Ultra-chewy Chickpea Blondies are rich and dense just like a traditional blondie, and maple syrup gives them some extra flair. Naturally sweetened, vegan, and gluten-free—and NO ONE will guess they’re made with chickpeas!
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These healthy chickpea blondies are a reader favorite.
And they’re one of my favorites too! Serve them up at a party and I promise no one will guess they’re made with chickpeas!
Even my husband Ben, who has eaten every dessert I’ve baked since the day Zucchini Brownies came to life and thus is attuned to my healthy tricks (Sweet Potato Brownies, Black Bean Brownies, etc.) expressed his shock at the secret reveal.
- Chickpea blondies are low calorie since no butter is required. Once blended, the chickpeas provide the necessary moisture and bind the bars.
- In addition to chickpeas, these blondies are loaded with other healthy ingredients. In fact, they are both flourless (only oats are used) and refined sugar-free (pure maple syrup is the sweetener).
5 Star Review
“They were a HUGE hit!!! I had to keep from chuckling when my family said it was the best dessert at Thanksgiving – beating out the local bakery-made apple, cherry, and pecan pies – because there is no way they would have even tried the blondies had they known about the beans! Ha! (I’ll never tell!)”
— Shannon —
Chickpea Blondie Variations and Substitutes
As written, this chickpea blondie recipe works for all kinds of dietary needs since it’s vegan and flourless. But if you need to tweak the recipe further, here’s some additional guidance.
- Swap in Another Bean. In theory, you could use any canned bean as a swap for the chickpeas, but to keep the blondies blond, you’ll want a light colored bean like reduced-sodium cannellini beans or Great Northern beans.
- Use Gluten-Free Oats. Oats are often processed alongside wheat, so to ensure they’re not contaminated during processing, look for oats that are gluten-free certified.
- Make Them Peanut-Free. Almond butter or another nut butter you like can be substituted.
- Or Make Them Nut-Free. To eliminate nuts altogether, use sunflower seed butter.
Mix-In Ideas
One of my absolute favorite aspects of blondies is the number of options for mix-ins. They’re like a choose-your-own-adventure book! You can try one combination this week, and a different combination for alternative flavors next week.
- Chocolate Chips. Can’t go wrong at all there!
- Peanut Butter Chips. For extra peanut butter-licious flavor.
- Toasted Nuts. Diced pecans or walnuts for more crunch.
- Dried Cranberries. Enjoy some fruity sweetness.
- White Chocolate. Chickpea blondies with white chocolate is one of my favorite inclusions! In the photos, you can see a mix of dark chocolate, white chocolate, and pecans.
Chickpea Blondies
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Ingredients
- ¾ cups old fashioned rolled oats gluten free if needed
- 1 15-ounce can low-sodium chickpeas rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter or almond butter
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple extract optional
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips divided
- ⅓ cup additional mix-ins of choice, divided: I used a mix of white chocolate chips and chopped pecans
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat an 8-inch-square baking pan with nonstick spray. Line with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on two sides like handles, then lightly coat the paper with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse the oats until well ground. Add the beans, peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and maple extract and process until very smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the maple syrup, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend until the oats are completely broken up and the mixture looks thick and smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl a few times. It may take several minutes.
- If the mixture feels warm from the food processor, let it cool a bit (the chocolate chips will melt otherwise). Add the chocolate chips, reserving 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on top as desired. Add the remaining mix-ins, again saving a little to decorate the top if you like.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan (it will be very thick) and, with an offset spatula or spoon, smooth the top. Sprinkle on the reserved chocolate chips and mix-ins. Bake for 18 minutes, until the top lightly cracks at the endges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake!
- Let the bars cool to room temperature in the pan. Lift from the pan with the parchment paper, slice, and enjoy! The bars taste even better when refrigerated overnight.
Notes
- A prior version of this recipe included a maple glaze; if you like you can add the glaze: combine 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons pure maple syrup, and 1 teaspoon milk of choice, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Spread over the cooled bars.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate blondies in an airtight storage container for up to 5 days.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze leftovers in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Thaw and enjoy as desired.
Nutrition
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I’m so excited to see these published! I remember seeing your Insta story awhile back about needing to borrow beans for blondies. I LOVE baking with beans as well, and am super excited to try out this recipe!
I hope you love them if you do give this recipe a try, Danielle!
Oh I am sold! Love this version of blondies.
Thanks Lindsay!!
YES KRISTI! I love, love hearing this and am so happy your husband loved these too. Thanks for trying the recipe and taking time to stop by and leave this lovely review!
Hi Annie, I haven’t tried freezing the bars myself, so I can’t say for certain, but that’s exactly the approach I’d take if I were to give it a try! If you do decide to try, I’d love to hear how it goes.
Hi Erin! I made the blondies for Thanksgiving, and they were a HUGE hit!!! I had to keep from chuckling when my family said it was the best dessert at Thanksgiving – beating out the local bakery-made apple, cherry, and pecan pies – because there is no way they would have even tried the blondies had they known about the beans! Ha! (I’ll never tell!)
