Ooey, gooey fudgy Chickpea Brownies complete with a decadent chocolate centre and the perfect crackly top | Gluten Free + Vegan
I don’t know about you but I’ve got a lot of opinions about brownies.
If they don’t so much as look right I won’t even bother eating them because I’d honestly rather not waste the calories. And I don’t even count calories.
That being said – I make a lot of brownies because my husband’s love for chocolate is not unlike that of a PMSing woman. With all of the brownies I’ve made him over the years only a couple have made it on to the blog here because I’m so picky about making them right and I don’t want to share anything less than perfect.
A good brownie must have two key features or I’m out:
🌟A crinkly, paper thin crusted top
🌟A rich, melt-in-your-mouth fudgy centre
Ideally I’d also like a few chocolate chunks thrown in for good measure but I’m not quite as discerning about that.
Well, friends.
These chickpea brownies are my new favourite. They’re everything a brownie should be/have and they just so happen to be vegan, grain free & nut free.
Let’s get to it!
How to Make: Vegan Chickpea Brownies
First things first just start melting your chocolate and coconut oil to get that out of the way. 30 second intervals in the microwave stirring every so often should do it. Once melted just set aside to cool a little bit while you prep the rest of your ingredients.
Aquafaba
What is it?
It literally just means bean water… as in the water that you and I used to pour down the sink when draining a can of chickpeas. This website answers a lot of the questions you might have on aquafaba, but basically what you need to know is that the water from the chickpea cans mimic the proteins in egg whites making it a really great egg substitute in things like:
Instead of eggs, these brownies use a combination of aquafaba and chickpea flour for all our binding needs. Lots of chickpea love going on here.
Aqauafaba Notes
When using aquafaba in baking it’s often important to whip it up well first. Use either a stand mixer and an electrical handheld mixer to beat the aquafaba and sugar on high – after a couple of minutes it will become shiny and increase in volume.
Once that’s happened you can stir in your melted chocolate & coconut oil. Then start mixing in your dry ingredients: chickpea flour, cocoa powder and baking soda followed by any additional chocolate chips you might want.
Your batter will be thick and fudgy looking. Transfer the batter to a prepared baking tin and use a spoon to spread it out to all the edges of the pan – it might be a little tricky spreading it but you’re on the right track.
Then just pop it in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes before testing for doneness.
The end result are fudgy, melt-in-your-mouth, decadent brownies that are seriously delicious.
I’ve been making these brownies on and off for the past month or so trying to get them just right and I can honestly say they’re the best brownies I’ve ever made. No question.
Actually that’s not true I do have one more question for you: Are you a centre piece person or a corner piece person? I’m all about the corner pieces myself. I should really invest in this brownie tin – they’re ALL corner pieces in this!
Vegan Chickpea Brownies
Ooey, gooey fudgy Chickpea Brownies complete with a decadent chocolate centre and the perfect crackly top | Gluten Free + Vegan
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup | 145 g coconut oil
- 180 grams dairy free dark chocolate chopped finely or in chips
- 1/2 cup | 120 ml aquafaba (the watery brine from unsalted cans of chickpeas)
- 3/4 cup | 150 grams sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup | 150 grams chickpea flour, sifted if lumpy
- 1/4 cup | 22 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup | 90 grams dairy free chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C. Lightly grease or line an 8x8inch baking tin. Set aside
- Place the coconut oil and chopped chocolate together in a microwave safe bowl. Melt in 30 second increments whisking after each segment until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Once melted set aside to cool.
- In another large mixing bowl beat the aquafaba and the sugar together with an electric mixer until thick and shiny. Mix in the vanilla extract and the melted chocolate mixture.
- Stir in the chickpea flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Mix until you have a thick, fully mixed batter. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin. Bake for 30 minutes and then check for doneness. Insert a knife or tooth pick into the centre of the brownies - if it comes out with a wet batter it needs more time. If only a few moist crumbs remain on the knife/tooth pick it's done. If you need to cook the brownies longer check every 3-4 minutes until it's done and then remove from the oven.
- Let the brownies cool in their tin completely before slicing into.
Notes
- Chickpea flour can also be called garbanzo flour or gram flour
- Feel free to use coconut sugar in place of white sugar but keep in mind that the top might not have that signature crinkly top.
- Updated March 12, 2020 - You can use gluten free all purpose flour in place of chickpea flour but you need to wait for the brownies to cool down to room temperature before slicing and serving. If you cut into the brownies too soon they'll fall apart so be prepared with a spoon and a plate if you run out of patience.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size:
1 brownie (out of 16) Calories: 250Saturated Fat: 12gSodium: 53mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 2gSugar: 17gProtein: 4gA few more gluten free brownies you might like:
Filis says
Hi, why is it that when I add the chocolate mix into the fluffy aquafaba it turns into liquid? Doesn’t it suppose to stay fluffy? Thanks!
