This recipe for delicious white bean blondies is so easy to make, and my kids love it! Baking with beans instead of flour adds protein to this healthy, naturally sweetened dessert, just like black bean brownies and maple pecan blondies!
Remember when I shared that my kids ate a whole pan of black bean brownies in two days?
Um… well… they ate a pan of these white bean blondies in one.
I don’t know if the bean gods decided to open up the heavens and drop amazing recipes for baked goods like the aforementioned black bean brownie recipe or chocolate hummus or cookie dough hummus or the below white bean blondies into my lap…
OR, I got wiser and STOPPED forcing my bean-hating family to eat beans in dishes they don’t like and STARTED to offer beans in ways they DO like.
I think it’s the latter.
What are White Bean Blondies?
Brownies are brown because of the chocolate, right? This means blondies are blonde because of the lack of chocolate.
So If chocolate gives color and flavor to brownies and blondies obviously don’t have color, do they not have flavor too?
Thanks to Google, I learned that blondies traditionally have a butterscotch flavor AND that the flavor comes from brown sugar and butter. Mmmm. My two favorite words.
After several attempts at making White Bean Blondies (including one where we did a side-by-side taste test of white chips versus butterscotch chips), I perfected a recipe. My kids ate the whole pan! It didn’t taste like beans. It tasted like amazingness (I Love Feeding My Kids Beans And Not Hearing Them Complain About It).
Why make Blondie Dessert?
I like making these white bean blondies because they are:
- High in Protein.
- Healthy.
- Easy.
- Delicious. My family LOVES them.
Ingredients for White Bean Blondies
You can make this simple recipe with just 4 ingredients!
- Beans. I used great northern beans because that’s what I tend to buy (thanks to my belly-warming northern beans and ham soup). You can use navy beans or small white beans too. I don’t recommend cannellini beans (a.k.a. white kidney beans) because their flavor is a bit too strong in my opinion.
- Honey. I swapped honey for maple syrup because the butterscotch flavor came through better.
- Oats. A bit of oats helps to absorb some of the moisture from beans and butter, and in the case of white bean blondies, it’s also taking the place of the cocoa.
- Butter. Another deviation from the coconut oil but again, HELLO BUTTERSCOTCH. The swap of butter makes these white bean blondies feel a bit more grown-up than I think they do with coconut oil (if you’re dairy-free, coconut oil will work).
How to Make Easy White Bean Blondies
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 glass pan with parchment paper.
Step 2. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until the batter is mostly smooth. You likely will have some oats that are not entirely ground up, but the rest of the batter should be smooth.
Step 3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are medium golden brown. Careful not to undercook the brownies as the center will remain gooey.
Step 4. Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting.
It is that easy.
Note: You can add vanilla or chocolate chips (I think vanilla chips are AMAZING in this recipe), but avoid butterscotch chips. They failed miserably in this recipe, which surprised me. The butterscotch chips had a processed sugar alcohol taste to them, and not only ruined the brownie but melted and left behind burnt sugar holes in their place.
If you cannot find vanilla chips, go ahead and make them white chocolate blondies with white chocolate chips.
Additional Recipe Notes:
You may be wondering whether to use canned beans or dried beans.
- Canned Beans: convenient // still have to rinse // might give you stinky toots
- Dried Beans: economical // you can de-gas them to avoid stinky toots // can be cooked in a slow cooker // cost less overall
Your call folks! Now excuse me while I go eat brownies for breakfast.
Can I freeze homemade blondies?
Yes! Once your blondies are cooled, store in an airtight container. If you’d like to freeze them, wrap each blondie in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
Can I make gluten-free blondies?
Yes, you can make these white bean blondies gluten-free by using certified gluten-free rolled oats!
