Making an indulgent vegan and gluten-free tray of brownies was never so easy! Healthier, easier and way more nutritious than the regular brownies, our chickpea brownies are a family favourite when it comes to sweet treats, are you ready to try them?
If you haven't yet tried cooking your desserts with pulses such as chickpeas, beans or lentils, I know this may sound a bit crazy but we strongly recommend you start adding them into your sweet treats! They add moisture, the perfect texture, fibre and protein.
This is the first recipe you will find on our blog using pulses to make a dessert but I promise it will be the first of many. The whole family loved this recipe and when we told them the ingredients used (chickpeas for the brownies and sweet potato for the frosting) everyone was amazingly surprised!
These vegan and gluten-free chickpea brownies are really easy to put together. Using a food processor, the brownie mixture and frosting will be ready in no time.
For the brownies, the ingredients used are canned chickpeas, dates and maple syrup, almond butter, melted dark chocolate, almond flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. For the frosting, we use sweet potatoes and dark chocolate.
Recipe Step by Step
Brownies
- Melt the dark chocolate. Using a small saucepan add the plant-based milk and dark chocolate onto a low-medium heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted. Leave aside.
- Add the dates and maple syrup into the food processor. Blend using a low speed until the dates have formed a paste.
- Add the rest of the ingredients into the food processor: Chickpeas (rinsed), cocoa powder, baking powder, almond flour, melted chocolate, and nut butter. Blend until you have a smooth and even mixture. At this point, you can add any other ingredients you want such as walnuts or chocolate chips. Simply mix with a spatula.
- Transfer the mixture into a greased baking pan. We use coconut oil to grease our pan. Bake for 22 minutes at 180C / 350F. Leave them to cool at least 20 minutes before cutting or serving.
Frosting
- Bake sweet potatoes. They will need the longest time to fully cook so you can cook them while preparing the brownie mixture. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork a good few times and place them on a baking tray. Bake at 220C / 425F for 45-50 minutes.
- Once the sweet potatoes are nice and soft, leave them to cool for a couple of minutes. Remove the skin and add the sweet potatoes into the food processor. Add the dark chocolate cut into small pieces and blend until all the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth frosting.
- Add on top of the brownies and spread it out evenly before cutting them into squares.
Variations of our Chickpea Brownies
Our vegan and gluten-free chickpea brownies can be easily adapted to your needs or taste:
Nut butter. For our recipe, we use almond butter but you can use peanut butter and the brownies will be just as good.
Almond flour. The gluten-free flour is used to absorb a bit of the moisture and can be substituted for another gluten-free flour such as rice or oat flour. You can as well use gluten-free flour or if you wish, just use regular all-purpose flour.
Add-ons. Add your favourite ingredients once the brownie mixture is done! You can add crushed walnuts, chocolate chips, fruits or any other ingredient you want to include.
Sweetener. Our recipe calls for dates and maple syrup. We like to keep it as healthier as possible for our toddler. You can substitute these ingredients for brown sugar, molasses, date syrup, agave, honey (not vegan), banana or any other ingredient that will add sweetness to the mixture.
Frosting. You don't need to make a frosting to go on top of the brownies as they are already quite moist. You can instead, serve them with some creamy ice cream for example.
Pulses. We use chickpeas but black beans work really good too for making brownies!
Toddler and Kid's Friendly
Our recipe is perfect for toddlers and kids. It's naturally sweetened with dates, and you can add the maple syrup or leave it out.
We use dark chocolate and cocoa powder for the recipe, but you can just use cocoa powder or unsweetened cooking chocolate.
These brownies are the perfect way to introduce more pulses to your kid's diet. They can discover a totally new way to cook chickpeas.
We always try to get Luca involved in the kitchen but especially when we are using a food processor as he can add the ingredients and help us mixing them. Remember that kids will always be more likely to try a new food if they have been involved in the making process.
Serving Suggestions
Our vegan and gluten-free chickpea brownies are served with a layer of sweet potato and chocolate frosting on the top which makes them even more enjoyable and indulgent. If you want to skip the frosting part, you could serve the brownies with some vanilla ice cream as well or just on their own.
These brownies can be enjoyed as a dessert or snack. They are made with a combination of amazingly nutritious ingredients so they make a complete snack or even breakfast!
Before cutting the brownies, make sure you leave them to cool for at least 20 minutes. As well, it will be easier to cut them if you wet your knife with cold water before.
Decorate the brownies for the occasion! We love adding some hearts for Valentines or decorate our brownies depending on the season.
If you are looking for more vegan and gluten-free dessert, make you to check our Apple Upside-down Cake.
Vegan and Gluten-free Chickpea Brownies
Equipment
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
Brownies
- 500 g canned chickpeas rinsed
- 75 g vegan dark chocolate baking type
- ¾ cup plant-based milk
- 1 cup dates
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ½ tablespoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup almond flour
- ½ cup nut butter
Frosting
- 700 gr sweet potato
- 80 g vegan dark chocolate baking type
Instructions
Brownies
- Melt the dark chocolate. Using a small saucepan add the plant-based milk and dark chocolate onto low-medium heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted. Leave aside.
- Add the dates and maple syrup into the food processor. Blend using a low speed until the dates have formed a paste.
- Add the rest of the ingredients into the food processor: Chickpeas, cocoa powder, baking powder, almond flour, melted chocolate, and nut butter. Blend until you have a smooth and even mixture.
- Transfer the mixture into a greased baking pan. We use coconut oil to grease our pan. Bake for 22 minutes at 180C / 350F. Leave them to cool at least 20 minutes before cutting or serving.
Frosting
- Bake sweet potatoes. They will need the longest time to fully cook so you can cook them while preparing the brownie mixture. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork a good few times and place them on a baking tray. Bake at 220C / 425F for 45-50 minutes.
- Once the sweet potatoes are nice and soft, leave them to cool for a couple of minutes. Remove the skin and add the sweet potatoes into the food processor. Add the dark chocolate cut into small pieces and blend until all the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth frosting.
- Add on top of the brownies before cutting them or serve on the side so people can add the frosting to their taste.
Nutrition
| If you tried our recipe, please leave a comment or tag us on Instagram @Sixhungryfeet. We are always happy to see your creations! |
Kathleen says
Hi there,
Is there a way to substitute coconut flour for the Almond Flour in this recipe?
Thanks! Looks fantastic to try.
Laura says
Hi Kathleen, this is what I found: "For every ¼ cup of coconut flour that is needed, you will want to use 1 cup of almond flour. When using almond flour, you will want to use less liquid in comparison to how much the recipe requires. This will help to ensure the consistency is correct when cooking". I hope this helps!