These chickpea chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy, and studded with melty chocolate, and nobody will guess there's a whole can of chickpeas in the dough. They come together in a food processor in about 10 minutes, need no chilling, and make a protein-packed vegan treat that kids and adults both enjoy.
The chickpeas get ground up so finely that you won't even know they're in the cookies, which makes this a great way to sneak a little extra fiber and protein into a treat. If you're a fan of baking with beans, try this Cinnamon Apple Chickpea Cake next, or browse more easy vegan desserts.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chickpeas. This is why these cookies work. Blended smooth, canned chickpeas add moisture, body, and a soft, almost cookie-dough-like chew, so the recipe needs no oil, vegan butter, or egg replacer. Their flavor is mild and disappears behind the peanut butter and chocolate. Rinse and drain them well, and pat them dry with a towel; extra liquid makes the dough sticky. One 15-ounce can (about 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas) is exactly what you need.
- Vegan chocolate chips. Not every chocolate chip is dairy-free. Many popular semi-sweet chips contain milk, milkfat, or butterfat, so read the label. Brands made to be vegan, like Enjoy Life, Pascha, Hu, and Gefen vegan semi-sweet dark chocolate chips, are a safe bet. Mini chips spread through the dough more evenly if you want chocolate in every bite.
- Peanut butter. Creamy, natural-style peanut butter binds the dough and gives the cookies their rich, nutty flavor. Almond butter or cashew butter work the same way. Sunflower seed butter makes these nut-free, though it can turn the inside of the cookies slightly green when it reacts with baking soda; it's harmless and still tastes great.
- Flour. Regular all-purpose flour gives the cookies structure. White whole wheat flour works for a heartier cookie. We haven't tested a gluten-free version, but a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend is the swap most likely to succeed.
- Brown sugar. Brown sugar adds a caramel note and helps keep the cookies soft. Coconut sugar is an easy 1:1 swap. Some cane sugars are filtered with bone char, so look for organic or certified vegan sugar if that matters to you.
- Vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Vanilla rounds out the flavor, baking soda gives a little lift, and salt keeps the cookies from tasting flat.
How to Make Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies
Full measurements and steps are in the printable recipe card below. Here's a quick walk-through with photos.
1. Load the food processor. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the chickpeas, flour, peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla, baking soda, and salt to a large food processor. Everything goes in except the chocolate chips.
2. Blend the dough. Pulse, then run the processor until the mixture forms a smooth, thick dough, scraping down the sides once or twice. You shouldn't see any chickpea pieces.
3. Fold in the chocolate. Remove the blade and stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula. Folding them in by hand keeps the chips whole instead of chopping them into the dough.
4. Scoop and bake. Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Helpful Tips
Blend until completely smooth. It's important to break the chickpeas down fully and mix them well, otherwise they'll change the texture of the cookies. Any whole or half chickpeas left in the dough will show up as dense, beany bites, so give it an extra 20 or 30 seconds if you're unsure.
Use a cookie scoop. A medium cookie scoop (about 1 ½ tablespoons) keeps every cookie the same size and shape, so they all bake evenly. It also makes quick work of this soft, slightly sticky dough.
Shape them the way you want them. This dough doesn't spread much in the oven, so the cookies will keep roughly the shape you give them. For a flatter, classic-looking cookie, press each scoop down gently with damp fingers before baking.
Don't overbake. Pull the cookies when the edges are golden and the tops look set. They'll seem a little soft in the middle but firm up as they cool on the tray. Baked too long, they turn dry and cakey.
Doubling the recipe. You can double the batch and bake it in rounds. If you have a smaller food processor, blend the dough in two batches so everything gets fully smooth.
Variations
- Nuts. Fold in ¼ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans along with the chocolate chips for crunch.
- Dried fruit. Mix in ¼ cup of dried cranberries, cherries, or raisins, or use them in place of half the chocolate.
- Different chips. Swap in dairy-free white chocolate chips, vegan dark chocolate chunks, or vegan-labeled peanut butter chips.
- Warm spices. Add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, or a pinch of pumpkin pie spice in the fall.
- Flaky salt. Sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt on each cookie right before baking for a salty-sweet finish.
Serving Ideas
These cookies are at their best slightly warm, when the chocolate is still soft, with a tall glass of cold oat or almond milk for dunking. They're filling enough to work as an after-school snack or a lunchbox treat, and they pair nicely with a morning coffee or a Chocolate Raspberry Banana Smoothie.
For dessert, sandwich a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream between two cookies, or set out a platter alongside Vegan Snickerdoodles and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies for a bake sale or holiday cookie tray.
Storing & Freezing
Once the cookies have cooled completely, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Because the chickpeas keep them moist, they last longer in the fridge, up to 5 days. Let chilled cookies sit out for 10 minutes, or warm them in the microwave for a few seconds, to bring back that soft, chewy texture.
Yes, you can freeze these chocolate chip cookies. Store the cooled cookies in a freezer bag or airtight freezer container for up to 3 months. Thaw them on the counter for about 30 minutes, or warm them in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes. You can also freeze scooped balls of raw dough on a tray, then bag them and bake straight from frozen, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Tried these chickpea cookies? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and tell us how they turned out in the comments. We love hearing from you!
More Vegan Cookies and Treats
If you love these chickpea chocolate chip cookies, be sure to check out these other delicious vegan treats:
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Thumbprint Cookies
- Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Cookies
- Fudgy Avocado Brownies
Recipe
Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- cookie scoop medium, about 1 ½ tablespoons
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas 15-ounce can, rinsed, drained and patted dry
- 1 cup flour all-purpose
- ½ cup peanut butter creamy, natural-style
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large food processor, add the chickpeas, flour, peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla, baking soda, and salt.
- Pulse a few times, then process until the mixture forms a smooth, thick dough with no visible chickpea pieces, scraping down the sides once or twice.
- Remove the blade and stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough (a medium cookie scoop works well) onto the prepared sheet, about 2 inches apart. The cookies won't spread much, so press them down gently if you'd like flatter cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the tops look set.
- Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Leave a Comment!