Fudgy, gooey and sweet, this vegan peanut butter chickpea blondies is the perfect wholesome treat to have on hand! Easy to make, ready in 30 minutes and only requires a handful of simple ingredients. Stores well and is freezer-friendly too!
Chickpeas seriously works extremely well in baking. I had use it to make peanut butter cookies and cookie dough hummus in the past. (Both which taste amazing by the way, so do check them out!) This time round, we will be baking vegan peanut butter blondies with this versatile beans.😉
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💚Why you will love this recipe
- Fudgy, soft and decadent - You will be surprised by how good these peanut butter chickpea blondies taste! Loaded with peanut butter and chocolate chips, this treat is definitely a crowd-pleaser.
- Simple and quick to make - This fuss-free recipe is ready in 30 minutes and only calls for simple pantry staples that you probably already have on hand!
- Healthy, high and protein and fiber - Both chickpeas and peanut butter are great sources of plant based protein, and are also packed with fiber at the same time.
- Stores well and is freezer-friendly - Store a few slices of these vegan chickpea blondies in your freezer so you will have dessert ready to go whenever you are craving something sweet!
🤔What are blondies
Blondies are essentially brownies without cocoa powder, hence the name! Their texture closely resemble that of brownies and are chewy and fudgy. Traditionally, they are made from flour, butter, sugar and eggs.
For this healthier version, chickpeas are used as a base, and blondies are naturally sweetened with dates. Peanut butter provides extra richness and flavor, and acts as a substitute for butter.
🥜What you will need
📃Notes/substitutions
- Chickpeas - Both canned chickpeas or chickpeas cooked from scratch will work in this recipe.
- Dates - You can substitute it with ⅓-1/2 cup of maple or agave syrup instead. Add it in after processing the chickpeas. (along with peanut butter, oat flour and baking powder)
- Peanut butter - I recommend using natural peanut butter than is made only from peanuts and salt without the addition of hydrogenated palm oil. You can even make your own at home, and I do recommend checking out this post on how to make peanut butter for a more detailed instructions.
- Oat flour - If you do not have it on hand, simply grind up some rolled or quick oats in a blender or food processor.
🔪How to make
Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Line a 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
Add chickpeas and dates into the food processor and pulse until they are finely ground.
Add rest of the ingredients, except chocolate chips and process until everything is well incorporated and batter is smooth. The mixture should resemble that of cookie dough, so do add plant milk or water, a tablespoon at a time if needed.
Using a spatula or spoon, stir in chocolate chips.
Transfer mixture to the baking pan. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, smooth out the edges. Top with more chocolate chips if desired.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned. You can also insert a toothpick down the middle to check for doneness. It should come out fairly clean with a few wet crumbs.
Let it cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, before transferring to a baking tray to cool down further. Slice and enjoy your vegan chickpea blondies!
✔Helpful tips
- Be flexible with the amount of liquid use. If you blondies batter appears to be too thick, add water or plant milk, a tablespoon at a time.
- For a gooier vegan chickpea blondies, bake for 20 minutes. If you prefer a cakey one, you can bake it up to 25 minutes.
- To slice your peanut butter chickpea blondies cleanly, let it cool down completely first before cutting it with a plastic knife or any non-serrated knife.
🍫Variations/add-ins
For some extra texture and crunch, you can add in some chopped nuts like peanuts, walnuts or almonds. Or, chop up your favorite candy bars into chunks and mix them in to make your vegan chickpea blondies extra sweet.
If you are sensitive to peanuts, feel free to swap out peanut butter with other nut butter like almond and cashew butter. You can even use tahini or sunflower seed butter if you want it to be nut-free.
If you think that there is any complementary spices or flavorings, add it in! I like adding some vanilla extract and sea salt to enhance the flavor of this vegan chickpea blondies. You can even stir in some cinnamon or cocoa powder if desired.
