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!)
Just made these and ate one, verrrry good and fudgy just the way I like them. I added a few extra chocolate chips of course;)
Oh my goodness! These were absolutely decadent and so fudgy. I definitely would NEVER have guessed the black beans. I also made a batch of your banana peanut butter as a topping- yummy!
I made your bean blondies last week and loved them as well, but there was something about this recipe that was really rich. I want to experiment more with getting the blondies to be more fudgy. I think maybe the key was that I left these a little under-cooked whereas I slightly burnt the blondies!
Wonderful stuff, so glad I found your site!
When I saw this recipe I wanted to try it out immediately but since I always made Ghirardelli’s triple chocolate brownies I highly doubted these would come out right/taste good. But after reading through all of the positive reviews below I decided to make these and omg they came out so amazing! They were soft and fudgy (I would’ve never thought fudgy could be used to describe brownies made from black beans but yes they were) and so chocolatey. I used rolled oats but just put them in the food processor first so they were already fine before I added the beans. I used creamy peanut butter instead of the oil and since i didn’t have enough honey for the full 1/3 cup, I only used a little under 1/4 cup of honey and added in an extra tablespoon of sugar (a total of 3 tablespoons of sugar for my brownies). I used 2/3 cup of chocolate chips and folded most of it into the batter but reserved some of it to sprinkle on top before putting it into the oven. I still can’t believe how delicious these came out, thank you Katie for the amazing recipe! Next time I’ll be trying to use organic peanut butter instead of the fatty Skippy brand haha
Hey Katie!!
I may have said this before-but it is totally worth repeating-these are the best brownies I have ever had! I have tweaked your recipe a tad to make them more “mainstream friendly” if you know what I mean!
So first, I double the recipe so they come out really thick! I use a tin foil “sleeve” to easily remove and slice the brownies as well.
Second, I use a whole bag of dark chocolate chips (yesterday I used about 1/2 cup melted dark chocolate bar in the batter as well!)
I also use Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder and I measure out heaping tablespoons of it-not leveled!
I used 1/4 cup plus 1 tbs coconut oil and a heaping 1/4 cup applesauce for my latest batch and it was divine!!!
Also, I grind up my rolled oats in a magic bullet prior to mixing all together in the food processor.
I baked for 15 min yesterday and they came out ooey gooey fudgey and my family gobbled them right up!!! Thanks again Katie!!!!
I have made these before as written, and they are fantastic! Agave syrup is not readily available where I live, so I made a couple substitutes for my last batch. The only sweetener I used was 1 cup of dates, soaked in half a cup of water. I also added another tablespoon of cocoa, just to counteract the extra liquid. I used peanut butter chips, and added some walnuts, and they were fantastic! The extra liquid required extra cooking time, and I was a little worried, as they were still not really set when I took them out. Once they cooled, though, they were perfect! Thank you Katie!
I see a lot of comments about the sweetener to use. I’d read these articles before deciding on agave:
http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/
http://www.glycemic.com/AgaveReport.htm
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/30/beware-of-the-agave-nectar-health-food.aspx
and this matrix is informative:
http://janeshealthykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/300-Sweeteners-8-24-12.pdf
That being said, I saw some people using dates (which I love in this recipe, which uses up almond milk pulp nicely: http://vegan-magic.blogspot.com/2012/05/chocolate-balls.html ). For maple syrup users, are you using dark, medium, or light? Has anyone found type of maple syrup changes the consistency or sweetness of the recipe?
Thanks, I’ll let you know how mine come out with substitutions (which I haven’t decided)
Best brownies I’ve had in years! I’m so impressed with your recipes. So delish & healthy! God gave you a wonderful talent and I’m very thankful for your website!
BEST brownies ever! My bean-hating family didn’t even realize there were beans in it 🙂 Thanks so much for posting this great recipe!
These are some of the best brownies I have ever had! I used 1/2 c honey and 3 T cocoa powder. You could still see small chunks of oats in the batter, but I loved the taste and consistency with them like that – it reminded me of a no bake cookie. I also baked them in a tart pan, so they were really thin. I will definitely be making these again, probably with fewer chocolate chips so they brownie flavor can shine through 🙂
So I tried one of these brownies 2 days after I made them, and they were nowhere near as good! The texture was not as fudgy or brownie-y, and the high point was the chocolate chips. Maybe the solution is to eat them in a shorter amount of time!
Okay I made these and I was skeptical because they didn’t spring back up after the 15 minutes so I thought, “Oh! They’re definitely not done!” So I put them back in for like 7 more minutes. The timer went off and I checked them again. No change. So I took them out and kind of decided that it was an entry worthy of pintrosity. But I cut them after a while and thought, “What the heck?” I tasted them and they were probably the most delicious things I have ever tasted in my whole life.
This recipe is AMAZING! It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for! Especially since my brother’s girlfriend is allergic to eggs and my sister is allergic to gluten AND we’re all trying to lose weight for a wedding. I will DEFINITELY be making these again in the future. Thank you SO MUCH for the recipe!
You’re a GENIUS!
I have made other Black Bean Brownies before and was very UN-impressed! These were amazing. My 3 girls actually ate them NOT knowing that they have beans in them. I added some chocolate chips on top and when they melted, I spread them over the top for an extra chocolatey layer. I will totally make these again. Thanks for sharing!!!
So so good! Thank you Katie, for this delicious recipe, and for including the WW points value. They’re not exactly like regular brownies, but still really good and much better nutrition facts.
Thank you so much! You rescued me! My son wanted to make brownies and thought of this recipe I wanted to try. So we made it up, it was so easy and quick. We all loved them the kids want to take some to a party. These will make it to the next church potluck!
I substituted the oats with coconut flour and I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil and I made them into cookies! I also did not use a food processor, I mashed the beans and mixed everything by hand. They were delicious!
I have tried the black bean brownies. The ones I tried were very good, but not “brownie-like” enuff to me. My daughter said they reminded her of energy bars and she liked them a lot. Some reason, I haven’t made them again. I will try this recipe, and hope it’s more “brownie-like”. As always, Love, Love, Love your site!! 😀
PS Now I want to try your blondies, too!
Hi Katie,
I was just on here yesterday and I am sure I saw another bean recipe that called for white beans and you suggested in brackets that Great Northern could be an option. I can’t remember the name of the recipe. I will be making these brownies but I had also wanted to make the other recipe. Am I imagining things?:). There are just so many of your recipes of your I want to try. (Having just recently found you)
White bean blondies? Or the cookie dough dip or deep dish cookie pie… or even the peanut butter blondies. 🙂