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.
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!
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!
How to make chickpea cookie dough
Drain and rinse the chickpeas (rinse themreallywell) 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.
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!
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!
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.
Other vegan recipes to try!
- Vegan Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Milkshake
- Paleo Cookie Dough
- Brownie Batter Hummus
- Peanut Butter Cookies
Follow along on oninstagramandsubscribe to my email listfor more recipes and updates.Leave a comment and rating belowif you try this recipe and let us know how it turns out!
5 from 17 votes
Vegan Chickpea Cookie Dough
by: claire cary
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.
/ /
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 0 minutes mins
Chill Time 30 minutes mins
Total: 35 minutes mins
6
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas or white beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked
- ¼ cup raw cashew or almond butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup quick oats
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoons salt or more to taste
- 4 tablespoons light brown or coconut sugar can decrease for less sweetness/lower sugar
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Optional: 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Optjonal: 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
Drain and rinse the chickpeas (rinse them really well) and add to a food processor.
Add in all remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips and process until smooth, about 1 full minute.
Taste and adjust sweetness as desired. 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.
If the dough doesn't seem thick enough, you can blend in more oats or about 1 tablespoon of coconut flour which will really help absorb any excess liquid.
Pulse in the chocolate chips just until combined.
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!
Notes
I like using cashew butter for this recipe, but any nut butter works. I suggest using one with a neutral flavor since it really changes the entire recipe. Trader Joe’s Raw almond butter is also good!
The quick oats can be subbed for oat flour, almond flour or coconut flour. If you use coconut flour, you will only need about 2-3 tablespoons since it is so absorbent.
To make this a healthier dip or snack, you can cap it at 1/4 cup of maple syrup, but I don’t recommend going lower than that. For the best flavor and true cookie dough taste, you can add as much brown sugar as you like!
If the nut butter you used was on the thicker side, you might need 1-2 tablespoons of non-dairy milk to help thin it out slightly.
Serving: 0.5cup / Calories: 142kcal / Carbohydrates: 17g / Protein: 4g / Fat: 7g / Fiber: 2g / Sugar: 12g
