Kids love chocolate chip cookies and they have such a lovely nostalgic feeling to them, they take everyone back to their childhood.
These choc chip chickpea cookies are DELICIOUS, low in sugar high in fiber and are loaded with chickpeas, Yes you heard right, These are chickpea cookies!
Why this recipe works
Healthy chocolate chip cookies are the goal of every mum, and these chickpea cookies tick all the boxes!
- This recipe is loaded with chickpeas which means it's loaded with fiber and loaded with plant-based protein!
- Low in sugar, only ¼ cup of sugar per 20 cookies is pretty darn good!
- Allergy Friendly: Free From wheat, dairy, eggs, and these cookies are nut free
- Perfect for lunchboxes because these chickpea cookies are nut-free, low-sugar, high-protein and high-fiber they are the perfect lunchbox addition!
The ingredients you will need
It takes just 5 main ingredients to whip up chickpea cookies: Canned chickpeas, rolled oats, banana, brown sugar, plus pantry staples, vanilla and baking powder
Chickpeas actually work incredibly well in baking, giving a mild nutty flavour and keeping the end result quite moist, think a soft chewy style chocolate chip cookie. My favourite type!
- Canned chickpeas: You could use dried chickpeas, but I find the convenience of canned so great for a recipe like this. I look for No added salt chickpeas or garbanzo beans, like these ones from Countdown.
- Rolled oats: As the ingredients are whizzed in a food processor it doesn't matter what size oats you use, both traditional large oats or the quick cook oats pictured work fine. You don't need to use oat flour.
- Bananas: Make sure your bananas are ripe as they contribute to the sweetness
- Brown sugar: I find brown sugar brings the nicest flavour to this recipe, but you could sub for any granulated sugar. ¼ of a cup is the right sweetness for my family, but if you are not used to a lower sugar cookie the recipe is divine with ? of a cup of sugar.
- Chocolate Chips I use dark chocolate chips in the recipe as these are lower in sugar than milk chocolate and they are also dairy-free, which meant it made the recipe a little more allergy-friendly for my readers, and vegan for those looking to up the plant based protein in their diets. But you could definitely choose to use your favourite chocolate product
How to Make Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies
- Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (approx. 350 degrees fahrenheit)
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas, I use a colander (photo 1)
- Place all the ingredients except the chocolate chips into a food processor (photo 2)
- Blend for 2-3 minutes until the mix is very smooth (photo 3)
- Stir through the chocolate chips. The mix will be quite wet (photo 4)
- Line a cookie sheet/baking tray with baking paper
- Use a wet tablespoon to drop the mix onto the baking paper (the water stops the mix sticking to the spoon). The cookies don't spread much during cooking, so you won't need huge amounts of space between each
- The cookies work fine even if they are a bit misshapen, but you can use a wet spoon to press the cookies into more perfect shapes if you have the time (photo 5)
- Bake for 20-25 minutes
- The cookies will still be a little soft when you remove them from the oven (photo 6), leave them to cool on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before letting them cool fully on a cooling rack.
Recipe FAQs and tips
Compared to traditional cookie recipes these chickpea cookies are higher in fiber and protein and lower in sugar
Baking made with chickpeas naturally has a higher water content than traditional baking. These cookies will store at room temp in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but they also freeze well for up to 3 months.
I use unsalted canned chickpeas in this recipe.
- Use wet utensils and hands: When you are dealing with sticky mixtures like this chickpea cookie dough, you will find it much easier and cleaner if you wet your hands and spoons etc when you are forming the cookies
This is my daughter, she is 5, she is a self pro-claimed disliker of chickpeas, she loves these chickpea cookies though! When I first started making them for her I used ? of a cup of sugar, she now happily eats them with ¼ cup of sugar per batch.
Related Recipes
- If you like the idea of baking with chickpeas then be sure to check out my Chickpea Brownie (trust me it's good) or my Chickpea Oat Crackers
- I also have a 5-minute chickpea pizza base and a recipe for roasted chickpeas
- If healthy cookies for kids are on your radar, you will find or my healthy cookies right here, including my easy to make applesauce cookies.
- For a more traditional cookie, you can't beat my condensed milk chocolate chip cookies and cornflake cookies.
