These flourless Chickpea Blondies are soft, chewy, and studded with chocolate chips for a wholesome treat that still tastes like dessert. Made with chickpeas, rolled oats, and tahini instead of peanut butter or other nut butter, they come together easily in a food processor. They’re vegan, easily gluten-free, nut-free, and freezer-friendly for whenever you need something sweet.
These Blondies Are Full of Beans
Yes, I’m telling you to put chickpeas in your blondies, and no, I haven’t abandoned my firm belief that treats should actually taste like treats. I mean, just look at that texture and the soft, gooey, caramelly inside. Look at those dark chocolate chunks. What a dream!
Chickpeas may be the star ingredient here, but the finished blondies are soft, chewy, chocolatey, and decidedly dessert-like without tasting remotely like beans.
Unlike many chickpea blondies, these are made with tahini instead of peanut butter or another nut butter. The tahini adds richness without overpowering the chocolate, while rolled oats help give the blondies structure. Everything comes together in the food processor, so they’re almost suspiciously easy to make.
The hardest part is waiting for them to cool completely before slicing. They firm up considerably as they cool, developing that dense, fudgy texture that makes them so satisfying. Keep a batch in the freezer for lunchboxes, afternoon snacks, or whenever the need for something chocolatey strikes.
Let's make chickpea blondies together!
Ok my friend, let's get down to business. You'll find specific quantities of ingredients and detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. If you prefer to skip straight there, just use the "jump to recipe" button. Otherwise, join me for a visual walkthrough step-by-step.
Step 1: grind the oats
First up, put your oats into the food processor and blitz them until finely ground, like oat flour. You can also start with an equivalent amount of oat flour if you've got that on hand.
Step 2: Add the chickpeas
Then, add your chickpeas, maple syrup, coconut oil, tahini, vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the food processor.
Pulse a few times to break it up, and then run until the mixture is very smooth. You'll need to stop and scrape the bottom and sides a few times to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
Now stir in most of the chocolate chunks, reserving some to sprinkle on top. Note! If the chickpea mixture is quite warm from the food processor, you may want to let it cool for a few minutes before stirring the chocolate through.
Step 3: Press it out
Spread the batter into a prepared baking pan lined with parchment paper. It is quite thick, so I find that wet hands are best for smoothing the top out. Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate chunks.
Step 4: Bake 'em up!
Now place your blondies into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. The edges should be golden and the top shiny, but the middle still quite soft.
Step 5: serve 'em up!
Allow the blondies to cool completely before slicing. This is 100% the hardest part!
Chickpea Blondies with Tahini
Ingredients
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 14 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ½ cup tahini paste I use quite a runny tahini
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 ounces dark chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C. Line an 8x8-inch baking tin with parchment paper and grease any unlined sides.
- Place the oats into your food processor and let it run until they are ground into a fine flour.½ cup rolled oats
- Add chickpeas, tahini paste, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.14 ounce can chickpeas, ½ cup tahini paste, 1 Tablespoon coconut oil, ⅓ cup maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Run the food processor, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides a few times, until the mixture is completely smooth.
- Add ¾ of the chocolate chunks, reserving the rest to sprinkle on the top. If the mixture is quite warm from the food processor, you might want to let it cool a bit before adding the chocolate.2.25 ounces dark chocolate
- Spread the mixture into the prepared baking tin. It is quite thick, so I find that wet hands are best for smoothing the top out.
- Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate chunks.0.75 ounces dark chocolate
- Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. The edges should be golden and the top shiny, but the middle still quite soft.
- Allow the blondies to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only and also depend on the size of the blondies.
- Can I substitute the tahini? If you don't have tahini on hand or can't eat sesame seeds, you can absolutely substitute almond butter (try our Vanilla Almond Butter!), peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, or another nut butter of your choice for the tahini.
- How to store blondies? You can keep your blondies at room temperature for a day or two, or keep them in the refrigerator for up to five days.
- Can you freeze blondies? You sure can! Just make sure they're completely cooled, then throw them in an airtight freezer bag and you're good to go. Your Chickpea Blondies will last for up to three months in the freezer.
Rachel says
I make these without fail every week now and still love them! Have tried with tahini and PB, both are super yum. Thanks for such an easy, quick and fail safe recipe!
Katie Trant says
I'm so happy to hear that, rachel! Glad you like them as much as we do 🙂
Naomi says
Made these chickpea blondies during an epic snowstorm (I had the ingredients in my pantry). They were delicious and I'll be making them again soon. Love that they can be made in the food processor.
Katie says
Toddler approved. Even though toddler baking meant I wasn’t reading carefully enough and used a 19oz can of chickpeas. A bit les structurally sound, but still workable. 🤪
Emily says
Toddler approved! Would definitely make these again. I wasn’t sure about where the coconut oil went so left it out. I also had to cook mine about 10 minutes longer but realized after the fact that I used a 15oz can of chickpeas so maybe they extra ounce made the batter more wet.
Katie Trant says
It goes with with the rest of the wet ingredients! I've updated the instructions now to include the coconut oil. But totally not a big deal to leave it out, its purpose is mainly to give the blondies a shiny top. Glad you enjoyed them - and yes, I'd say the extra chickpeas would have contributed to the longer cooking time.
Kim says
Hi Katie! Yum these turned out great! It was nice to safely eat some batter too since there is no raw egg. I did note in the instructions it does not say to add coconut oil but I did anyway. Hoping it wasn’t meant for the greasing of the tin? Thank you!
Katie Trant says
The coconut oil is meant to be added with the rest of the wet ingredients. I've fixed the instructions now, thanks!
Kelsi says
Yum!
Great consistency of the blondies! Just perfect. Made these a couple of days ago. Had big chunks of chocolate which made them even better. Super easy to make and the baking time is spot on. Will be making these again for sure.
Gina Grottoli says
OMG these are so good and so quick and easy to make. I like low sugar treats and this fits the bill. You can also snack on this non-baked because there are no eggs; I had to stop myself from eating it before baking. I made one substitution; I put in 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon camelina oil rather than coconut oil. Camelina oil comes from the Canadian prairies and is very high in omega 3s. Its earthy flavour melds well with the tahini. Thanks again Nutrition Lady 🙂
Katie Trant says
Sounds like some great substitutions! Glad you enjoyed these.