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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Sign up to get instant access to my 30 Minute Dinners Sample Meal Plan, complete with recipes and step-by-step instructions!White Bean Blondies
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
Dennise
Do you think the honey could be replaced with coconut sugar? Or does it need to be a liquid sweetener?
Tiffany
Coconut sugar should work Dennise.
Jill
Can you use chickpeas? I’ve made peanut butter chickpea cookies that were delicious, so I’m wondering if they would work here since it’s what I already have in my pantry 🙂
Tiffany
Yes you can!
Sofia
Sounds delicious but would be great if you could also include the metric system in the ingredients
Anita Burns
I would like metric, also. When I went to culinary school, I got used to thinking in ounces and grams rather than in cups. It makes mixing easier and is more consistent. I really hate looking up a conversion from cups to grams.
Melanie T.
Wonderful recipe overall, but I use it more as a template. I do about 1 tablespoon of butter and 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, and only 1/3 cup of a sweetener, usually about a tablespoon of honey and the rest maple syrup. It turns out deliciously! Anyone I’ve ever served this to loves it!
Machelle
I added 1/2-1 TB molassas as well…additional nutrition, and it added to the depth of the butterscotch flavor (after all, thats the only difference between white sugar and brown sugar!) DEEEEElish…my kids scarfed down the pan before they cooled off. I call that a win!
Tiffany
Yum! Great addition Machelle – thanks for the review!
Ciera
So in love with this recipe ! Just made my 3rd batch. I keep eating them all before anyone else can try them. Been trying to incorporate more beans in my diet for the potassium. Such a deliciously amazing way to do it!
Tiffany
I’m so glad you’re enjoying this recipe Ciera!!
Meredith
I’m just wondering, if you were to replace the oats with already ground oat flour, how much would be needed? Thanks!
Tiffany
I’d go with 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp Meredith. Oats slightly lose bulk when they’re ground, but not by much.
Marie
Hi…late to the blondie party….but they look good. In the ingredients list, is is 1/2 cup vanilla chips or 1/2 a bag?
Thanks!
Tiffany
Ooh, good catch! That’s 1/2 cup. 🙂 I’ll fix that!
Amy
Hello! I’m wondering how long these last once made? And how would you store them? I’m excited for my picky 2 year old to try them tomorrow! 🙂
Tiffany
Hi Amy! These will last about a week in the fridge. I hope your toddler enjoys them!
Amy
Thanks for your response! I ended up making these today and, other than being a terrible cook lol, I’m not sure what I did wrong. I had it in the oven for 40 minutes before it started to look cooked. It was like a big mushy mess. I’ll still give it to him with a spoon but is there something that helps it get firm like a blondie? I thought I followed the recipe exactly but I guess not!
Tiffany
Hi Amy! Let’s see… did you drain the beans? These do have a longer cook time, but they should be browning long before 40 minutes (unless your oven temperature is skewed and/or it wasn’t fully preheated?) It’s hard to troubleshoot without being with you in the kitchen, BUT if you store the blondies in the fridge, they should firm up a bit for you. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out as expected, but I hope they still taste good!
Amy
Thank you! He still loved them and you’re right that they did firm up in the fridge. Still a big hit! Thanks so much!
Crystal S
I just came to look up this recipe to make again for a Valentine’s Day treat for my family. I made these white bean blondies a couple months ago and everybody loved them, so I’m excited to make them again tomorrow – thanks for the great recipe! Also, just thought I’d mention, in regards to the comment questioning why you’d give the measurement for cooked beans in cups . . . I always find it much easier when recipes tell how many cups of cooked beans to use. It’s less helpful when a recipe says “one can,” because I usually cook the dry beans myself and I always seem to forget how many cups are in one can. Just my two cents 🙂
Noemie
Hi ! Thank yoi for sharing this recipe it looks amazing. Do you think we could substitute the butter by coconut oil, and if so how much? And do you think adding frozen strawberries and blackberries (defrost so that it does not release too much water) would be good or would it mess with the texture?
Tiffany
Hi Noemie! You can do a 1:1 substitute of coconut oil for butter, but it will lose a little of the “butterscotch” flavor. I wouldn’t add fruit to the blondies themselves, but you can certainly serve alongside!
