Healthy Pumpkin Chickpea Blondies (Easy Vegan Recipe)

These Pumpkin Chickpea Blondies are moist, fudgy and packed with autumn flavour. Made with simple, wholesome ingredients (plus a generous sprinkling of vegan white chocolate chunks!), this better-for-you sweet treat is easy to make and utterly irresistible.

If you’ve never tried baking with chickpeas before, this pumpkin chickpea blondies recipe might just change your mind. You can’t taste the chickpeas, but they add a fudgy texture and lots of goodness in the form of plant-based protein and fibre.  These nourishing blondies pack in 4g of protein and just 116 calories per serving.

Almond butter, pumpkin puree and warming pumpkin spice are combined to create a rich and gently spiced treat that is perfect for cosy autumn baking. They use almond flour for a naturally gluten free bake (just make sure you pick a gluten-free white chocolate too), and they come together in under 10 minutes.

We’ve been eating these on repeat this autumn (thanks to 15 recipe tests to get them perfect!) and they’re the perfect balance of healthy and indulgent – using wholesome ingredients to create a deliciously fudgy texture, with pockets of vegan white chocolate to make them taste more indulgent than they really are.

Ready to bake these deliciously nutritious vegan pumpkin chickpea blondies? Let me show you how!

Quick Links:

• The full recipe
• Why you’ll love this recipe
• Ingredients needed
• Step by step instructions with photos
• How to serve and store
• Success tips
• FAQs
• Other delicious recipes like this one

Looking for more healthy vegan bakes this autumn? Try our Fluffy Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes, our 1-Bowl Banana Pumpkin Bread and our Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting. Yummy!

Why you’ll love these Pumpkin Chickpea Blondies

Naturally healthy with an indulgent twist. I love it when a recipe tastes indulgent but is primarily made of healthy ingredients. These blondies are made with chickpeas, pumpkin puree, almond butter and almond flour, with unrefined coconut sugar for sweetness (plus delicious chunks of vegan white chocolate!).

Fudgy and moist. These chickpea pumpkin blondies were tested and tweaked 15 times to get the perfect texture. Serve them at room temperature for a fudgy, melt-in-the-mouth blondie that will baffle you – how are these made from chickpeas and almond flour?!

Quick and easy to make. They take just 10 minutes to prep using a food processor, mixing bowl and baking dish. No complicated steps or fancy equipment needed – just a set of kitchen scales and a keen eye on bake time!

Customisable to suit your tastes. Fancy an even healthier treat? Swap the white chocolate for dark chocolate (we’ve tested it, it’s also delicious!). Pecans also make a glorious addition if you fancy a bit of crunch in your vegan pumpkin blondies.

How to make these Pumpkin Chickpea Blondies

Ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients you’ll need to make this pumpkin chickpea blondies recipe:

Chickpeas.  Tinned, drained and rinsed.

Pumpkin puree. Opt for tinned pumpkin puree as it tends to have less moisture than homemade.

Smooth almond butter. You can swap this for cashew butter if you prefer.

Vanilla extract.

Coconut sugar. Or soft light brown sugar.

Almond flour.

Cornflour. Also known as ‘cornstarch’.

Pumpkin spice mix. Or you can make your own with 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon, 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg, 0.25 tsp ground ginger and a pinch of allspice.

Vegan white chocolate. Opt for white chocolate chunks (i.e. a chocolate bar cut into 1cm chunks) rather than chocolate chips for the batter. You can use either white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate for the topping.

Substitutions and Variations

Chocolate swap. Fancy an even healthier treat? You can swap the white chocolate for dark chocolate.

Nut butter variation. You can swap the smooth almond butter for cashew butter. Peanut butter tends to result in a drier bake and imparts a peanutty flavour, so we wouldn’t recommend this.

Equipment

To make these pumpkin spice blondies, you’ll need:

• A food processor
• A large mixing bowl
• A mixing spoon
• A 20cm (8”) square baking tin

You’ll need to line your baking tin.  Use a little spray oil (or coconut oil) to lightly grease the base and sides, before placing non-stick parchment paper in the tin to cover the base and around halfway up each of the sides.  Take a look at our step-by-step photos below for an example.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Here is a basic summary of the steps involved in this pumpkin chickpea blondies recipe. Make sure to head to the recipe card below for the full recipe and detailed instructions!

STEP 1. Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to a food processor with the pumpkin, almond butter and vanilla. Blend until very smooth (around 3 minutes), scraping down the sides between blends as needed.

STEP 2. Transfer the blended chickpea/pumpkin mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the sugar, flours and pumpkin pie spice.

STEP 3. Stir in 75g white chocolate chunks.

STEP 4. Transfer the mixture to a 20cm (8″) square baking tin lined with parchment paper.  Smooth out the top and sprinkle 25g white chocolate chips (or chopped white chocolate) on top.

