These chickpea cookies make a great snack for kids and adults. These cookies are a healthier sweet tooth option coming in at 101 calories and 3.6 grams of protein per ball.

These protein cookies are vegan-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and have nut-free options as well. These chickpea protein cookies can be made in under 30 minutes as well. All you need is a food processor or strong blender, baking sheet, and oven. Learn how to make these cookies and substitution options for fewer calories, protein source, or nut-free down below.

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What ingredients go into protein chickpea cookies?

Chickpeas

Natural Peanut Butter

Maple Syrup

Vanilla Extract

Baking Powder

Vegan Protein Powder (This is the one we used*.)

Almond Milk

Vegan Chocolate Chips

Are chickpea cookies healthy?

While these cookies level of healthiness cannot be compared to raw or whole food, they are a healthier substitution to a classic cookie. These cookies also have the added benefit of protein from the nut butter, chickpeas, and protein powder making them a great snack for in-between meals or an easily packed snack for hikes or after workouts.

Are chickpea cookies gluten-free?

Yes! These protein chickpea cookies contain no gluten unlike a traditional cookie might have due to those being made with flour. These cookies are a great gluten-free alternative to classic peanut butter cookies. You can make them look like a classic peanut butter cookie by pressing the balls down with a fork if you are looking to make these for a gluten-free alternative to peanut butter cookies.

Can chickpea cookies be made nut-free?

You can make chickpea cookies nut-free by replacing the peanut butter with a nut-free alternative. Here are a couple of our favorite nut-free alternatives for this recipe:

Chickpea Butter. Keep that great chickpea flavor going by using a chickpea butter spread. This is a fairly new item on the market so you might struggle to find it at your local supermarket, but you can find it here on Amazon*. They also have a variety of flavors to choose from like their Classic Flavor*, Cinnamon Churro*, and Chai Spice*.

Sunflower Seed Butter. When I worked at a girl scout summer camp we would have sunflower seed butter as an alternative to peanut butter for when we had campers with nut-allergies. This stuff was so good that many staff and campers without nut-allergies would often opt for sunflower seed butter when there was extra. Sunflower seed butter has been on the market long enough that you should be able to find it at a local supermarket and Trader Joes, but you can also find it online on Amazon. Here’s our favorite one from the brand SunButter*, they even provide you with a cool tool to help you get all the product out of the jar.

Tahini. Tahini is a spread made from sesame seeds. It is commonly used in hummus. You can find this at your local supermarket, or here on Amazon*.

Soy Butter. Soy Butter is a great nut-free alternative to peanut butter made from roasted soybeans. I’ve yet to see this product in a supermarket. You might be able to find soy butter at a health store, but if not you can buy a great one from the brand WOWBUTTER here on Amazon*.

Substitutions for fewer calories:

Maple Syrup Alternative:

Lakanto Syrup*. Swapping out this syrup as a substitution for maple syrup will alone bring the cookies down to 94 calories a ball.

Good Dee’s Maple Syrup*. Swapping out this sugar-free syrup as a substitution for maple syrup will alone bring the cookies down to 93 calories a ball.

Protein Powder:

Changing or removing the protein powder will change the number of calories and protein in the balls.

No protein powder. Removing the protein powder will lower the calories to 95 calories per ball, but also lower the number of protein to 2.6 calories per ball.

Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein Vanilla Powder*. Replacing the protein powder I originally used for this one will alone bring the cookies down to 100 calories and 3.7 grams of protein.

Vega Vanilla Protein Smoothie Powder*. Replacing the protein powder I used with a serving on this protein will alone bring the cookies down to 99 calories and 3.3 grams of protein.

Chocolate Chips:

No chocolate chips. I would recommend halving the number of chocolate chips instead of just removing them, but you can still make these cookies without the chocolate chips and they will cook properly. Removing the chocolate chips will drop the calories down to 69 calories per cookie.

Navitas Organics Cacao Nibs*. Replacing the chocolate chips with Cacao nibs will alone reduce the number of calories per cookie down to 94 calories.
Artisan Kettle Organic No Sugar Added Dark Chocolate Chips*. Replacing the chocolate chips with these no added sugar dark chocolate chips will alone bring the cookies down to 97 calories per cookie.

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Thank you for checking out our Vegan Chickpea Protein Cookies and make sure to check out our other vegan recipes like our Vegan Lemon Curd, or this health and fresh Tabbouleh Salad.