Black Bean Brownies – the ultra fudgy and decadent chocolate treat.
Edit: Thank you to everyone who has been asking…
After more than a year in the works, my NEW cookbook is finally available!
Based on your feedback, every single recipe in the book comes with complete nutrition facts including calories, total fat, carbohydrates, protein, and Weight Watchers points.
Above – Watch how to make black bean brownies.
I know what you’re thinking.
“Why would I want to eat a healthy brownie when I could be eating a deep, dark, rich, fudgy, and chocolatey brownie instead?”
But what if the deep, dark, rich, chocolate brownie is the healthy brownie?
No, not in a dream world. These black bean brownies are healthy brownies that DO NOT taste healthy, and I can say that with assurance, as they’ve been tested on three different groups of people used to “normal” desserts.
For the ultimate test, my roommate brought two pans of the vegan black bean brownies into work and set them down on the table without revealing the secret or saying they were healthy.
She came home with no brownies left… but with five requests for the healthy black bean brownie recipe!
You May Also Like: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Black Bean Brownies
I know some of you have been disappointed by mediocre bean-based brownies you’ve tried in the past, which is why it’s taken me so long to come up with my own recipe:
I’ve tried some awful black bean brownie recipes in the past, too.
For example?
Don’t think you’ll get brownies by adding cocoa powder to my Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip and baking it.
Trust me. You’ll get cardboard.
I wanted a recipe that would not let people down; a recipe that could stand up to a regular sugar-and-flour brownie in a competition.
And these really do!
Also, huge thanks to everyone who’s been sharing these on Instagram!
If you try the brownies, be sure to rate the recipe here, or tag @ChocolateCoveredKatie on Instagram so I can see and like your pictures!
Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups black beans (1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed very well) (250g after draining)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder (10g)
- 1/2 cup quick oats (40g) (See nutrition link below for substitutions)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave (75g)
- pinch uncut stevia OR 2 tbsp sugar (or omit and increase maple syrup to 1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil (40g) (See nutrition link for substitution notes)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chocolate chips (Not optional. Omit at your own risk)
- optional: more chips, for presentation
Instructions
- Black Bean Brownies Recipe: Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients except chips in a good food processor, and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well. (A blender can work if you absolutely must, but the texture—and even the taste—will be much better in a food processor. I use this food processor.) Stir in the chips, then pour into a greased 8×8 pan. Optional: sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top. Cook the black bean brownies 15-18 minutes, then let cool at least 10 minutes before trying to cut. If they still look a bit undercooked, you can place them in the fridge overnight and they will magically firm up! Makes 9-12 brownies. If you make this recipe, don't forget to leave a review! The trick with these: serve them first, and then reveal the secret ingredient. In all the times I’ve served bean desserts, not one single person who didn’t know beforehand has ever guessed!View Black Bean Brownies Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
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(No crazy ingredients!)
If I could give 10 stars I absolutely would! They were moist and absolutely delicious! My man couldn’t stop eating them.
I’ve made this recipe several times. The first time I tried it, I hid the secret ingredient from “picky” daughter. When she found out, that there were black beans in the recipe she almost didn’t try it -but now she requests it every weekend. It’s a great recipe and I love that It’s not too too sweet!
I’ve made this recipe several times. The first time I tried it, I hid the secret ingredient from “picky” daughter. When she found out, that there were black beans in the recipe she almost didn’t try it -but now she requests it every weekend. It’s a great recipe and I love that It’s not too too sweet!
Your recipes sound great. Gonna try black bean brownies first
My favourite dessert of all time. I swap the maple syrup for white sugar because I’m cheap, and it works wonderfully as well! Thank you so much for this!
Well, these didn’t last long enough to sit out for awhile and firm up! Everyone loved them and had no idea it was made from beans!! I think I used too much coconut oil and/or honey and that’s why they didn’t set up. I also tried the fridge for a bit and it didn’t work. I also agree that a food processer would be better than a blender. I only have a blender and the texture is definitely not as smooth as it could be. Still delicious!!!
These brownies are SO good. Truly, its difficult to tell a difference between these and “regular” brownies.
I tried some substitutions my second go around. I added an extra TBSP of cocoa, because I felt they weren’t quite rich enough. Doing this, I was able to drop the chocolate chips down to 1/3 of a cup. I also used regular rolled oats, because it was all I had on hand. It doesn’t significantly change the texture, but visually, you can see the oats. So its not as easy to “trick” the kids into thinking they are regular brownies. I also subbed the oil for 2 percent plain yogurt, and they turned out well! (I wanted to lower the calorie count a bit for myself)
Didn’t let my 12 and 10 year old boys know what’s in them – I made mine w regular oats and blitzed them in Vitamix but still had bits in it. I’m going to experiment w einkorn flour.ext time. The kids gobbled them up and they’d never voluntarily eat beans on their own. Wonderful flavor!! I did make chocolate frosting just in case they didn’t like the texture but ended up saving it for another time. Def needs additional chocolate chips on top which I didn’t have on hand.
Easy to make and extremely tasty, but they are quite thin so next time I’m going to double the quantities and see how they turn out. I will also add chopped dried cranberries to make them even healthier 😉
These brownies are DELICIOUS !!!! Thank you so much for sharing !!!
I broke all the rules. I didn’t have chocolate chips. I used a blender. I had different oats. I used canola oil, that is what I have. The recipe is still amazing a fulfilling. I will add chocolate chips next time. I was craving a brownie and this certainly comes through!!!
No food processor so I used my Nutribullet. It worked fine but next time I shall try to remember my liquid-to-dry ingredient layering actually needs to be reversed since the container flips upside down to place it on the base, haha! I used local raw honey instead of the other sweetener options. They were not as thick as “regular” brownies but they were so fudgy and delicious that if I hadn’t made them myself, I never would’ve known they were made with black beans!
Thanks for the great recipe!