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!)
Great recipe. I have made this several times and everyone who tries it can’t believe the ingredients it’s a hit every time! I sprinkle mini m&ms on top for colour.
I will post a picture next time I make them
I was so skeptical after trying a different black bean brownie recipe that just wasn’t great. Um, THESE WERE AMAZING! The texture is a little different but other than that you wouldn’t know it is a “healthy” brownie. And they are so yummy that the slight difference doesn’t even matter. I will make these again and again. Thank you!
Hey Katie, I really want to try this recipe. Should I use sweetened or unsweetened cacao powder?
Made these today and my kids declared them the best brownies ever! And then I told them the ingredients, and they were shocked! Thank you for such an awesome recipe and helping my family indulge our sweet tooth with a plant-based, dairy-free, gluten-free delicious brownie!
Oh my goodness this are ridiculously delicious! This is the first time I give bean brownies a try, and I deeply regret taking so long to try them. Seriously.
These brownies are amazing! For the first time ever I licked the batter from the spoon without any guilt!
Love this recipe! Nobody knew there were black beans in here, and I’m still surprised at how much like regular brownies these taste. You really would never know. I’m happy the oats are in there too. Glad I tried these. They’re nice to top with some vanilla ice cream
I made a double batch of Black Bean Brownies for a family reunion this past weekend. They where a hit. The only person I told was an Aunt who can’t have gluten, like me. I don’t have a food processor, but I do have the larger Ninja blander with blades like a food processor and it worked well. (I have nothing else to compare it to.) I used only honey as it was what I had on hand. I might cut back a little as I found them very sweet using the 1 cup (double the recipe and omitted the stevia/sugar).
I just made these BBB’s and I am thrilled with them! I”m Type II Diabetic and these are awesome w/o flour (white carbs) and sugar! Totally Diabetic safe! Thank you Katie! I use a lot of your recipes with the Zucchini and also with chick peas which I actually make my own red roasted peppers hummus and I make my own Guacamole’. Thank you for these recipes! I agree with the note you made about them being soft out of the oven and I did put them into the fridge for overnight stay. Hope they come out firm! I have to take a few for a snack tomorrow for an outdoor volunteer exercise and I hope they do well. I will have them in cooler lunchbag with an ice pack.
Don’t know where my original review went but here goes again:
Just finished these and they are delish! I tweaked mine with about a handful of drained chickpeas and it’s just to add a bit of filler and I’ve had them in the fridge for about an hour and they are firming up very nicely! Thanks Katie! I’m going to try and upload a picture of them as I was taking them out of the corningware casserole baking dish that I sprayed with a pamtype spray and they are delish!
WHY won’t it let me upload the picture of them? It keeps saying “your image is invalid!” Uh no it’s valid and a standard sized image! HELLO!
Hi! So happy you liked the brownies, and sorry for the trouble with the image not showing :(. I wish there were a way on my end to figure out why the computer isn’t liking that specific image, but unfortunately I can’t think of a way to check because other images are still showing up so it must just be some strange glitch is all I can think of. In any case, thank you so much for trying the recipe!!
Jason (media relations)
Yep. Totally a fan of these!
I know this is an older post, hopefully people are still reading the comments…want to try this recipe, but I like to make brownies in mini muffins tins, so I can freeze them. Would I have to change the cooking time for this, do you think? Thanks!
These were amazing! Even better than boxes and didn’t leave me feeling sick ?? I subbed coconut sugar for regular sugar and used mini enjoy life chocolate chips. Also my coconut oil was from traders and said it is virtually tasteless. I’m not sure if any of these things changed anything but I won’t be changing next time because they were so good! Thank you ❤️
hi katie, could i use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder? thanks so much!
Yes you can
How were the nutrition facts calculated? I put the ingredients in My Fitness Pal (12 servings) and it came out 160 calories each. I used maple syrup, vegetable oil & 1/2 cup chocolate chips (lowest calorie of ingredient choices). Am I doing something wrong?
Be sure to use gram measurements. Also that it’s calculating cooked beans instead of raw, because that’s a huge difference and many of the online calculators will give you back numbers for raw beans even if you write cooked.
Best. Brownies. Ever.