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!)
I love love love this recipe! I’ve made them multiple times and everyone in my family loves them (although I haven’t shared how they are made!). My only problem is trying to access the recipe from my iPhone or iPad. There are so many pop up ads it takes forever for the page to load then I can’t close the popup because the X isn’t visible on my screen. When I finally get to the recipe the screen jumps and I lose my place! I finally got smart and am writing the recipe on an index card and adding it to my recipe box. Thanks.
My goodness these do taste evil, but I am so glad they are not! I am type 2 diabetic, so I substituted sugar-free syrup for the maple syrup. And to up the protein, I used Kodiak Dark Chocolate Flapjack mix instead of quick oats, peanut butter instead of oil, and topped them with a frosting made of equal parts PB2 + Syntha6 Chocolate Cake Batter protein, mixed with just enough Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk to get the desired consistency. They are absolute perfection. I have stopped looking for anything else to satisfy me and my family- for taste AND nutritional requirements. Thank you for the inspiration!
I googled black bean brownie recipes and these were the first to come up. Absolutely delicious! It is hard to believe they are made with beans. Even my husband who is a huge chocolate/brownie lover enjoyed them. I look forward to trying more of Katie’s recipes. I wonder if anyone has tried doubling the recipe to make a larger amount in a 9×13 pan. I would be interested to see how that worked out for a party/holiday.
A great recipe! To reduce carbs, I’m going to sub almond flour/meal for the oatmeal. I find that almond flour keeps recipes more moist (try substituting 1/4 or so of the flour in a banana bread recipe and it will be super moist). I feel better eating these brownies and I don’t feel like I’m depriving myself of anything. Hubs really likes them, too, and he’s a purist (and he knows there’s beans in the brownies, but he still thinks they are delicious). Thanks for this recipe.
These were a very pleasant surprise. I doubled the recipe because of the size can of beans I was able to find. I used the all maple syrup option, used a bag of chips and then a partial bag of mini chips because that is what I had on hand. I baked the double batch in a 9×13 pan and had to bake it a little longer for them to set. They taste better after they have cooled. Also, because I don’t have a food processor, I used my vitamix and processed the dry ingredients separately from the wet ingredients and then stirred together. This worked very well and my batter was smooth and creamy. I think adding nuts would be really tasty as well.
These were very good and the sweetness was perfect. Thank you for a incredible recipe that I will use over and over.
My singing group liked them but my daughter did not. I like them. I made them with leftover chocolate truffles made with coconut oil. Chocolate is the best. I forgot to eat lunch. So these were my lunch. And dinner… I still have some left. I put them in the refrigerator. They were very fudgy.
I just made these and they are pretty tasty! Mine didn’t want to set up, so I will put them in the frig overnight, like suggested.
Made these as 48 perfect lunchbox size mini muffins tin brownies. My 9 yr old LOVED them ❤️
These were easy, delicious, and more nutritious than traditional brownies. However, I am curious which brands of ingredients you used because I took it upon myself to add up the calories for every single ingredient and came up with 2403. I rounded down to 2400. I had to cut my 8 x 8 pan into 20 brownies to get them to be 120 cal each.
I didn’t have any black beans so used cannellini beans instead. Everything else was the same. They were deliciously fudgy and I have eaten most of them to myself cos they are healthy right 😃😆.