.. I love this!

But, if you want the chocolate chips to stay totally intact, put your cookie dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes to cool it down before you stir in the chocolate chips.

If it turns out too thin and you want to thicken it up a bit, you can stir in 1 tablespoon of coconut flour. Let the coconut flour sit for about 10 minutes to absorb the excess liquid.

What are you waiting for! Try it, it's so good. And you won't even believe it is loaded with healthy ingredients!

HOW TO MAKE COOKIES OUT OF CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH

This is one of the most asked questions on this recipe! A lot of people asked me if they can bake the edible cookie dough into cookies. So of course I had to test it out and see what would work. All you have to do is stir ½ teaspoon of baking powder into your batter.

Then, scoop the cookies out on a parchment lined baking sheet. If you want perfectly round chocolate chip chickpea cookies that you roll out instead, refrigerate your dough for about 30 minutes until it is firm enough to roll without sticking to your hands.

Bake your chickpea cookies for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cool and enjoy! They are so gooey and chewy and honestly way better than classic chocolate chip cookies!

HOW TO STORE HEALTHY CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH

Store healthy chickpea cookie dough in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Or, store chickpea cookie dough rolled into balls in the freezer in parchment paper lined container for up to 3 months.

VARIATIONS

• Double chocolate chickpea cookie dough: Add in ¼ cup of cacao powder when blending for a chocolate based chickpea cookie dough then fold in the dark chocolate chips!
• Birthday cake chickpea cookie dough: Add in ½ teaspoon almond extract when blending and then instead of the chocolate chips, fold in ¼ cup rainbow sprinkles.
• Pumpkin chickpea cookie dough: My pumpkin chickpea cookie dough uses pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice with chickpeas for a delicious fall edible cookie dough treat!
• Cinnamon roll chickpea cookie dough: Add in ½ teaspoon cinnamon during blending for a delicious cinnamon roll flavor. Instead of dark chocolate chips, use white chocolate chips for a fun spin on cinnamon rolls as edible cookie dough!
• Cookie dough balls- Roll chickpea cookie dough into tiny bite sized balls and freeze on parchment paper. You can stir these into smoothie bowls and homemade ice cream for a healthy cookie dough bite in your ice cream!

SUBSTITUTIONS

• Peanut butter: if you don't like peanut butter or can't eat it, use any kind of nut butter you like! I love using cashew butter in my desserts because it is much sweeter than peanut butter and is not as strong of a flavor.
• Maple syrup: if you're looking for a super low glycemic index sweetener, have you tried dates? All you have to do is soak them in hot water for 30 minutes. Then, drain the water and add them along with your other chickpea cookie dough ingredients and puree them into the dough!
• Chickpeas: I know chickpeas are the star of the show in this chocolate chip chickpea cookie dough recipe, but if you want to try a different bean, white beans work perfectly in place of chickpeas! You can substitute 1 cup of soft chickpeas for 1 cup of soft white beans.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST HEALTHY CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH

USE STEAMED CHICKPEAS INSTEAD OF CANNED CHICKPEAS. A. they're cheaper, B. They haven't been sitting in a can for who knows how long, and C. they're softer than canned ones... giving you smoother cookie dough!

FOOD PROCESS UNTIL COMPLETELY SMOOTH. Keep blending your dough until it is totally smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of your food processor as needed.

CHILL YOUR CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH BEFORE STIRRING IN CHOCOLATE CHIPS. Your cookie dough might be pretty warm after all that food processing. Chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes before stirring in your chocolate chips to prevent them from melting.

You're going to love these Healthy Cookie Recipes next!

• Healthy Molasses Cookies
• Half Moon Cookies
• Healthy Macaroons
• Healthy Pink Meringue Cookies
• Matcha Macarons with Mango Buttercream
• Almond Pulp Cookies Chocolate Dipped
• Healthy Lofthouse Cookies
• Healthy Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
• Coconut Flour Cutouts
• Healthy Samoa Cookie Bars
• Healthy Pumpkin Chickpea Cookie Dough

FAQ'S

Frequently asked questions about my healthy chickpea cookie dough recipe.

ARE CHICKPEAS AND GARBANZO BEANS THE SAME THING?

Yes! Chickpea and garbanzo bean are two names for the exact same bean.

CAN I MAKE HEALTHY CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH WITHOUT PEANUT BUTTER?

Yes! You can make my healthy chickpea cookie dough recipe without peanut butter. Simply replace the peanut butter with cashew butter.

HOW DO I MAKE CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH WITHOUT A FOOD PROCESSOR?

If you have a high powered blender, use that instead of a food processor. You might have to scrape down the sides a couple of times to make sure all the chickpeas get totally pureed.

CAN I MAKE CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH WITH DATES INSTEAD OF MAPLE SYRUP?

Yes! You can substitute the maple syrup for dates. Soak ¼ cup whole pitted dates in hot water for 30 minutes. Then, add them to your food processor in place of the maple syrup.

If you try this Chickpea Cookie Dough Recipe, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a rating and comment below! Ready for more? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!