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Step aside, boxed mix, because Chickpea Brownies are in town! These gluten- and dairy-free brownies are the perfect vegan treat. They’re a healthy alternative to regular brownies and are so quick to make!
Watch this video to see how I make chickpea brownies!
The most delicious vegan homemade brownies
If you’re an avid baker I’m sure you’ve tried your hand at Internet trends like black bean brownies, sweet potato brownies, or even avocado brownies. But have you tried chickpea brownies?
In my opinion, these are the best of the alternative brownie options. They’re filled with ooey gooey deliciousness and are so easy to make. Plus, they’re perfect for customizing with your favorite toppings. After making my signature chickpea blondies, I knew I had to make a chocolate version!
For me, a daily sweet treat is a must, so I love to keep something chocolate in my pantry at all times. When I realized I could make these just a little bit fudgier and a little bit more chocolate-y, I was in.
Along with my favorite cake, cookies, and muffins, chickpea brownies are on a very frequent rotation in my kitchen.
Ingredients used in this brownie recipe
For this recipe we’re sticking to gluten-free, vegan ingredients while also keeping things as natural as possible. Along with the chickpeas we’ll be using a blend of nut butter, almond flour, and of course lots of chocolate chips!
- Chickpeas
- Nut butter (I like almond or peanut)
- Maple syrup
- Coconut oil
- Vanilla
- Almond flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Chocolate chips
Kitchen tools that you’ll need
This recipe is a quite simple one. You’ll need only a handful of tools including a food processor (or blender), a spatula, and a baking dish. That’s it!
For measuring ingredients, you’ll need these sizes: 1/4 tsp, 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, 1/4 cup, and 1/2 cup.
How to make brownies with chickpeas
Chickpea brownies are so simple to whip together! Everything just needs to be mixed, and then you toss the batter in the oven for a little over 20 minutes. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a blender.
First, preheat the oven to 350F.
In a food processor, blend the chickpeas, nut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla.
Once blended, add the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Continue to process, scraping down the sides as necessary until smooth.
Once creamy and smooth, take off the lid (I also remove the blade) and stir in the chocolate chips. Do not process.
Next, pour the batter into a greased 8×8 pan and sprinkle the top with extra chocolate chips.
Bake for 21-23 minutes, and tada! Your brownies are ready to devour.
Tip: If you’d like, you can bake these in a loaf pan for extra thick brownies. This method will require about 30-35 minutes in the oven.
Tasty add-on options
There are few recipes as versatile as brownies. No matter how they’re made, whether it’s with a box mix or from scratch, brownies can be transformed into anything you’d like. Here are some of the ways that I like to make my brownies extra special.
- Switch up the chips: In addition to chocolate (or instead of), you can add white chocolate, peanut butter, or even butterscotch chips.
- Sprinkles: Add your favorite type of sprinkles for a touch of color!
- Fruit: Like a little fruit with your chocolate? Any type of berry, especially strawberries and blueberries, would taste great in these brownies.
- Pretzels: Salty and sweet go together like peanut butter and jelly! Add crushed pretzels to the top of your brownies for the perfect flavor.
- Oreos: Love Oreos? Mash ’em up and sprinkle them on top! And yes, your brownies will still be vegan!
- Candy: Add your favorite candies like M&Ms or KitKats!
- Drizzle: Finally, take your presentation up a notch by coating your brownies with a tasty chocolate, peanut butter, or caramel drizzle.
Bonus: Serve up warm alongside your favorite vanilla ice cream for an extra satisfying treat!
Optional substitutions
You know how it goes. You read through a recipe, feel a craving coming on, and immediately head to your kitchen to give it a go, only to discover that you’re missing a key ingredient!
Well, in the case of these brownies, there are a number of swaps that will work. So before you head to the store, check this list for substitution options!
- Nut butter: I mentioned that I like to use almond or peanut butter, but any nut butter will work!
- Maple syrup: In place of maple syrup you can use molasses or honey. Start with a smaller measurement and add more as needed.
- Coconut oil: Missing coconut oil? That’s okay! You can use any similar baking oil.
- Cocoa powder: It may sound obvious, but you can actually use chocolate in place of cocoa powder. You’ll want to use 1 1/3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate for this recipe.
A healthier brownie treat
I always aim to make recipes as whole and healthy as possible, which is why I used a number of ingredient alternatives in these brownies.
First up, I used chickpeas! This ingredient serves as the base of this recipe and is a great way to fill the brownies with protein. They contribute to the texture and fudginess too. Plus, it tastes great.
I used coconut oil rather than vegetable or canola oil because it has a better nutritional makeup and is a slightly healthier option.
Next, I used almond flour in place of white all-purpose flour because it provides more nutrients and works so well in baked goods.
Finally, I used maple syrup to sweeten this recipe because it’s an all-natural option that tastes fantastic and doesn’t add any harsh chemicals or preservatives to the recipe!
How to store chickpea brownies
These chickpea treats can be kept in either the refrigerator or at room temperature. Just place them in a securely sealed container to prevent air from drying them out.
More chocolate desserts to ease your sweet tooth
There’s more chocolate where these brownies came from! And lots of it, to be honest. Here are some more of my favorite sweet recipes that do wonders for smashing those cravings!
