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These butter bean blondies are chewy, golden, and packed with vanilla and white chocolate flavor (made in a blender with no flour required).
save this recipe!If you’ve made my fudgy black bean brownies or chickpea blondies, this is the butter bean version of that same concept. The bean base replaces flour entirely, adding protein and fiber while disappearing behind the brown sugar, vanilla, and white chocolate.
Butter beans are the best bean for a blondie specifically because their flavor is the mildest and most neutral of any white bean, which means they need the least amount of other flavors to hide behind.
Reader rating
“Tried these for the first time today and I was so pleasantly surprised at how good they were! I’ve tried similar recipes in the past and they’ve not tasted great, but these are really delicious! Will absolutely be making again. Great recipe!” —Heather
Key ingredients
- Butter beans: The mildest, most neutral white bean for baking, which means they require the least amount of other flavors to mask them. Drain and rinse thoroughly before blending since any residual liquid from the can loosens the batter and affects the final texture.
- Rolled oats: Blended into the batter to provide structure without flour. They give the blondie its slightly chewy bite and prevent the bean base from producing a texture that’s too dense or fudge-like.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar is our go-to here since dark brown sugar would compete with the vanilla and white chocolate.
- Vanilla extract: The dominant flavor in the blondie alongside the white chocolate!
- White chocolate chips: Use a good quality white chocolate since cheaper brands can disappear entirely during (speaking from many unfortunate batches of experience!).
- Baking powder and baking soda: Both are used together to get enough lift in a blender-based batter that has no creaming step.
Can you taste the butter beans? Nope! From a sensory science standpoint, what we perceive as blondie flavor is almost entirely driven by fat, brown sugar, and vanilla. The bean base provides the structure for all three without adding a flavor note of its own.
Fudgy Butter Bean Blondies (No Flour!)
Ingredients
- 1 15-oz can butter beans, drained and rinsed, 1 ½ cups or 252 g of beans
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, 150 g
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract, 8 g
- ⅔ cup rolled oats, 60 g
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted, 55 g
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp additional white chocolate chips, optional topping
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease or line an 8×8-inch baking pan.
- Blend Base: In a high-speed blender, combine 1 15-oz can butter beans (drained and rinsed), ¾ cup light brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 tsp vanilla extract, ⅔ cup rolled oats, ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, and ¼ tsp salt. Blend until completely smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add Butter: Add ¼ cup unsalted butter (melted) and blend again until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Add Chocolate: Transfer batter to a bowl and fold in ½ cup white chocolate chips.
- Bake: Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35 minutes. A toothpick inserted should be mostly clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Add Topping Mid-Bake (Optional): Around 10 to 15 minutes into baking (once top is a little set), sprinkle 2 Tbsp additional white chocolate chips over the top.
- Cool: Let cool completely in the pan before slicing to allow the blondies to set, about 30 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
So I have a terrible time finding butter beans for some reason, I used great northern beans and these turned out AMAZING! Will absolutely be making these again!
So glad the recipe worked out well for you Brittany, thanks so much for sharing!
These are magical! We used Trader Joe’s sea salted caramel chips instead of white chocolate and whoa was that a good move! I was nervous when the batter smelled like beans but then when they were almost done baking they smelled insanely good. They taste like brown sugar and butter. The texture is lovely. Easy and so so good!
Thrilled you loved it, thanks for the review Laura!
Hi! Are you using old fashioned rolled oats or quick cooking rolled oats? Thank you!
Old fashioned are best here!
Tried these for the first time today and I was so pleasantly surprised at how good they were! I’ve tried similar recipes in the past and they’ve not tasted great, but these are really delicious! Will absolutely be making again. Great recipe!
I’m so thrilled to hear that they were a hit, Heather. Thanks so much for dropping back in to let us know how it went. Happy eating!!
Hi, can this be baked in the airfryer and if so may I have the temp. and for how long
Thank you
I haven’t tested this one in the air fryer, so I really can’t say for sure!
What is the settings for the oven. What temperature..?
350°F (175°C) 🙂
What are macros on this? I would like to get brown sugar amount down. Maybe dates or something? Thank you!!
Oops, thanks so much for pointing out that those were missing! We are adding them now.
Could you use brown sugar substitute for lower sugar content?
You’re welcome to use brown sugar here, but brown sugar does have almost identical nutrition to white sugar, including sugar content.
I made a couple swaps based on my preferences/what I had on hand and used cannellini beans instead of butter beans and coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. Even with my swaps, these are SO SO good!!!
So glad you enjoyed it Camille, thanks for sharing!
Tried the recipe as written its great. I had my husband try them and he was shocked it was beans. His coworkers were shocked it was beans.
Now, Ive seen someone replace the wet ingredients in box brownie mix with silken tofu, and it makes me wonder if beans PLUS tofu is going too far or if it could still work. Do you have thoughts on this?
Oh wow, I’ve never heard of that before. That’s such a fun idea! I have a feeling tofu and beans would be too much because there would be anything really supporting the structure of the brownies, but I would love to hear how it goes if you try it out.