YAY Shannon, I’m so glad they were a Thanksgiving hit! Thanks for giving them a try and reporting back. :)
Thanks for sharing your tweaks, Vanessa! I’m glad you enjoyed these blondies!
Hi Katie! Yes, the nutrition estimate does include the glaze. I hope you love the recipe if you try it!
Hi Erin
I have just tried them, I don’t know what I did wrong, but its like eating a lump of sugar. I did swap maple syrup for golden syrup as its similar and thats all I had.
I’m afraid too sweet for me.
:(
Janet x
Hi Janet, I’m sorry to hear that they didn’t turn out as you hoped. Since I haven’t tried these with golden syrup, I’m not sure how that may have altered the outcome. I (and other readers) have really enjoyed these blondies, so I wish they would’ve been a hit for you too!
I made these bars tonight. They turned out very well and you cannot taste the beans at all. We eat vegan and my hubby loved them. I used cashew butter instead of the coconut oil since we are oil free. I did use a cashew butter based glaze as well. It turned out so fabulous. Thank you!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Estee! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
This look wonderful! Can’t wait to give them a try. Our darling daughter-in-love has to stick with a gluten and dairy-free diet d/t a serious health issue. I’m always so thrilled to find a yummy recipe that requires no tinkering. Thanks sooooooo much!
I hope the recipe is a hit, Lori!
During C we get groceries delivered; surprised Whole Foods has no maple extract. Hope I get good results without it. Excited to try
I hope you enjoy the recipe, Katie!
I LOVED THIS RECIPE! Her recipes continually have been tasting amazing. I was hesitant at first due to the chickpeas, BUT I am so happy I tried it. It kind of tastes like peanut butter fudge. I 10/10 recommend. I have been doing her recipes for the past month and each one has turned out amazing. Definitely a good blogger for healthier desserts/recipes that actually taste good as well.
This comment MADE my day, Brynna! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
This is such a tasty recipe and I love how quick it is in the instant pot!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe, Alli! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Thank you so much I’ve been searching for recipes that don’t use refined sugar
I hope you enjoy the recipe if you try it, Linda!
These are fantastic! Thank you so much for the recipe!
YAY, so glad to hear it! Thanks for sharing!
DELISH!!!!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe, Patti! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Delicious! Thanks Erin for another fabulous recipe. Followed as written (except for maple extract) and everyone loved and didn’t even know it was made with chickpeas.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Kristy! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
These are the best treat! We make them every other week in my house! I think my favorite thing is, I don’t feel guilty after eating 5 in a row?
I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed them, Ashley! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I have made these 3 times now and they are always a hit. I mix white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and regular chocolate chips. I think they would be great with any chocolate though. My kids even love them and they are ridiculously picky.
I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed them, Jessica! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Made this for a healthier sweet treat and the whole family loved. Super yummy!!!
So glad you enjoyed them Danielle! Thank you for this kind review!
Made this with my sister tonight. We used old fashion oats and vegan butter since that’s what we had on hand. It turned out delicious!!! We used a heart shaped pan which made it even better 🥰
Hi Lydia! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Love the flavor but texture okay what can I do about that?
I’m not really sure, texture wise, what was the issue?
Hi Erin,
I want to try these and have some chickpea flour on hand. I’m a pretty adventurous cook and think I’ll try it, but wanted to know if you might have any suggestions for adding a bit of moisture to make up for the flour instead of canned beans? If I kept the oil and used some applesauce to help with moisture, do you think that would work? Thank you!
Hi Devon! That’s a tough one. I’ve only tested the recipe with the beans so it would be a guessing game at that point. If you decide to experiment, I’d love to know how it goes!
3/5: Not sweet at all and tastes like a raw granola, not a fan, quite mediocre. The oats have the strongest flavor, but lacks the crispy or chewy texture of a copycat granola, it was rather squishy. I’ve made similar recipes in the past, which are amazing, but this has been my least favorite :/ I recommend the other recipes on here: Black Bean Brownie and PB Skillet Cookie. Both of those are 5/5!!
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with the recipe Hanna. It sounds like it needed to be cooked just a little longer. Definitely shouldn’t taste raw.
These are delicious! They have the perfect sweet taste..not too much..but not too bland! I had to put them in the oven a little longer, but they came out amazing! My little brother, didn’t even know there were chickpeas..lol. Love the healthy recipes!
So glad you enjoyed it, Kayla!
I’m glad I tried it! My whole family loved it. I doubled the recipe and used a 9 x 13 pan. I can feel good about serving these for dessert!
Yay! Great to hear, Deb! Thank you!
You’re right! You’d NEVER know there are chickpeas in these! Yum!! I didn’t have maple extract on hand, so I used hazelnut extract, which I also love.
They look great, Rebecca! Thanks for sharing!