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.
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 ½ 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
- Zucchini Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
- Banana Nice Cream – 3 Flavours!
- Healthy Nutella Recipe
- Healthy Banana Carrot Muffins
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
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted dates packed
- ¼ cup water
- 15 oz can chickpeas drained but liquid reserved
- 3 tablespoon aquafaba from the chickpea liquid reserved above
- ½ cup natural peanut butter smooth or chunky
- â…“ cup raw unsweetened cocoa powder
Optional Fill Ins
- â…“ cup vegan chocolate chips
- ½ cup walnut pieces
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Add the dates and water to your food processor and process until you have a smooth paste. Then add the chickpeas, aquafaba, peanut butter and cocoa and process until well combined.
- Now add the optional fill ins if using, and pulse a few times to mix through, but do not over process.
- Scoop into your loaf pan and smooth out the top, pressing down firmly to ensure no gaps. The batter will be very thick. To make it smoother, you can use another pieces of parchment paper on top and press down evenly and firmly with a spatula. You may sprinkle some extra chocolate chips and walnuts on top, if you'd like. Bake for 25-30 minutes and remove from the oven.
- Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then lift the brownies out, using the parchment paper and transfer to a cutting board. Let cool for AT LEAST 20 minutes before slicing. The longer it sits, the more the brownies will set, making them easier to slice. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Alicia Lee
Could you substitute ready made date paste (e.g. from Date Lady) for the dates and water??
Rosa
Date paste should work fine, enjoy. 🙂
marge201
Cooking garbanzos according to your excellent article, Rosa. How much date paste = 1C pitted dates packed +¼C water??
Rosa
I didn’t measure the date paste once blended, unfortunately. (I’ll try and remember to do that next time.) However, I believe you’d need around 3/4 cup of date paste.
Mel
A great recipe, easy to follow with no exuberant ingredients. Will definitely make again
Rosa
Thrilled you enjoyed Mel!
Elizabeth
Amazing!!!!!
Rosa
Glad you enjoyed!
Deborah
I made these this week as a birthday treat for myself. Had them with banana nice cream (frozen banana + soy milk in blender)–delicious! Thanks so much for giving me a way to celebrate without falling off the WFPB wagon!
Rosa
Happy birthday Deborah! So thrilled you enjoyed the brownies. Thanks so much for the review. 🙂