PUMPKIN CHICKPEA BLONDIES
Just in case you haven’t had enough of my healthy pumpkin cookies, here is one more healthy pumpkin dessert recipe for you to try! These chickpea blondies are made with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Not too pumpkiny, but just perfect. Eat them gooey or cook them a little bit longer for more of a bar.
You may have tried some of my previous recipes including the Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies or the Chickpea Blondies, these are similar to those recipes and just as good! If you haven’t seen them, you may think chickpeas in my dessert?! That is what I thought at first too, but if you can’t tell, I now love make recipes using vegetables and beans such as sweet potatoes, black beans, and chickpeas. Not many people know this, but you can make a dessert with a similar consistency, relative sweetness, and absolutely delicious by swapping those legumes for a whole lot of flour, sugar, and baking soda. I definitely don’t think those things are always bad for you, but these are just a lighter alternative!
Plus, I mention this often but natural sugars are also better on your gut and digestive system. Honey and pure maple syrup are the most popular forms of natural sugar, but coconut sugar has a similar effect. Here are some of the main benefits of natural sugars such as honey and maple syrup.
Health Benefits of Natural Sugars:
They aren’t processed sugars and therefore are better on the digestive tract.
They have less of a glycemic index spike when compared to refined sugars.
They contain antioxidants that fight off free radicals in the body. If you don’t know what this means, basically antioxidants prevent chronic diseases from harming your body.
Honey is also immune boosting, fighting against bacteria in the body.
Tips & Tricks for making these Chickpea Blondies
Blending: When I make these blondies I prefer to use a blender because it seems to use create a smoother consistency. If you have one, a Blendtec is awesome. If not, a normal blender should work as well. My biggest tip for blending is to blend the chickpeas completely before adding in the next ingredients. Since the cashew butter is so sticky, if you don’t blend the beans first you may find whole beans in your chickepa blondies.
Cashew Butter: I love using cashew butter because it has a slightly different taste than peanut butter. It is a little creamier and not quite as strong of a nut taste. That being said, it is a little sticker. Read tip #1 for how to avoid your cashew butter getting stuck in the blender. I know most people don’t usually have cashew butter around, so feel free to substitute for peanut butter or almond butter.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: I love this spice during the holidays because it is a perfect blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. If you don’t have it though, feel free to make you own. Use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/4 tsp allspice.
Bigger Batch: If you want to make more than 9 medium size chickpea blondies, feel free to double the batch. If you are doing that, be sure to use a bigger blender, or blend the chickpeas and mix everything else together in a stand mixer.
Baking Time: I like my blondies gooey, so I take them out right at 27 minutes, then let them sit out of the oven to finish cooking. Some people don’t like gooey things, and in this case you could cook for 32-35 minutes. This step is all based on preference. Just remember, you can always let them continue to cook outside of the oven.
INGREDIENTS
1 can (14.5 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup natural peanut butter, or cashew butter
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (*see note for substitution)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Prepare an 8x8 inch baking dish. Spray with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
In a blender, combine chickpeas, peanut butter, pumpkin puree, pure maple syrup, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend until smooth. You may want to blend the chickpeas alone, before adding the extra ingredients, if your blender is not very powerful.
Fold in the chocolate chips using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon.
Pour the dough into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 27-35 minutes, depending on how gooey you like it. See ‘tips’ section if you need more guidance on baking time. Enjoy!
NUTRITION
Makes 9 bars
211 calories
6g protein (10%)
24g carbs (44%)
11g fat (45%)
Pumpkin Chickpea Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 can (14.5 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter, or cashew butter
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (*see note for substitution)
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Prepare an 8x8 inch baking dish. Spray with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
- In a blender, combine chickpeas, peanut butter, pumpkin puree, pure maple syrup, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend until smooth. You may want to blend the chickpeas alone, before adding the extra ingredients, if your blender is not very powerful.
- Fold in the chocolate chips using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon.
- Pour the dough into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 27-35 minutes, depending on how gooey you like it. See ‘tips’ section if you need more guidance on baking time. Enjoy!
Calories
211Fat (grams)
11.1Sat. Fat (grams)
3Carbs (grams)
23.7Fiber (grams)
4Net carbs
19.7Sugar (grams)
13.5Protein (grams)
6.1Sodium (milligrams)
67.6Cholesterol (grams)
.8
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