Chickpea Brownies – the super awesome fudgy kind

Awesome fugdy Chickpea Brownies – this recipe has had a whole food, plant-based makeover and is a healthier option that traditional recipes. Gluten free, vegan, packed with protein and fibre.

Let’s be honest and call a brownie a brownie. An indulgent treat packed with sugar. However – I’ve managed to successfully give it a whole food, pant-based makeover, worked in some extra protein and fibre, and even lowered the sugar and glycemic index a little. Winning!

I've used...

• Almond meal and oat flour (ie, ground whole oats) replace the refined white flour
• Coconut sugar in place of refined white sugar (coconut palm sugar contains a prebiotic fibre called inulin, and slowing digestion and resulting in a lower GI than white sugar)
• Dark chocolate in place of milk
• And chickpea brine in place of eggs!

This means that this recipe now has less saturated fat, over 3x the protein, nearly 5x the fibre and 1½ teaspoons less sugar per serve than your traditional brownie [Source].

But wait. Did I say chickpea brine?

Yes – weird but true. I’ve seen plenty of black bean brownie recipes floating around – which of course, help lend a nice fudgy texture and added nutrition to the recipe, but not so many chickpea brownie recipes.

And certainly not any that use whole chickpeas AND the brine they come in. Aquafaba is the new term given to this liquid – and its full of proteins, carbohydrates and soluble fibres  that pass into the liquid as the legumes cook.

When you whip this liquid with a hand or cake mixer, you’ll watch it turn to ‘egg white’ before your very eyes. Wild! It can be used as an egg replacement, emulsifier, binder or thickener. It is ideal in egg-free meringues, macaroons, marshmallow fluff and cakes.

So now, doesn’t it make sense to use both chickpeas and brine?

Be brave with me guys and give this a whirl – it does not taste like chickpeas or beans or slime, it tastes rich, chocolatey, is moist and fudgy – and is just that bit better for you.

Chickpea Brownies Recipe – Step by Step

Let’s get the oven on, 175˚C / 350˚F, fan bake. And let’s line a square baking dish with baking paper. Wrangling the baking paper is the hardest part, isn’t it, someone please invent ‘baking sleeves’, thank you.

Now, we take a 400g / 14 oz tin of chickpeas in a plain brine (no added salt), and open it directly over the blender, straining the liquid and reserving the chickpeas for the food processor. No wastage here.

Next, we melt a quality 100g bar of dark chocolate, with a tablespoon of coconut oil and dash of vanilla, over a double boiler [1].

Returning to our food processor now – add cacao powder, sea salt and baking soda, then pour over the melted chocolate concoction [2]. Give it a good blitz so that the chickpeas are now evenly processed [3].

Please don’t add the almond meal or oat flour at this point – it just won’t blend!

Now – back to the blender, whiz it good – 30 seconds. You’ll note the brine turns white and frothy, but won’t form stiff peaks as you would whipping it up in a cake mixer. That’s ok, we don’t need to achieve that for this recipe [4].

Add the coconut sugar to the blender and whiz again [5].

Now we can pour the chickpea/coconut sugar mixture straight into the food processor, then add the remaining almond meal and oat flour [6], and process until you get a nice dense but workable chickpea brownie batter [7].

Pour directly into your prepared tin, scatter with dairy free chocolate chips [8], and bake for 30 minutes.

Once cooked, allow to cool completely before you remove from the tin and attempt to slice – otherwise you’ll have a hot crumbly mess on your hands.

And, voila. Vegan chickpea brownies ready to devour. It’s such an easy recipe despite the blender/food processor combo – no need to sift anything, just blend it good, it turns out just beaut.

Hot Tips and Tricks

• You can substitute the oat flour for buckwheat or sorghum if you are celiac
• No need to buy oat flour – use your blender to grind down whole oats
• Source plain chickpeas if you can, no added salt, otherwise you may need to adjust the recipe, reducing the added sea salt
• Most importantly – source a BPA free tin, as since we’re using the brine – which is in direct contact with the lining, we don’t want to be exposing ourselves to those potent endocrine disrupters
• I’m sorry but I haven’t tested this recipe without the brine / aquafaba, there is no easy substitute as it is acting as a binder and providing the liquid needed to make the batter. Perhaps you could try a flax egg, and use a liquid sweetener like pure maple – I can’t promise anything! But report back if you tweak it with success
• This brownie isn’t fussy, you don’t need to sift anything, and you don’t need to be overly militant about the cooking time
• Truly – wait until it is entirely cool before cutting to avoid your chickpea brownies from crumbling
• Please follow the steps in the order written – the almond meal and oat flour need to be added last, otherwise you won’t be able to blend your batter.

Storing Leftovers

• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days
• I haven’t tried freezing these – but would you really? No, just devour!

What do you think guys – time to make a Chickpea Blondie now?!

Enjoy, lovers.

L.X

More plant-powered chocolate treats

• Easy Afghan Biscuits (these are a classic NZ recipe - choc cookies with cornflakes folded throughout, iced with a walnut on top)
• Raw Bounty Bars
• Raw Black Forest Brownie (drool. A great no-bake recipe)
• Apricot Chocolate Popped Quinoa Bars (one of my faves)

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