White Bean Blondies

Before you run, please know that these blondies are the vanilla counterpart to a chocolate brownie recipe that I made with a can of black beans. White bean blondies are dense, fudgey, sweet and full of sweet delicious caramel notes from the honey. You absolutely cannot taste the beans here, I promise!

Yes, we're making another dessert with beans. And no, you will absolutely not be able to taste the beans here! The texture of these blondies is like a cross between a super dense brownie and fudge. They are super sweet, chewy and satisfying.

Like my black bean brownies, we're going to puree everything together in the food processor. This is crucial for making sure no trace of the beans remains--neither texture nor taste.

I love these white bean blondies because they're a high protein snack for my kids. If they don't think that their mom would sneak beans into their dessert by now, are they ever going to figure it out? Just wait until they figure out what's in my chickpea cookie dough, hah!

Ingredients

We're using simple baking ingredients today, plus a can of white beans to make these blondies. While you might expect a healthy dessert that uses beans to be vegan, I have to point out that these white bean blondies rely on butter and an egg to come together. It's essential for the buttery, caramel taste and to create the chewy texture of blondies.

If you're looking for a the best blondies recipe without beans, I linked you to that also. This recipe below is based on that recipe, with less butter because the beans take the place of half of it.

• White Beans. One 15-ounce can of white beans, like navy beans, cannellini beans or anything plain and neutral. I don't recommend lima beans (or butter beans, as we call them around here). The softest (and best) beans for this recipe is a can of navy beans. Great Northern white beans can be a bit too firm and have thicker skins.
• Baking Powder.
• Salt. If you're someone who typically omits salt in baking recipes, please, I beg you not to do that here. We need ¼ teaspoon of salt to balance out the sweet flavors.
• Brown Sugar. Dark brown sugar is best here, because we're relying on the caramel flavors of the molasses in the brown sugar. However, light brown sugar will work.
• Vanilla Extract. Yes, it's really 2 whole teaspoons of vanilla extract in this recipe.
• Butter. We only need half a stick of melted butter, because the beans take the place of some of the butter in this blondie recipe.
• Egg. One large egg; the whole egg--both white and yolk.
• Flour. All-purpose flour that has been fluffed, scooped and leveled in the measuring cup before using.

How to Make White Bean Blondies

You need a food processor or blender to make this recipe. The ingredients need to be perfectly smooth before adding the flour and egg. Here is the food processor I love.

Variations on White Bean Blondies

• Beans - Any type of small white beans work for this recipe, but do not use large white beans, like lima or butter beans. Great Northern beans can be a bit too firm, so I really recommend canned navy beans. Cannellini beans are my second choice for this recipe.
• Sugar - Dark brown sugar is great here, but you can also swap it for an equal amount of your favorite honey instead.
• Chocolate - These white bean blondies are even more delicious when sprinkled with chocolate chips or chocolate chunks before baking.

Storage

These blondies can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. They can also be wrapped tightly and kept in the fridge for a few days longer. I don't really recommend freezing them, as the texture might change after defrosting.