Vegan Chickpea Blondies (Gluten Free)

Name: Vegan Chickpea Blondies (Gluten Free)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 cup oat flour; 1 cup almond flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon sea salt; 1 cup maple syrup; ½ cup cooked chickpeas (, rinsed and drained); ½ cup almond butter; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; ¾ cup chocolate chips

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This recipe for vegan chickpea blondies is absolute delicious perfection. Healthy, easy to make and even gluten-free! You won't be able to get enough.

I love a good dessert that is filled with a little nutrition and this baby hits the nail on the head!

Stack of three pieces of blondies on a white plate with parchment on it.

This post was originally published on March 30, 2020.

This conversation is sponsored by California Beans. The opinions and text are all mine.

I love all things vegan chocolate chip cookie and vegan brownie, gluten-free of course. These easy vegan blondies feel like the perfect combo of both!

Ingredients

Making chickpea blondies both vegan and gluten-free is easier than you think! Here is what you need:

Oat flour
Almond flour
Maple syrup
Cooked chickpeas
Almond butter
Baking powder
Sea salt
Vanilla extract
Chocolate chips

Top view of ingredients needed to make chickpea blondies vegan in bowls on a dark surface.

How to Make Vegan Blondies

This easy blondie recipe requires some blending in order to get the chickpeas nice and smooth. After that it's simply mix and bake!

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Use a blender or food processor to combine the wet ingredients with the chickpeas.
Stir it all together and fold in the chocolate chips.
Put in a greased baking dish.
Bake and enjoy!

Top view of a food processor with a light brown mixture inside

And if you want a step by step tutorial, check out my video below! The video is sponsored by California Beans and the amazing California bean farmers.

Blondie Mix-In Ideas

The best part about this vegan blondie recipe is the versatility! You can add so many delicious options to change up the flavors. Chocolate chip blondies are my favorite flavor, but some other great mix-ins are:

Peanuts
Walnuts
Pecans
Chopped dates
Marshmallows (these vegan marshmallows are delish)
Pretzels
Nut butter (swirled inside)
And try some vegan caramel sauce drizzled over the top!

How to Store Blondies

These vegan and gluten free blondies do best in an airtight container so they don't dry out, and should be eaten within a few days.
You can also store them in the fridge for up to 3-4 days but after that the texture and flavor won't be as good.
If you want to keep these for longer, you can also try freezing them. Make sure to let them cool completely, do cut into squares. This keeps the texture the best. Wrap the entire large square in plastic, then foil to help prevent freezer burn. After that, store in an air tight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to eat, allow to defrost slowly on the counter. Once they have reached room temperature, cut into squares. You can also warm them a bit in the microwave or toaster oven.

Tips for Reducing the Sugar

Chickpea blondies are a dessert, so they definitely has their fair share of sugar. However the sugar comes mostly from maple syrup so we'll just call them healthy blondies!

If you are looking for something less sweet, you can try a few different options (note that any change in the recipe, will change the end result):

Reduce the amount of maple syrup, but add a little water to make up for the loss of liquid. Slowly add one teaspoon until you get the same batter like consistency.
Use date paste instead of maple syrup. When making the date paste, add enough water to get the same consistency as maple syrup.

Baking Tips

For the best gluten free blondies texture you need accuracy with the flours. Which is why I include precise weights. If you don't have a scale, then you can purchase this fairly inexpensive one.
If you prefer to measure, then measure the flours by scooping your measuring cup into the flour versus spooning it into it. This is how I measured when getting my weights.

Is it better to use canned or dried chickpeas?

You can use canned or dried chickpeas in this particular chickpea blondies recipe because you are blending them completely. Both are great and will give the same end result. However there is a process for using dried beans.

Dried chickpeas have a little more of a "meaty" chewy texture which is why I love them for many plant-based meaty alternative recipes, like my vegan taco meat. But for this one, either kind works!

How to Cook Dried Chickpeas

There are a few extra steps you will need to do in order to use dried beans in this recipe (or any recipe for that matter!). For a full comprehensive post check out all about how to cook dried chickpeas here.

Keep in mind that 1 cup dried chickpeas makes 3 cups cooked chickpeas. Here are the instructions:

Soak the amount of dried beans you need overnight. For this recipe you will soak ⅓ cup dried to get one cup cooked.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas the next day and put them in a pot covering them with water.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30-40 minutes. You want them pretty soft, so start checking around 30 minutes and stop cooking once they are soft enough to mash in between your fingers.

If you are making other recipes where you do not want the chickpeas too soft, make sure you stop cooking prior to the 30-40 minutes. I'd start checking around 20-25 minutes.

Common Questions

What are blondies?

Blondies like super extra thick cookies that are prepared and served similar to brownies.

What's the difference between blondies and brownies?

The main difference is that brownies are made with cocoa for a chocolate flavor, whereas blondies don't have chocolate in the mix.

What does a blondie taste like?

Blondies taste similar to a chocolate chip cookie, a bit of vanilla and almost like butterscotch. However, they're more thick and gooey than cookies.

Why are chickpeas called garbanzo beans?

Some people may call chickpeas garbanzo beans! They are actually the exact same bean. Turns out, chickpea is the Latin word, while garbanzo bean has Spanish origins. But both are the same thing!

Hand taking a blondie piece off a stack on a parchment lined plate.

More Vegan Desserts

Devour these vegan chickpea blondies then move on to one of these tasty plant based recipes: