Chickpea Cornbread Muffins (vegan, oil-free, fruit-sweetened)

These gluten-free Chickpea Cornbread Muffins are shockingly fluffy and delicious!  Canned cooked garbanzo beans are the “secret” ingredient that takes these to new heights for your health and longevity.  Get ready to cozy up with your favorite soup or chili and these deliciously-good-for-you cornbread muffins.

Whether you’re nutritarian or just looking for a healthy, vegan, fruit-sweetened version of the American classic, I think you’re going to be blown away by this recipe.  And, yes, I even made nutritarian butter pats!

Things are getting pretty exciting here, so let’s dig into all of this goodness…

Do these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins taste like beans?

No!

The star of the show here is most definitely the cornmeal.  The garbanzo beans simply play a supporting role.

Even if you aren’t a fan of beans, I think you will love these muffins.  The garbanzos don’t overpower, they melt perfectly into the background of the flavor.

So, you can feel safe giving these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins a try.

What makes these muffins so healthy?

• beans used instead of flour
• flaxseed is the only fat source
• only 95 calories and 1.4 grams of fat per muffin

First, garbanzo beans take the place of the other flours typically used in conjunction with cornmeal in conventional recipes.  Usually, there will be a blend of cornmeal with all purpose flour, whole wheat flour or gluten-free alternatives like oat flour, almond flour or garbanzo flour.

But who needs the powdery stuff at all when we can use an unprocessed whole food alternative instead?

And because there’s less flour used, there are less calories in this recipe!  Plus, loads more fiber and don’t forget the amazingly-protective blood glucose inhibition that only beans can provide (learn more here).

Second, these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins are low-fat.  The only fat source is ground flaxseed and some limited fat in the garbanzos.  There is only 1 tablespoon of flaxseed used in the whole batch of 12 muffins.

What ingredients do you need for this Chickpea Cornbread Muffin recipe?

1. cornmeal
2. no-added-salt garbanzo beans (home-cooked or canned)
3. unsweetened plant milk (I used almond)
4. deglet noor or medjool dates
5. yellow raisins
6. ground flaxseed
7. lemon juice
8. baking powder

I used Bob’s Red Mill Medium Grind Cornmeal that has both the corn germ and the bran.  This gives a beautiful hearty texture and crumb to the Chickpea Cornbread Muffins.

The flaxseed acts as a binder and the lemon juice and plant milk create an impromptu buttermilk.

There is a good amount of baking soda called for in this recipe, but it’s needed to help the garbanzo beans rise.

What are the options for fruit-sweetening?

As a nutritarian, I chose to sweeten with fruit instead of sugar or even maple syrup.

These are my favorite dried fruit sweeteners:

• deglet noor dates (top left)
• yellow/golden raisins (top right)
• medjool dates (bottom)

The best fruit sweetener is whole dates.  Although they are high in natural sugars they have loads of intact fiber that prevents them from spiking your blood sugar.

For these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins I use a blend of golden raisins and deglet noor dates to help keep that quintessential yellow cornbread color.  But I have experimented with all of these options and they all work.

Depending on what you have on hand in your pantry, here’s what you can use:

1. 6 deglet noor dates and 2 Tbsp. yellow raisins (this is my preferred version to retain the best color)
2. all deglet noor dates (9 pitted dates in total)
3. all medjool dates (3 to 4 large, pitted dates in total)

How to make Chickpea Cornbread Muffins:

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Choose your muffin tin.  I used this Silpat Brownie Mold.  While it’s definitely pricey it’s ideal for oil-free baking and works wonderfully for this recipe.  You can use a standard muffin tin with parchment liners or silicone cupcake liners like these.

Make the batter: Add the garbanzo beans, almond milk, dates, raisins and lemon juice to a high-speed blender bowl.  Next, add the cornmeal, flaxseed meal and baking powder.  Blend on high until smooth and creamy, about 40 seconds.

You’ll have 3 cups of batter after blending.  Spoon 1/4 cup of the batter into each muffin tin well.  Smooth out the tops.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until firm to the touch and just getting golden on the top and edges.

Allow the muffins to cool before removing from pan/mold/liners.  

What are the best condiments to eat with these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins?

1. Raspberry Chia Jam
2. nutritarian “butter” pats (see below for instructions, it’s made from Easy Vegan Yogurt)
3. drizzle of your favorite nut or seed butter

But, quite honestly, these are delicious naked!  Or slightly dunked in your favorite soup or chili.  These go particularly well with the Oil-Free Fire-Roasted Smoky Chili from my cookbook (pp. 265-267).

What is a nutritarian “butter” pat?

This is one of those serendipitous recipe development moments where I had an instinct and it worked out in the most beautiful way!

After being absolutely inspired by my final version of these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins I thought “Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a melty pat of butter on these bad boys?”  I went to the fridge and found some Easy Vegan Yogurt and I smeared some on a muffin.

The result: Surprisingly sweet and butter-y!

But the look wasn’t what I’d hoped for in my mind.  So, I decided to freeze the yogurt into little square shapes and viola, nutrtiarian butter pats for the win!

How to make nutrtiarian “butter” pats:

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a small tin, freezer-safe plate, or food storage container.

