Name: Secretly Healthy Chickpea Brownies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup dates (packed); 1/4 cup water; 15 oz can chickpeas (drained but liquid reserved); 3 tbsp aquafaba (from the chickpea liquid reserved above); 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (smooth or chunky); 1/3 cup raw cocoa powder; 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips; 1/2 cup walnut pieces

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Flourless chickpea brownies are fudgy and decadent, lightly sweetened, and loaded with nutrients. Lighter tasting than a traditional brownie, but totally delicious! Ready in 30 minutes.

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This recipe was originally published in November 2018. It has been updated for content and photos.

If you’ve been following along the blog for a while, you know by now that I just love sneaking nutrients into all of my dishes, including desserts.

BUT!

Just like my chickpea cookies, don’t be alarmed, no one will ever guess that the main ingredient here is chickpeas.

Truly a win win, and yes you will love them!

Here’s why you’re going to love these!

Great flavour! Lightly sweetened, with a rich chocolatey flavour, but not overwhelmingly sweet like most brownies.
Naturally sweetened. Can you believe there is nothing but dates to sweeten these delicious, fudgy bites? SO delicious, and healthy too!
Easy to make. These chickpea brownies are so simple to prepare and come together in your food processor for minimal prep work.
Allergen friendly. These incredible treats are not only vegan, making them suitable for dairy or egg free eaters. But they’re also gluten free and flourless. Bonus, they’re oil free and easily made nut free by subbing the peanut butter for sun butter, and skipping the optional walnuts.

How to make chickpea brownies

(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)

Gather your ingredients and drain your can of chickpeas.

Make sure to drain over a bowl, and not your sink to reserve the chickpea liquid. (Also known as aquafaba.)

Add the dates and water to your food processor and process until mostly smooth. (photos 1-2)

Now add the chickpeas, cocoa powder, peanut butter and the aquafaba. (photo 3)

Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides, as needed. (photo 4)

Optional: Add the chocolate chips and walnut pieces, if using, and pulse a few times to gently mix them in, without over processing. (photo 5-6)

Scoop the mixture into your loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Press down the top and smooth as best you can. Make sure there are no gaps, so press firmly. (photo 7)

Optional: Sprinkle the top with a few extra chocolate chips and walnut pieces, if desired. (photo 8)

Bake for 20 minutes and then remove from the oven. Let rest in the loaf pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cutting board to continue cooling. (photo 9)

NOTE: The brownies will look underdone at this point, but do not over cook. They will set as they cool and the longer you wait to cut them, the firmer they will be.

Once cooled for AT LEAST 20 minutes, slice into 10 squares. (photo 10)

Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

If you really want to amp up this dessert, serve it with a scoop of nice cream on top and drizzle it in maple syrup.

Why aquafaba?

The aquafaba is being used as an egg replacement for these chickpea brownies.

So make sure not to dump it all down the drain.

Three tablespoons of the chickpea liquid is equivalent to one egg.

So don’t skip this ingredient.

How long do they keep?

Once completely cooled, store your leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Refrigerate to keep up to 1 week or freeze in an airtight container to keep up to 2 months.

Make sure to separate the layers with parchment paper before freezing.

Substitutions/Variations

For nut free, sub the peanut butter with wow butter or sun butter and omit the optional walnuts. Feel free to sub for dried fruit, like raisins or cranberries, if desired.
Skip the optional chocolate chips to keep this 100% oil free, if needed.
For sweeter brownies, add 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup to the mix after processing the dates, and/or use up to 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.

Expert Tips

Use parchment paper to line your loaf pan. Although greasing will do the trick for nonstick, it will be a lot easier to remove the brownies using the paper to lift them out. (And they’ll cool faster this way!)
Do not over bake your chickpea brownies. Over baking will result in drier, less fudgy tasting brownies. They will look underdone when you take them out of the oven, but I promise they will set as they cool. The longer you wait, the firmer they will get.
Wet your knife in between cuts when slicing your chickpea brownies, for smoother, nicer looking squares.

More secretly healthy desserts

If you tried this recipe, please let me know about it in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don’t forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.

Buon appetito,
Rosa