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:
Linda Simmons says
Brownies are very light and moist and very yummy.
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks Linda – so glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Meher Kalra says
Hi! Can I replace the coconut oil with butter ? For that crispy top?!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Mether – Coconut oil should still work for the crispy top! I’ve got a couple other brownie recipes that use coconut oil and those ones have a crinkly top finish (my coconut flour brownies & fudgy paleo brownies). The main thing I’ve noticed when it comes to getting that crispy top is the type of sugar used. White granulated sugar and coconut sugar work well, but liquid sweeteners like honey and maple don’t. Hope that helps!
KK LaVeganBelle says
Instead of 2/3 cup coconut oil, I used 1/3 cup coconut oil and 1/3 cup cocoa butter. I didn’t have enough chickpea flour so I used 1/2 cup chickpea flour and 1 cup all purpose GF flour (King Arthur’s). I also subbed coconut sugar for the sugar requirement and only had about half the required dark chocolate. BUT! Everything came out GREAT! Sooooo chocolately! Idk if the cocoa butter contributed to it being so chocolatey since I didn’t have that much melted chocolate, but I have no complaints! This is an excellent recipe and I’m so glad I tried it! So good! Next time I might add a flax egg or psyllium husk egg to keep it together a bit more. When I cut them, some of them stayed together and some them broke apart. The texture was closer to cake than brownies. Oh and I also added some chopped pecans to give it a little crunch. Overall I’m VERY satisfied! Thank you!
Sarah Nevins says
OOh – love the idea of using cocoa butter! So glad you enjoyed it – thanks so much for coming back to leave a review!
Yazmin says
These are delicious! So when they were cooled all the way, i had a slice. But i did cut the white sugar a bit and halved it with coconut sugar. The top developed a crisp yummy crust but it separated from the bottom layer when i cut into them, they were also kinda cakey and very crumbly when i bit into them, fell apart very easily. So not sure what went wrong, it might have been how i whipped the sugar and aquafaba or me swapping out some sugar. As for flavor and texture, it is to die for delicious, and chocolatey, fudgy, and loved the crisp top even though it separated from the bottom half and was a very delicate hold. Lol. Very decadent. I might add a flax or chia egg for next time. (:
Sarah Nevins says
So glad you enjoyed them! How long did you let the brownies rest before digging into them? I’ve found that these brownies have a much better hold when they’re fully cooled and tend to be quite delicate when still warm out of the oven.
At any rate – I’m so glad you still enjoyed them so much! Adding a flax egg sounds like a good idea!
Nancy Jane says
I made these just as described- procedure and ingredients. I let them cool fully and then froze them in the pan for a few days. Thawed overnight; cut perfectly- held together.
Yazmin says
These look so good and the ingredients in the recipe were a winner for me when searching the web.
Making these right now, and the directions about whipping the sugar and chickpea liquid till “thick and shiny” is what I did, but then i read all the comments, and it was clarified that it should be stiff like egg whites, as if making meringue almost. Ughhh, wish it said it in the directions. Oh well.
Anyways, the batter tasted amazing so i don’t know why everyone else’s didn’t taste good because there is so much chocolate and sugar in the recipe, i didn’t taste the chickpea flour.
Any who! I did add a tad less sugar, as well as halved regular sugar with coconut sugar to make it somewhat healthier, and I don’t like it to be overpowering with just the taste of sugar.
I love the use of chickpea flour, aquafaba, the fact it is gluten free, and vegan. Makes me very happy.
Ok, they are out! I didn’t get a crinkly top, but the top is still has crisp and crunchy texture, the brownie is soooo good and just the right amout of sweetness.
This is a fudgy, moist, chocolatey, crispy, slightly cake-like fluffiness, and tastes sooo amazing!! Soo good! It isn’t exactly on the chewier side of the brownies i lean towards, but this is bomb! Then again, i could only wait for 20mins for them to cool down. Lol! So maybe they get chewier.
It’s like the fatty box brownies i used to love, but waaaay better for you. What an amazing recipe!
Thank you!! As well as thku to everyone that shared their versions, and results. Helped a lot!
Sarah Nevins says
About the aquafaba whipping – don’t worry if the aquafaba doesn’t get fully stiff like egg whites. As long as they look thick and shiny you should be fine.
I think the reason you might not have had a crinkly top would be due to the coconut sugar. I’m not sure exactly why, but whenever I make brownies using coconut sugar they never crinkle on top – even when it’s a recipe I’ve made before.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to come back a leave a review! The feedback is always super helpful!
Veronica says
I made these last week and they looked exactly like your pictures! They were delicious!
I tried them again tonight and I don’t think I did anything differently but they were not chewy at all (very cakey) and they rose a lot more. I didn’t add more baking Soda than before. Any idea what went wrong?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Veronica! Did you measure out your ingredients using measuring cups or weights? If you used measuring cups it’s likely that you might have accidentally measured out your ingredients slightly differently each time. The second time when things came out a little more cake-y I’m guessing that your flours and/or cocoa powder might have been packed into the cups a little more which would have made the brownies a little /cake-y. Cocoa powder is an acidic ingredients that reacts with baking soda to make baked goods rise which could explain why the brownies rose more the second time around.
I’m not positive, but that would be my best guess. Hope that helps! Really glad you enjoyed these!
Julia says
These are literally the best brownies EVER!! I tried them today, modified them a bit because I didn’t have everything at home and wanted to use the left over chickpea water. I took normal flour, brown sugar and vegan butter and they turned out AMAZING!! This recipe will become my standard recipe for brownies! They are so amazing!! Really best brownies ever 😍 thank you so much for this recipe!!
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! I love to hear that! Great to know about your swaps too – that’s super helpful to know! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review!
Brittany says
Hi! If I use canned chickpeas in place of chickpea flour what subs would you recommend?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Brittany! I don’t recommend using whole or canned chickpeas here as it would just throw off the taste and texture completely. If you’re unable to use chickpea flour you can make these using all purpose gluten free flour or even all purpose gluten flour instead. Hope that helps!
Elsa says
WOW! These turned out amazing!! Thank you so much for this innovative recipe! The first go around I used 1/3 cup of unmelted coconut oil and a cup of regular/ store brand semi-sweet chocolate chips. This made the brownies a touch too sweet and oily for my taste. My second go around, I will use 3/4 of 1/3 cup of unmelted coconut oil and 3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or some better quality, and not as sweet, chocolate. I think these obvious fixes will make my next batch more palatable. This recipe is such a keeper though!!
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! I’m SO glad you enjoyed them so much! Thanks Elsa!
T says
The first time I made these brownies they were AMAZING! Crispy, flaky brownie top (you wouldn’t know they were eggless!), fudgy in the inside and held together without falling apart. I used plain flour and light olive oil and they worked.
The second time, I used plain flour and oil again and they were still delicious but were too dry!
The third time, I replaced the coconut oil with Flora vegan butter (UK) and used plain flour again and they didnt get a crispy top 🙁 They were quite mushy and ‘oily’ also and didn’t hold together as well.
This is my favourite brownie recipe!
Any ideas on how I can get that crispy, flaky top? What went wrong?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi T! I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownies – thanks for sharing all the different flour/oil combos! This recipe gets a lot of attention and adaptations so I’m sure your comment will be super helpful to others who are trying to make it with ingredients they’ve got on hand!