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
-
5"x9" Loaf Pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup 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
- ⅓ cup raw cocoa powder
Optional Fill Ins
- ⅓ 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 20-25 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.
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. 🙂
Wendy Gilbert
Hi. When making the chickpea fudgy brownies what size (in inches or com’s)
is your tin please ?
Rosa
Hi Wendy, I use a 5″x9″ Loaf Pan for these.
Ivana
Amazing, loved the simplicity of the making. And the flavours really come through, good balance between the cacao, peanut butter and dates! Definitely one of the healthy chocolate favourites now!
Rosa
Thanks very much Ivana! Thrilled you enjoyed these. 🙂
Cindi
Just made these and whilst they are delicious, they really didnt firm up. I followed it exactly and they are more than soft – the brownies, after resting for more than an hour after finished cooking, feels like firm pudding. they cant be held as they’re so loose.
Les
That was my experience also. I ended “rebaking” the tray for another twenty minutes or so. They came out really well that way. I’m now making a fresh batch at double the bake time in the recipe! Also with a quarter cup of oat flour added (for a slightly more cakey feel) and subbing soaked cashews for peanut butter (bc I ran out of the latter). Let’s see how funky they come out 😀
Sarah
I have prunes but not dates…. Would that work as a substitute?
Rosa
Hi Sarah, it should work but it will alter the flavour of the brownies. They won’t be as sweet, but if you’re okay with that, give it a try! Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Alison Irving
These brownies are off the charts amazing….so decadent and so delicious!
They’re very easy to make, such simple ingredients and the results are fantastic! I thought I might have to use the optional maple syrup, as I have a very bad sweet tooth, but no! Not at all. Craving satisfied! 🙂 Thank you, Rosa!!
Rosa
Thanks for the review Alison. I’m so happy you enjoyed these!
Michelle
I made these today for the first time! I’m trying to eliminate flours and sugar and was craving something sweet! This was soooo yummy! I will definitely make it again and again! My very picky kids also loved it! My daughter who doesnt like chocolate, hummus or peanut butter, absolutely loved them!! So funny!
Yummm! Thank you for always providing tasty and healthy recipes!! ❤
Rosa
Thanks so much for the review Michelle. Thrilled you all enjoyed the brownies. 🙂
May
OH MY GOD ROSA these are so FREAKING GOOD
…
mmmmmmmmmm
I know you said the longer I wait the easier they’ll be to cut, but I definitely sliced through them the second that 20 minute timer went off. They were fudgy heaven. I used pecans instead of walnuts because that’s what we had. Yummmmmm. And I used a silicone loaf mold with no greasing and no parchment paper, it slid out perfectly.
Rosa
Thanks so much for the glowing review May! I’m thrilled you loved these so much. 🙂
Carina
They were delicious thanks!
Rosa
Thrilled you enjoyed Carina!
Lorie
They look delish. I don’t have dates but do you think packed cranberries would work? I just bought a big bag from Costco. I know it would change the taste a bit
Rosa
Hi Lorie, it may work, but there won’t be any sweetness since the dates are sweetening these. If you’re okay with a very tart brownie, then it may work. Let me know if you try it! Enjoy.
Jessica Fitzgerald
I made them tonight and they turned out delicious!
Rosa
Amazing, so glad to hear it! Thanks Jessica. 🙂