Made with a nutritious, yet straight-forward ingredient list, these super yummy Chickpea Blondies are a favorite dessert to share. The chickpeas blend right in, adding a nutritious base to the recipe that’s hard to taste!
Chickpea Blondies
I love a good kitchen challenge and using up pantry staples that have been lingering. So when I had the chance to figure out a dessert using a can of chickpeas, I was excited to take it on! These blondies come together in the food processor, are very satisfying (since they have a lot of beneficial fats and protein) and are just sweet enough for our taste buds.
These are so good eaten right out of the fridge with a glass of cold milk, so they are a regular dessert and snack in our house. They rank right up there with my Banana Brownies and Black Bean Brownie Bites as a favorite chocolate treat.
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Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at what you’ll need to make this recipe so you know what to have on hand.
- Chickpeas: Also called “garbanzo” beans, this provides the base of the blondie recipe. You’ll want to drain them and rinse them to avoid any salt and to remove the liquid that was in the can.
- Very ripe banana: A very ripe banana, so one with brown spots, adds sweetness to this recipe and helps the batter hold together.
- Unsweetened creamy peanut butter: I typically use store brand natural peanut butter in this recipe. The flavor isn’t all that noticeable in the mix. Use sunflower seed butter if needed to make these nut-free.
- Maple syrup: You can use maple syrup or honey (for kids over age 1) to add a light touch of sweetness to this dessert recipe.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla adds an undertone of flavor to the blondies that works well in the mix of ingredients.
- Baking soda: A small amount of fresh baking soda ensures that the blondies cook through with a soft, yet firm-enough-to-slice texture.
- All-purpose flour: A small amount of flour gives the blondies structure and ensures that they hold together when they’re sliced.
- Chocolate chips: We like to add mini chocolate chips to these for extra flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a peak at how to make this recipe so you know what to expect from the process. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full information including the timing and amounts.
- Rinse and drain the chickpeas.
- Add to the food processor with the rest of the ingredients except the flour and chocolate chips. Grind well. Pulse in the flour and chocolate.
- Spread into a pan.
- Bake until golden around the edges and just firm.
TIP: I like to chop the chocolate chips or use mini ones so they are more evenly distributed throughout the batter, but you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to bother!
Can you taste the chickpeas in this recipe?
No, but I will say that they are best when you make sure to grind up the batter as smooth as possible for the best final texture.
Can I make these nut-free?
You can use sunflower seed butter instead of the peanut butter if you prefer.
How to Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I prefer them chilled, but they are fine at any temperature.
Best Tips for Success
- Be sure to use a very ripe banana for the best flavor.
- These are not super sweet, so add up to ¼ cup sugar to the batter if desired.
- Use honey instead of maple syrup if needed.
- Use almond butter or sunflower seed butter instead of the peanut butter.
- Use a gluten-free cup for cup flour blend instead of all purpose if desired.
- Make them nut-free with sunflower seed butter.
Related Recipes
Desserts
Healthy Brownies (with Banana)
Desserts
Easy Black Bean Brownie Bites
Desserts
Easy Vanilla Cake (Vegan)
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this recipe if you try it, so please rate and leave a comment below!
So Good Chickpea Blondies
Ingredients
- 14.5- ounce can chickpeas (also called "garbanzo" beans)
- ½ cup sliced very ripe banana
- ¼ cup unsweetened creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (chopped or mini chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8×8-inch pan with nonstick spray.
- Add the chickpeas to a colander to drain. Rinse with water. Drain.
- Add to a food processor with the banana, peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Grind on high to make a uniformly smooth batter. (It might take 15-30 seconds.)
- Pulse in the flour and chocolate until just combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 24-26 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the top is firm to the touch.
- Let cool fully in the pan and slice to serve.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I prefer them chilled, but they are fine at any temperature.
- Be sure to use a very ripe banana for the best flavor.
- These are not super sweet. Add 2-4 tablespoons sugar to the batter if desired.
- Use honey instead of maple syrup if needed.
- Use almond butter or sunflower seed butter instead of the peanut butter.
- Use a gluten-free cup for cup flour blend instead of all purpose if desired.
Nutrition
This post was first published January 2021.
Used 1 banana and little extra maple syrup. So tasty!
Love this!! Used honey instead of syrup because it was what we had available. What a yummy treat!
Do you have any recommendations for a chocolate chip substitute? My little one is 13 months and I’m avoiding added sugars until closer to 2!
