Last updated on October 24th, 2024 at 09:27 pm
I just have to share with you why I’m head over heels for these white bean blondies! Now, I know what you’re thinking: beans in a dessert? But trust me, incorporating white beans into these blondies is a game-changer. Not only do they pack a protein punch, making this a high-protein dessert, they’re also creamy and delicious. The best part? These blondies are incredibly moist, thanks to the beans, yet they don’t skew the taste – you can hardly tell they’re in there! This recipe perfectly marries indulgence with the feeling of eating right, offering a fiber-rich sweet treat that’s semi guilt-free. Whether you’re a vegetarian with a sweet tooth, or simply craving a protein-packed snack, these homemade blondies tick all the boxes.
Jump to Recipe
Ingredients
Whipping up a batch of these nutritious and delectable white bean blondies is a breeze, and you won’t believe how simple the ingredient list is!
- Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup oat flour (More on this below, but you can use 1 cup of oats and put them in a blender to make a flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Wet Ingredients:
- 1 can (15 oz) white beans (such as cannellini or great northern beans), drained and rinsed well
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- Add-ins:
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips (plus some to sprinkle on top)
Together, these ingredients create a soft, chewy blondie that’s packed with protein, fiber, and just the right amount of sweetness – perfect for just about any occasion.
Video – How to Make White Bean Blondies
How to Make White Bean Blondies
Let me walk you through the surprisingly easy process of making these (almost) guilt-free, protein-packed white bean blondies.
1. Preheat and Prepare:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper or lightly grease it.
2. Make Oat Flour
If you don’t have oat flour, you can just take some regular oats and blend them with a blender until they form a powder. Now, if you’re lazy like me, I get why that’s annoying! But let me tell you: I was shocked at just how easy it really was. If you have a little bullet blender like I do, just put in a cup of oats (that’s how much you need for this recipe) and blend them for literally a few seconds and you have oat flour!
3. Blend Wet Ingredients:
- In a food processor or blender, combine the white beans, melted butter, honey or maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and egg.
- Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Really, really make sure your mixture is smooth, too. This could take a bit, but it’s worth it in the end to make sure the beans are well-blended with the rest of the ingredients.
4. Combine Wet and Dry:
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- Pour the wet mixture into a large mixing bowl (scrape down the sides of your food processor with a rubber spatula to get all that goodness out).
- Add the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Spread and Bake:
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- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle some extra white chocolate chips on top for flavor and fun
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean (a few crumbs are okay).
6. Cool and Slice:
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- Allow the blondies to cool in the pan completely before cutting
- Once cooled, slice into squares and enjoy!
Pro Tips
Let me share with you some of my favorite pro tips that I’ve discovered while perfecting these white bean blondies.
- Balancing wet and dry ingredients is key. Of course, this is true for most baked goods! I was surprised to find that this recipe can easily get too liquid-y. I figured with a bean-based recipe, I was risking things coming out dry! However, the recipe works really well as-written. I know it’s tempting to add more maple syrup/honey or more butter to get a better flavor, but if your blondies are too moist, they’ll crumble and fall apart on you. They’ll still taste delicious! But they won’t exactly be blondies if they come out too moist.
- Oat flour is necessary for the texture. I know I said it above, but I’ll say it again! Oat flour is SO incredibly easy to make at home! I don’t know why I’ve been avoiding it until now. Just pop some regular oats that you would use for oatmeal cookies in a bullet blender and you have oat flour. And it’s a 1-to-1 ratio (at least for this recipe). 1 cup of oat flour was exactly one cup of oats for me. Maybe it could be a little more or a little less, depending on how much you blend your oats, but it was pretty spot-on for me.
- Check your baking time. It is so hard to tell when brownies and blondies are truly “done.” They still look like they’re really not done when they actually are, and it’s really quite difficult! However, I have a couple small tips for this recipe, at least. First of all, check out the edges of your blondies. The edges really should be firm when you take these out of the oven. Also, look at those white chocolate chips you sprinkled on top before baking. If they start turning a yellow-ish color, that means the white chocolate is actually burning, which means that your blondies are most definitely done. Try to avoid burning your white chocolate chips as much as possible.
- Carefully cut your blondies. These blondies are indeed crumbly! If you find that they are too crumbly when you go to cut them, they might be a bit under-cooked. Now, I am not the food safety police, but I would guess that if you find your blondies are too crumbly to be cut, you could pop them back in the preheated oven for a few extra minutes. Again, stressing that I am not, not, not an expert in food safety! However, I have been known to do this in the past and everything worked out okay. This is of course assuming that you baked these blondies on the same day you cut into them and discovered they were underbaked. If you baked them yesterday or even longer before this disappointing moment of finding them underbaked, I personally would not put them back in the oven, but sadly say farewell.
FAQs
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- Can white bean blondies really taste good? Absolutely! The magic of these treats lies in the blend of natural sweeteners and the creamy texture of white beans. You won’t even realize you’re biting into a bean-infused dessert, thanks to their moist texture. Now, I’m not saying these taste like “normal” blondies. However, I did have at least one person tell me that they couldn’t tell there were beans in these.
- Why are these so crumbly? That’s a curious question! First of all, this recipe does come out a bit crumbly. However, if your white bean blondies are so crumbly that they fall apart when you cut them into bars, they could be either over-baked or under-baked. You can tell if they’re over-baked because the white chocolate chips will be yellow rather than white, which means they burned. If your blondies are mushy in the middle, that means they are underbaked. If you find they are underbaked, see the notes that I have above about sticking them back in the oven for a bit to firm them up.
- Are they truly healthy? Well… I guess it depends on your definition of healthy, but by my definition they’re not truly healthy. They’re probably healthier than 99% of the recipes I have on this website, but I don’t think you’re doctor would exactly recommend that you eat a whole tray of these in one sitting either. These white bean blondies are indeed a dessert like any other, but they do have the nice nutrition benefit of added fiber and protein from the beans.
- Can you make these with gluten free flour? I cannot honestly say at this point. If someone tries it and it works, could you please let us know in the comments? I believe if you use gluten free flour rather than oat flour, your wet-dry ratio might be a little bit off. I believe you would want to add an extra tablespoon or two of gluten free flour to make it balance better, but as I have not tried it myself, I cannot offer any guarantees!
If You Liked These White Bean Blondies, Check Out:
Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dairy-Free Brownies
Vegan Matcha Brownies
Salted Caramel Brownie Fries
White Bean Blondies
These white bean blondies are sweet, soft, and moist and have an extra bit of fiber and protein. The best part is, you can't really tell there are beans in them!
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor Or strong blender
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 oz) white beans cannellini or great northern beans work well
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 cup oat flour Or blend 1 cup oats in a bullet blender
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips plus some extra to sprinkle on top before baking
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8x80-inch baking dish with parchment paper (Or grease your pan).
- Make oat flour if you don't have any on hand. You can easily do this by putting 1 cup of oats in a bullet blender (or food processor) for a few seconds;
- In a food processor or blender, combine the white beans, melted butter, honey or maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and egg.
- Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Make sure the mixture is entirely smooth and there are not more chunks of bean in there.
- Pour the wet mixture into a large mixing bowl (scrape down the sides of your food processor with a rubber spatula to get all that goodness out).
- Add the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips.
- Pour your batter into your prepared baking dish. Sprinkle a few extra white chocolate chips on top before baking
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean (a few crumbs are okay).
- Allow the blondies to cool in the pan before cutting. Once cool, carefully pull out the parchment paper and slice your white bean blondies.
