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Hands down, these are the BEST ever blondies recipe made with easy ingredients. Thick, gooey, and loaded with chocolate chips, they take less than 20 minutes to make!
Easy and simple blondies made without eggs, without refined sugar, and without chickpeas. A foolproof recipe for vegan gluten-free blondies from scratch. Vegan, Gluten-Free.
Vegan Blondies
When it came to childhood bakery favorites, blondies were ALWAYS my number one.
As much as I was a chocoholic, I’d always lean towards blondies over brownies every single time.
I’ve since stopped buying blondies because making your own is SO quick and easy to do. They use no crazy ingredients.
Many popular vegan blondie recipes use chickpeas for the texture, but I REFUSE to do that.
Seriously, have you seen those desserts with chickpeas in them? No thanks. I’ll stick to my cookie dough without them…blondies too.
What is the difference between brownies and blondies?
Blondies are considered to be the lighter counterpart to brownies. They are essentially a cocoa-less version of brownies, often with a more gooey texture.
They also are much easier to adapt and use a combination of sugars, to provide different flavor profiles and levels of sweetness.
What does a blondie taste like?
Imagine the texture of a brownie, but the flavor of a gorgeous vanilla cake or vanilla-based dessert.
That is what a blondie tastes like, but so much better. Sweet, fudgy, gooey, and with a gorgeous tender exterior. The mouthfuls of chocolate with every bite take it up a notch!
I often get asked if blondies are supposed to be gooey.
The answer? YES!
A key feature of ANY good blondie is for it to be ultra gooey, so don’t fear that they may be under-cooked!
How to make vegan blondies from scratch
The Ingredients
- Brown sugar– Gives the blondies a more robust, sweet flavor. Try to avoid using dark brown sugar, or the flavor will be quite overpowering and yield a darker blondie.
- White sugar– Balances out the brown sugar, and also keeps the blondies lighter in color.
- All-purpose flour– I used gluten-free all-purpose flour, to keep this recipe gluten-free. You can use white whole-wheat flour too if you’d like a slightly healthier profile.
- Baking soda– Leavens out the blondies and gives them a little rise.
- Salt– Brings out the sweetness. Also sprinkle a little salt on top of the blondies once they are done, to give that beautiful sweet and salty combination.
- Vegan butter– When choosing a vegan butter to use, try to avoid cheaper brands, as they often contain added butter. This, in turn, will change up the texture of the blondies too.
- Molasses– Optional, but gives an even more gooey texture.
- Chocolate Chips– Use a combination of chocolate chips and a chopped up chocolate bar, to ensure every bite is loaded with pockets of chocolate.
- Vanilla Extract– A must for any good blondie recipe.
- Egg substitute– I used a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water), but I suspect a chia egg will also work the same. If you don’t follow a vegan diet, you can use 1 whole egg.
The Instructions
- Mix your dry ingredients– Start by mixing your flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Cream your sugar and butter– Using either a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, cream your sugars and butter together, for around 3 minutes, until silky and smooth.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix– Add your dry mixture into the sugar/butter mixture. Add the rest of your ingredients, before folding through your chocolate chips at the end.
- Bake and cool– Bake the blondies in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for 15-17 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Allow the blondies to cool completely in the pan, before slicing and enjoying!
TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
Why are my blondies cakey?
Are you a cakey brownie fan or a gooey fudgy brownie fan? I, myself, am a hardcore cakey brownie fan. However, things are a little bit different for blondies.
Unlike brownies, blondies should generally NOT be cakey. They are designed to be ooey and gooey.
If your blondies happen to turn out cakey, it means one thing… You overbaked them!!!
This is why it is IMPERATIVE for you to cook the blondies no longer than 17 minutes, as it continues to cook as it cools and you WANT it to be gooey in the middle.
Besides, these are vegan, meaning they are eggless, so who cares if it seems underdone!
If you want a blondie that is cakier, you’d be better off trying a cookie bar instead.
