A few simple, healthy ingredients make Chickpea Cookie Dough into a healthy dessert that’s gluten, dairy, and even refined sugar free!

Do you ever have one of those days that just seem to require a bowl of cookie dough and a spoon? This chickpea cookie dough is here to meet all of those needs without completely destroying your healthy eating goals.

And since I (Rebecca) definitely have plenty of those cookie-dough-and-spoon days, I’m happy to say this healthy alternative will completely satisfy all of the cravings.

The best part of this healthy cookie dough is that it’s an allergen-friendly dessert recipe. Although the ingredient list is gluten and dairy-free, you can also substitute the other ingredients to make it nut, grain, soy, and just about any other kind of allergy-free!

It’s also a versatile dessert. The recipe has the consistency of soft cookie dough. But if you want to make it into a dip for fruits, cookies, or crackers, you can easily add 2-4 tablespoons of any kind of milk (oat, coconut, almond, hemp, etc.) to make it a dipping consistency.

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Ingredients For Chickpea Cookie Dough (and Allergy-free Substitutes)

Chickpeas — You can drain and rinse a can, or cook your own. I’ve provided directions for cooking them on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot.

Nut butter — I recommend unsweetened peanut or almond butter. To make your chickpea cookie dough nut-free, substitute sunflower seed butter. The texture and taste is just like peanut butter. Check out SunButter Banana Quesadilla for another sunflower butter recipe!

Sweetener — You can use brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey. Also, the amount is up to you–I recommend ⅓ to ½ cup, based on how sweet you’d like your cookie dough to be.

Salt & baking powder — Though you won’t be baking the cookie dough (so it technically doesn’t need a rising agent), adding baking powder gives it a slight tang that makes it taste like real cookie dough!

Oats — Old-fashioned or quick oats work, but I found that the quick oats blended better and more quickly. If you’d like to make the cookie dough grain-free, you can substitute almond flour.

Vanilla extract — Because vanilla makes everything taste better!

Milk (optional) — If you want to make cookie dough dip, add 2 tablespoon of any milk you’d like to the chickpea cookie dough. Once it’s blended, add more milk slowly until it is the consistency you’d like. You can use cow, oat, coconut, hemp, or almond milk.

Chocolate chips — Any kind will work, but I like to add minis to this cookie dough. Also, make sure to get chocolate chips that are compliant with any allergies you’re catering to. Nestle and Enjoy Life are both great brands that make allergy-friendly chocolate chips.

How to Make Chickpea Cookie Dough

Place the chickpeas, nut butter, sweetener, salt, baking powder, and oats, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a food processor.

Run the food processor for about two minutes, stopping every 30 seconds or so to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. This ensures that all of the ingredients are incorporated well.

The cookie dough is ready when it’s smooth and the oats are completely or almost completely invisible.

Optional step: If you want to make it a cookie dough dip, add the milk a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the correct consistency.

The cookie dough may be warm from being blended–refrigerate it to cool.

When the chickpea cookie dough has cooled completely, stir in the chocolate chips.

Be sure to refrigerate the chickpea cookie dough until you are ready to eat or serve it.

How To Cook Chickpeas In The Instant Pot

If you’d prefer to cook your own chick peas rather than buying a can, it doesn’t get faster and easier than cooking them in the Instant Pot!

Chickpeas are sold dry with other beans in the grocery store. You may find them in the ethnic foods section. When sold uncooked, they may be called garbanzo beans.

1 — To cook chickpeas in the Instant Pot, begin by rinsing them thoroughly. Remove any shriveled ones or bits of rock or dirt that may be in the bag.

2 — Place 1 pound of chickpeas in the insert of the Instant Pot and cover them with six cups of water. Put the lid on it with the valve set to pressure and cook the chickpeas on high pressure for 50 minutes.

3 — Once the 50 minutes is over, allow the Instant Pot to natural release for then minutes, then flip the valve to release to finish letting out the pressure. Once the pressure pin is loose, it is safe to remove the lid. You’ll have soft chickpeas inside.

4 — Drain and rinse the chickpeas thoroughly, then divide them into 1 ½ cup portions. Each portion is the equivalent of one can of chickpeas. Use them in place of canned in any recipe, including this chickpea cookie dough.

How To Cook Chickpeas On The Stove

If you don’t have an Instant Pot or don’t wish to use it, you can easily cook chickpeas on the stove top also! It does take a bit more planning ahead and time.

1 — Rinse the dry chickpeas thoroughly before soaking them. You can soak them overnight covered in water. Alternatively, you can pour hot water over the chickpeas, boil them for five minutes, then remove them from the heat and let them sit for 1 hour.

2 — After they’ve soaked, rinse the chickpeas and place them in a pot. Cover them with about an inch of water, then simmer them over medium-low heat for 1 ½-2 hours with the lid on top but tilted slightly to allow the pot to vent. Be sure to add water as needed so that the pot doesn’t boil dry. The chickpeas are ready when they are easily pierced with a fork.

3 — Drain and rinse the chickpeas before using.

Check Out Other Tasty Cookie Recipes!

Don’t forget to share your Chickpea Cookie Dough Recipe with us on Instagram using the hashtag #sugarandclothloves. We always love seeing all of your creations! Looking for more quick and delicious recipes? You can find them all right here with a few bites to go along with them!