This recipe for rich and fudgy healthy brownies is so completely delicious that you will never believe the healthy ingredients!
The best healthy brownies
Imagine a homemade secretly healthy brownie recipe that can easily its own in taste and texture against any regular chocolate brownie.
There is no flour, no refined sugar, and more than five grams of protein packed into each and every super chocolatey fudge brownie.
The wholesome brownie recipe can be vegan, oil free, low fat, egg free, dairy free, and cholesterol free, with fiber, potassium, and iron.
Also try this healthy Frozen Yogurt Recipe
Flourless brownie ingredients
These super chocolatey low calorie brownies call for the following ingredients: unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, quick oats, pure maple syrup (or honey or raw agave), banana, nut butter, pure vanilla extract, chocolate chips, and black beans.
For flourless and grain free brownies, the half cup of quick oats can be replaced with an equal amount of almond flour if desired.
There is also keto and paleo brownie recipe option included in the recipe.
Feel free to use your favorite nut butter, such as almond butter, cashew butter, or peanut butter. Or for an allergy friendly option, sunflower butter also works well.
Use chocolate protein powder instead of the antioxidant rich cocoa if you want high protein brownies. Just be sure to choose a protein powder with a flavor you already know that you like for baking.
The gluten free brownie recipe calls for a standard fifteen ounce can of black beans. If you want to use cooked beans, measure out one and a half cups after cooking.
I have not tried any other beans or legumes in place of the black beans here. However, I do have a different recipe for Chickpea Brownies if you want to use garbanzo beans.
For the chocolate chips: I like to use Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips in the recipe, or you can use whatever chips you have on hand. My preference is for dark chocolate, but semi sweet, milk chocolate, and white chocolate all work too.
For a no sugar variation, Lily’s dark chocolate chips are a great option.
Or you can even make your own Sugar Free Chocolate Chips.
Liquid sweeteners that do well here include pure maple syrup, raw agave, honey (not for vegans), date syrup, or even keto syrup for sugar free brownies.
Healthy brownie recipe video
Above, watch the step-by-step video
Healthy brownies without banana
The recipe below uses banana to add natural sweetness without added sugar.
If you are allergic to the fruit, do not have any on hand, or just dislike the taste of banana brownies, make these popular Black Bean Brownies instead. It’s a similar recipe, but with no banana.
Or you might also really like these healthy Sweet Potato Brownies.
To answer a common reader question: You might be able to sub applesauce, avocado, or Greek yogurt for the banana if you also add some sweetener to replace the sugar from the banana. I have not tried this substitution so cannot say how it will taste.
Be sure to report back if you experiment.
How to make vegan healthy brownies from scratch
To make the plant based brownies, start by reading through the recipe instructions and gathering your ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line an 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or grease the pan well. Set it aside.
In a high quality food processor, blend everything until completely smooth. You can mix in the chocolate chips either before or after blending, but be sure not to leave them out!
Smooth the healthy brownie batter into the prepared pan. If desired, you can sprinkle some extra dark chocolate chips on top. Place the pan on the oven’s center rack.
Bake the healthy chocolate fudge brownies for fifteen minutes. Let them cool before cutting into bars or squares.
If you want them extra gooey and fudgy (definitely my preferred way to eat brownies!), you can eat them right away.
Otherwise, refrigerate the pan overnight, very loosely covered, and the delicious chocolate dessert will firm up considerably as excess moisture escapes.
They also have a deeper, sweeter, and richer taste a day after they are made.
Chocolate brownie storage tips
Store leftover brownies in the refrigerator for up to four or five days.
Or slice and freeze the brownie bars in a single layer or with parchment in between layers. Thaw the frozen brownies before serving, and enjoy for dessert or snack whenever a brownie craving hits in the future.
Try topping the recipe with cream cheese or chocolate frosting, melted chocolate chips or chocolate ganache, or Banana Ice Cream if desired.
With all the protein, fiber, vitamins and antioxidants, who is to say you couldn’t even eat these wholesome chocolate brownies for breakfast???
Health benefits
When cut into nine servings, each brownie is just 150 calories.
And the recipe contains 5.6 grams of protein and 5.7 grams of heart healthy fiber.
They are low in saturated fat, low sodium, and high in iron, with calcium, quercetin, and potassium.
Plus, the superfood black beans and unsweetened cocoa powder provide nutritious vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Easy healthy brownie recipes
Healthy Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans
- 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup quick oats (for low carb, try these Keto Brownies)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey or agave
- 1 banana (see banana free options listed above)
- 1/4 cup nut butter of choice or coconut oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (not optional)
Instructions
- To make healthy brownies, first preheat the oven to 350 F. Blend all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a food processor until completely smooth. (A blender can work if you must, but the texture and taste will be better in a food processor. I use this food processor.) Stir in the chips. Smooth into a greased or parchment lined 8×8 inch baking pan. If desired, add extra chocolate chips on top. Bake on the oven's center rack for 15 minutes. Let cool before cutting. If they are too fudgy and gooey for your liking, you can place them in the fridge overnight, during which time they firm up even more. View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Healthy Dessert Ideas
Made them in silicon muffin cups – baked for 12 min and they were still raw and batter-like rather than cake-like, as in your photo.
