Soft, buttery Vegan Blondies give regular brownies a run for their money. Loaded with vegan white chocolate chips, these are seriously the best dessert bars ever!
Do you know how I know these are the best Vegan Blondies ever? Because they’ve changed me from a die-hard brownie fan to a blondie fanatic!
Their rich, moist, butterscotch-like flavors are so nicely balanced and perfectly sweet. Unlike classic chocolate brownies, vegan blondies are made with brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and applesauce. No out-of-the-ordinary ingredients, like chickpeas, flaxseed, or aquafaba, are needed!
Every bite of these ooey gooey blondies are:
- Packed with white chocolate.
- As sweet as caramel.
- Rich and decadent.
They’re seriously so good! Enjoy these white chocolate blondies as a sweet treat, an easy dessert, or to freeze for later. If you can’t find vegan white chocolate chips, you can also mix in regular vegan chocolate chips.
Are blondies the same as brownies?
Just think of blondies as brownies without the cocoa powder. Blondies get their signature caramel and butterscotch flavors from a few staple ingredients like brown sugar, vegan butter, vanilla and salt. Blondies are dense, chewy and very rich (similar to a chocolate chip cookie bar).
Blondies and brownies do have one key characteristic in common: they’re both cut up into squares and served as a simple grab-and-go snack or dessert. Perfect for when those sugar cravings hit!
How to make vegan blondies
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
First, melt the vegan butter. Add the brown sugar to the same bowl as the melted butter and stir to combine (it should look like smooth caramel). Next, mix in the applesauce and vanilla.
You can start adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Gently stir them together until you have a thick and sticky dough.
To finish, fold in the white chocolate chips (or regular chocolate chips). Feel free to use your hands to make sure they’re evenly distributed.
Transfer the dough to your prepared baking dish. Press it down so it reaches the edges of the pan and the top is in an even layer. Bake until the top of the dough is set and looks golden. Let the finished blondies cool completely before slicing them into squares.
Tips and substitutions
- Load them up – I folded vegan white chocolate chips into the blondie dough but you can load them with even more mix-ins, like regular chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, shredded coconut, walnuts, almonds, dried fruit, or anything else you like.
- Applesauce – This is used as a replacement for oil and helps the blondies taste extra moist. If you don’t have applesauce at home, replace it with a mashed banana or a flax egg.
- Gluten free – Substitute the flour with gluten free all purpose flour to make vegan gluten free blondies.
- Sugar – Brown sugar is a must in blondies. The only suitable replacement would be coconut sugar but they won’t be as good.
- Storing – Baked blondies keep well for about 5 days at room temperature. Pack them away in an airtight container so they stay fresh. They also freeze well.
Frequently asked questions
- Why did my blondies sink in the middle? Overmixing the batter can lead to the blondies sinking as they bake. Instead, gently stir each ingredient into the dough until it’s just combined.
- Should they taste cakey? Blondies should be soft and a little firm around the edges, like a cookie bar. If they taste cakey, it probably means they’ve been overbaked or you accidentally added too much flour.
- Can I freeze blondies? Yes! Wrap the bars well in plastic and keep them frozen for up to 3 months. Just let them thaw in the fridge, then enjoy!
Level up your blondie experience!
Perhaps the very best way to enjoy a blondie is to serve a large square warm on a plate with a scoop of Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream and a drizzle of Vegan Caramel. You will think you died and went to heaven!
If you like this idea, you will probably love my Vegan Salted Caramel Skillet Cookie.
Craving more vegan dessert bars?
Vegan Blondies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2-3/4 cup vegan white chocolate chips or regular chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on the sides for easy removal.
- Melt the butter in a microwave safe mixing bowl for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- In a large bowl, stir the melted vegan butter with the brown sugar until smooth like caramel. Now add the applesauce and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. The dough will be a bit thick and sticky.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips (or regular chocolate chips). Use your hands if needed to get them evenly dispersed.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press down evenly with your hands or a spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is set and the blondies are golden.
