With no flour or eggs required, these fudgy chocolate black bean brownie bites are a delicious homemade vegan snack or dessert you won’t want to share!
Chocolate black bean brownie bites
Want to quickly become the most popular person at your next party?
Just whip up a batch of these rich and decadent gooey chocolate brownie bites, and watch how fast the entire tray disappears!
The healthy brownie bites absolutely hold their own against any traditional flour-and-sugar brownies. Your guests will never guess the secret ingredient.
You may also like Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brownie bites that do not taste healthy
There are definitely some healthy dessert recipes on my blog that do taste healthy.
For example, no one would confuse my Banana Ice Cream recipe with Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream or proclaim Chia Pudding to be the most decadent dessert they’ve ever tasted in their life.
However, these black bean brownie bites taste 100% just as rich, fudgy, moist, chocolatey, and indulgent as traditional homemade brownies.
They can easily stand up against those famous Little Bites Fudge Brownies from Entenmann’s, or store bought brownie bites from Costco, Sam’s Club, or Target.
If anything, this healthier version is even more rich, moist, chocolatey, and decadent. While traditional brownie bites with flour can often be dry and crumbly, the black beans in this healthy recipe keep them ultra moist and soft, with NO crumbling.
The recipe was inspired by my black bean brownies and Healthy Brownies, two other bean desserts that are huge crowd pleasers, even with people who have no interest whatsoever in vegan or healthy eating.
So don’t be afraid to try these out at your next event. You might be surprised at the overwhelmingly positive reception they receive!
Watch the healthy brownie bites recipe video – above
Black bean brownie bite flavors
This healthy dessert is incredibly versatile. Feel free to include anything you normally add to homemade or boxed brownies.
Stir in a handful of shredded coconut or chopped walnuts or pecans. Or add a pinch of ground cinnamon or a few drops of pure peppermint extract.
They are also really good with a half teaspoon of instant coffee sprinkled into the batter before baking. (I use this brand of instant coffee.)
I love using peanut butter in the recipe and stirring in some chopped peanuts or pressing a vegan peanut butter cup into the top of each bite, turning them into chocolate peanut butter brownie bites.
Finally, if you’re feeling really lazy, you can always just eat the eggless batter with a spoon and call it a day. Not that I’ve ever done this or anything…
Healthy brownie bite ingredients
Here’s what you need: cocoa powder, rolled oats or almond flour, black beans, liquid sweetener of choice, a little salt, oil or almond butter, pure vanilla extract, baking powder, and mini chocolate chips.
I know some people will be skeptical of the idea of beans in desserts. But did you know Entenmann’s brownie bites contain beans too??
It’s true; they have soybean oil an locust bean gum. Not to mention their other ingredients that include sugar, eggs, bleached wheat flour, corn syrup, whey protein concentrate, propylene glycol esters of fatty acids, mono and diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, cellulose gum, and artificial flavor.
In contrast, the fudgy homemade brownie bites have just nine ingredients, with no artificial flavors, gums, corn syrup, or flour.
They can be gluten free, egg free, dairy free, vegan, and refined sugar free.
Most importantly, they taste so intensely fudgy and delicious that no one even notices those other ingredients are missing!
Substitution options
Many people have asked me over the years if they can substitute lentils or another type of bean for the black beans.
While I have not personally tried, many readers have written in to say they successfully substituted white beans, kidney beans, lentils, or adzuki beans.
I do not recommend steel cut oats here. But you can use a third cup of white, spelt, or oat flour instead of the oats if you prefer.
How to make the healthy dessert
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a mini muffin pan.
If you don’t have a mini muffin pan, you can bake the recipe in either a regular sized muffin pan. Or use an eight inch pan and cut into mini or large squares.
Process all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a high quality food processor until thick and completely smooth.
Stir in the chocolate chips. Portion the batter into the prepared muffin tin, and press a few extra chocolate chips on top if desired.
Bake on the oven’s center rack for ten minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and let it cool for at least another ten minutes before going around the sides of each brownie bite with a knife and popping them out onto a plate.
Store these healthy brownie bites the same way you would store classic brownies. Once cool, place them in a covered container with a tiny opening for excess moisture to escape. They can stay out on the counter for a day.
After a day, I recommend placing in an airtight covered container and refrigerating for freshness. The brownies should last around four to five days.
You can also freeze leftover brownie bites in an airtight container for up to three or four months. Thaw before serving.
If you prefer blondies instead, try these Chickpea Blondies
Chocolate Black Bean Brownie Bites
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp regular cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp Dutch cocoa powder or additional regular
- 1/3 cup rolled oats or 1/2 cup almond flour (for keto, try these Keto Brownies)
- 1 can black beans or 1 1/2 cup cooked
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
- 1/4 cup oil or almond or peanut butter
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, or more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a mini muffin pan. (A regular muffin pan also works, or you can smooth the batter into an 8×8 pan.) Process all ingredients except chips in a high quality food processor until smooth. Stir in chips. (Omit chips at own risk – I only vouch for the final taste if they’re included!) Portion into the pan, press a few more chips into the tops if desired, and bake on the center rack 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let cool at least 10 additional minutes before going around the sides with a knife and popping out.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
Tag @chocolatecoveredkatie on Instagram
More Healthy Chocolate Snacks
lena dolter says
katie – did you use the oil or the nut butter in your recipe?
Jason Sanford says
Any time options are listed in a recipe, it means we’ve tested them to ensure they work. In this case, either will work. It just depends on what flavor you are after. For peanut butter brownie bites, use peanut butter. If a more neutral flavor is desired, use something more neutral such as almond butter or oil 🙂
Jason (media relations)
Lisa Laforet-Favilla says
Hi Jasson,
I only have dutch processed cocoa at home. I noticed that this recipe calls for both dutch process cocoa powder as well as non-Dutch process. I looked at Amazon and saw several cocoa powders. Can you recommend a non-Dutch process cocoa powder to use in this recipe?
Thank you.
Lisa
Jason Sanford says
Sure thing! Pretty much any unsweetened regular cocoa powder works, as does cacao powder. Katie likes to use Fair Trade, and this is a brand she often buys: https://amzn.to/2YcnMvH
Lisa says
Thank you, Jason. I will tray that.
Lisa
Sue says
I would love to try this recipe but I do not use honey, maple syrup or agave. How would I have to revise the recipe in order to use stevia?
Thanks
Jason Sanford says
Unfortunately we have never tried so really can’t say. Perhaps something like this would work? https://amzn.to/2J5lCrf
Be sure to report back if you experiment!
Jojo says
Pyure is awesome! I bake with it often as a sub for maple syrup and honey.
Michelle says
Are you supposed to rinse the beans first? I made a black bean brownie recipe once that said not to rinse them and it was pretty gross, so I’m hesitant to try again. These look good though, so maybe I’ll be brave!
Kathryn says
Definitely rinse them first! Rinsing really well will get rid of extra sodium, and make the final product taste better. Not rinsing can leave it tasting pretty beany, as you discovered.
Michelle says
Thanks!
Kathryn says
Goodness, I got kicked out of ketosis just reading this post and looking at the pictures! Lol, these look amazing! I love your other bean brownies, so I know these will be delicious.
Eve says
Will these work with all dutch-processed cocoa, or do you need to mix with regular cocoa?
Jason Sanford says
We haven’t tried so can’t know for sure, but it sounds like a great experiment. Be sure to report back for other readers (and us too!) if you experiment.
Jason (media relations)
Mary says
I made these last night, and used 3 Tablespoons of regular (unsweetened) cocoa powder. Turned out great. I also used white beans instead of black, coconut oil, almond flour, and honey.
Jason Sanford says
So awesome to know they work with white beans!!
Nina says
Love this recipe. They look great and I am excited to make them.
Chana says
Must it be processed in food processor or might I use a high speed blender?
Kathryn says
A food processor will yield best results. The blender might leave little beany bits in it. I’ve done other bean recipes in my blender and they were fine for my family to eat, but I wouldn’t take them to a party and try to pass off as a ‘normal’ dessert.
Eliz Staeheli says
You can try it using the almond or peanut butter rather than the oil. I think that’s your best bet. Otherwise the “bulk” of the recipe will be off. Sweeten to taste. Or, on the alternative, you could use a sugar-like sweetener with stevia (one that has bulk to it). It you try it, let us know how it turns out.
Alyssa says
Yum! I used half coconut oil and half almond butter along with the almond flour version. I also only used 1/4 cup maple syrup and the chocolate chips on top were more than enough sweetness for me. I did add a splash of soymilk to compensate for the reduced syrup, but the baking time remained the same. Thanks again for another reliable recipe that I am able to eat without overdoing the sugar!
Debra G. says
The brownies cane out way too moist; way beyond fudgy brownie. Only the edges were the correct consistency and I followed the recipe exactly using agave and almond flour. I did rinse and drain the beans, but perhaps letting them sit in a colander or patting dry would help. Otherwise I wouldn’t make them again. Good concept but needs work as written.
Jason Sanford says
Hi Debra, I’m guessing you made these into brownies in an 8×8 pan instead of the bites? If so, just refrigerate overnight and they magically firm up overnight while still retaining their fudginess! 🙂
Jason
Jessica says
Hello! I just made these and they are super fudgey, almost like they didn’t cook all the way. The only thing that I did differently was use regular choc chips bc I didn’t have minis. I’m going to try putting them in the fridge overnight to see if they will firm up. I love all of CKK’s dessert recipes bc they are quick and easy and usually are made with ingredients that I already have in the house. They are perfect for making a quick dessert with the kids – my kids love to bake – and is a huge plus that many are secretly healthy!
Jason Sanford says
Could just be a difference in oven temps, is yours calibrated? Did they firm up overnight? They should, so hopefully yours did!
Jason
Michelle says
So I made these today..WOAH!! How do these taste sooooo delicious?? You can’t tell there are black beans in them AT ALL! I made sure to rinse my black beans and these are seriously dangerously yummy. Thank you!!!!
Jill says
How many oz in the can of black beans?
Jason Sanford says
Around 15 oz (the can size, not the measurement of the actual beans after draining)
Victoria Salvucci says
I really wanted to like these. I really didn’t. Be warned, if you don’t have chocolate chips, don’t make them as the chocolate chips are the only sweetness in them.
I thought every bite without chocolate chips tasted unpleasantly salty and very very dry.
I could not get them out of the pans. I had to refrigerate them in the muffin pans until the next morning.
Jason Sanford says
Unfortunately, as it says in the recipe, the chocolate chips are not optional. The difference is night and day. That’s why the recipe does specifically give the warning.
Jason
ginxaz says
I made these today, exactly as written and they came out almost WET. I hope they will dry and become more solid before taking them to work tomorrow. 🙁 Taste good, though.
ginxaz says
And yes, I used the mini muffin pan.
Jason Sanford says
They should firm up by the morning!
Jason
Ginx says
They did! And they are a much-requested treat at work!
Also, the GF co-workers very much appreciate them. 😉
Chris says
I wanted to try these to use up half a ton of black beans so gave it a shot halving the ingredients. This could well be why they were still almost liquidy but tasted amazing (I had to make myself put the spoon away before I ate the whole lot!) After a night in the fridge they can now be picked up although are still very soft, but again they taste AMAZING! It’s just as well I only made a half batch as they are dangerously good ?
Sarah says
Looks Good!!! Thanks for sharing. I always do the same, and share amazing recipes on my blog everyday.
Ankush Kamat says
Great article. Kudos! Desserts go well for any celebration be it a birthday, anniversary or you wish to apologize to someone. It speaks the language of love and the internet has made it very easy for you while sitting at home you can send flowers anywhere in India. We at Tajonline make sure that you and your loved ones always feel fresh. We are specialized in sending gifts, cakes, chocolates and personalized gifts to India, to know more visit tajonline.com.