Chickpea Cookies
These chocolate chip chickpea cookies are such a great healthy cookie recipe. They are an easy vegan recipe, loaded with plant-based protein. Nut-free means they are perfect for the school lunchbox as well
Ingredients
- 1 Can chickpeas (400g)
- 1 Cup Oats
- 2 medium bananas
- ¼ Cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ Cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (360 F)
- Drain the chickpeas and rinse thoroughly
- Place all ingredients excluding the chocolate chips in the food processor
- Whizz for 2-3 mins until very smooth
- Remove the blade from the processor, add the chocolate chips and mix with a spoon
- Using a wet tablespoon place spoonfuls onto a baking paper-lined tray
- Use the back of the spoon to shape the dollops into circular shapes, approximately 1 cm thick. Do not panic if they look a bit.. shall we say rustic
- Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 25 mins
- The cookies will still be soft but golden when they are ready, leave to cool on the baking tray for 5-10 minutes before cooling on a rack
- Remove from the oven and cool on the tray
Notes
- For this recipe to be vegan, you will need to select dairy-free, vegan dark chocolate.
- This recipe is wheat-free but not gluten-free as uses traditional oats
- You can use any sized rolled oats in this recipe as ultimately the oats are whizzed in a food processor
- If you and your children have not had chickpea cookies before, try this recipe with ⅓ of a cup of sugar, if you love them, then try with less sugar next time
- The batter will be quite wet, using a wet spoon and damp hands will help you form the cookies and stop the batter sticking to you and your utensils
- The chickpea cookies can store in an airtight container for 3 days or can be frozen for up to 3 months
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 64Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 57mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 2g
Please know this nutrition analysis is based on the ingredients only, this recipe has not been sent to a laboratory for independent testing
Karen Sherwood says
I love love love the ingredients in these cookies! Can't wait to make them. 😉
Faye says
I love the balanced approach to healthiness here - bit if chocolate but lots of healthy, yummy stuff too! Fab recipe
Simone says
A great recipe Stacey. Keep the chick pea liquid for egg substitute too. Get more value from an already economical and versatile ingredient.
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
Yes!!! So true!! Love making meringues with it. Although I haven't tried it for much else... have you?
Alicia says
Would love to hear more about the meringues!
Mandy says
Oh I am so making these later! What a great idea to use chickpeas - I wonder if my kids will guess.
Nathalie says
Made them earlier today since I anyway had two bananas that needed to be used and otherwise all the ingredients on hand. They are perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
Oh yay!!!!
Severien says
Must try these! I am always looking for ideas for the kids to like chickpeas and lentils.
Kyrstie @ AFreshLegacy says
I love this recipe, I'm going to make up a batch today for the kids lunch boxes this week. Thanks
Mandy says
Well my kids just devoured two of these each after school! I used raisins instead of chocolate chips. Such a great recipe X
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
Oh cool!!!
Katherine says
Would it still work if you don't have a food processor? Thanks 🙂
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
You need to get the chickpeas really fine? Do you have a stick blender? Or even a NutriBullet would probably do the trick
Lynn says
I made these with raisins instead of choc chips and my toddler loves them. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I'm about to go make your fruit sweetened cookies now!
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
Oh that is soo cool to hear!!
Karen says
These look yummy! Can you please post the nutritional value and calories
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
This is a great idea and something I am working on for all my recipes, great to know that if I do it there are people interested
Karen says
Can you use chickpea flour?
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
In this exact recipe, I can't say that will work as chickpeas and chickpea flour have a very different moisture content.
Gabrielle says
How many cups of chickpeas in a can? I have cooked dried chickpeas in the freezer and would love to make these.
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
I would need to measure but my guess is 1.5 cups
Charlene says
Hi can you freeze the dough for this as if like to make a large batch and just take out when needed thank you x
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
I haven't tested this, but it should be fine based on the ingredients
Natalie vossen says
I just made these. Were a bit uncooked inside. Do they harden up when completely cooked? Tasted good. Will see how they go when completely cooled.
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
they are a soft style cookie as opposed to crunchy, but they should have a firm texture
Sarale says
Can I make them without the banana? Can I replace it with sugar? How much would I need?
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
I'm sorry I haven't tested that.
Selena says
I had my doubts Stacey, but I’m a convert! My kids loved them! So easy and so quick! Thank you
My Kids Lick The Bowl says
Oh that's great to hear!
Hannah says
My kids and I loved these. I was really surprised as thought they would notice the chickpeas and not eat them. Have made it twice now and they are a hit!