Can’t wait to make this recipe!!
Thank you!
Hi- you could do blueberries as an alternative.
Hi! Can you freeze these? Thank you!!
Yes, they freeze well!
This is an unbelievably delicious recipe for a pregnant mama trying to pack in as much protein as possible!
These are great. Thank you! I used agave for sweetener and sunflower butter. They have an interesting blueish hue in the center. Wondering if anybody else experienced this.
This happens to me every time I bake with sunflower butter. I looked it up once, I think it’s a reaction of the sunflower butter with the baking soda. It’s harmless, but funky looking!
Simple and incredibly tasty recipe! So much flavor and my toddler loved them 🙂 Will definitely be making again. Thank you!
Once again, Amy knocks it out of the park! My family loved these! Thanks Amy!
So glad to heat that!
Just made these for the first time and they are a HUGE hit with my super picky 6-yr-old! She devoured two of them right out of the oven. I’m always looking for snacks with protein that she will eat, and the fact that they’re egg-free as well means I can also serve them to my 18-mo-old with an egg allergy. They taste great exactly as the recipe is written; no added sugar needed at all. We used mini chocolate chips. Thank you so much for your amazing recipes!
Tasted great but vanilla does make a difference! I didnt have any and i could taste a bit of chickpea, will add cinammon next time if i dont have vanilla.
Absolutely amazing! I brought them to family dinner and didn’t tell anyone the ingredients until after they ate it! Everyone thought it was just banana bread. It was so sweet and best when cooled straight from the fridge. Now everyone in my family wants to the recipe to have a batch of their own!
So glad to hear that!
These are delicious!! Both my little eaters loved them and my picky toddler said several times how good they were. Way better than I expected them to be! Will make these again. Thanks for the recipe!
SO GOOD! they get even better after being chilled. 10/10 recommend!
These are incredible! I added two tablespoons of brown sugar but I’m not even sure it was needed . Thanks for this delicious dessert !
So glad to hear that!
These are so delicious and easy but I just can’t tell if they’re underbaked when cut or if the inside is supposed to be the texture of cookie dough. I don’t necessarily mind it but just want to be sure they’re safe for a toddler to eat! Any thoughts? Thanks for so many great recipes!!!!
They are softer on the inside but they are safe since there’s no raw egg and the flour is cooked. Enjoy!
These taste delicious but after 45 minutes in the oven they are still just batter basically. Not sure what I did wrong!
The most common explanation would be that the baking soda isn’t fresh or active, and didn’t work properly. I’m sorry that happened.
These are sooooo good! Kid, toddler and husband approved! Do you think they would freeze well?
Yes, they freeze really well!
Would this work with almond flour??
I haven’t tested them that way so I can’t say for sure whether they’d hold together the same way but let me know if you try it.
Is there anything you’d recommend substituting the banana for? I can’t stand banana and so many recipes like this are avoided in our house. Thanks
You could use applesauce. I might add 2 tbsp sugar to make sure they taste sweet enough since a very ripe banana is usually sweeter than applesauce. Hope that helps!
One of your best YET! So easy to make, had everything on hand, and tasted delicious. Can’t wait to have one with morning coffee. Loved it!!!!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Do you think I can make it with glutenfree flour, like rice flour? Thank you!
The best gf option is to use a gf flour blend that’s designed to be used as a direct replacement for wheat flour.
Yummy! I feel like the batter for these is close to an edible chocolate chip cookie dough. Would love that recipe too!
These are delicious! I only had one semi-ripe banana that equated to 1/3 cup, so I sliced and microwaved it for 30 seconds to soften it some and added applesauce to make up the difference to 1/2 cup. I also added 1/4 cup of ground flax seed and subbed whole wheat flour for the all purpose. I used my mini food processor (I hate dragging my big one out oddly) for the beans and the liquid ingredients, transferred to a mixing bowl, and just stirred the flour (+ flax) and chocolate chips in by hand as my mini processor would not have accommodated that. They needed about 28 minutes. I’ve made different chickpea cookie and bar recipes in the past, but I think this was by far the best for consistency and hiding the chickpea flavor. So glad to have a new, healthier addition to my recipe box.
My toddler and I both love these muffins! I tried to add additional nutrients and lower the glycemic index of these muffins by making the following changes: I subbed chopped dates for for the chocolate chips, I used whole wheat all-purpose flour, I subbed blackstrap molasses for maple syrup. They needed to cook for 26 minutes and came out to perfection. Thanks for all of the great ideas on this website!