Why do blondies sink in the middle?
Blondies, or any baked dessert really (banana bread is a huge culprit!), can sometimes sink the middle.
The reason why this happens is due to overmixing the batter.
You might think overmixing it would be a good thing (it all would be incorporated better, right?) but actually, it distributes the leavening agent and flour (in this case, baking soda!) and adds way too much air into the batter. When baked, this expands nicely, but then all of a sudden deflates and sinks in the middle.
Key point- DON’T OVERMIX!
How do you know when blondies are done?
When we bake, we often use the ‘toothpick’ test to see if something is properly baked, or done.
Vegan blondies are a little different. You want to remove the blondies from the oven when they become golden around the edges, but also haven’t been in the oven longer than 17 minutes.
The blondies are required to cool in the pan before slicing, to once removed, they are going to continue cooking through.
Besides, blondies are designed to be gooey!
Can I make these blondies sugar free?
Yes, blondies can easily be adapted to be 100% sugar free. Here are my suggested swaps-
- Brown sugar– Replace this with sugar free brown sugar. It has the exact taste and heavy texture of brown sugar, minus the calories, carbs, and sugar.
- White sugar– Granulated monk fruit sweetener or swerve can be used. I prefer the monk fruit as swerve sometimes can have a bitter taste once baked.
- Chocolate Chips– Use your favorite sugar-free chocolate bar (chopped up) or sugar-free chocolate chips. I often use stevia-sweetened chocolate chips.
Is there a keto and paleo option?
You’ll love these keto and paleo blondies instead.
Bonus– For flavor twists, you might like raspberry blondies, pumpkin blondies, and zucchini blondies.
More blondies, bars, and brownies you’ll love
- Best Ever Vegan Brownies (Gluten-Free)
- Oatmeal Cookie Bars
- Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
- Millionaire’s Shortbread Bars
- Flourless Apple Pie Blondies
Best Ever Blondies (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour use gluten-free, if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 flax egg * See notes
- 6 tablespoon vegan butter can use standard butter, if not vegan
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 6 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses Optional ** See notes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips of choice I used a mix of chopped chocolate and chips
Instructions
- Prepare your flax egg by combining 1 tablespoon of flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water. Let sit for 10 minutes, for a gel to form.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line an 8 x 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your flour, baking soda, and salt and mix well. Set aside.In seperate bowl, add your sugars with butter. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together until combined.
- Add your creamed butter/sugar to the dry mixture. Add your vanilla extract, molasses (if using it) and flax egg and mix together, until just combined. Fold through chocolate chips, reserving a handful to top the blondies with.
- Transfer the batter into the lined pan and top with extra chocolate chips. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown. Do not bake longer than 17 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan completely, before slicing.
So delicious and gooey!
so good i made these twice in a week, used half chickpea flour for some extra protein and they turned out great
Thanks for the feedback and suggestion, Em!
These were the best blondies ever 🙂
Okay, these blondies were out of this world delicious!!
Made these yesterday for a Thanksgiving Dinner dessert option. My inlaws were fighting over the left overs to take home!
Thanks so much for this yummy recipe! I subbed maple syrup for sugar, oat flour for white and peanut butter with some canola oil for the butter.. So good!
Delicious!
We did 1/2 semisweet chips and 1/2 white chocolate chips. We used real maple syrup instead of molasses. We make treats that are vegan and gluten free, so these fit the bill! We added about 1/2 cup almond milk to mixture to give it some batter consistency- otherwise it was cookie dough consistency.
Super delicious! The texture is really good and I love the level of sweetness. My non-vegan roomates love these and the batch is always gone in a few days!
Very good! I really appreciate the gooey- ness of these blondies. With vegan baking so many times bars turn out cakey from lack of oil. For any whole food bakers out there I subbed the butter for cashew butter and they turned out perfect. I decreased sugar, added nuts just personal preference. I did use the molasses. Thanks for a great recipe!
