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Moist, tender, and fudgy flourless blondies with a crackly top. Gluten free and vegan, but so delicious no one will ever know. These Cinnamon Chickpea Blondies will become your new favorite treat!
These Cinnamon Chickpea Blondies are our go-to treat! They are moist and tender in the center with just a bit of a crackly crust on top. Perfectly sweet, healthier than your average blonde brownie recipe, and made from pantry staples. They’re so easy and, oh, so delectable!
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
While these flourless chickpea blondies do contain a good amount of sugar, it’s the unrefined kind, and they’re also packed with protein, fiber, folate and iron thanks to the chickpeas, peanut butter, and oats. You don’t have to feel guilty about indulging your sweet tooth.
Bonus: they are dairy free, gluten-free and oil-free, too! Basically, you need to devour these dreamy vegan blondies immediately!
Chickpeas ~ It’s no secret that my “secret” ingredient in these Cinnamon Chickpea Blondies is chickpeas! I super swear promise you will not taste them! Trust me! But they do provide that great fudgy texture!
Oats ~ Old fashioned rolled oats give some structure to these fudgy blondies. You can sub oat flour, all-purpose flour, or a gluten free flour blend if you prefer.
Many readers have left them out with great success.
Cashew butter ~ Nut butter gives this blondie recipe some fat to make it extra indulgent. It also helps everything stick together. Cashew butter is nice and thick and has a natural sweetness, but not an overpowering flavor, which allows the cinnamon to really shine.
Any nut butter will do in a pinch. The flavor will change slightly depending on the nut butter used, but will still be delicious.
For a nut-free option, use sunflower seed butter.
Sweetener ~ Coconut sugar and pure maple syrup bring a delicious caramel-like flavor that complements the cinnamon so well.
If you don’t have coconut sugar, brown sugar may be used instead. If you don’t have either of those, cane sugar can be used, as well.
Cinnamon ~ Ahhh, the cinnamon. I LOVE cinnamon. So spicy, sweet and fragrant.
Did you know cinnamon, full of manganese, fiber and calcium, has been shown to have anti-clotting and anti-microbial properties? It also helps to control blood sugar levels and boost brain function.
Technically, you could leave it out if you don’t love cinnamon, but that just seems wrong.
More recipes featuring cinnamon
- Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Chickpeas
- Maple Pecan Cinnamon Scones
- Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
- Vegan Cinnamon Coffee Cake
- Spiked Hot Cocoa with Cinnamon
How to make the recipe
The entire batter is made in the bowl of a food processor and comes together in less then 5 minutes. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
After that, just spread the batter in a prepared 8 x 8 pan and bake!
Storage/Freezing
My kids and I inhale these vegan blondies usually in a day!
If you have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days. After that, storing them in the fridge would be best.
You can even freeze these yummy blondie bars. The easiest way is to cut them into squares and then lay them in one even layer on a baking sheet or large plate in the freezer. Once the bars are frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe zip-top plastic bag or container.
FAQs
Not much actually. They are more similar than they are different. They are both soft dessert bars. The main difference is that brownies contain chocolate and blondies don’t.
Both brownies and blondies can have many variations and flavors.
Typically, a high fat to flour ratio will make brownies fudgy. In this case we are adding some healthy fat with the cashew butter, but it’s ditching the flour altogether and blending the low-fat chickpeas until smooth that really makes these blondies fudgy.
You’ll know the chickpea blondies are done when the top starts to crackle and the sides start to pull away from the pan. A toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean.
More vegan dessert bar recipes
- Vegan Pumpkin Bars
- Fudgy Mocha Black Bean Brownies
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
- Cranberry Oat Crumble Bars
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bars
- Classic Vegan Toffee Bars
- Triple Almond Oat Bars
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you tried it, please use the rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment below with your feedback.
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For even more easy family recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook, The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook!
Cinnamon Chickpea Blondies
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas drained and rinsed (or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas)
- ½ cup cashew butter
- ¼ cup old fashioned rolled oats certified gluten free if desired
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar or organic brown sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts optional
- Cinnamon Sugar mixture optional for garnish (equal parts of cinnamon and sugar mixed together)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Lightly spritz an 8×8 baking dish with oil or line with parchment paper.
- Combine all ingredients, except walnuts, in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Add the walnuts, if using, and stir gently, then smooth the batter out.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture, if using.
- Bake for 30 minutes until the sides start to pull away from the baking dish and the top is firm.
- The blondies will continue to firm up while cooling.
- Cut into equal size squares and serve.
