Chickpea Blondies
Soft and fudgy chickpea blondies made from healthier ingredients. These blondies are easy to make and are naturally vegan, refined sugar-free and can easily be made gluten-free, just like my chickpea cookie dough!
Why You’ll Love These Blondies
INCREDIBLE TEXTURE AND FLAVOR: Soft, fudgy, sweet yet wholesome! This recipe uses more maple syrup and nut butter than most chickpea blondie recipes, in order to minimize any possible chickpea flavor. Chickpea blondies will never taste exactly like conventional blondies but the textures and flavors are similar!
EASY TO MAKE: The batter comes together in just a food processor (or blender) to prepare the blondie batter. You don’t even need a mixing bowl! And the blondies are made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!
Ingredients You’ll Need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes About the Ingredients and Substitutions
Cooked chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) or white beans, straight from a can! Alternatively, soft home-cooked chickpeas will work well.
Nut butter of choice. I used a natural cashew butter as its flavor is reminiscent of cookies. Peanut butter or almond butter will also work, though they leave a stronger flavor in the blondies. Just a heads up that if you use sunflower seed butter, your blondies will turn green! This is just a natural reaction between the chlorophyll in sunflower seeds and the baking soda, but don’t worry, your blondies will still be delicious.
Pure maple syrup for sweetness and to make these blondies extra fudgy. Alternatively, you can use any other liquid sweetener in the same amount.
Oat flour for structure. Alternatively, you can use almond flour or all-purpose flour (with slightly different results). I don’t recommend coconut flour as it’s too absorbent.
Note: If you’re strictly gluten-free, make sure you use uncontaminated gluten-free oats. In Australia and New Zealand, all oats contain traces of gluten, so you’ll need to use almond flour to make these celiac-friendly.
How to Make Chickpea Blondies
The process is super simple! Just add all your ingredients except the chocolate chips to a food processor and blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can use a stand blender or stick blender! The consistency of your batter will depend on what nut butter you used and how thoroughly you blended it.
Note: If you’re making your own oat flour, blitz them in your food processor first. If you add the oats with all the other ingredients, the oats won’t fully break down and your blondies will be grainy.
Then, remove the blade of your food processor and mix in your chocolate chips (or other add-ins). After a few minutes, your batter will thicken as the oat flour absorbs moisture from the chickpeas.
Baking the Blondies
These vegan blondies take about 22-28 minutes to bake, depending on your oven. For fudgier blondies, bake them for less time. For sturdier brownies, bake them for longer.
Your chickpea blondies are ready when they puff up, and the surface is golden brown. When you let the blondies cool, they will deflate a little – don’t worry, this is completely normal!
Tips for Cutting Chickpea Blondies
Chickpea blondies are fudgier and stickier than classic brownies and blondies, so they can be tricky to cut neatly. Here are my top tips for cutting the blondies:
- Wait for the chickpea blondies to completely cool down before slicing. This can take 1-2 hours.
- Use the sharpest knife that you own!
- Run your knife under hot water and cut the blondies while the knife is still warm. The heat from the knife will help cut through the chocolate chips and blondies.
- If your blondies are still sticking to your knife, spray or brush your warm knife with oil.
- Cut the blondies in one motion. Don’t move the knife back and forth.
- Wipe your knife clean between each cut.
Optional Add-Ins
I love adding vegan dark chocolate chips to my blondies for extra sweetness, but feel free to customize your blondies to your tastes. You can also add:
- Dairy-free white chocolate chips
- Chopped walnuts, pecans, or any other nuts
- Cinnamon and nutmeg for blondies that are reminiscent of donuts
I haven’t tried adapting this recipe to make chickpea brownies. However, you may like my black bean brownie recipe or no-bake vegan brownies. Cocoa powder is more drying than oat flour so we can’t simply swap them.
Customizing Chickpea Blondies
You can use any liquid sweetener (such as agave nectar) in the same amount. Keep in mind that if you use a darker sweetener, like date syrup, your blondies will be darker in color!
Granulated sweeteners will also work but I suggest adding a dash of milk to help it dissolve. Keep in mind that granulated sweeteners weigh differently than maple syrup, so you may need to adjust the amount.
If you prefer less sweet desserts, you’re welcome to reduce the sweetener, to taste. However, your batter will be thicker and I recommend baking your blondies for less time so they don’t dry out. Your final blondies will also be thinner.
These blondies will also work in a 7-inch square pan. However, you’ll need to bake them for a little longer. A 9-inch square pan will work too, and produce thinner blondies.
You can also halve the recipe and bake it in an 8-inch loaf pan. They’ll take about 20-23 minutes to bake.
More Healthy Vegan Desserts
Follow Rainbow Nourishments on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest, and subscribe via email to receive all of our latest recipes!
Chickpea Blondies
Ingredients
- ~1 ½ cups (250g) chickpeas, canned or fresh and drained well (I got this amount from one 15oz or 440g can)
- ½ cup (125g) cashew butter, or nut butter of choice (note 1 for alternatives)
- ½ cup (45g) oat flour, (note 2 for alternatives and gluten-free note)
- ½ cup (170g) maple syrup, (note 3 for alternatives)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ cup (85g) mini dairy-free chocolate chips, plus extra to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking pan with parchment paper.
