Chickpea blondies with loads of chocolate chips are made with beans but you’d never know it! They’re vegan, gluten-free, flour-free and only 9 ingredients.

stack of 3 chickpea blondies

Beans in a dessert? Hey, don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it!

Once you bite into one of these soft, chewy, sweet chickpea blondies loaded with chocolate chips, you won’t care that it’s made with beans!

Seriously, I have some picky kids in my life and they adore these chickpea blondies. In fact, they are my daughter’s favorite dessert ever. She can often be found eating most of the dough before I even get them in the oven!

sideways angle looking down on several chickpea blondies

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How do you make Chickpea Blondies?

The best thing about these blondies is how easy they are to make.

A food processor works best here, but a blender will probably work as well, you will just need to scrape down the sides of a blender often to make sure all the beans break down.

So get your food processor out, and add to it a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Fold in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips by hand.

collage of making chickpea blondie dough in food processor

Place the dough into a 8 by 8 inch pan lined with parchment paper, spreading it evenly with a spatula or slightly wet hands. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.

unbaked chickpea blondies in pan

How to store leftover chickpea blondies:

The blondies will stay good at room temperature in a covered container for 2-3 days, but my favorite way to store them is in the refrigerator. They taste really good cold, and will last about a week this way. I like to cut them into squares, place in a covered container and put them in the fridge for easy grabbing when I need a sweet treat.

Feel free to double the recipe and make them in a 9 by 13 inch pan. I do this often because they go too fast in my house! Keep in mind you will need a fairly large food processor to be able to double the recipe, or make the dough in two batches.

sliced chickpea blondies, looking down upon them

Can chickpea blondies be frozen?

Yes! They freeze beautifully. Simply cut them into squares, individually wrap in plastic wrap (you can even skip this step if you want, but it helps them to not get freezer burnt), and then place in a freezer bag. Simply thaw at room temperature for 15-20 minutes and eat.

Can they be made without peanut butter?

Yes, so if you are allergic to peanuts, don’t worry! The best sub is almond butter. If you need a nut free option, try sunflower seed butter.

stack of 3 unevenly stacked chickpea blondies

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sideways angle looking down on several chickpea blondies
4.84 stars (24 ratings)

Chickpea Blondies

Chickpea blondies with loads of chocolate chips are made with beans but you'd never know it! They're vegan, gluten-free, flour-free and only 9 ingredients.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 9 servings

Ingredients 
 

  • 15 ounces canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 1/2 cups
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup non-dairy chocolate chips, divided

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 8 by 8 inch pan with parchment paper.
  • In a food processor, add all the ingredients except the chocolate chips and blend until very smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
  • Fold in half of the chocolate chips with a spoon. Transfer to the prepared pan and spread the batter evenly. I usually wet my hands and press down gently, or use a spatula.
  • Sprinkle the last 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top of the batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
  • Let them cool at least 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy! I like to store leftover bars in the refrigerator; they will last up to 1 week this way and they taste good cold. Or store in a covered container at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Notes

  1. May substitute coconut sugar for the brown sugar if desired.
  2. If you have a peanut allergy, you can use almond butter instead. 
  3. For nut free chickpea blondies, use sunflower seed butter and oat flour instead of almond flour.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 148mg | Potassium: 246mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 13IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 3mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Nora Taylor
Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!

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Comments

  1. Brilliant! The only change I made is using only half a cup of sugar since the chocolate chips do the trick. Is there a chance you’d consider a black bean brownie recipe in the future?

  2. Brilliant “healthy” delicious! Used tahini due to nut allergy. Who would have thought of garbanzo bean blondies?? Amazing.

    1. I know, it IS amazing that garbanzo beans make such a delicious dessert! I’m really glad you love them! Thanks for taking time to share your review!

  3. I didn’t have the chickpeas or almond flour on hand so I used cannellini beans and coconut flour instead.  Still tasted fantastic. Thank you! I love your recipes. 

    1. I’m glad the blondies turned out fantastic with your substitutes! Thank you for sharing your comments, and using my recipes! I’m glad you are loving them. Thank you!

  4. These are amazing! The chickpea flavour is definitely there, but actually very pleasant – it reminds us of red bean desserts. The modifications we make are: use 1/3 cup brown sugar (instead of 3/4 cup), replace peanut butter with soy butter, and use all-purpose flour instead of almond flour. We’ll definitely be making this again!

  5. Delicious and really easy to make. I wish I’d made double as my tin was much too big, I’ll definitely make double next time.

  6. These look delicious! Have you tried them with monk fruit instead of brown sugar or would you know who it would substitute? I’m trying to keep my sugar intake low. Thanks! 

