Nobody at my book club believed this brownie batter hummus was made with chickpeas. It’s thick, fudgy, and deeply chocolatey, with a molasses-rich sweetness from dark brown sugar and little pops of mini chocolate chips in every scoop. Canned chickpeas, cocoa powder, and almond butter blend smooth in a food processor in about 2 to 3 minutes, and you can dig in right away or chill it until it’s even thicker.

Close-up view of chocolate brownie batter hummus mixed with chocolate chips. — This dessert hummus is like edible brownie batter you can eat straight off a spoon, no raw flour or eggs involved. It’s vegetarian, naturally gluten-free, and vegan when you use dairy-free dark chocolate chips.

Hummus without its usual garlic and olive oil is surprisingly mild. Chickpeas take on whatever flavors you give them, which is exactly why they make such a good base for a chickpea chocolate spread!

The first thing to go was tahini. It’s traditional in hummus, but its bitter edge fought the chocolate. Almond butter fixed that right away.

Melted chocolate didn’t make the cut either. Drizzling it into the batter left a gritty texture and a messy food processor. Cocoa powder delivers all the chocolate flavor with none of the hassle!

A spoonful of brownie batter dessert hummus in a speckled bowl.

A bowl of chocolate chip dessert hummus with a serving spoon, surrounded by fresh strawberries and crackers.

The Testing

Almond Butter vs. Tahini
Tahini is the classic choice for hummus, but in early batches it brought a bitter taste that clashed with the cocoa. Almond butter has a milder flavor that lets the chocolate flavor shine.

Cocoa Powder vs. Melted Chocolate
I tried melting chocolate and drizzling it into the blended chickpeas, and it left the dip slightly gritty and made a mess of the bowl. Cocoa powder blends straight in without the mess or extra step of melting chocolate!

How Much Salt Is Too Much
Too much salt pulled out the savory side of the chickpeas and made the dip taste a little beany. A quarter teaspoon is just enough to amplify the sweetness, a small sensory science trick that makes the chocolate taste richer without tipping it back toward savory.

What about black beans?

I haven’t tried black beans here. They’re wetter, and the black bean dips I’ve made come out fluffier, closer to refried beans, so expect a softer, less hummus-like texture if you try them. For a black bean chocolate fix, my Fudgy Chocolate Black Bean Muffins already prove beans and cocoa get along.

Ingredients for a chocolate hummus brownie batter recipe: chickpeas, cocoa powder, salt, brown sugar, almond butter, and chocolate chips, each with a corresponding label.

Key Ingredients

Unsweetened cocoa powder: Unsweetened keeps the sweetness fully in your control through the brown sugar.
Chickpeas: Rinsing them after you reserve the aquafaba is how you control how much chickpea flavor ends up in the dip. Rinse them well, then add back only as much aquafaba as you need.
Almond butter: It brings creaminess without the bitterness of tahini, and its flavor is gentler than peanut butter, so the chocolate stays front and center. (I’m allergic to peanuts, which is part of why I use almond butter, but peanut butter works if you want a chocolate peanut butter hummus.)
Dark brown sugar: Dark brown sugar has more molasses than light brown sugar, which gives it a deeper, almost toffee-like flavor.
Salt: A quarter teaspoon brings out the sweetness, and much more starts to make the dip taste beany.
Mini chocolate chips: Mini chips spread through every scoop and stay put on a strawberry better than full-size chips. For a vegan batch, check the label, since some dark chocolate chips contain milk.

A bowl of brownie batter hummus being scooped with a metal spoon.

For Silky Smooth Brownie Batter Hummus

Blend longer than feels necessary. In a high-powered food processor, it takes about 2 to 3 minutes to go from grainy to smooth, and a less powerful machine can take a while longer. Stop to scrape down the sides as you go.

Add the aquafaba while the machine is running, one tablespoon at a time. That steady addition is what takes it from stiff to creamy.

I never peel chickpeas. It’s not worth the time. If you want the smoothest possible texture, cook dried chickpeas from scratch and let them boil a little longer than the package recommends, until they’re very soft.

Blend It for When You Plan to Eat It

The right texture coming out of the food processor depends on when you’re serving it. If it’s going straight to the table, blend it exactly as thick as you want to eat it, like a traditional hummus.

If you’re making it ahead, blend it a little looser than you think you need. It thickens as it chills, so a slightly loose batch out of the processor lands right where you want it once it’s cold.

A bowl of brownie batter chocolate hummus topped with chocolate chips, surrounded by strawberries, graham crackers, pretzels, and vanilla wafer cookies.

What to Serve With Brownie Batter Hummus

Strawberries are my favorite dipper, but graham crackers, pretzels, and a plain old spoon all earn their place.

For book club, I set it out next to my Mediterranean Layered Hummus Dip so the savory crowd has something too, along with a bowl of my Crispy Roasted Chickpeas for crunch.

If brownie batter for breakfast sounds like your kind of morning, try my Chocolate Overnight Oats next!

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Brownie Batter Dessert Chocolate Hummus

By: Sarah Bond

Prep: 15

Total: 15

Servings: servings

This brownie batter hummus is thick, fudgy and deeply chocolatey, made with chickpeas, cocoa and almond butter. A dessert hummus blended smooth in 3 minutes!

Ingredients

▢ 1 15-oz can chickpeas, 1 (425 g) can chickpeas (240 g drained and rinsed; reserve the aquafaba)
▢ ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 30 g
▢ ⅓ cup dark brown sugar, 75 g
▢ ⅓ cup almond butter, 85 g
▢ ¼ tsp salt
▢ ½ cup mini chocolate chips, use dark chocolate for vegan, 85 g

Instructions

Chickpeas: Reserve the aquafaba (liquid) from 1 15-oz can chickpeas, then fully drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Blend: In a food processor, blend the chickpeas, ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ⅓ cup dark brown sugar, ⅓ cup almond butter, and ¼ tsp salt. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved aquafaba at a time until smooth and spoonable (like traditional hummus). It usually needs 1 to 2 tablespoons.
Chips: Stir in ½ cup mini chocolate chips.
Serve right away or refrigerate until ready to eat (it will thicken as it chills).

Notes

Storage: Keep it in an airtight container, like a glass storage container with a snap lid, in the fridge for about a week. I keep a batch on hand all week for my 3 pm snack craving and a sweet bite after dinner.

It firms up as it chills. If it gets thicker than you like, whisk in a tablespoon of aquafaba or water until it loosens back up.

Freezing: I haven’t frozen this one yet, but hummus generally freezes well, so I expect it to hold up. Freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months, thaw it overnight in the fridge, and stir well before serving, since thawed hummus can come out a little thicker or slightly grainy.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist, and should be taken as an estimate. For the most accurate nutritional information, calculate it using the actual ingredients in your recipe.