- Let the bars cool for 15 minutes in the pan, them lift them out using the parchment paper and let cool on a cooling rack for another 20 minutes, if you can wait that long! Slice into squares and enjoy!
- To store: Keep leftover blondies in a covered container for up to 5 days or freeze for longer.
Notes
- I tried these with both Earth Balance butter and Country Crock. I’m sure Miyoko’s and other brands will work just as well.
- Gluten free? Substitute a gluten free all purpose flour instead of regular.
- I used vegan white chocolate chips I found at Wal Mart, but if you can’t find vegan white chocolate you can always use regular vegan chocolate chips or just chopped walnuts.
- If you don’t have applesauce, use a flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds with 2.5 tablespoons water. Add in when you would the applesauce.
- Chopped walnuts, macadamia nuts and dried fruit are also wonderful mixed in.
This recipe was so easy to make and tasted delicious! I used a flax egg instead of the applesauce and it added a subtle nuttiness which I really enjoyed. Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
You are welcome, Abby! I’m so glad you loved the blondies! Thanks for your terrific review and feedback!
Has anyone had any luck doubling in a 9×13 pan?
Hi Jen. I haven’t tried this but you’ll likely need to double the recipe and bake the blondies for a few minutes longer (maybe 30-40 minutes) in the oven. Hope this helps!
This is the first recipe I’ve tried from Nora that didn’t work out. Made recipe exactly as is, baked them for only 22 minutes and these turned out soooo dry and crumbly. The flavor was good and I’d make them again, but I’d probably cut the baking time down to 16 or 17 minutes so they have a chance to be gooey
Yummy! I used regular vegan choc chips as I didn’t have the white chocolate and they were delightful ♥ Very quick and easy to make too!
Hi Eleisha! I’m thrilled you love the blondies! Thank you for taking time to share your great feedback and review!
Hi Nora, I don’t have apple sauce but I do have flax seed. Your recipe says 6 tablespoons of applesauce but only 1 flax egg as an alternative. I am just checking that is correct as the applesauce would then be much greater quantity than the flax egg so I wonder if the texture would be a bit dry with the flax egg. Could you confirm please. Thanks very much.
Hi Mandy. Yes, only 1 flax egg is needed here. Both 1 flax egg and 6 tablespoons of applesauce replicate 1 real egg in this recipe, giving you the same result. I hope this helps!
Did them as fingerfood for a party with walnut peaces and cinamon Sugar on top. Great! Thank you !
That sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing your great idea and feedback!
Hi if I wanted to sub the apple sauce for aquafabe how many table spoons would I use. Thank you
Hi Aimee, I don’t recommend replacing the applesauce with aquafaba. I’ve tried blondie recipes with aquafaba and they didn’t work very well. If possible, use 1 flax egg instead.
Another winner from Nora!! Thank you!
You are welcome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Have you found that these taste like applesauce at all?
No, not at all.
It looks delicious. I have a question: can I use mashed bananas instead of apple sauce? Thank you.
I’ve never tried it but it probably would work. They might taste like bananas though!
Hooray! Finally a blondie recipe that works and tastes good too! You never let me down Nora!
Just one question… I’m sure I read it on here somewhere (but can’t find it now – maybe it was another recipe and I’ve gotten muddled up!)…. Did you say you could replace 25g of flour with a table spoon of corn four if I wanted it a bit lighter?
Thanks
Glad you love the blondies! Nope, that wasn’t me so I’m not sure. You could try it I guess though. Thanks!
I love these! Perfect for when I’m craving sweet, but not chocolate.
Nora, would I add fresh cranberries to the recipe? Do you have any advice?
Hi Hope. I would use dried cranberries, not fresh. Hope this helps!
Hi. I tried the recipe but I may have done something wrong. Taste is amazing though. It crumbles a lot when I cut the pieces, what could be the issue? Too much flour? Would it work putting cornstarch or tapioca starch? Thanks a lot
It sounds like possibly you did add too much flour or made a substitution somewhere. Or perhaps you over baked them? They should be quite moist and hold together easily.
