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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These were great! I heard too many people say “well at least they are healthy”. I used Olive oil instead of canola, dark chocolate chips vs milk chocolate, truvia vs sugar. Turned out super! Only change I would make would be to use a smaller pan to give em more size. Even my picky junk food eating girls liked em after making the statement “oh great the health nut is making brownies now” 🙂
I made these tonight and they were amazing. My fiancé and I ate the entire pan together in one sitting! I used regular rolled outs and it turned out fine. The only thing I will say is that my batter felt like less than in the photos. My brownies were much thinner even though I used a 8×8 pan. The consistency was still good and I will definitely make these again but I might double up the batch to make more or see if using quick oats makes them thicker.
This is going to be my new go-to brownie recipe. I love your whole blog, thank you so much!
I am not familiar with the Atkins diet, but that is what my coworkers are on. Would this brownie recipe be acceptable for them to eat? I really want to make it for them.
I would probably recommend asking them!
-Jason
I guess I’m late to the party but just discovered this recipe and made it today. OMG. Sooooo good. I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9×13 pan, and they were very thin, with lots of chips on top, but totally delicious and I’m thrilled that they are healthy (aside of the chips LOL).
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! I’m always looking for new ways to consume beans and this is by far the most delicious way I’ve found! We don’t have a food processor so I used a blender. I found that I was able to still ~feel~ the beans in there once the brownies were baked but I had my dad try them without knowing the ingredients and he said they were the best brownies he ever tasted. He was really surprised when I told him about the beans. So, all this to say it still works pretty well with a blender.
These are the best black bean brownies I’ve ever made. I used maple syrup and dairy-free chocolate chips and they were so good! I’m going to try using monk fruit, next time. Also, I used my kitchen aid mixer instead of the food processor, and they turned out just fine. Great recipe!
I have black bean flour. How much should I add in if I’m using black beam flour?
Hmm not sure if that will work, but be sure to report back if you do experiment!
Made these black bean brownies as my two year old and three year old ask for treats all of the time, and I always try to make them healthy(ish). These were fantastic! Very easy to make, they taste even better than regular brownies, and the texture was great (used a blender the first time, food processor the second time). Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I found your site while searching for Black Bean Brownies. I made then today, the batter tasted great – not a hint of beans. Hours after they were cooled, I cut and removed them from the pan and put them in a glass container (Lock ‘n Lock). When we ate them, the texture was great, nice and fudgy but they had a very bitter taste, even though the batter did not. I used Pure Maple Syrup and the 2 tbls. of sugar and 1/2 cup of Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips. Any idea why they taste bitter? And what to change in a future attempt?
I double the recipe and then add a banana and 2 cups of blueberries…soooo good. Lots of happy eaters! Thanks for the recipe.
Sooooo good! I added a scoop of vegan protein powder and some macadamia nuts. A+
I’m about 6 years late to the party, but these are fantastic! I made with vanilla protein powder (we didn’t have the quick cooking oats) and it turned out AH-MAZ-ING! Use mint chocolate chips and baked a little longer than the recipe said. Will be my new go to for black bean brownies. Exquisite!
These brownies are ridiculous. I’ve made them 3 times in a week and a half. So good my family can’t keep their grubby paws off them!!! Tonight I made them with honey and no extra sugar. I threw in a handful of dried cherries and we couldn’t believe how good they were. Thank you so much. I have a bunch of food allergies and desserts have pretty much been off limits for me. Well, good desserts. I can’t always eat fruit but sometimes you want….a brownie!!! Now I can have them. Thanks soooo much!
I just wanted to say that blending these in my Vitamix made them so much more smooth and yummy than when I had previously used a food processor. I was actually about to give up on the recipe because I just didn’t like the consistency! So, throwing that out there- a high powered blender really broke down the beans better, for me!
How long do these keep in the fridge, also I assume you shouldn’t leave them on the counter right?? They taste AMAZING!! Thank you so much for sharing!
3-4 days!
These are so delicious! A co-worker made them for a meeting last week and I was hooked. I tried them this weekend, substituting “pink sweetener” packets for the sugar, and using only 1/4 c agave, and they were fantastic.
One recipe, with these modifications, cut into 9 brownies, has 6 WeightWatchers Freestyle Program points per brownie.