Vegan Lemon Brownies are fudgy and moist with a light and soft flavor. Made completely plant-based and gluten-free, these blondie-style bars are packed with bright lemon flavor!
Okay so I'm calling these lemon brownies. But there isn't any chocolate. They are actually closer to blondies. Aka bars that are like brownies but with no chocolate.
Basically, these bars are like brownies. Square bars baked in a pan. But there's no chocolate. So more like blondies. But also there's lots of lemon!
Brownies, blondies, bars, whatever you call them. They're soft and fudgy with lots of bright lemon flavor.
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Why I love these Vegan Lemon Blondies
- Dietary needs - this recipe is plant-based, gluten-free, oil-free, and refined sugar-free.
- Rich and fudgy - the key to a deliciously fudgy texture in plant-based baked goods is an ingredient like chickpeas or sweet potatoes that adds some density in what would have otherwise been a dry, boring bar.
- Secretly filled with fiber - I used chickpeas as the texture-making ingredient in this dish, giving the blondies a healthy serving of fiber. But you'd never know there are chickpeas in these blondies!! You can't taste them.
- Light and bright - lemon has the crazy ability to make any dish feel light. An explosion of lemon flavor makes these bars feel super light
- One bowl - actually, you don't even need a bowl. The entire recipe is made in your food processor!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Chickpeas: chickpeas are the KEY to a fudgy blondie. You wont taste them but you'll love the texture of the finished blondies. Alternatively, use an equivalent weight of baked or steamed sweet potato - it works the same!
- Oat Flour: I used homemade oat flour, which you can make by blending rolled oats in a food processor. You can also use store-bought oat flour.
- Nut Butter: I used cashew butter. Any neutral-tasting nut butter like almond butter or mixed nut butter will work. Avoid using peanut butter unless you want peanut butter flavored blondies
- Maple Syrup: maple syrup is my go-to sweetener for baking recipes like this. BUT if you want a completely fruit-sweetened dish, you can use date syrup. Since these blondies are light in color the date syrup will turn the bars a brown/red color
- Lemon Juice & Zest: a mixture of lemon juice and lemon zest gives these brownies the punch of lemon flavor. Don't skip out on the zest, this is where you get so much of the flavor!
- Flax Egg: a mixture of ground flaxseed and water. The flax egg does what a real egg does in baking - it helps to bind the batter together
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking Powder
- Salt
How to make Vegan Lemon Brownies
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a brownie pan with parchment paper.
Step 2. Make the flax egg by combining the ground flax and water. Let it sit for a few minutes.
Step 3. Add the chickpeas, oat flour, nut butter, maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest, flax egg, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt to a food processor. Process until the chickpeas are blended fully and all the ingredients are combined.
Step 4. Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean and the blondies feel firm to the touch. Let cool at least 10 minutes before slicing. Cut into 9-16 bars. Enjoy!
FAQs & Expert Tips
I used an 8x8 pan for thick blondies. But a 9x9 pan or even a regular cake pan works too.
Nope! That's the genius of these lemon blondies. They get a rich, fudgy texture from the chickpeas.
And chickpeas are neutral enough in flavor that any bean taste is masked by the other ingredients.
This recipe uses oat flour. Oats are naturally gluten-free and are therefore a great option for those avoiding gluten.
If you are allergic to gluten, make sure to buy certified gluten-free oat flour to avoid any trace amounts of gluten that can be added to oats during processing.
I definitely recommend investing in a lemon zester. Lemon and lime zest add so much flavor to citrus recipes.
But, if you're in a pinch, you can cut off the lemon peel and throw it in the food processor whole. Blend per the instructions, and then check to make sure the peel is completely blended.
These bars are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean or with just a bit of batter.
A clean toothpick means the blondies will be more cake-like, while a bit of batter means they will be on the fudgy side.
Since these lemon brownies are healthy and WFPB they won't last as long as regular sugar + oil blondies.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. Or in the fridge for 5-7 days.
Recipe Prayer
God, thank you for this food. Thank you for the family and friends we get to share it with. Let us use this food to bring us together. Amen.
More Healthy Blondies and Brownies
Love blondies? Try these vegan blondie recipes next:
Tried this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon Brownies (Blondies)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 15- Ounce Can Chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Oat Flour
- ½ Cup Nut Butter
- ½ Cup Maple Syrup
- ¼ Cup Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
- 1 Tablespoon Flax + 2 Tablespoons Water
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a brownie pan with parchment paper.
- Make the flax egg by combining the ground flax and water. Let it sit for a few minutes.
- Add the chickpeas, oat flour, nut butter, maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest, flax egg, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt to a food processor. Process until the chickpeas are blended fully and all the ingredients are combined.
- Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean and the blondies feel firm to the touch. Let cool at least 10 minutes before slicing. Cut into 9-16 bars. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate.
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