Tip:  Use a damp spatula to smooth the top of the blondie batter, it’ll stick less than a dry spatula or spoon.

STEP 5. Bake for 25-28 minutes. Test at 25 minutes by inserting a knife or skewer into a few places in the blondies – if you see any wet batter, place the blondies back in the oven for 2-3 minutes before testing again.

Tip: Be careful not to over-bake blondies otherwise you’ll lose the fudgy, moist texture.

STEP 6. Leave the blondies to cool completely in the tin before slicing into 25 pieces (5 rows of 5).

How to Serve

At room temperature. It’s important to serve these blondies at room temperature for a deliciously moist and fudgy texture. If you serve them chilled, they could feel firmer and drier.

How to Store

At room temperature. Once cooled completely, store these chickpea pumpkin blondies in an airtight container in a cool, dry place (not refrigerated) for up to 2 days.

In the refrigerator. If you prefer to keep the blondies for longer, refrigerate for up to 4 days. Let them sit out for 15-20 minutes before serving to bring back the fudgy texture.

In the freezer. These blondies freeze well. Once completely cool, cut them into squares and place them in a reusable freezer bag with baking paper between the layers to prevent sticking. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To defrost. Defrost at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or overnight in the fridge. If you’ve refrigerated them, don’t forget to bring them to room temperature before serving, to bring back the fudgy texture.

Success Tips

Blend chickpeas until completely smooth

Make sure that the chickpea-pumpkin mixture is blended until completely smooth, with no whole chickpeas remaining. This helps to give that lovely fudgy texture, without the odd whole chickpea in your blondies!

Use white chocolate CHUNKS, not chips

White chocolate chips tend to disintegrate into the blondies when baked, so use white chocolate chunks instead. We chopped up vegan white chocolate bars into approx 1cm (0.5”) chunks for use in the batter – the chunks hold their shape better and create gorgeous pockets of white chocolate throughout the blondies.

Weigh your ingredients

Whilst this recipe is simple, precision weighing is important. This recipe was tested to the gram for the perfect texture; even small variations in flour or pumpkin puree can affect the result, so use digital kitchen scales for accuracy.

DON’T OVERBAKE!

Perhaps the most important tip in blondie making, and the key to fudgy blondies! Set a timer for 25 minutes and check as soon as it goes off – insert a knife or skewer into a few places in the blondies – if it comes out mostly clean, they’re done. If you see any wet batter, give them another 2-3 minutes in the oven before testing again.

Cool completely before slicing

Letting the blondies cool in the tin helps them firm up and slice cleanly without crumbling. Once they’ve cooled to room temperature, I place mine in the fridge for 30 minutes to make them even easier to slice, just be sure to follow the next tip if you do that…

Serve at room temperature

Blondie texture varies wildly depending on what temperature you store them at, and these chickpea pumpkin blondies are no exception. For a deliciously moist and fudgy texture, serve them at room temperature, because refrigeration can cause them to firm up and feel dry. If you’re storing them in the fridge, take them out for 15-20 minutes before serving.

FAQs

Are these pumpkin chickpea blondies healthy?

Yes! They’re made with healthy, wholesome ingredients including chickpeas, almond butter, pumpkin puree and almond flour, making them naturally packed with fibre, protein and vitamins.  They pack in 4g of protein but just 116 calories per serving and they use unrefined sugar for sweetness.  If you want to make them even healthier, swap the white chocolate for dark chocolate.

Are these blondies gluten free?

These blondies use naturally gluten-free ingredients such as almond flour and cornflour, instead of wheat flour. You’ll need to pick a gluten free chocolate and check that your other ingredients are certified gluten free (i.e. there is no cross-contamination at the factory).

What can I use instead of almond butter?

Cashew butter makes a good alternative due to its neutral flavour.

Can I use dark or milk vegan chocolate instead of white?

Absolutely! Dark chocolate makes them less sweet and a little richer – perfect if you want a healthier option.

How do I store these pumpkin chickpea blondies?

Once fully cooled, store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 4 days (though they’re at their fudgiest at room temperature). You can also freeze them for up to 3 months – refer to our serving and storing section for more info.

Can I taste the chickpeas?

Nope! Once blended with the pumpkin and spices, the chickpeas create that lovely fudgy blondie texture, without any beany flavour.

Can I use homemade pumpkin puree?

I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe, because homemade pumpkin puree tends to have more moisture than tinned, and this recipe has been tested based on thicker, tinned pumpkin puree.

More vegan pumpkin recipes to try

I hope you LOVE this recipe for vegan Pumpkin Chickpea Blondies! Please share this recipe with someone you think will love it because it’s our goal to encourage as many people as possible to try plant based eating.

Also, don’t forget to tag @aveganvisit on social media when you make this recipe. I absolutely love seeing your re-creations! Enjoy 🙂 x

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The Written Recipe: