Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chickpea chocolate chip cookies are crispy outside with a soft, chewy middle and gooey chocolate chips in every bite, yet surprisingly healthy and wholesome + egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and oil-free!

Healthy Chickpea and Chocolate Chip Cookies

The next time you’re looking to satisfy a sweet tooth in a more healthy, wholesome way, look no further than these chickpea chocolate chip cookies (aka garbanzo cookies). They contain half the sugar and none of the oil in our oatmeal zucchini cookies but taste more decadent than quinoa chocolate chip cookies – they’re a truly impressive yet health-conscious dessert.

They may not seem like the most obvious addition, but cookies made with chickpeas are wonderfully soft and chewy with a good portion of fiber and plant-based protein – and they don’t taste ‘beany.’ Plus, unlike many similar recipes, this one is 100% nut-free. It’s made entirely of simple plant-based ingredients in just a handful of steps and under 30 minutes.

Looking for more healthy snacks to have on hand? Try our beet energy balls, vegan sweet potato brownies, or vegan yogurt popsicles.

The Ingredients and Substitutes

• Chickpeas: Use high-quality canned chickpeas, regular or reduced sodium.
• Banana: Make sure it’s very ripe with some dark spots.
• Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce helps replace eggs and add moisture to this vegan chickpea cookie recipe.
• Brown sugar: Adds wonderful caramel-like flavor. Unrefined coconut sugar also works, or a sugar-free brown sugar alternative (though the latter may affect the texture slightly).
• Vanilla extract: Use natural vanilla for the best flavor without an artificial aftertaste.
• Flour: All you need is all-purpose flour, though you could experiment with up to 50% whole wheat flour. Spelt flour, or a gluten-free alternative, or oat flour may also work.
• Leavening agents: Baking powder and baking soda help provide lift/spread.
• Cinnamon: Just a little to add warmth to the vegan chickpea chocolate chip cookie dough.
• Dairy-free chocolate chips: We used semi-sweet chocolate, but dark chocolate will work, too, or a combination for ‘double choc chip’ chickpea cookies.

What To Add to a Chickpea Cookie Recipe

• Salt: A pinch of salt can actually enhance the sweetness and overall flavor. Either add it to the dough or sprinkle some flaky salt over the tops of the garbanzo cookies.
• Chopped nuts: Add up to ½ cup of chopped walnuts, pecans, or pistachios.
• Dried fruit: Add up to ½ cup of dried fruits. I.e., raisins, blueberries, chopped dates, cranberries, apricots, pineapple, etc. Use instead of or alongside the vegan chocolate chips.
• Coconut: Add 3-4 tablespoons of unsweetened shredded coconut for texture/flavor.

How To Make Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

• First, preheat the oven to 350F/177C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
• Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the food processor and pulse until well integrated.Then, drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add them, the banana, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla to a food processor and process until smooth.

The chickpeas should be fully pureed with no big chunks remaining.

• In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.

• Add the dry ingredients to the food processor with the wet ingredients and mix until all ingredients are fully integrated. 

Be careful not to over-mix the ingredients, or it can lead to tough cookies.

• Carefully fold in the vegan chocolate chips before using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to transfer scoops of the dough to the baking sheet.

If the mixture is warm after blending, leave it to cool before folding in the vegan chocolate chips – otherwise, they’ll melt.

• With damp hands (or a lightly oiled spatula), flatten the chickpea and chocolate cookies to ½ inch.

• Bake the vegan chickpea cookies for 15 minutes, then remove them from the oven and leave them to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

FAQs

Pro Recipe Tips

• To avoid dense, tough cookies: Measure the flour by fluffing it in its bag, spooning it into the cup, then leveling it with the back of a knife.
• Blend the chickpeas thoroughly: Process them to a smooth puree, like hummus.
• Don’t overmix the dough: Overworking the gluten in the cookie dough can affect the texture and spread of the garbanzo cookies.
• Flatten the cookies slightly: They don’t spread much, so it’s a good idea to flatten them to ½-inch thick before baking.
• Don’t overbake the cookies: Garbanzo cookies become dry but not more crisp, unlike regular cookies. It’s normal for them to look soft immediately out of the oven. They’ll firm up more as they cool.

Storage Instructions

Leave the vegan chocolate chip chickpea cookies to fully cool, then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 5-7 days (bring them back to room temp before enjoying them).

You can also freeze the cookies. Flash freeze them on a tray until solid, then transfer them to a Ziplock/Stasher bag for up to 2 months. Allow them to thaw on the counter when needed.

More Vegan Cookie Recipes

• Coconut oatmeal cookies
• Lemon blueberry cookies
• Peanut butter cookie dough balls
• Vegan snowball cookies
• Chocolate crinkle cookies
• Dairy-free chocolate chip cookies
• Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Photos by Alfonso Revilla