Amazing Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-free, Dairy-Free, Vegan)

These amazing chickpea chocolate chip cookies are crispy and incredibly delicious. Made with a base of chickpea flour studded with chocolate chips, these chickpea flour cookies are ready in less than 30 minutes. Perfect for Christmas baking and for the holiday cookie exchange. Totally gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan too, but no one would care!

Jump to:

• It’s Cookie Season!
• What is Chickpea Flour?
• Amazing Chickpea Cookies..!
• Why This Recipe Works:
• Ingredients You’ll Need:
• Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:
• How to Make a Flax Egg:
• How to Make Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies (Step by Step):
• Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:
• Recipe FAQs:
• Other Chickpea Recipes to Enjoy:
• Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:
• Your Turn…
• Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-free, Vegan)

It’s Cookie Season!

There’s always a good reason to bake cookies, and now that we’re thick in holiday season, and Christmas is just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to switch on the oven and bake non-stop!

Our oven is working overtime these days, and we’ve been making flourless peanut butter cookies, crunchy almond biscotti, soft gingerbread cookies, delicious snickerdoodles, and chewy molasses cookies!

And because chocolate is always a great idea, we’re making chocolate chip cookies today! However, instead of regular chocolate chip cookies, we’re making a gluten-free and vegan option with a not-so-secret secret ingredient – chickpea flour!

What is Chickpea Flour?

Chickpea flour is made by grinding dried chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) into a very fine flour, and it is also commonly known as garbanzo bean flour, gram flour, or besan flour.

As with everything in my life, I’m constantly learning, and when I discovered that chickpea flour is another naturally gluten-free flour I was thrilled!

I was even more surprised to find out that chickpea flour actually results in beautiful, crispy cookies, because I’ve never really been a fan of chickpeas and its strong beany taste.

Plus, chickpea flour is a great way of increasing your intake of fiber and vegetable protein. How’s that for awesome?

Amazing Chickpea Cookies..!

When I first saw a recipe for chickpea flour chocolate chip cookies on Ambitious Kitchen, I was intrigued.

I made a vegan version of this recipe twice in two days (I guess you can tell how good it really was). The first time, I swapped out the egg in the original recipe for a flax egg, and made the cookies without chocolate, just to see how they would turn out. Juan and I devoured the entire batch of cookies in just a couple of hours.

The next day, I found myself picking up the packet of chickpea flour again. This time, I added chocolate chips – because if the cookies were already amazing on their own, they were definitely going to be even better with chocolate.

If you have a sweet tooth or simply enjoy anything with chocolate, then you’re in for a treat!

Why This Recipe Works:

• Simple Ingredients: The ingredients required are easily accessible, and you might even have most of them in your kitchen (nothing fancy needed)!

• Very Easy to Make: In this foolproof recipe, chickpea flour cookie dough comes together easily, and then all you need is to fold in the chocolate chips, roll into balls and bake!

• Ready in 30 Minutes: A batch of these chickpea chocolate chip cookies come together from scratch in under 30 minutes, which means you can have homemade cookies in almost no time at all!

• Super Crispy with Great Taste and Color: These delicious cookies have an amazingly crispy texture, with barely any chickpea taste (in case you’re worried about them tasting beany). Plus, the bright yellow color the chickpea flour gives the cookies is just beautiful!

• Totally Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Vegan: Using a flax egg instead of a chicken egg, coconut oil instead of butter, and chickpea flour instead of normal wheat flour, this cookie recipe is 100% gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. This means that even those with gluten or lactose intolerances, or on a gluten-free diet or vegan diet can indulge without any worries!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Here’s a visual overview of the ingredients required for these chickpea chocolate chip cookies.

(For exact measurements and quantities, please scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)

Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:

• Coconut Oil: I prefer using refined coconut oil (because it has a more neutral taste), as opposed to extra virgin coconut oil (which has a stronger, more pronounced coconut flavor). You may also use palm shortening or vegan butter. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant or vegan, feel free to use normal dairy butter instead.

• Sugar: I used white granulated sugar, but you may also use light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, or coconut sugar if you prefer. If you are diabetic or insulin-insistent, I strong recommend using Lakanto monkfruit sweetener (a 1:1 sugar substitute that has zero glycemic index and will not cause your blood sugar to spike).

• Flax Egg: I used a flax egg to keep this recipe totally vegan. Alternatively, if you are not vegan or allergic to eggs, feel free to replace the flax egg with one chicken egg or two egg whites instead.

• Vanilla Extract: I like to add a little bit of vanilla extract for extra flavor. However, if you prefer not to, or don’t have it on hand, feel free to leave it out.

• Chickpea Flour: Since chickpea flour is the main ingredient (and the only flour used) in these gluten-free chickpea cookies, I do not recommend replacing the chickpea flour with other types of flour.

• Baking Powder: This chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for baking powder as the only leavening agent, so make sure you add it in for the right texture and best results. If you are Celiac or gluten-intolerant, make sure to use certified gluten-free baking powder.

• Chocolate Chips: You can use vegan chocolate chips or chocolate chunks to keep the recipe vegan and dairy-free. However, if you are not lactose-intolerant or vegan, feel free to use normal dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks if you prefer.

How to Make a Flax Egg:

Prepare the flax egg by combining 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water, then mix well and let sit in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

How to Make Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies (Step by Step):

1. Preheat and Line

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg. Fahrenheit (180 deg. Celsius) and line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silpat.

2. Beat Coconut Oil and Sugar

Beat softened coconut oil and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until the mixture is creamy.

3. Add Liquid Ingredients

Add in the vanilla extract, flax egg and two tablespoons of water, and mix to combine.

4. Sift Dry Ingredients

In a separate bowl, whisk the chickpea flour, baking powder and salt until combined.

5. Prepare Cookie Dough

Add the dry ingredients into the large bowl with the wet ingredients and mix well until a homogeneous and thick dough forms.

(Note: The dough should not be too dry nor too wet. If the dough is too dry, add in another 1 tablespoon of water; if dough it too wet, add 1 tablespoon of chickpea flour.)

6. Fold in Chocolate Chips

Fold in the chocolate chips into the dough until chocolate chunks are evenly distributed.

7. Roll Dough into Balls

Scoop dough with a cookie scoop (one tablespoon of dough per cookie), roll the dough into 12 evenly sized balls – approximately the size of a golf ball.

8. Place Dough Balls on Cookie Sheet

Place the balls of dough in one single layer on the prepared baking sheet (leaving 3 inches of space between each ball), and flatten each ball of dough very slightly with your fingertips.

9. Bake Until Golden

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until edges of the chickpea chocolate chip cookies are slightly golden brown.

10. Cool Before Eating

Allow the cookies to cool on a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before eating.

Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:

• Make Plain Chickpea Cookies: If you aren’t a fan of chocolate, feel free to leave out the chocolate chips and make plain cookies instead!

• Swap Out the Chocolate for Nuts or Dried Fruit: For different variations, you may also substitute the chocolate chips for nuts such as walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or use dried fruit such as raisins, currants or dried cranberries if you prefer.

Recipe FAQs:

Other Chickpea Recipes to Enjoy:

• Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
• Easy Chickpea Flatbread (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
• Easy Chickpea Curry (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:

Your Turn…

What is your favorite cookie recipe? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear!

P.S. If you try this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating below, and/or a review in the comment section further down the page. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to check out my entire Recipe Index for all the recipes on the blog. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram! Sign up for my Email List to get fresh recipes in your inbox each week!

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