Sarah Nevins says
That’s no problem – the aquafaba naturally deflates quite a bit when more things are added to it because you’re pushing the air out of it. I’m not sure of the science of it, but whipped aquafaba makes for fluffier backed goods (as opposed to not whipping it up). If you’re interested, this article from America’s Test Kitchen has a good visual and explanation of why you should whip up aquafaba. https://www.americastestkitchen.com/guides/vegan/what-is-aquafaba
Katie says
We made these last night and they are SO delicious. The recipe is so easy and they’re so fudgy – the crackly top is amazing!
I’m not sure why, but we ended up having to cook them for almost 50 minutes before they were cooked. We used the recipe as written, same temperature, same size pan etc…a mystery!
Despite this, they still came out as tasty as described. I might try a higher heat next time 🙂
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Katie! So glad to hear you enjoyed them! Strange about the cook time but I’m happy to hear it was still all good in the end!
Emily says
I’m just cooking these now and after 30 mins at 150C they are nowhere near cooked. I’ve double checked the conversion and 325F is just over 160C so that might be why it took longer.
Sarah Nevins says
So sorry about that Emily! I’ve fixed it now – thanks for pointing that out to me!
Emily says
Thanks Sarah. They are so tasty and such a good recipe. I’ll definitely be making them again.
Paula says
The best brownies ever. Very new to using chickpea water but it worked brilliantly, feels a lot healthier and the end result was divine.
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! So glad you’re enjoying them! Thanks Paula!
Ekta says
Hi If am not vegan, can I try with melted butter instead of coconut oil?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Ekta! You can absolutely use butter instead of coconut oil – hope you love them!
Rosie says
Wow these brownies were amazing! I subbed sunflower seeds and cashews in place of the choc chips to keep the sugar down.
Sarah Nevins says
Ooh I love that idea! So glad you enjoyed the brownies – thanks Rosie!
Schonk says
Hi, thank you for the recipe! Which oven setting do I use with that temperature?
Thank you for your help.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi there! I’m not sure what you mean – I use an conventional oven if that helps
ragavi says
I made these brownies this morning (although I subbed the sugar for coconut sugar), and they went down so well! My siblings described them as ‘dangerously addictive’.
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! So happy you all enjoyed them! 🙂
Amy says
Hey, this recipe looks great to use up some gram flour I have. (Pregnant and not tolerating wheat atm, terrible indigestion) i made chapattis but wasn’t keen on the flour taste, does this mask/ compliment the flavour of the gram flour? I understand your vegan, but does anyone know if using an egg/ egg white rather than chick pea water would work aswell? Thankyou!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Amy!
Totally understand what you mean about the taste – gram flour is quite distinct and depending on the recipe it’s quite noticeable. That being said the cocoa/melted chocolate is strong enough to mask the gram flour so you can’t shouldn’t be able to taste it at all.
As for the eggs – that’s totally doable! I’m not fully vegan so I’ve been able to play around with this recipe using eggs myself.
The last time I made these with eggs, I ended up using 3 whole eggs (I started with just two, but the batter looked quite thick still) and it took an extra 5-7 minutes for the brownies to fully bake. The brownies came out really well, but they were definitely more cake-y as opposed to fudgy like the ones pictured here. That make be preferable for you personally, but if you want you brownies to be more fudgy I would recommend that you use only 2 eggs increase the oil by 2 tablespoons. This way you get the needed moisture from the fat without adding too much protein which would create a more cake like texture.
I hope that helps! Also wishing you a happy/healthy pregnancy going forward!
Amy says
Thanks so much. I have just made up the mixture as you suggested with 2 eggs and a bit of extra oil, not sure how it should be, so might have been a little thick. I have added some chopped pecans and dates, because who doesn’t like dates!?! Looking forward to trying them thank you!
Sarah Nevins says
Oooh – those additions sound amazing! Fingers crossed for you!
Veronique Leblond says
Hi! Can we use regular flour instead of chickpea flour? They look so delicious!!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Veronique! I’m not too sure how these would come out with regular flour as I haven’t tested them that way yet. The thing about chickpea flour is that it’s very binding making it ideal for an egg free recipe like this. I’ve gotten a few questions about this now though so I think I’m going to test it out soon and see for myself.Sorry I couldn’t be any more help here yet!
Rainbow says
This will be my first time baking with chickpea flour and aquafina, I’m not at all familiar with the flavors. Would adding vanilla extract to these hurt the flavor profiles, in your experience?
Sarah Nevins says
That wouldn’t be a problem at all – vanilla is always a good idea! Hope you love these!
Iman says
Is it okay if i use veg oil instead of coconut?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Iman – that should be no problem! hope you love them!