This recipe looks great! Do you think I can bake the blondies one day ahead, storing them at room-temperature, without them becoming too dry?
You sure can 🙂
Absolutely FANTASTIC recipe and true to word, best ever!!! Thank you so much! You are a genius!!!
Can you give quantity in grams? I have 220 gm cup
We use American cups and tablepoons. You can check out some online conversions 🙂
nope i didn’t.. was watching them very closely in the oven when baking…
hi Arman, i tried following the recipe but it appears that they rise quite abit and turn out cakey instead of gooey… Should i further reduce the rising agent?
Hi Cheryl! Did you by any chance over bake them?
I am truly pleased with this recipe. I utilized most of the recommended substitutes. I used flaxseed egg and raw cane sugar, and oatmilk vegan butter. I also used molasses and the broken bar of chocolate so my blonde brownies were more brunette than blonde. Absolutely wonderful definitely going to try the sugar free.
Is it possible to freeze these?
Yes of course 🙂
Follow the instructions. I mixed them too much so my first try the blondies sank after baking but they were still good. Also they will continue baking after you take them out. I was worried bc they seemed too jiggly when the time went off. I did bake them over the warned 17 minutes and they still turned out great.
Arman,
Sinfully delicious!!! I made a batch of these yesterday, and they turned out ooey, gooey delicious. I followed your recipe to the letter, and had no problems. I will most definitely make this again. I discovered your website not too long ago, and I am glad I did, because you have such great recipes.
Thank you,
Cheri
Fabulous- Thanks, Cheri!
3rd time using this recipe and it never fails! perfect for vegan and gluten free baking, I have never used molasses but might try adding golden syrup next time as I’ve seen in another comment and try and make them more gooey. I usually also have to bake them for a little longer than 17 minutes but the last batch I made only took 17.. not sure why. But a never fail recipe, thank you!
Thank you, Amie! xx
Making these for a third time now and they never disappoint! I double the recipe and add less sugar when I add the molasses because I don’t like them overly sweet. I also bake them for longer than 17 mins since I double the recipe so they need much longer to cook in the bigger pan. Everyone who has tried them has loved them!! Thanks so much, going to be a favourite for me.
My husband loves blondies and so for Valentine’s Day I made this recipe and he was over the moon. I’m not much of a dessert person, but I found myself going back for more. I will definitely be making these again. They were moist and not overly sweet. Just perfect!
Fantastic!
Would recommend halving the amount of chocolate, way too goey and sweet for me.
These tasted so good. It says only to bake for 17 minutes but they were wayyyy too gooey so i recommend to bake for about 20 minutes instead. Highly recommend!
Baked these for 17 minutes and let cool completely and it’s not even cooked fully. They taste good just have to eat them with a spoon!
Used maple syrup instead of molasses and peanut butter cups instead of chocolate bits and it was amazing! Definitely going to be included in our staple recipes now, thanks 🙂
Love it!
Is this the blue one? If I use the Bob’s Mill All-Purpose GF Flour (Red) would it still work? Thank you!
Hi, what brand of gluten-free all-purpose flour did you use?
Thanks!
Hi! Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 all purpose flour.
Do you think I could use sunflower oil instead of butter or does it have to be a more solid fat? Thanks a million x
Not that I’ve tried!
Could you use almond flour instead? What would be the amount? Even swap?
I haven’t tried, feel free to experiment and see or make my keto blondies that use almond flour.
Hey, my blondies came out a little bit dry when in batter form and then slightly gappy when cooked (pockets of nothing).
I didn’t use molasses.
I used milled flaxseed instead of ground flaxseed, and so the “vegan egg” wasnt gel like. Does this not work with milled flaxseed? And would adding groundnut oil (or another oil) help with combining the ingredients better?
Hi there- the ground flaxseed need to be made into a gel- I haven’t tried milled flaxseed before.
Hi. Can I use curd instead of egg in this blondie recipe
I haven’t tried, feel free to experiment and see.