Prepare the blondie batter:
- Add all the ingredients except the chocolate chips to a food processor or blender. Blend until the mixture is as smooth as possible. It should be slightly runny.
- Remove the blade of your food processor. Add the chocolate chips and fold them through the batter with a spoon or spatula. Make sure your blondie batter isn't warm otherwise the chocolate will melt.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan. Smooth the surface with a spoon or spatula. If desired, sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top of the batter and press them in.
Bake the chickpea blondies:
- Bake the chickpea blondies for 23-28 minutes. The blondies are ready when they have puffed up and the surface is golden brown. If you insert a toothpick in the middle, it should come out clean (a few moist crumbs are fine, but there shouldn't be any wet batter).
- Place the square baking pan on a wire rack. Allow the blondies to cool completely in the baking pan for at least 1 hour. The blondies are very soft when they're warm.
- When the blondies have completely cooled, remove them from the baking pan and cut them with a sharp knife. The blondies are very fudgy, so it may help to run your knife under hot water before cutting them (see the blog post above for more tips for cutting). If desired, sprinkle the blondies with flaky sea salt or enjoy with vegan ice cream.
- Store leftover blondies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Natural peanut butter or almond butter will also work. Sunflower seed butter will make your blondies turn green, although they will still be delicious! My cashew butter was quite thick so if your nut butter is runny, your final batter will be a different consistency. The blondies will bake similarly.
- To make oat flour, blend ~1/3 cup (45g) of traditional rolled oats in a food processor or blender until they’re as fine as possible. Alternatively, you can use the same amount of all-purpose flour or almond flour (blondies made with almond flour will be more fudgy and moist). If you’re strictly gluten-free, make sure you use uncontaminated gluten-free oat flour. Note that oats in Australia and New Zealand contain traces of gluten.
- Alternatively, you can use any other liquid sweetener in the same amount. Granulated sweeteners work too, though I suggest adding a dash of milk to help it dissolve. Since they differ in weight and sweetness levels than maple syrup, you may need to adjust the quantity. Also, feel free to reduce the amount of sweetener but I recommend baking your blondies for less time. Your final blondies will also be thinner.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
I love these so much! Personally I have been using sugar free maple syrup (more for flavor than for sweetness) and rehydrated PB2 powder to make them into a great lower sugar fiber bar for breakfasts! Not overly sweet, doesn’t taste like chickpeas, and comes out perfect every time thanks to this recipe.
Hi Liz! We love the idea of having these for a breakfast bar! So glad your tweaks worked out well and that you’re enjoying them. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment 🥰
Can I make these in a 9×13 pan? What adjustments would I have to make if so?
Hi Breunna, I haven’t tested it so I’m not 100% sure how it’ll bake. However, I think the blondies will work if you increase the recipe by 175% or 200%. In the recipe card, you can tap on the number next to ‘Yield’ to scale up the ingredients. You’ll likely need to bake it a little longer since the pan is bigger and it’ll take more time to set in the middle. Just keep an eye on it and use the toothpick test to check doneness. Let me know how you go!
Hey your recipes are amazing just wanted to ask did u boiled the chickpea…
Hi Neha, I used canned chickpeas, which have already been boiled/cooked. I didn’t boil them again but you can do this if you prefer. Hope that helps!
This recipe is AMAZING! The increased amount of maple syrup and nut/seed butter really do help mask the chickpea flavor, which is something I have found other recipes struggle to do. I recommend using almond flour if you prefer your blondies more dense/moist. I tried with oat flour as well and it was lighter (as mentioned in the original recipe)
I used half tahini, half almond butter which def enhanced the flavor profile. Will be making again soon 🙂
Hi Sierra, this is so wonderful to hear!! And thank you so much for all the tips/feedback about the ingredient swaps – I know other readers will find these super helpful :). Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
These bars are outstanding and you would never know that the primary ingredient is chickpeas. As much as I love chickpeas I couldn’t image that they would work so well in a desert type recipe. Maple syrup is a perfect sweetener and I used peanut butter which worked really well with the chocolate chips. Thanks much for a brilliant recipe that is super easy to make.
Hi Teri, I’m thrilled you loved these blondies! I definitely understand what you mean about chickpeas and I’m glad you gave the recipe a go. Thanks so much for your lovely feedback, I appreciate it a lot!
Thank you for this yummy recipe AND for the clear instructions! All the best, Barbara
Hi Barb, you’re so welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed these blondies and found the instructions clear too!! Thanks for your lovely feedback, I appreciate it a lot 🙂
All I can say is WOW!!! THESE ARE AMAZING!! Having to change my diet I was not sure how I would satisfy my sweet tooth and not have the consequences after. Thank you for sharing this recipe 🙂
Hi Jessica! That’s the best kind of news!! I’m so glad you discovered these blondies and that they satisfy your sweet cravings with your new diet. Thank you so much for your lovely feedback, I truly appreciate it!