- Healthy Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
- Walnut Stuffed Chocolate Covered Dates
- Healthy Chocolate Granola Recipe
- Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes (Gluten-Free)
Chocolate Chickpea Brownies
Step aside, boxed mix, because Chickpea Brownies are in town! These gluten- and dairy-free brownies are the perfect vegan treat. They’re a healthy alternative to regular brownies and are so quick to make!
Ingredients
- 1 – 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
- 1/2 cup nut butter (I like almond or peanut)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips and more for sprinkling on top!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a food processor, blend chickpeas, nut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla,
- Once blended, add in almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Continue to process, scraping down sides as necessary until smooth.
- Once creamy and smooth, take off lid (I also remove blade) and stir in chocolate chips.
- Do not process the chips.
- Pour into greased 8×8 pan and sprinkle with extra chocolate chips if desired. ** see note for extra thickness
- Bake for 21-23 minutes.
Notes
I’ve also baked them in a loaf pan for extra thick brownies. This took about 30-35 minutes to bake, but they were really good this way!
There may be affiliate links in this post! By purchasing a product I recommend, I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use myself. Thank you for supporting Erin Lives Whole, it helps keep this blog afloat 🙂
Katarina Bednarova says
Absolutely loved it. Thank you very much. I just tried to calculate macros and mine is very different to your numbers. Not sure why
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Katarina, so happy you loved them and each calculator can be a little different.
Caitlin says
So delicious every single time!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Caitlin, so glad you loved them!!
Laura says
Thank you for this easy, healthy alternative. Can I use oat flour instead of almond flour ?
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Laura, yes, you can use a different flour. Some people have commented below they used oat instead of almond. Before you bake just be sure to check the ratio because some flours are not a 1:1 ratio. Let me know how your brownies come out!
Lacey says
Hello! The recipe doesn’t say anything about cooling. Do you recommend slicing and eating right out of the oven?
Erin says
Hi Lacey, yes, cool 15 minutes.
Sarah McCann says
My absolute favorite brownie recipe! Not overly sweet. So good.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Sarah, so glad you loved them!! 🙂
Mireille says
Hi, thank you for posting the recipe.
The chocolate chips, they are semisweet, black chocolate, bitter sweet or else?
Erin says
Hi Mireille, I used semi-sweet ones linked in the recipe but feel free to use whatever type you prefer!
Heather says
These are tasty, but the texture is closer to fudge than to brownie. I even cooked a few extra minutes, they still are very fudge-like. Not bad, just not what I was expecting.
★★★
Erin says
Hi Heather, so glad you liked the tasted of them. I’m sorry that you did not love the recipe! I’ve heard tons of good things about this one. Did you make them to a T?
Máirín Nicol says
Hey Erin,
These are amazing! I don’t usually post comments, but felt I had to! I’ve been trying to make healthier versions of stuff as I’ve just started my weightloss/healthier living journey. I still need to help that sweet craving tho and these are perfect!
Thank you! X
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Máirín, so happy you loved the brownies! 🙂
Laura says
I didn’t have almond flour so I used regular flour and 1/2 cup of plant milk and they came out perfect and fudgy, also topped mine with melted peanut butter ❤️
★★★★
Erin says
Hi Laura, so happy you loved them and made them your own! 🙂
Gerri says
Another Erin Lives Whole staple in our household. Easy to make and sooooo incredibly tasty.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Gerri, so happy you loved them!!
Emily says
Can you substitute the almond flour with regular flour?
Erin says
Hi Emily, so sorry but it won’t work as well here, but you can try it, just use a little less. Let me know how it comes out!
R says
Tried these! Super easy and delicious.
Tweaked the recipe a bit–reduced the maple syrup a little and skipped chocolate chips. I don’t mind less sweet!
They’re decadent and satisfy that craving! Can see myself whipping this up as a late-night drunk snack even 😉
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi, so happy you loved them and made them your own!!
Ryan M says
What is the drained weight of th e chickpeas(how many grams of chickpeas go into food processor)
Jenny says
I want to try your recipe but I can’t have almonds, is there another alternative flour that works?
Erin says
Hi Jenny, I would add half the amount of coconut flour! Or same amount of oat. Let me know how your brownies come out!
Cam says
Once drained do you know the weight of the chickpeas? In canada our cans have different volumes compared to the US.
Thank you!
Erin says
Hi Cam, it is about 400 grams. Let me know how your brownies come out!
Cam says
My gym has a bakery in the lobby where they have chocolate chickpea brownies that are absolutely killer. Out of curiosity I googled chocolate chickpea brownies and your recipe came up. With zero baking experience, I went out and bought a food processor JUST to make this recipe, and I’m blown away. I usually don’t leave reviews but these brownies are that good, so thank you Erin for sharing this recipe, for free! This will definitely help with the chocolate cravings as I try to lose a few pounds to lean out!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Cam, so happy to hear you loved them and thanks for sharing!! 🙂
Barbara says
Thank you for this! Question as I am not a baker. How can I adapt this to be made into cookies? I think they’d be a great breakfast cookie.