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Vegan Oil-Free Gingerbread Blondies (GF)

Vegan oil-free gingerbread blondies nourish your body as they satisfy your sweet tooth! They are flourless, vegan, grain-free, gluten-free and low-sugar.
Vegan gingerbread chickpea blondies stacked on an antique baking sheet

Hello, everyone! I hope this Sunday finds you happy and well, and, for those of you in the United States, safe (and undelayed!) in your return Thanksgiving travels.

I am thankful to be back on my home turf (hello, chilly weather + gorgeous Texas sunshine), cozy (it’s a 100% yoga pants weekend), and (almost) rid of the final remnants of my cold (hallelujah.

I am also thankful for these Vegan Gingerbread Chickpea Blondies.

Vegan gingerbread chickpea blondies, drizzled with white chocolate, on a baking sheet

Healthy Flourless Gingerbread Blondies

Given that Thanksgiving fell so early this year, I am not quite ready to decorate the house and stream Christmas carols. But holiday baking? I’ve been ready and waiting since mid-September, so get ready, because I am all in!

Gingerbread and blondies are two of my favorite desserts, ever. I love good chocolate, in multiple forms, but, when push comes to shove, I am definitely a brown sugar-molasses-spice person. Combining gingerbread and blondies into one? It is meant to be, and this recipe proves it.

flourless gingerbread blondies drizzled with white chocolate

Use Canned Chickpeas for Amazing Vegan Blondies

In addition to wanting the flavors of a gingerbread and blondies, I especially wanted the texture of the latter: tender, slightly crisp top and edges, but a gooey, caramel-like center. It’s a texture combination that is tricky with a traditional, all-purpose flour blondie: a few minutes too long in the oven, and the carameliscious center is gone.

These blondies are anything but tricky. In fact the converse is true of their traditional counterparts: it is almost impossible to go wrong.

The reason? These are made with chickpeas, not flour.

close up of gingerbread chickpea blondies on a slate cutting board

And because they are mostly chickpeas–high in fiber (resistant starch, particularly), protein, and an assortment of other nutrients–these blondies transcend dessert. Each blondie is superfood-packed treat, just right for energy and refueling at any time of day, and free of any subsequent sugar spikes.

In other words, eat, enjoy and feel wonderful.

Molasses & Lots of Spices for Bold Gingerbread Flavor

I used molasses to give these blondies a robust, gingerbread flavor. You can use an equal amount of maple syrup (or honey, if you do not need these to be vegan)–but if you are ok with it, I strong recommend you stick with the molasses.

I am not a fan of timid gingerbread, hence these have plenty of spice. The ginger and cinnamon are important, but feel free to vary the allspice and cloves, as you like, with other spices (e.g., cardamom, nutmeg, mace).

These are just what you need for the post-Thanksgiving, pre-winter Holidays transition. As final perks (to woo you into making a batch asap) they are also frugal and incredibly fast and easy to make.

Enjoy the final hours of the holiday weekend, everyone!

a stack of 4 gingerbread chickpea blondies, all drizzled with white chocolate
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Vegan Oil-free Gingerbread Blondies (GF, flourless)

Camilla Saulsbury
Healthy, delicious, vegan oil-free gingerbread blondies! They are flourless, grain-free, gluten-free, and made with canned chickpeas.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Servings 16 blondies
Calories 82 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 15- ounce can chickpeas rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup nut butter or seed butter (e.g., almond, peanut, or pepita butter)
  • 1/3 cup molasses (cooking molasses, not blackstrap)
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (certified GF, as needed)
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Optional Drizzle: 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips + 1 teaspoon coconut oil melted

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper; grease or spray the exposed sides of the pan.
  • In a food processor, process the chickpeas, nut butter, molasses, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt until completely smooth, stopping once or twice to scrape down sides of processor bowl.
  • Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown, slightly puffed, and the surface of the blondies appears dry.
  • Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely in pan.
  • Use the parchment paper to lift the blondies from the pan.
  • If desired, drizzle blondies with optional white chocolate. For easiest slicing, place in refrigerator for an hour before cutting!