More Healthy Dessert Recipes
- Black Bean Brownies
- Healthy Homemade Pumpkin Pie
- Maple Pecan Blondies
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream
- Pumpkin Swirl Black Bean Brownies
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
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Naturally sweetened recipe for delicious white bean blondies – my kids love it! Baking with beans instead of flour adds protein to this healthy dessert. Plus, they can be made gluten-free.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 9 blondies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans (I used great northern)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 tsp vanilla (make your own here)
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp rolled oats
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup vanilla chips (optional, can use whatever chips you’d like)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 glass pan with parchment paper.
- Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until the batter is mostly smooth. You likely will have some oats that are not entirely ground up, but the rest of the batter should be smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are medium golden brown. Careful not to undercook the brownies as the center will remain gooey.
- Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting.
Notes
You can add vanilla or chocolate chips (I think vanilla chips are AMAZING in this recipe), but avoid butterscotch chips. They failed miserably in this recipe, which surprised me. The butterscotch chips had a processed sugar alcohol taste to them, and not only ruined the brownie but melted and left behind burnt sugar holes in their place.
If you cannot find vanilla chips, go ahead and make them white chocolate blondies with white chocolate chips.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 130
Oh.my.gosh. these are AMAZING ! I put about a tablespoon of vanilla and substituted extra virgin organic olive oil for the butter. I couldn’t step eatimg the batter ! Lol the baked version was just as wonderful. Oh I didn’t have white chocolate so I arranged dark chocolate chips on top. I’m in love but it’s OK, I think my husband will be too ! I already have more beams made to make another batch tomorrow because I don’t think they will make it past tonight. Hopefully they will make it till my husband gets home in a few hours . Lol
Just made this and eating it warm out of the oven… and WOW. I used mini semisweet chocolate chips. I’m also trying to avoid sugar, so I swapped the honey for 1/2 cup Swerve brown sugar + 1/4 cup sugar free pancake syrup. Zero bean taste. Thick, fudgy texture. Definitely keeping this to make again. Thank you!!
Just tried these out, everything was the same except I used vegan butter instead of reg and white chocolate chips instead of vanilla. The white choc chips didn’t just melt but liquified and created a syrup throughout, preventing the blondies from baking. Even after 45 mins, they were still practically liquid except for the top. Not sure if vanilla chips are different than white choc chips. I think they are? Either way, the batter didn’t have eggs so I went ahead and salvaged what I could and they tasted really good! Just not the right texture.
I used white chocolate chips and the same thing happened to me.
It never baked all the way
Hello Judy,
Tiffany says, “Not all white chocolate chips bake the same! I prefer Ghirardelli for white chips. Great Value (from Walmart) does not melt for me.”
Do you mix in the chocolate chips with the batter, or do you sprinkle them on top before baking?
Hello Jean,
For this recipe, the chocolate chips are sprinkled on the top before baking. Hope this helps.
These were very good. I used sugar free salted caramel chips instead of the white chocolate chips. Definitely want to make again and try adding nuts etc. This is going to be one of my go-to recipes. Super quick and simple!
Angie, thank you for sharing!
Do the blondes need to be refrigerated after they are done if not left gooey in the center? I doubled the recipe and needed to bake longer due to not being done enough.
Hi Brianna,
We always refrigerate our treats made of beans. Hope this helps!
I don’t know what I did wrong, but I baked for almost 35 minutes and they still never really set. I’d love to try again because the batter tasted amazing. Maybe a higher temperature? Cook for longer?
Great recipe. I used 1 cup great northern beans and 1/2 cup mashed cooked sweet potato. Baked in muffin cups. Baked 21 minutes. Added 1 tsp salt. Added 2tsp cinnamon. The white chocolate chips are a must.
That sounds so yummy! I will try that the next time around.
Added half a 280g Whittaker’s white choc block chopped into pieces , and 3 TBS honey and turned out AMAZING no faults fluffy and firm , kids love it so do adults
I don’t leave a lot of comments. I was slightly skeptical but like trying different ways to make things healthy. We started a bean protocol by Karen Hurd (look it up if you haven’t heard of it!) And are eating many more beans. Was trying to find different ways to eat them…. and found this. Simply amazing! Butterscotch flavorfor sure. Committed white chocolate to keep refined sugar free. Half the honey and some stevia to keep sweet- I think I’d take these over any cake! And super easy, I live when you can throw things in a blender and that’s all you do for the prep! Great recipe!