Beth
Teenager Approved!! I made these for a young friend of mine who is dealing with a lot of food allegories, no gluten and no nuts. Finding desserts she can eat is challenging. I made these for her and she loved them! I substituted the honey for brown sugar and added a couple of extra tablespoons of brown sugar… they where awesome!! Thank you for sharing!!
Tiffany
WIN! So glad she liked them Beth – thanks for sharing with us!!
Melanie S.
I need more iron in my diet so I skeptically tried this so called ‘dessert’ recipe. 4 out of 5 stars! Considering these ingredients I feel good about giving it to my 5 year old and for that it’s actually now 5 stars! Thanks for sharing Tiffany
Tiffany
Thanks for the glowing review Melanie!!
Erin
These were so good and I forgot the vanilla chips! Haha! My husband really liked them even after I told him what they were made of! Thanks for all of your amazing recipes and providing healthy alternatives. My 4 yr old requested these and scrambled eggs for breakfast! I think that’s a fine choice 😊
Tiffany
I agree – a fine choice indeed!!
Kim
Who the hell measures beans in cups and not by weight? When using canned beans you end up with a half cup of leftover beans.
Tiffany
I do Kim, because I typically buy beans in bulk and cook them myself. If you prefer to use canned beans, use one can drained and rinsed 3 times. The recipe will be just as good.
Keith
“brown sugar and butter. Mmmm. My two favorite words.”
That’s actually three words! =]
Someone just told me last week that white bean blondies are TONS better than than black bean brownies (which I’ve made — they were so-so); so I’m excited to have found this to give it a try!
Tiffany
Haha! I’ll have to fix that typo… or maybe I’ll just leave it to see who else catches it, lol. 😉 I hope you enjoy these Keith!
jennifer
Thanks for giving me an ‘oat for flour’ recipe to start with. I searched the interwebs and found a recipe for homemade butterscotch, so now I am off to the races. Enjoy your holidays.
Tiffany
You’re most welcome Jennifer! Enjoy the blondies!
Sandra
Looks great
But do you drain and rinse the canned beans first?
Thanks
Tiffany
I prefer to use homemade beans Sandra, but if you use canned then yes, rinse and drain 3 times!
Heidi
Finally! A recipe with no chocolate! now if I can find a good substitute for the oats I’m set! I’m intolerant to chocolate and oats (major bummer), but my family has enjoyed the black bean brownies, (and the little taste I took was awesome). I’m looking forward to doing some experimentation myself to find a way to make these a staple in my lunch box as well!!! Thanks for the recipe!
Mary B
Have you tried carob? It looks and cooks like cocoa, but if you expect it to have a chocolate flavor, it will disappoint. I think it tastes more like dates, but it isn’t that flavor either. Let carob be carob, and it is great!
sarah
these look great. By vanilla chips, do you mean white chocolate chips or are vanilla chips a thing? I am not familiar with them.
Tiffany
Technically white chocolate chips don’t have chocolate, so by default they’re vanilla. 😉 But really, it depends on whatever the brand decides to call them – they’re one and the same!
jennifer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_chocolate
Ashley
Nestle, one of the main producers of white “chocolate” chips doesn’t use cocoa butter in their chips so they cannot technically be called white chocolate. They have been renamed White morsels. So maybe Tiffany was under the assumption that they’re all just really vanilla chips. No need to be rude and leave a 3 star review!
Stephen
Since they will be blended anyway, do you think you could use steel-cut oats instead of rolled? If at all possible I’d like to avoid buying a whole thing of rolled oats for just the little amount needed 😋
Kyare - Team Crumbs
Stephen, it should work but it might effect the texture,
Judy
Have made this twice in the past week with navy beans, no chips whatsoever and threw in a glob of dark molasses both times. I decreased the amount of maple syrup to accommodate. Came out delish both times! This recipe is a keeper!!
Karen @ Team Crumbs
Hi Judy!
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Deni
I’ve got to try these and maybe not tell my family at first, to see their reaction. Last night we had your One Pan Buffalo Chicken Potatoes and they ate the whole pan! Also, I have to add that the Buffalo Chicken Pizza ROCKS!
Thanks for sharing all of these great recipes Tiffany 🙂