Spoon out about 1 tsp. of yogurt onto the parchment-lined vessel, spacing out your dollops about 1 1/2 inches apart.

With a knife or chopstick shape the yogurt dollops into little squares.

Place in the freezer to set for at least 4 hours before using.  Store the pats in an air-tight container in the freezer.

How to use the butter pats on these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins:

The best way to use the pats is to heat the muffin and then place the frozen pat directly on the muffin.  In about 40 to 60 seconds it will be perfectly melty while still holding its shape.

The taste is rich and subtly-sweet.

Storage & Reheating Recommendations:

I don’t recommend storing these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins at room temperature.  I tried it but condensation and moisture inside the food storage containers were an issue.

Refrigerator:  Muffins will keep for at least 14 days when stored in a glass food storage container with a snaplock lid (I’ve used these and these).  

Freezer:  Muffins will keep for up to 3 months in an air-tight container.  Make sure to separate with parchment paper to prevent sticking.  

Reheating:  If frozen allow to come to room temperature first.  For thawed or refrigerator-stored muffins, microwave for 30 to 40 seconds or air fry at 350°F using the “air fry” setting for 60 seconds.  

Can you eat these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins while you’re following the nutrtiarian lifestyle?

Yes!

These are probably the most nutritarian-y cornbread muffins in the world because they’re made with whole garbanzo beans. Because the beans replace flour and any nuts or seeds, you’re left with an incredibly healthy treat.

If you’re following the Aggressive Weight Loss Plan I recommend 1 to 2 muffins daily.

Each muffin contains 1 1/3 Tbsp. uncooked cornmeal.  Cornmeal has a ration of 1:4 uncooked to cooked, so each muffin will have 5 1/3 Tbsp. cooked cornmeal–that’s 1/4 cup plus 1 1/3 Tbsp. cooked cornmeal.  You get a quota of 1 cup cooked whole grains daily.  So, 1 cornbread muffin would leave you with 10 2/3 Tbsp. cooked whole grains for the day (that’s about 1/2 cup plus 2/3 Tbsp.).

If you’re following the maintenance plan, you have a higher whole grain allotment so you could enjoy 2 to 3 of these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins!

4.58 from 7 votes

Print

Chickpea Cornbread Muffins

These gluten-free, vegan Chickpea Cornbread Muffins are shockingly fluffy and delicious!  Garbanzo beans make these lower in fat and calories too!

Course Appetizer, Bread, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword gluten-free, healthy, nutritarian, oil free, refined sugar free, vegan, wfpb baking, whole food plant based

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 12 muffins

Calories 94.9 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cup no-added-salt garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (~165 grams)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 6 pitted deglet noor dates* (~40 grams)
• 2 Tbsp. yellow raisins* (~20 grams)
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 cup cornmeal, medium grind (~152 grams)
• 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed (~7 grams)
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder (~12 grams)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Use a Silpat brownie mold, a silicone muffin pan, or use silicone liners in a regular muffin pan—this prevents the need for greasing.  

2. Place all the ingredients in the order listed into a high-speed blender bowl. Blend on high for 40 to 60 seconds, or until the dates are broken down and the batter is smooth.

3. You will have 3 cups of batter after blending.  Spoon 1/4 cup of the muffin batter into each well.  Smooth out tops.

4. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until firm to the touch and just getting golden on the top and edges.

5. Allow the muffins to cool before removing from pan/mold/liners.  

Recipe Notes

*Fruit Substitutions: You can use all deglet noor dates (9 dates, ~60 grams) or all yellow raisins (1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp., ~60 grams).  You can also use medjool dates, if that’s all you have on hand (about 3 to 4 large medjool dates, 60 to 70 grams), just note that the color will be more brown.  

 

Storage:

I don't recommend storing these Chickpea Cornbread Muffins at room temperature.  I tried it but condensation and moisture inside the food storage containers were an issue.  

Refrigerator:  Muffins will keep for at least 14 days when stored in a glass food storage container with a snaplock lid (I've used these and these).  

Freezer:  Muffins will keep for up to 3 months in an air-tight container.  Make sure to separate with parchment paper to prevent sticking.  

 

Reheating: 

If the muffin is frozen allow it to thaw first.  For thawed or refrigerator-stored muffins, microwave for 30 to 40 seconds or air fry at 350°F using the "air fry" setting for 60 seconds. 

 

Nutrition Facts

Chickpea Cornbread Muffins

Serving Size

 

1 muffin

Amount per Serving

Calories

94.9

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

1.4

g

2

%

Sodium

 

109.8

mg

5

%

Potassium

 

116.7

mg

3

%

Carbohydrates

 

17.7

g

6

%

Fiber

 

3.3

g

14

%

Sugar

 

3.6

g

4

%

Protein

 

2.6

g

5

%

Vitamin A

 

90.04

IU

2

%

Vitamin C

 

5.9

mg

7

%

Calcium

 

110.1

mg

11

%

Iron

 

0.7

mg

4

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

I’d love to know what you think if you give this Chickpea Cornbread Muffin recipe a try.

Your comments and recipe ratings motivate me so much to keep creating memorable and delicious recipes!