Hello Mc,
We’re so happy to hear that you loved these White Bean Blondies! They are so tasty! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Great recipe. I used 1 cup great northern beans and 1/2 cup mashed cooked sweet potato. Baked in muffin cups. Baked 21 minutes. Added 1 tsp salt. Added 2tsp cinnamon
They were amazing my whole family enjoyed it.
Didn’t have honey or maple syrup so subbed with a mashed banana and didn’t have the vanilla chips so sprinkled with frozen raspberries. Honestly still pretty good! Must try again 😊
I had my doubts but decided to give the recipe a try. I substituted in the coconut oil and the maple syrup. I was pleasantly surprised. It was easy and delicious!
Also if I use coconut oil instead of butter how much do I need?
Thanks
Hi Tiffany,
I can’t wait to try this recipe. While trying to decide which “scale” to make i noticed that whether you are making scale 1 or scale three the pan size and bake time do not change. The ingredient amounts changed but the directions did not. Is that right?
Joanne
Hi Joanne! Great question! If you have them use separate 8×8 or 9×9 pans for each batch. If you need to use a 9×13 pan, 1.5x the recipe or start checking it for doneness at about 13 minutes since it will be thinner.
Could I use maple syrup. I’m vegan and don’t eat honey
Yes Debbie! That’s a perfect substitution. Use the same amount. 🙂
Wouldn’t that be problematic without adding something sour like lemon juice or apple cider vinegar? Honey is acidic, whereas maple syrup is almost neutral in pH. The acid is needed to ‘activate’ the raising action of baking soda, right?
It tastes great, but the inside is staying uncooked and mushy. 🙁
Hi Rebekah! So sorry the inside turned mushy. Do you know if you have a cold spot in your oven? Try cooking it on a different shelf in a different spot. Did you use an 8X8 pan? Maybe try a 9X9 or 9X13?
I made these using Canadian maple syrup and coconut oil instead of butter the 2nd time and i topped them with espresso chocolate chips. My husband went crazy for them! Awesome flourless recipe! I’m going to make them dairy free next time and use the enjoy life chocolate chips. Thanks!
Great substitutions Cassie! Thanks for sharing them with us. 🙂
Holy cow these are good. I have made bean brownies with eggs and melted baking chocolate many, many times, and these are even better. I am in awe.
So glad to hear Tory. Thanks for sharing!
If I’d choose a layer out of 5 to be in my birthday cake Id choose this! Simple delightful taste couldn’t be easier.
Yes Gage it is tasty! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Awesome Gage! Thanks for sharing. They are tasty!
Made the recipe with two minor changes: baked it in an 8×8 silicone pan and topped it with roasted, mixed nuts (pistachio/walnut pieces/slivered almond). Simple recipe. Worked perfectly. Very tasty; not even a hint of bean taste or texture. The center does stay very dense; might omit baking soda and use 1 1/2 tsp baking powder next time to help it raise a bit more. Definitely a recipe I’ll keep on hand when I need to make a vegan desert.
What awesome tweaks! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Would love to know how many dry beans end up making 1.5 cups cooked? Thanks!
Hi Kim,
It’s about the same! Enjoy the blondies. 🙂
Hello! I have been dying to try a healthy blondie recipe! So excited about this! Do you think some lemon oil or lemon juice be good in this?
It would add another level of flavor for sure.
This was awesome, I omitted vanilla chips and added walnuts. My partner who would normally never eat something like this loved it. Was wondering if anyone tried to sub something to avoid so much butter but I understand that’s part of the depth of flavor of a blondie.
Hi Jackie,
Coconut oil is a great sub. If you aren’t fond of coconut flavor, start by adding a pinch of salt to counter that flavor. Let us know how it goes!