G says
Shame on you for plugging your business!
Abbey says
OH MY GOD!
I just made these and they are so fudgy and delicious! I will never make boxed brownies again!!
Also I used avocado oil and worked perfectly ❤️
Cheryl says
These are delicious. Had to leave them longer than 10 minutes after taking out of the oven. They did eventually firm up. I apologize if this is somewhere in the post but I didn’t see it…how do you store leftovers? I know…hard to believe…
Jason Sanford says
I store mine in the fridge just to be on the safe side 🙂
Jason
Lisa says
How big is the can of black beans? How many ml or oz? Just wondering as I have some regular can and then some larger cans of beans. Thanks!
Jason Sanford says
Just the regular one, 15oz 🙂
Jason
Lisa says
Thank you! I made them and LOVE them. They are delicious. Everyone who tried them raved about them and no one knew they had black beans. Can’t wait to make them again!!!
Srishti says
Aha! Healthy brownies?
Pinned it! Love your tasty and healthy blog.
Aanchal Mittal says
Really Liked your yummy cookies. Will sure try these once.
Amanda says
I made these today and they were yummy!!! My kids loved them too! They didn’t look quite like the picture though. They were more smooth on top and looked less like a brownie. Maybe I mixed it too long??
Maria says
Tried with almond flour and they tasted awesome! Just a little challenging to get out of the pan. Tonight I tried using oats. However, the batter was a little thick.
Do you measure the oats and then grind them to make an oat flour or do you measure 1/3 from oat flour? Asking because I made them with 1/3 already ground it’s and am wondering if that’s why they were so thick.
Sabrina says
The recipe doesn’t say hoe long it had to bake in the oven when using regular sized muffinpans or 8×8 inch bakingpan. Seems to mee baking time must increase
Ashley Miner says
Thanks for this recipe. These are great!! I did tweak it a little. I am sugar free so I used Date honey in place of the sweetener.
I also used natural peanut butter instead of the oil. Because I used a 8×8 pan, they did need to cook longer. About 25 minutes total.
They turned out great!!!
Laurakd says
I am not even kidding these were seriously so good! I never comment on stuff and have tried every “healthy” dessert out there and this is by far my favorite! I have made chickpea cookie dough before and I’ll be honest… it isn’t great and you can taste the chickpeas, but I am telling you that you absolutely cannot taste the black beans! You would never know they were in there! If you let them sit out for a bit they firm up. I store them in the fridge and either eat them cold, or the best thing ever is to heat one up in the microwave for 15 seconds and put some halo top over it! Best recipe ever, thank you!!!
Jason Sanford says
Ooh I definitely need to try them heated now!
Jean says
I made these tonight and I think they tasted delicious, even though they don’t look like the picture above.
I had cooked beans from the night before so I didn’t use canned beans, and I found it tasted great. I used regular cocoa powder for both options, quick oats, added some walnuts, natural peanut butter, chocolate chips and kept the recipe the same otherwise. I tried using a blender, and like the others mentioned in the comments, the beans just got stuck. Then I used a hand blender, and got it to mix pretty well, except my brownie dough turned out clumpy- not smooth like the recipe called for. I eventually used my hands to “knead” it to make sure everything mixed well. To put them in the muffin tin, I rolled the dough into balls and pressed them into the muffin tin, so they’d stick together better. Baked it for 10 minutes and let it cool for 10 minutes. Again, doesn’t look like the pictures but I still enjoyed the taste! Yummy healthy bean brownies. :):):)
Belle says
I made these for my family and they turned out incredible!!!!!! I can’t stop grabbing one as I walk by the fridge! My family LOVES them (and I didn’t share the secret ingredient!). I used all Dutch process cocoa powder because that was all I had, and it works really well! I swear it tastes exactly like the brownie bites from the store. I’m SO impressed!
Emma says
I have made these twice – the first time I used peanut butter and the 1/2 cup sweetener in the recipe (I used honey). I didn’t like them a ton, but I suspected it was because of the PB and it was also a little too sweet. The second time I made them I used coconut oil and cut the honey to 1/3 cup. Delicious!!! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Jacqueline says
Has anyone tried these using oat flour? Wondering how much to use…
Boo says
Hello ! I have tried the recipe with the use of coconut oil, honey and oats. I also used a large muffin pan! After the first 10 min, I realised that my brownies were too gooey and thus I baked for an additional 3 min ish- The outside became firmer and thus I took it out! After cooling and tasting, they were rich, creamy and fudgy. First impression was “it really taste like brownies” but it also has a ‘non-brownie’ aftertaste, not sure if it was the black beans or everything combined. BUT I still like them as the toppings covered the aftertaste (I recommend putting in more than 1/2 cup of choc chips AND toppings on them)! They are soooo fudgy, YUM
Gretchen says
Katie
I can’t believe this recipe. I had a lot of black beans and needed a dessert for them. I tried your recipe. The only thing I hated about it was I tasted the batter. Wow. It almost didn’t make it in the pans. I could have just sat down with a spoon and a glass of milk
Deb says
Why are there slight differences between the regular black bean brownie recipe and this Brownie Bite recipe? I made the original recipe but baked them in a mini muffin pan and they were excellent. Then I noticed this Brownie Bite recipe but noticed it is slightly different (1/3 cup maple syrup vs 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1/2 cup oats vs 1/3 cup oats). Thank you.
sandra w. says
Simple and delicious. You can’t ask for more when you’re craving healthy chocolate goodness.
sherry peake says
do i use the juice from the canned beans thanks
CCK Media Team says
Hi no drain and rinse well 😉
Emily says
Came here to say the same!!
sachin shakya says
Verry yummy seem really delicious definitely going to try this recipie this weekend
Keep Publishing. I have bookmarked this blog
Emily says
Hi Katie! I absolutely love this recipe, and your other black bean brownie recipe (which is the first one I tried). They’re so fudgy and decadent, and nobody has ever guessed that there are beans in them!
On the other recipe, you add the note that the beans should be drained and rinsed very well. Could you add that here, too? I knew this from my experience with the other recipe so I did it of course, but when I sent this recipe to my friend she didn’t see this step and her brownies stank :(. Thanks!!
AuntieS says
Made theses hopefully for a Halloween treat for my G niece and nephew.
Totally just fell apart. The mini tart pan is high quality, they did not stick, still
when trying to take them out after cooling just fell apart like sand.
I used almond flour and canola oil.
Taste great, healthy but not for serving. I am going to use the chocolate crumble over ice cream!
CCK Media Team says
Hi! Did you mean to leave this comment on a different one of Katie’s recipes? This one doesn’t use a tart pan. Did you use canned or cooked beans?
Morgan says
These are my go-to dessert for any family dinner, event, or just for myself! They’re so quick and easy and I love the added nutrients from the black beans.
I was wondering if I could make the batter in advance and store it in the fridge overnight?
Thank you!
Hollie M says
I want to make 10 dozen for my daughters wedding which we are doing all GF and mostly vegan. Can I make these in advance and freeze them? Has anyone tried to freeze them and had luck? If not I will experiment but was hoping fr some intelligence on the best way and defrost time….
lynn says
Sooo good! I used quinoa flakes that I had in cabinet for the oats and used half applesauce and half maple syrup. Used 72% dark chocolate chips. Purred everything in high speed blender and then stirred in chips. After baking I added one chip to top of each muffin and spread it out on top then a tiny sprinkle of coconut sugar on top. Just yummy!
Liesl Garner says
My 15yo ate four of them and said they were bussin’ (teen lingo = delicious) until he found out they are made with black beans. He was pretty (hilariously) upset that he got tricked into eating healthy! 🤣
Later, he was noshing on them again with a big grin while declaring them ridiculous!
SO GOOD!
CCK Media Team says
😂🤣
LeAnn says
Best “safe” Brownie recipe out there and I have been trying all kinds of recipes with mostly disappointing results. My husband and I loved these. Like LOVED them! I’ll be chucking all the other recipes and this will be my “Go To” recipe. Thank you for these little gems.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you for trying them!