My husband took one bite and said no, I cannot continue this without coffee! He made it into an event 😋 I saw the recipe on TikTok and immediately started making it. I realized halfway through I didn’t have any peanut butter so I had to stop and make my own almond butter. I had two ripe bananas so I just threw them in. I make batches of beans at a time and keep them in baggies in the freezer, so I used those garbanzos rather than using canned. I didn’t have an 8 x 8 pan so I used an old heart pan that I bought in the mid-1980s. I used vegan chocolate chips. No taste of garbanzos AT ALL. They were so dang delicious!
The flavor is great, BUT I have cooked these for at least 30 minutes and then let them cool. They are still pretty mushy through-out. What do you think I could have done wrong? How can I now, get them cooked a bit more? Thanks.
Maybe pop them into the fridge to see if they firm up more?
Hi Amy,
Thanks for all the great recipes, I don’t know what I’d do without you!
Do you think it would work if I used raisins instead of choc chips?
Thank you 🙂
Hi- Sure, you can do that. The flavor and sweetness level will be different, but should work just fine!
These were great! My husband who has a big sweet tooth liked them, as did our 20 month old. I used whole wheat flour, no added sugar – will definitely be making again!
Made these for the first time today. So good! Even my picky one loved them.
Can I use blueberries instead of chocolate chips?
Sure!
Can you freeze these?
Sure, just put into a freezer bag, remove as much air as you can, and seal. Thaw at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
Everyone loved these, including my husband! I cooked the chickpeas in a pressure cooker and added a little cinnamon after blending everything. We’ll definitely make these again.
Just made these and they came out great! Actually made them for my birthday so that my 1.5 year old daughter could celebrate and enjoy a treat with us. So I used two 4” round cake pans. It turned out great! For anyone wondering, I used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose, and the texture was really nice and dense (in a good way). I also left out the chocolate chips and used cinnamon and cardamom instead. So delicious. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m a big fan of most YTF recipes from Amy, but this one was so fantastic I was moved to leave a comment ?
The whole family loved this one – our almost 2 year old was into it! My lactose intolerant husband was thrilled to have a “dessert” that he could really enjoy. And this busy momma loved a little treat for my afternoon pick me up. Also felt good knowing we are all getting a little protein in our treat with beans and peanut butter.
I found the banana and peanut butter flavors the strongest A combo I like ☺️ I had some warm out of the oven (tasted like banana bread! It was also good cold out of the fridge like suggested in the post. YUM!
These were absolutely amazing! The whole family almost ate the entire pan including my very picky 2 year old. I did add 2 tablespoons of sugar. What a treat! Thank you for this recipe!
Love all of your recipes! These are SO good, and can’t believe my little one is ACTUALLY eating beans right now. We have eaten at least half the batch between the two of us.
Awesome!
Hi Amy,
Do you think cannellini beans would work in place of chickpeas? I’m allergic to the latter.
Thanks!
Hi! I’m not sure and cannellini beans are often moister than chickpeas. If you try it, you may want to add a little extra flour to make sure they aren’t too wet.
Thanks Amy for the quick response! I’ll try that and will report back.
These look great! Wondering if the banada flavour is strong and/or if it would be possible to leave out or substitute something for the banana? Thanks!
You can’t taste it much (but if you’re super sensitive to the flavor you may notice it). I haven’t tried these any other way but mashed roasted sweet potato or applesauce are usually good alternatives to bananas in baked goods.
Wonderful! Thanks for the feedback and suggestions!
Is it ok to skip the chocolate chips?
Yes though it will be a lot less sweet.
Can you make these with regular hummus? How much would you need to replace the chickpeas
I think that might make the flavor totally different since hummus has other ingredients in it
Can you use whole wheat flour and can these be frozen?
Yes, I think so on both accounts!
How do you make it not become green?!!!? I once used chickpeas to make cookie dough and it turned green, and the same thing happened to this!
I haven never had that happen or heard of it, but I’ll dig around to see if I can figure out a potential reason why. Must be some fluke chemical reaction. Will report back!
If you are using sunflower butter that would cause it to turn green….sunflower butter reacts with baking soda and turns green in baked goods. Never heard of it with chick peas though.
Yes, that is true. I also have never heard of it happening with chickpeas and didn’t see anything in a google search.