Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies
Made with only 8 ingredients, these flourless Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies are the easiest gluten-free, grain-free, egg-free, vegan superfood cookies boasting with plant-based protein and fiber to satisfy any chocolate chip cookie craving in just 30 minutes!
I’ve been doing some revamping of my diet lately. Since the birth of my daughter in 2019 I have been experiencing more food sensitivities and quite frankly it has been a long, tough, exhausting 3 years. More specifically grains and nuts seem to be causing my digestive system to freak out and become inflamed giving me nasty symptoms. It seems like I keep cutting more and more things out of my diet and it makes me so sad 🙁
That being said, I have also started to re-introduce things into my diet that I previously cut out because I thought they caused issues for me, including quinoa. Quinoa is such a superfood! But I cut it out thinking that it’s a grain, and contrary to that belief, it’s not technically a grain- it’s actually considered a seed; but because it’s prepared like a grain, such as rice, it’s lumped into the whole grain category. Hooray for quinoa NOT being a true grain!
Quinoa is high in protein AND fiber making it a very nutritious food, and in fact it’s a complete protein, meaning that it contains all nine essential amino acids that our bodies cannot make on their own, usually found in animal products. So if you’re consuming a plant-based diet, quinoa is a very good food to include in your diet on a regular basis.
Maybe 2022 will be the year of quinoa, haha! I have some fun new quinoa recipes coming soon, but I wanted to start with these delicious protein and fiber packed Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies! Elevate your traditional chocolate chip cookies and add quinoa, remove the grain and all flours for that matter, keep it naturally sweetened with maple or coconut sugar and keep them egg-free too! I adapted my Flourless Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies to include quinoa and wow, these are a 10/10! I’ll admit that I’ve never had quinoa in a dessert/sweet recipe before and it might be a new trend for me 🙂 And the cookie dough itself is addicting, and totally edible, so if you wanna skip the baking altogether, go for it! I think I ate a whole cookie in dough, lol.
I also love the meal prep bonus behind these chocolate chip cookies! I cooked up a cup of sprouted quinoa (sprouted makes it easier to digest if in fact you are a little more sensitive to quinoa) per the package directions, but you will only use 1 cup of cooked quinoa in this Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, and the rest you can keep stored in your fridge for a quick and easy lunch or dinner recipe, such as my Mediterranean Pesto Collard Wraps or my Quinoa Power Bowls! If you know me, you know I’m all about cooking once and eating twice (or more!).
Unlike traditional chocolate chip cookies, these will not spread- so my little trick for that is to bake them in the cookie dough ball shape and then gently flatten them into the cookie shape after they slightly cool. Still 100% delicious. And of course probably one of the healthiest cookies you will ever make.
I hope you love these Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies as much as I do! I would love to hear your thoughts! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook @HealthyLittleVittles with all your wonderful flourless, superfood chocolate chip cookies! #HealthyLittleVittles #HealthyLittleSweets
Watch how easy it is to make these cookies!!!
Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies
Made with only 8 ingredients, these flourless Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies are the easiest gluten-free, grain-free, egg-free, vegan superfood cookies boasting with plant-based protein and fiber to satisfy any chocolate chip cookie craving in just 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 4 flax eggs (4 tablespoons ground flaxseed meal + 1/2 cup water)
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 cup maple sugar* (may substitute with coconut sugar)
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter)
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cook one serving of quinoa per package directions. I like to do this the night before and store it in an airtight container in the fridge overnight, but if you do it the same day just allow for about 15-20 minutes of additional time to make these cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the flax eggs by combining the flaxseed meal and water together in a bowl and let it sit to 'gel up'.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch, baking powder and maple sugar. Add the cooked quinoa, vanilla, peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter) and flax eggs to the bowl and mix until a batter forms, then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then using a large cookie scoop (about 2-3 heaping tablespoons of batter per cookie), scoop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet leaving a few inches in between cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes, they should just start to look golden- avoid over baking unless you like crunchier cookies.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes, then using the back of a small bowl or measuring up gently flatten the cookies, not too flat. Let them cool to set up completely and then enjoy!
- Keep them stored in an airtight container on your counter for up to 3 days.
Notes
**the quinoa might become slightly crunchy as the cookies cool
if we aren’t vegan, would we use FOUR whole eggs or less?
I have not made these cookies with eggs so I’m not sure how they would turn out. I don’t think you have to be vegan to enjoy these eggless cookies though! 🙃