Judi Humpert says
Excellent recipe. Used almond butter and agave and the brownie bits are delicious! Next time I will try peanut butter.
Gretchen says
I’ve made the Black Bean Brownies before and decided to give these a try. I did cut the agave down to 1/3 cup but everything else was the same as the recipe. They were delicious and plenty sweet. I might even try cutting down to 1/4 cup if using agave next time. Great recipe!
Joan says
Can I use sweetener like swerve? As a diabetic I can’t use any of those mentioned.
CCK Media Team says
Hi! We have never tried these with a non-liquid sweetener so do not know how that would result. If you experiment, be sure to report back with results!
Nancy Croll says
Tried this. Good. But not the taste I was looking for.
Laurie says
These are amazing! NO ONE could believe that black beans, were any parts of this delightful dessert. Making them again just two weeks later….
Making a double batch this time. They held up and tasted amazing even after putting them in the freezer! Just defrost and warm up if desired, however, not needed. I love popping them in micro for 25 seconds after defrosted!
E M says
Thanks for this recipe!
I made them with tahini (in place of oil, pb, or almond butter) and date syrup (in place of maple syrup, honey, or agave) and Hershey cocoa powder because that’s what I had on hand tonight. The flavor is good. Otherwise no changes.
The texture after 10 minutes baking and 10 minutes cooling was very wet – like the blender muffin recipe. Put them back in the oven for 10 minutes more and they are much better.
k says
It was necessary for me to blend the oats into flour in the first place, before blending the whole batter together. The first time I tried the recipe it didn’t work and came out like fudge with oat chunks. Also if you have a low quality food processor then a low quality blender mixed the batter much better.
Brandie says
The batter was DELICIOUS but I think I burnt the muffins. They were VERY soft after 10 minutes, so I cooked them longer… and then longer… and then too long. 😥
But maybe they’re supposed to come out of the oven quite soft? Does the 10 minutes after you take them out give them time to solidify? I would love any tips you could give this novice baker on how to know when they’re done 😅
CCK Media Team says
Hi! Yes, they firm up as they cool and will firm up even more in the fridge. For the best fudgy texture, it is recommended to not cook them longer than the recipe specifies.
Kristie N says
Wow!!! I was skeptical to try these and now I may just eat the whole batch. These are amazingly good and so soft and fudgy. I used peanut butter in them – so so so good. Thank you for the recipe!
Kristin K says
I used 1/2 cup of oats, 1/3 cup of maple syrup, and omitted the chocolate chips and these turned out lovely! Perfect texture and my 2 year old who normally dislikes beans devoured these.
Merry says
Mine did not rise up. I used almond flour instead of oats; I only had quick oats. Should I try again using quick oats?
Making them for an event.
Jane says
They taste delicious, but mine were super moist. Too moist. I put in frig with Saran between the layers. I used almond flour. Maybe put less agave in and some oats with the almond flour. Will experiment. Made 24.
Jenny says
My son has an egg allergy so I was looking for something eggless and on the “healthier” side. These were so delicious. My 5 and 2.5 year old loved them. I used Sunbutter in place of nut butter due to allergies. I froze half of the batch to save for a rainy day. Will definitely be making these again!
Margaret says
I liked this recipe. Tried it twice, once with black beans and once with black soy beans which gives the recipe twice the protein and loads more fiber with only a minimal increase in calories. Used bananas for sweetening the second time but the brownies were moisture than I expected so I baked them a little longer. Will try adding peanuts next time I use this recipe. Sounds like a tasty combination.
Thanks for this great healthy recipe alternative.
Mikie says
These are a family favorite! I make them weekly! I don’t know why but mine sink in the middle every time I make them. Doesn’t make them any less delicious, they just aren’t as presentable. Any idea why???
SB says
Has anyone tried using sunflower or cookie butter to make these school friendly? If so did it alter the taste?