Notes

Molasses Substitute: An equal amount of maple syrup or honey (the latter if you are not vegan) may be used in place of the molasses.
Storage: Store the cooled blondies in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day (they will be soft), the refrigerator for 1 week or the freezer for 6 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1blondieCalories: 82kcalCarbohydrates: 9.9gProtein: 2.4gFat: 4.4gSaturated Fat: 0.4gSodium: 159mgFiber: 2.1gSugar: 0.5g
Keyword canned chickpeas, chickpea blondies, chickpea cookies, flourless
Did you make this recipe?Mention @powerhungrycamilla and tag #powerhungry
Recipe Rating




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Elizabeth

Monday 25th of March 2024

These are delicious! and so easy, thank you.

Camilla

Monday 25th of March 2024

I am so glad that you like them, Elizabeth !

Nell

Tuesday 26th of July 2022

Have you ever used chickpea flour and water in place of canned chickpeas? To my mind the flour soaked in water a few minutes could be substituted. Might not be coarse enough. What do suggest?

Camilla

Monday 1st of August 2022

Hi Nell! You can definitely use chickpea flour and water in all kinds of baking recipes. You could likely play around with this recipe and swap in the chickpea flour. I do a lot of baking with chickpea flour and have a lot of recipes for using it in baked goods here on the site. Keep in mind that chickpea flour is raw dried chickpeas and the canned chickpeas are cooked, so the taste and texture of the final baked good will be different. and texture

Eve

Sunday 12th of June 2022

Hi! I have been poring over your site the last many days and have become a bit obsessed! It’s exactly my favorite things to make and eat. This recipe may be the epitome: blondies and gingerbread are pretty much my all time favorites. And I prefer using whole beans over bean flours. Woohoo! Mine are in the oven but the recipe did not make nearly enough for the pan. I’m wondering what could have happened there? (And they are also taking longer to bake even though they’re much thinner than I had hoped (and than your photos). The only substance is really the beans and the nut/seed butter, plus a bit I suppose from the molasses—how does that fit the full pan for you? Not sure what I could have missed. Thank you for all the yumminess encapsulated on this site!

Camilla

Thursday 23rd of June 2022

Hi Eve! I am so glad that you are excited about my recipes :). Regarding the quantity for the pan: were you using an 8-inch square pan? If it was 9-inch (another standard size of square pan), the blondies will definitely be spread somewhat thin. It might not sound like a big difference, but it is a difference of 64 square inches (8 inch pan) and 81 square inches (9 inch pan). Between the pureed chickpeas, 1/2 cups nut butter and 1/3 cup molasses, you should have roughly 2 cups of batter. Regarding bake time: did the surface of the brownies appear dry at the 20-25 minute mark? The middle of the blondies has a somewhat soft middles (per the photos; you do not want to bake until solid. Same is true with traditional blondies ?. They will firm up as they cool).

Kit

Thursday 2nd of December 2021

I made these, they're so delicious! Light and fluffy, but also gooey and very moreish. I used half almond butter, half Cashew butter and half maple syrup half coconut blossom nectar. Not too sweet, great spice level, and they've kept in an airtight container for a few days now, actually I kept them out uncovered for a day too and they haven't dried out. I could have eaten the whole lot in one go though.

Camilla

Thursday 9th of December 2021

YAY!!!! So glad you gave these a try, Kit! Oh my goodness, I am getting so hungry thinking about the cashew butter and coconut blossom nectar... :)

Lisa

Monday 4th of December 2017

I'm so intrigued!! Are there any reviews? And any thoughts on differences between the various but butter options?

Riley

Thursday 21st of January 2021

I made this once and it was gooey and delicious. I used almond butter.. but can imagine PB is also good. Using seed butter would have a stronger, possibly more bitter taste.

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