    1. I haven’t used monk fruit before, but I imagine it would very much change the flavor and maybe the texture of the blondies. Perhaps someone else has tried this and will comment. Thanks!

  7. I’m not sure what I did wrong here. Mine looked like yours when they first came out of the oven. I came back like twenty minutes later to look at them and now they just look dense and sticky/are dense and sticky. They taste good though. ??‍♀️

    1. They kind of are dense and sticky lol. If you want them less so, you could sub all purpose flour for the almond flour. It makes them a bit drier.

  8. I’m having a problem finding chick peas. I guess everyone is using them right now. I have made these and love them. Would it be possible to substitute another bean?

    1. I was having trouble finding them, too! Yes, white beans (great northern, or small navy beans) would be a good choice here.

    2. Garbanzo Beans are another thing they are called. But really any bean should work, I know there are a lot of black bean brownie recipes as well.

  9. These were very good! Will definitely be making again. Every recipe of yours that I have tried has been amazing!

  10. Delicious but they came out mostly raw after 27 minutes. I didn’t notice it when I took them out and ended up putting them back in a little while later to try to let them firm up more. It didn’t work out but they were still delicious! Will try again and bake for much longer.

    1. They probably did need to bake a little longer, though they will be quite moist, more so than regular blondies, especially in the middle. If you want them to be drier, you could use regular flour instead of almond flour. Hope that helps!

  11. What an amazing find! I could not believe that beans had so much more potential. Followed the recipe to the tee and am glad to share that not one of my friends and family could pick out the chickpeas. Definitely a keeper. Thank you for the ingenuity!!

  12. Just made this and all the reviews are on key – this is REALLY good!!! I personally love the texture and flavor ?
    I also used regular flour, baked for 26 mins, and let it cool several hours before eating. I highly recommend this! ?

  13. Made these and they tasted so good! Unfortunately I didn’t read the part about needing a food processor before I bought all the ingredients lol. So I did the best I could with my hand blender. Texture wasn’t perfect, it’s a bit grainy because of that but still fooled my husband, he absolutely loved them.

    If I get a food processor I will make these again as I would be able to get a smooth batter, and then these would be amazing.

    I’ve made black bean brownies before and they tasted beany still, but these did not. I used almond butter and it was delicious.

  14. I prepared an Instant Pot of dried great northern beans and this was the first thing I made using them. So good, and so easy!!!! I may or may not have had some of these bars with coffee this morning, haha!!! 🙂 Thank you for sharing the recipe!

  15. I made these for a birthday party and everyone loved them! No one knew they were vegan 🙂 The only change I made was I reduced the chocolate chips by a half cup and then added a half cup of chopped toasted hazelnuts. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

  16. Thumbs up for this ooey, gooey bar of deliciousness.
    I expected they would be OK, the batter is so thick I was a bit unsure of these but what a pleasant surprise after they were baked and then refrigerated.
    I’ll make these again.

    1. I think it would make the blondies too watery if you added maple syrup. You could probably use maple syrup and add a little flour or oat flour (1/4 cup or so). But I haven’t tried it myself.

    1. I’m not sure a blender could handle the thickness, it might break it! Or you’d have to add more liquid somehow which would affect the recipe outcome. ?

      1. These were great!
        I used a high speed blender and had no problem. It didn’t get as thick as you would imagine.
        Definitely a keeper!

  17. I would’ve never thought of using chickpeas for a recipe like this! Now I definitely need to give this a try!

  18. I just made them. My daughter and I loved them. We have an HVAC guy here. I offered him a coke, etc, but he said no. I offered him a blondie and he said no. I told them they were made with chick peas and then he asked to sample one. HE LOVED THEM and now I am sending him the recipe. These are definitely going to become a regular treat at our house. And super easy to make as well.

  19. Good but a bit moist. I cooked them 30 minutes. Maybe it should have been more? How do you know they are done? But not a problem. Took them to a potluck, and they were done before I got back for 2nds. Didn’t label them V or GF or garbanzo, and no one asked …

    1. They are quite moist, yes! But they firm up a bit as they cool. They are done when the edges are a tiny bit golden and the top will look cooked, not mushy anymore. You don’t want to over bake these because they will dry out. If you want them a bit drier you could also sub regular flour. Or make sure you drain the chickpeas well, maybe even pat them with paper towels before adding to the food processor. Hope that helps, thank you!

  20. Just made here and they are so good!! And so simple to make. I have tried a few different recipes like this, but this will be my go to one for sure. Thank you!!

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