Hi Nora,
Would the recipe still come out as desired if I made your 3-ingrendient caramel and swirled in into the batter before baking?
Also, how many flax eggs would you use to substitute for the applesauce?
Thanks!
I’m not sure how the caramel will work in the blondies, but it sure sounds amazing! It might work. I’d probably sub 1 flax egg for the applesauce if needed.
Best vegan blondies recipe I have tried, by far! Used 3 tbsp liquid vegan egg substitute instead of applesauce and added 3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts in addition to to the 3/4 cup white chocolate chips. Packed with flavor! Big hit!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the blondies, thank you Sarah!
I love how easy this recipe is with only 8 ingredients. The perfect basic recipe to have fun with! But although I followed the recipe mine turned out cakey three times! I will now try with less flour (like 190 grams?) and bake shorter (like 20 minutes?). Also, last two times I added crushed cookies instead of white chocolate chips maybe that was nog a good idea either?
Last question (seeking some confirmation sorry i know) would you replace applesauce for aquafaba or just not?
Hi Donna! A few things to think about. Ovens can vary, so it’s possible they are simply getting overbaked and dried out. So yes, try 20 minutes and see how that goes. Second, make sure you are measuring accurately. For the flour, use a spoon to scoop flour into a dry measure cup, then level it off with a knife, no shaking or packing it down. I don’t know why crushed cookies would make them cakier, that sounds good actually. I would not replace applesauce with aquafaba, trust my I have tried so many versions of blondies, some with aquafaba and it didn’t work very well. Hope that helps! If you want them even mushier, go ahead and reduce the flour just a little bit.
These turned out exceptionally well, even though I was a little low on apple sauce! Yum! I’ve tried several vegan blondies recipes over the past year and half, and this is easily a favorite (and one of the easiest to make). SO YUMMY!
The step to add the salt isn’t specifically mentioned, but I added it with the baking power.
PS: I used the Baker’s Choice’s brand white chocolate chips, which appear to be vegan. I was able to order them online.
Oops about the salt, all fixed now! 🙂 Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I’m so glad you enjoyed the blondies, thank you!
Do you think I can use crisco instead of butter?
I don’t think they will have the same flavor, but it would probably work.
Nora, these are absolute perfection! My mind is blown. On my way to have one for breakfast! ?
I’m so glad you loved the blondies, thank you so much for leaving a review and letting me know! Enjoy your breakfast. 🙂
I made the blondies, really excellent, but a bit too sweet. What do you think would happen if I put less sugar or sub 1 cup with coconut sugar?
Are they supposed to be a bit gooey inside?
Tamar
Hi Tamar! They are sweet, very caramel like and yes they are a bit gooey especially right after you take them out, but not too much once they cool. Think brownie texture but in blond form. 🙂 You could probably cut the sugar in half or use coconut sugar, but I’m not totally sure as I haven’t tried it. Thanks!
Thanks Nora,
do you think coconut oil would work?
I don’t think it will work as well. They will likely be a bit greasy if you do.
do you have the mesasurements in weights
If you click on “metric” below the ingredients you will see the conversions.
Are there any substitutions for brown sugar? Thank you!
They won’t be the same with anything else, it’s what makes them so caramelly and rice. Coconut sugar might be okay, but even then they won’t be as good.
i dont use butter or any oils so suggestions? more applesauce?
You could try it but unfortunately they just won’t be the same.
Same! I don’t use butter/oils or refined sugar. I did a bit of a crazy experiment. I used cashews instead of butter and blended with maple syrup instead of the sugar until creamy. Did everything else the same. They were great! More cake like so probably need to add liquid somewhere or lessen the flour but still it worked! And very delicious. My family loves them.
Question
Am not a knowledgeable cook or baker. When you say 1/2 cup vegan butter melted, do you mean literally 1/2 cup of melted butter or do you mean get a half cup and then melt it which would end up being very little liquid? Thank you!
Hi there! I usually use the sticks of vegan butter, and so I use 1 stick and melt it. If you are using the tub vegan butter, you can measure out 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons then melt it. Hope that helps!