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
beautiful pictures!! As always! =)
I just made these this evening, and they turned out to be absolutely amazing. My dad (who is the exact opposite of me in terms of eating/food preferences) was sitting in the kitchen when I started mixing ingredients. He asked what I was making, and when I said brownies, he suspiciously asked, “what kind of brownies…?” He continually made faces and looked genuinely weirded out as he watched me add applesauce and tofu to the blender. When they were baked and cooled, I insisted he try some, and he actually admitted that he couldn’t taste anything “funny,” and that it tasted like candy.
I personally think they are divine. I ate 2 pieces after dinner and am contemplating a third 🙂 Thanks so much for this recipe. They are so delicious and I will definintely be making them again!!!
Oh my gosh, Bryana, that makes me SO happy!!! So so happy! 🙂
(Also, I know it says a serving size is one brownie, but I’ve never stuck to one serving. In fact, I usually have more than two :).)
I made these for 4th of July, and they were a HUGE hit! Everyone loved them! Thanks for such great recipes, Katie. I know I can always count on your recipes! 🙂
Yum. That is all I can say. You haven’t steered me wrong yet with your genius recipes, miss CCK. My tummy thanks you, as do the tummies of my three little boys, all of whom loved these brownies!
Hi CCK,
I’ve been reading your blog for only a few weeks now, and this is the first recipe of yours I tried. Let’s just say it won’t be the last! These were a great success with my Bible study group. No one guessed that they were healthy. And when I told them all at the end, everyone asked for the recipe. So you have a bunch of new fans now!
Not as if you probably need yet another love letter to this recipe, but after trying it I can’t help but add my two cents to the masses and thank you for this recipe. I am a former boxed brownie addict (really I can and have eaten half a pan by myself before). So I know a good brownie when I see one, and let me tell you that there are NOT very many healthy brownie recipes out there that are more than a step up from barely being edible, even for someone like me who LOVES brownies.
Now, thanks to you and this recipe, I can finally stop wasting my time (and my taste buds) on awful healthy brownies. These are LEGIT! And I feel much better about myself when I polish off half a pan. (I really need to work on that problem!)
It would be fun to not bake it and pour it into a bowl and call it, brownie batter dip!
Actually, I’m going to try and make these tommorow night, but I only have soft tofu. I think that will still work though..
Haha I did that once. It WAS good!
I made these tonight, they were really good! Definitely fudgey! Yet another successful, healthier, tasty recipe by you. 🙂
Aw yay! Lorin I’m so so glad you liked them!
so far, i have made this dessert 3 times and i absolutely LOVE it! i also brought it to a birthday party with teenagers who dont know anything about healthy living/blogs and it had rave reviews!
I can’t even tell you how happy that makes me!!
OMG These are AMAZING! I have to try not to eat the whole pan myself! Lol 🙂
LOL! I definitely never stick to one serving :). I’m so happy you like them too!
Hey Katie,
I commented earlier today asking if there was something else I could use besides tofu but I can’t find my comment! I made them tonight with about 1/4 – 1/3 of a banana, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 T chocolate chips and 1/4 cup walnuts, baked for 26 ish minutes so I could eat them hot and all I have to say is WOW! you never disappoint! Even my non-vegan parents who usually say my desserts are bland loved these. Thanks sooo much!!!!
Hmmm… that’s so weird. I did see your comment, and I even commented back. Oddly enough, I recommended using banana, which you ended up doing! So even though you didn’t see my comment, it seems that we were on the same wavelength! I’m so glad they worked for you! 🙂 🙂