| |

White Bean Blondies are the best treat when you can’t eat anything

ByElizabeth Farr

bakingwithtradition.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a way for websites to earn advertising revenues by advertising and linking to recommended products. Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

These white bean blondies are date-sweetened, naturally gluten-free and dairy free; they are impossibly moist and rich with dark chocolate.

I’m not lying when I say they’re almost too good to be true. Rewind a decade or so, and I was dealing with a huge lot of health challenges. My body was reactive to literally everything, and dairy most especially. In that time, I had to give up almost everything that tasted good or face a great deal of pain.

Praise God for intermittent fasting and gut-healing foods; I can actually eat small amounts of dairy now without dyyyyyyying. Nonetheless, I’m never going to be a cheese eater everyday again. I’m actually really grateful for my time of sickness because it forced me to experiment and get creative in ways that I wouldn’t have.

These white bean blondies are an outgrowth of that really tough time in my life. If you’ve tried my black bean brownies, they are cut from the same cloth. Since I perfected the brownies, my Mom has been obsessed with them. They show up at family gatherings alongside less healthy desserts. As I finished photographing these, I had them out on a plate alongside my less sugar blondies and these ones disappeared first.

I’m glad that I can serve them to basically everyone, except for vegans. I’m offending vegans all the time.

Grab you a can of white beans, and let me convince you that you need to make these little magic bars right now.

white bean blondies in bowl this …
Affiliate disclosure

bakingwithtradition.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a way for websites to earn advertising revenues by advertising and linking to recommended products. Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

White Bean Blondies

closeup of stack of white bean blondies with text overlay

White bean blondies FAQ

  1. Why the beans? Will they taste like chili or hummus?: Absolutely not. The beans are there to provide the starch that holds everything together with the eggs to form the blondie matrix. Bean brownies are much moister than a traditional brownie or blondie.
  2. What kind of beans should I use here?: Choose great white northern beans or cannellini beans. You could use chickpeas, though they taste a little too savory for me. I’ve eaten too much hummus in my life, lol.
  3. Can I use canned beans?: yes, absolutely. The beauty I think of bar cookies is that they’re easy last minute sorts of recipes. Feel no shame for grabbing a can. Once in a while my life is together enough that I’ll make a pot of beans ahead of time. If you do that, only flavor your beans with salt.
  4. Why the dates?: Dates are here for sweetness, but they also add fiber into the mix. This gives the blondies their texture and also makes it so that when you eat one, you don’t get that buzzy sugar slog and crash. You will get a treat that will not make you want to take a nap.

Ingredients for bean blondies

ingredients for white bean blondies
  • White beans: Great white northern or cannellini. Adds fiber and starch in place of the flour.
  • Dates: deglet noor or medjool are both good. For sweetness and fiber.
  • Oil: coconut or olive oil. I try to avoid seed oils in my baking and cooking, so these are my top 2 choices for healthy fats. Avocado is also good.
  • Oats: helps absorb some of the moisture and make for good texture. This is a flourless recipe, but you still need something to help the batter be the right consistency!
  • Baking soda: for leavening
  • Salt: for flavor
  • Vanilla extract or paste
  • Eggs: to hold everybody together.
  • Dark chocolate: You can pry my dark chocolate from my cold dead hands.

Do I need any special equipment for white bean blondies?

Cuisinart food processor
  • Food processor: I use an 11 cup Cuisinart. This one is similar to my 20 year old model. My Mom uses a little guy and just processes everything in 2 batches, mixing everything together at the end.
Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
white bean blondies stacked

White Bean Blondies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

  • Author: Elizabeth Farr
  • Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes
  • Yield: 16 blondies
Print Recipe

Description

Date sweetened, naturally gluten-free bars loaded with dark chocolate and impossibly moist, these little treasures will change how you think about blondies forever. I’m all about healthy recipes that don’t feel like you’re giving up anything!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 can white beans (15 oz)
  • 1 cup dates (organic preferred), any pits and hard blossom ends removed (see note)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil or olive oil
  • 1/4 cup rolled oats or 1/4 cup oat flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract or paste
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 oz. dark chocolate chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350. Line an 8×8″ baking pan with parchment (see note).
  2. First, place dates in a small pan and cover with water. Bring the pan to a boil, then let the dates soak for 10 minutes. While the dates are soaking, drain the beans in a small strainer. Rinse off the can liquid, then strain out the excess water from the dates in the same strainer. Shake the excess water out in the sink.
  3. If you’re using coconut oil, melt it in a cup in the microwave for about 1 minute. You can skip this if you’re using olive oil.
  4. Next, place the drained beans and dates in a food processor along with the coconut (or olive) oil, oats, baking soda, salt, vanilla and the eggs. Process until everything as smooth as possible, which will take 4-5 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the food processor periodically in this time. Give one last good scrape down all around the sides of the food processor, then pulse a few more times to get a very smooth mixture.
  5. Stir in most of the chocolate, saving a handful for the top of the blondies.
  6. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, then smooth the top with a spatula.
  7. Scatter the remaining chocolate chips over the top of the batter.
  8. Bake 18-20 minutes until the top of the blondies springs back in the middle and there’s no jiggle if you shake the pan a bit.
  9. Cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
  10. Blondies can be kept at room temperature loosely covered for up to 3 days…if they last that long!

Notes

What kind of beans?: Go for cannellini beans or great white northern beans. Chickpeas also work, though I find they have a distinct taste that I don’t care for. If it doesn’t bother you, more power to you.

To make a parchment sling: cut 2 pieces of parchment the width of your baking pan. Lay them on the bottom of the pan, one covering two sides, and the next one covering the remaining two sides. Once baked, you can use the overhanging parchment to pull the bars out of the pan easily.

Check your dates: Be sure to check your dates. Once it a while, you’ll find a stray pit that wasn’t removed or a hard blossom end that’s still attached. It’s not a bad idea to pull open each date before you throw them in the food processor. If at any point you hear a high pitched squeak or like your machine is trying to grind rocks, it’s likely there’s a pit somewhere in the mix. If this happens, unplug your machine and pull out the blade. Remove the pit that’s probably lodged itself right on the blade.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Additional Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 18 minutes
  • Category: Healthier Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 138
  • Sugar: 9
  • Sodium: 140
  • Fat: 7
  • Saturated Fat: 4
  • Unsaturated Fat: 2
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 17
  • Fiber: 3
  • Protein: 3
  • Cholesterol: 24

I’d love to hear what you think of these! Let me know how this recipe went for you.

Elizabeth Farr is a homeschool Mom of 4 and self-taught baker from a long line of home bakers. She made her own wedding cake and selling mountains of her pita dough really did finance all her books in college. Forever trying to perfect her family's apple strudel and poppyseed kolache, her focus on making traditional baked goods from around the world healthier at home keeps her friends and neighbors in cookies most times of the year.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star