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!)
Katie I made them today and my 3 year old girl LOVED them! She just went Mhhhhs and yums all the time, although I think I over cooked them a little and dried them a bit :(. Do you think that, if I crack a couple eggs into the mix they might “sponge up” a little more? She would not buy me the “little cake” idea cause they do not rise as a “normal” cake would… Thank you!
These were so good. I made mine with maple syrup, sugar and coconut oil, but I think I will use vegetable oil next time. I think they have a slight coconut flavor to them when they are warm. SOooooooo good though. Thank you for the recipe. 😀
Now these are much better than your other brownies I have tried. As everything was getting processed, I stopped and taste tested. Had to add about 1tbsp more of cocoa powder but everything else remained the same. Processed until completely smooth, almost like a frosting smooth. Delish! Great brownies CCK!
I tried this recipe today and it was awesome! I ate the first piece, stared at the rest at the tray and thought ominously, These brownies are in serious danger! I seriously could’ve consumed the the whole tray if it weren’t for the fact that it was dinner time. So I exercised some self-control and only ate 1/4 of the tray. 😀
The texture was melt-in-my-mouth wonderful, but I was wondering if there were a way to get it more fudgey since I also do love fudgey brownies?
I also thought to suggest that maybe you could state how long you ran the food processor, for example, 5 or 10 or 15 minutes? Or maybe there is too much of a difference between a good, strong food processor and a weaker one to really be able to approximate the time. I ran it until the black beans were pretty small flecks, and after a while I realized it wasn’t going to get it to a totally smooth, pureed texture, so I stopped it at that point. Not sure if that was enough, but it ended up great anyway. I didn’t time myself, but I think it took about 5-10 minutes for me.
More fudgey = cook shorter time, then let cool, then pit in fridge to firm up without baking more.
Yeah, I on;y have to run the fp for a few minutes (definitely nowhere near 10).
This is my first time commenting on any blog, but this recipe is SO good I had to say something. Made these last night and was completely stunned at the amazing results. They are better than just about any other traditional brownie I have ever had. But be warned: we devoured the entire pan in less than 12 hours!!! YUMMY.
Maybe I was just lucky but I’ve made a chocolate version of your white bean blondies and it worked beautifully. I substituted tinned red kidney beans for the white beans, and chucked in a fair bit of cocoa (the more chocolately the better, right?) and it was delicious. Even more convincing than the blonde – just like a regular brownie and not the slightest bit cardboardy.
I’ll have to look for some black beans now so I can try this new recipe too. You are turning me into the bean baking queen. 🙂
Hey Katie! I tried this recipe and subbed the coconut oil for Justin’s Hazlenut Chocolate spread (individual packets x 2). They turned out beautifully and everyone at work is absolutely loving them!!
You think this would work with garbanzo beans?
Is that nutrition based on 9 or 12?
Made this anyway with Garbanzo Beans and substituted the Maple Syrup (I ran out) with regular Sugar. Again, added about another tablespoon of cocoa powder. My goodness they were amazing.
This is the first recipe of yours I tried. I don’t have a food processor, but it still turned out really well!
I blended the black beans and the maple syrup in a blender and then hand-mixed the rest of the ingredients, since my blender is not the best. I also subbed PB for oil and added ~ 1 TBS extra cocoa powder.
I was worried it would not taste good (I made the mistake of trying the batter), but it was awesome! I like these more than regular brownies because they’re rich and don’t make me feel icky after eating them. Thank you for the recipe, Katie!
Made these last night and they are SO YUMMY! They really are everything you said they are! I’m going to post the recipe on my blog later… with a link back to here, of course!
OMG, these brownies were sooo good. I offered them to friends and family and didn’t tell them what they were. So said the textures was different but it was unanimous that they were awesome.
Hey Katie. These turned out to be a great consistency, though a little rich for my taste (I might use less cocoa/chocolate chips.) Wonderful recipe, though. Definitely beats the typical boxed brownies with eggs, milk, refined flour. I will make this recipe again, for sure!
Great Recipe! Thanks for figuring it out. I love chocolate so I used 4 Tablespoons of cocoa instead of 2. I also only used 1 teaspoon of vanilla and added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and an 1/8 of a teaspoon of cayenne. Mexican Brownies!!!!!!!!! So delicious!!!!!!!! Thank you!
I have a recipe for black bean brownies that is to die for. flourless. I love it so much. I think it’s better than regular brownies in a lot of ways because firstly, they dont make you sick if you eat several. secondly, it’s really hard to overbake them. regular brownies tend to get dry at the edges, and especially at the corners.
I make a peanut butter topping for mine that goes something like this: half a cup of natural peanut butter, two tbsp raw honey, pinch salt and a spoonful of coconut oil. pour that over your brownies….oh…my….