Jo says
Hi, these look fabulous! My husband has just had a major change in dietary however loves a little treat with a cup of tea (as we all do) 🙂
All nut butters except Macadamia butters have been eliminated from his diet. Do you know if Macadamia butter would work? I really don’t know much about it.
Many thanks, Jo
Jenn Sebestyen says
I haven’t used macadamia butter before, but I’m sure it would. This recipe is very forgiving! Let me know how it turns out!
Joy Cooking says
Used natural peanut butter, cut the brown sugar down to 1/4 c., skipped the sugar on top, and used flaxseed meal in place of the oats (to make it grain-free). Next time I will try adding cinnamon chips or mini chocolate chips. We really enjoyed them.
Jenn Sebestyen says
So glad you loved them!
T Wine says
Made these tonight. They were fabulous! We reduced cinnamon to 1 Tbsp. and used natural peanut butter because that’s what we had on hand, but no other modifications.
Jenn Sebestyen says
So glad you like them. Thanks for your feedback!
Darlene Steele says
I’d like to make these cinnamon blondies but saw that it calls for 1 1/2 Tablespoons of cinnamon. That sounds like a lot to me. Is it teaspoons? Thanks!
Jenn Sebestyen says
It’s tablespoons. There’s no denying the cinnamon! 🙂 The great thing about vegan treats is that you can taste the raw batter, so if you find cinnamon to be a strong flavor, start with less, taste, and stir in more if desired. Let me know how they turn out!
Darlene Steele says
Thanks for the response on the cinnamon. I only added 1 teaspoon to the batter and thought they were good! I used natural peanut butter since that was what I had. Yummy 🙂
Jenn Sebestyen says
So glad you liked them!
Aimee B. says
Oh, man!! These are soooooo good and our house smells amazing right now! I just tried a warm bite and geez, these are wonderful! My husband was shocked that it’s a chickpea dessert, lol! I used peanut butter, a maple/agave blend, brown sugar, and omitted the salt. These are a definite keeper! Looking forward to trying another bite once they are fully cooled. 🙂
Jenn Sebestyen says
Thanks, Aimee! I’m so glad you love them!
Lauren T says
I’ve been making these regularly for nearly 2 years now, and they’re a big hit every single time with everyone (including non-vegan). I always half the sugar and skip the sugar on top (just a question of taste), and use agave instead of maple syrup. The batter I end up with is thicker than the one in your video, so it’s a bit of a workout to scrape it all out of the blender, but they’re so yummy it’s all worth it 🙂 Thank you!
Jenn Sebestyen says
I’m so glad you love them! Thank you, Lauren!
April says
I have been making these for years for healthy snacks for my kids. Even my picky husband likes them. As long as you process the beans smooth, you will never know they are there. I leave out the cinnamon and and chocolate chips sometimes to mix it up.
Jenn Sebestyen says
I love hearing this, April! So glad you all love them. Thank you for your comment!
Saba says
Hi,
Would Stevia, maple syrup or honey work as a substitute for the coconut sugar? I don’t have any coconut or brown sugar on hand and I’m quarantined
Jenn Sebestyen says
I have personally never worked with stevia, so I wouldn’t know how much to tell you to use, but if you know how to sub stevia for sugar, I’m sure it will work texture-wise. As for honey or maple syrup, either could probably work, but again, I’m not sure how much to tell to use since I personally haven’t tried it with this recipe. If I had to guess, I would start with 1/2 cup maple syrup (for the whole recipe, so that includes the 1/4 cup already in the recipe) and check the texture of the batter. It should be thick and sticky. You can watch the video…towards the top of the post…to get an idea of what the texture should be. Let me know if you try it!
Amy says
Any suggestions for substituting the oats for something else? Allergic to oats. But this sounds yummy.
Jenn Sebestyen says
Hi, Amy. Several readers have left them out with success. Or you can add in some almond flour or regular flour if you’re worried about them being too soft. Enjoy!
Jessica says
Have you tried this recipe with Sunflower butter instead of Cashew? If yes, did it alter the taste?
Jenn Sebestyen says
Hi, Jessica. I haven’t personally used sunflower seed butter in these, but a few readers have and report that they turned out great! You can read through the comments to find those if you want. Enjoy!
Aleli says
Can this be prepared using a high-speed blender? Will that affect the texture?
Jenn Sebestyen says
Hi, Aleli. I personally haven’t tried it in a blender. I feel like it might be too sticky for a blender to blend properly, but it may work. You’ll probably need a tamper to help get things moving. Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!