Chickpea Blondies (Vegan + GF)

Making a dessert with chickpeas might sound strange, but these Chickpea Blondies really don't taste like it at all! They're rich, fudgy, indulgent and perfectly salty-sweet. They're secretly healthy and are a good source of protein and fibre too. And they're vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar free, date-sweetened, grain-free, oil-free and nut-free optional. The perfect snack or dessert!

How to make this recipe

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

• Place the chickpeas, soaked and drained dates, almond butter, vanilla and plant-based milk in a food processor or blender.

• Blend until completely smooth.

• Transfer into a mixing bowl, add the ground almonds and baking powder and mix well.

• Transfer the batter into a square baking tin.

Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to remove the blondies after.

• Place chocolate chips or chunks on top, if desired.

• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

• Leave to cool completely before cutting into squares!

Substitutions you can make

• You can use any type of nut or seed butter - almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, tahini etc.
• You can use any type of plant-based milk - almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, rice milk, oat milk etc.
• You can replace the ground almonds with ground walnuts or ground sunflower seeds.
• For a nut-free version, replace the ground almonds with ground sunflower seeds, replace the almond butter with sunflower seed butter or tahini, and use a nut-free plant-based milk.
• For a refined sugar free version, use refined sugar free chocolate chips.
• You can omit the chocolate chips.

Ingredients you can add to the blondie batter

• Dried cranberries.
• Desiccated coconut.
• Chopped pecan nuts, walnuts, macadamia nuts or hazelnuts.
• Fresh or frozen raspberries.

How long do these Chickpea Blondies keep for?

These Chickpea Blondies keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days - the taste or texture remains unchanged, which means they're great for meal prep and making ahead for entertaining.

More vegan dessert recipes

• Brownie Cookies
• Pecan Pie Bars
• Churros
• Lemon Cheesecake Crumble Bars
• Chocolate Mousse Cake
• Blondies
• Raspberry Madeleines
• Rice Chocolate Mousse
• Crème Caramel
• Baklava

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I'd really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Chickpea Blondies (Vegan + GF)

These Chickpea Blondies are rich, fudgy and perfectly salty-sweet! They're secretly healthy and are a good source of protein and fibre too.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chickpea blondies, gluten-free blondies, vegan blondies

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 16

Calories: 170kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 180 g (¾ cup) pitted dates soaked overnight in cold water or 10 minutes in boiling water
• ▢ 400 g (14 oz) tin of chickpeas , drained and rinsed
• ▢ 4 tablespoons smooth almond butter (or sub peanut butter)
• ▢ 80 ml (⅓ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or sub any other plant-based milk)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 200 g (1 ⅔ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) * (or sub ground walnuts)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ 50 g (⅓ cup) dark chocolate chips or chunks ** (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary)

To serve (optional):

• ▢ Flaky sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Drain away the water from the soaked dates.
• Place the chickpeas, drained dates, almond butter, almond milk and vanilla in a food processor or blender.
• Blend until completely smooth, mixing it around a couple of times if necessary.
• Transfer into a mixing bowl, add the ground almonds and baking powder and mix well.
• Transfer the mixture into a square or rectangular baking tin lined with greased baking paper - I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin.
• Scatter over chocolate chips or chunks to decorate, if desired.
• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. They should be slightly cracked on the top and slightly firm inside but still quite gooey - be careful not to overcook!
• Sprinkle over flaky sea salt, if desired.
• Leave to cool before cutting into squares.
• Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour.

**Use refined sugar free chocolate chips for a refined sugar free version.

For a nut-free version, replace the ground almonds with ground sunflower seeds, replace the almond butter with sunflower seed butter or tahini, and use a nut-free plant-based milk.

Nutrition Facts

Chickpea Blondies (Vegan + GF)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 170 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 1g5%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Sodium 10mg0%

Potassium 227mg6%

Carbohydrates 19g6%

Fiber 5g20%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 8IU0%

Vitamin C 0.4mg0%

Calcium 85mg9%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

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