I waited a couple of hours before trying, they tasted good — the choc chips made the difference.
After putting them in the fridge overnight and trying them again the next day, the flavour and consistency really wasn’t that impressive.
I know there are lots of good reviews. I may try making these again but so far, I’m on-the-fence with these recipe.
Also, who the heck owns a 4 x 6 pan?? It’s not a loaf pan, or an 8 x 8 but an odd-size, which is what prompted me to use the muffin cups. Thanks.
Quick question: I’m browsing through your recipes picking out the tastiest gluten-free options, because a friend of mine has just found that she is gluten-intolerant. In fact she discovered that much about a month ago; right now she is discovering that regardless, she still craves sweet, decadent treats 🙂 therefore I immediately set about browsing for the best you had to offer (which is very, very good ^^) with a mind to translating the choicest ones – because I live in France, and my friend doesn’t speak English. Unfortunately I have run into a problem beyond linguistics: what exactly (brace yourself) is applesauce? Naturally I imagine it is a sauce made from apples, but more specifically, what goes into it, and if it is a storebought item and cannot be DIY-ed, what could she sub for it? Thanks, and keep up the amazing work xxx (that was NOT a quick question… sorry!)
Hi Amy – Just happened to read this. I lived in France for a while, and I don’t recall applesauce being readily available. It’s easy to make, though – it’s basically just boiled apples mashed up and cooled. You could search for recipes online. Here is one (but you’d leave out the cinnamon):
http://www.thesaladgirl.com/2011/01/10/homemade-unsweetened-applesauce-recipe/
Good luck! 🙂
Awwwwwwwwww thanks for your help! I did actually end up looking on the internet (since it’s been over two months since I asked), which I definitely should have done first 🙂 because yes, it’s just “compote de pommes”. Felt a bit stupid when I realized that was the case, I have to say. Anyhow thank you very much for answering either way!
I have made these before and they were quite tasty! Even my husband (who seems very weary of vegan desserts) enjoyed them. However, I have recently developed an allergy to pretty much every fruit with the exception of oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes 🙁 If you ask me, it’s a pretty awful thing to be allergic to. You don’t realize how often you eat fruit until you suddenly can’t eat it anymore! And yep….that includes apples. So I am going to try making these with more oil to replace the applesauce and I will let you know how they turn out! I’m imagining that they’ll seem a little gooey-er but that’s ok with me ! 🙂
I am so glad I found your site. I just wanted to share that my two and three year old boys ask for these about once a week or more and they made up there own name for them “Chocolate Zing Zings”. We are not vegan per se but suffer from dairy, egg and nut allergies and your site has been a life saver for me and my little ones with a chocolate obsession 🙂 Thank you!!!
How do you make the frosting on top of the brownies? These look amazing and im making them right now and would love to serve it with the glaze:)
also how do you store these? in the fridge? room temperature?
If i double the recipe should i also double the baking time?
Fridge would be good after a day. You might need to cook a little longer, but not double.
Hi Katie, I was so excited to try this recipe because of all the wonderful reviews. Imagine my disappointment when it came out looking nothing like yours (and tasted rather weird too). I tried making it again in case I screwed up the first time. It tasted nothing like brownies and the texture was batter-like (looked uncooked) and when I cooked it for longer, it became spongey.
I did use all-purpose flour instead of pastry flour though; could that be the problem? I also used concentrated vanilla extract because that’s the only one they had at the store.
I’m sure it’s not your recipe that’s the problem, since so many have found success with it but hopefully you could help me troubleshoot?
I’ve never heard of concentrated vanilla… but it’s definitely not the flour! Can you give me more specifics? It’s almost impossible to know what could’ve gone wrong if I wasn’t there to see 😕
Hmmm, I don’t really know what other specifics I could give as I pretty much followed the recipe, down to the exact measurements. We don’t have Mori-Nu here is Australia but I used firm soft tofu. I used the Cadbury cocoa powder (it’s unsweetened). I used all-purpose flour, apple sauce, canola oil, and lactose-free milk. So bummed it didn’t work out for me 🙁 If only I could figure out what I did wrongly!
Thanks Katie for an awesome brownie recipe! I’ll never have another brownie again! My applesauce happened to be moldy so I had to sub it for more tofu, but they still tasted great! The perfect fudginess! Can’t wait to try them again when I buy more applesauce!
Wondeting what the shiny glaze is in one of the pictures? I can’t wait to try these
I made these (with coconut oil) and they turned out rubbery. Any idea what I did wrong?