❔Commonly asked questions
This peanut butter chickpea blondies taste as good as, if not better than the classic ones! It is buttery, soft with just the perfect amount of sweetness. You can hardly taste the chickpeas, if at all as the other ingredients mask the beany taste almost completely.
Leftovers vegan chickpea blondies can be kept in the fridge for 4-5 days in a sealed container. It is freezable too and can be frozen for 3 months. Keep blondies slices in a storage container before freezing.
To reheat frozen blondie slices, let them thaw overnight in the fridge, or on countertop for a few hours. You can then reheat them in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 180C/300F. Or, you can just simply heat them up in the microwave.
🍽More healthy vegan desserts
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📖 Recipe
Fudgy Vegan Peanut Butter Chickpea Blondies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 15 oz canned chickpeas ( about 3 cups cooked chickpeas )
- 1 ½ cups dates pitted*
- ½ cup oat flour
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ( optional )
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Lined a 8x8 square pan with parchment paper.
- Add chickpeas and dates into the food processor and pulse until they are finely ground.2 15 oz canned chickpeas, 1 ½ cups dates
- Add rest of the ingredients, except chocolate chips and process until everything is well incorporated and batter is smooth. The mixture should resemble that of cookie dough, so do add plant milk or water, a tablespoon at a time if needed. I ended up adding ¼ cup.½ cup peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Using a spatula or spoon, stir in chocolate chips.½ cup chocolate chips
- Transfer mixture to the baking pan. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, smooth out the edges. Top with more chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned. You can also insert a toothpick down the middle to check for doneness. It should come out fairly clean with a few wet crumbs.
- Let it cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, before transferring to a baking tray to cool down further. Slice and enjoy your vegan chickpea blondies!
Notes
- Be flexible with the amount of liquid use. If you blondies batter appears to be too thick, add water or plant milk, a tablespoon at a time.
- For a gooier vegan chickpea blondies, bake for 20 minutes. If you prefer a cakey one, you can bake it up to 25 minutes.
- To slice your peanut butter chickpea blondies cleanly, let it cool down completely first before cutting it with a plastic knife or any non-serrated knife.
Reheating - To reheat frozen blondie slices, let them thaw overnight in the fridge, or on countertop for a few hours. You can then reheat them in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 180C/300F. Or, you can just simply heat them up in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
Kathy
FYI, 180c is not 300 degrees farenheit, It is 356 degrees. I put the batter in the oven at 300 as marked and after 25 minutes it still wasn't baked so I had to double check the temp and found 300 was too low. I turned up the temp and hope they come out okay
Meesha
I am so sorry about that!😅
Rachel
Do you add the aquafaba from the cans of beans as well?
Meesha
No, I drained my chickpeas before using it. However, feel free to save the aquafaba for other recipes like my aquafaba brownies! 😁
Emily Vedolich
What can I use to substitute the dates? Can I use raisins the same way?
meesha
I would not recommend using raisins, but you can use 1/2 cup of maple syrup or agave syrup instead 😉
Rachel
That’s the sweetener so I would imagine you can replace it with sugar, maple syrup, agave syrup, or maybe some really ripe bananas.
MG
I used a food processor but my machine still got toast! I used an immersion blender instead. But I think the best way to get a smooth consistency was to blend everything separately. Extra work but saves your machines! I tried the batter and depending on the peanut butter you are using, it tasted like reese's peanut butter cups to me! I might use chocolate as a topping. Thanks for this recipe!
meesha
Thanks for the feedback ! I am really happy you really like the recipe.... Yes it will taste great with some chocolate 😋
Maryann
These were very delicious and so satiating! Will make these again for sure. Enjoyed by my non-vegan family 🙂
meesha
I am really glad you like it ! 😁
Nakeysha
Hi my daughter can’t have oats or almonds can I replace oats with coconut or cashew flour or cassava maybe
Thanks
meesha
You can try substituting it with coconut flour, but I recommend starting with 1/4 cup as coconut flour can soak up lots of liquid ! You might also need to add more plant based milk / water if the mixture still turns out to be to thick. Hope that helps !