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!)
Thank you, Katie, for this insanely delicious recipe! I originally tripled it because I needed 3 dozen bars, but I refrigerated the batter overnight and decided to scoop it out into cookies while it was thick. I baked them around 10 minutes and they are absolutely amazing! The outside is firm enough to hold its shape but the inside is soft and gooey like a brownie. I made them pretty small, but I got almost 4 dozen cookies….and I ate a lot of batter 😉
These were amazing! I only had 108g of chocolate chips left, and used rolled oats instead of quick oats. They worked, but I’ll try putting them in the food processor before all the other ingredients (my brother ate a chunk of what he thought was a nut). Anyway, big brother liked them and you should’ve seen his face when I told him they have black beans in them!
I used the toaster oven and was forced to put the batter in my 9×6 pan because the 8×8 doesn’t fit. I cooked them at 325F for about 30 minutes and ate them with some of your Haagen Dazs and some PB&Co chocolate peanut butter. Scrumdiddlyumptios!
So I absolutely love this recipe, but I’m curious as to how you are calculating your nutritional information. I followed the recipe exactly and plugged the ingredients into several different recipe calculators and for 12 pieces it comes out to 175 calories per brownie.
Hey Katie, first off, let me say that I love this recipe! These brownies are delicious. I’m just curious as to how you calculated the nutritional information. I followed the recipe exactly and plugged the ingredients into several different online nutrition calculators, Sparkpeople and Livestrong, and both of them gave me much higher calorie counts than the ones you provided. They stated that for 9 brownies each brownie would contain 195 calories. I understand that some of the ingredients will have varying calories based on the brand, such as the beans and cocoa powder, but I do not understand how the nutritional information I calculated is so drastically different from the ones you provided. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Me too! Katie, I’m pretty sure your calorie count is very off. Please recalculate.
Okay, so I really want to try these out today, but I have a small question: if I don’t mind using flour in the recipe (i.e. I don’t need this to be gluten-free or anything), are there any benefits of substituting some of the beans (say 1/3-1/2 cup) for flour? Will it improve the taste in any way? Or is that a bad idea because the beans add moistness and flour doesn’t?
Hi, Katie. So, changes due to limited pantry supplies: I use old fashioned rolled oats. I finely process them first and then measure out 1/2 cup for your recipe. Instead of chocolate chips, we pulse dark chocolate bar squares in the food processor as the last step. These changes seem to be great… no issues. Wonderful recipe; it’s a keeper. 🙂 Thank you!
I’ve had my eye out on this recipe for months and finally got around to making it. Being a juicer, I’m always trying to find tasty ways to use up the leftover pulp. I added about a cup of carrot pulp to it, which was probably about 1/2 a cup too much if you want the carrot to not be noticeable. However, because I used coconut oil for the fat, it made the carrot pulp taste like shredded coconut! Was definitely not expecting that, but it was a nice twist to a German chocolate brownie.
The end result was very yummy and super moist. Kudos to you, Katie, for this super delicious dish!
oh my goodness, I just made these and they are delicious! just had to tell you 🙂
Since the first time I saw mention of black bean brownies, I was intrigued and wanted to try them for myself. Well, tonight, after scrolling through several recipes, I’m so glad I went with this one! I’ve no need to look at any of the others.
I am a major junk food fan and pretty much the antithesis of a vegan, so I’ve had many a non-healthy treat. These brownies are fantastic, and not just for their sneaky nature. They’re perfect for someone trying to eat cleaner with less sacrifice (like myself) or just someone who desires a fudgy treat (also me.) I can’t wait to share them! Furthermore, I can’t wait to try the rest of your recipes.
Thanks!
Hi … I am loving your recipes, blog and outlook on life 🙂
I’m in Australia and was just wondering what Black Beans are? I can’t seem to find them anywhere.
Thanks for your help
xoCarly
Katie, these were absolutely amazing!!!! Great way to get my 6 year old to eat more beans! 🙂
Just made these. SUPER easy and honestly some of the best brownies I’ve ever had. I like my brownies nice and gooey and that’s exactly how these turned out. I baked them for about 30 mins. instead of 18, but besides that I followed the recipe exactly. If I wouldn’t have made them I would have thought they were from a box. Can’t wait to share these!
Has anyone subbed for the oats yet?? I dont have any type of oats and i dont normally buy them.
I have made this recipe 3 times. They are always gone and everyone I know that has tried them says you can’t taste the black beans. Its hard for me to have any other kind of brownie. If you do them for 15minutes they are still really gooey, so if you like brownies that you can handle and that aren’t as gooey: try leaving them in there for a moment or two.
This is the second recipe I have made from your site and it did not disappoint. Before trying them I promised my boyfriend, who is allergic to all things healthy, that there were no vegetables hidden in them. I didn’t lie, right?! 😉 After he scarfed down 3, yes 3 large brownies (I cut them into 9 squares) I told him the secret ingredient. It’s always fun to watch the faces of our loved ones when we tell them they just ate something they never wanted to. We served them to my boyfriend’s son, heated with ice cream, and he loved them too. He has major food aversions and mostly lives off chicken nuggets and grilled cheese so I’m happy anytime I can get him to eat something healthy. I think I’ll have to make another batch tonight as I only got half a square. Great recipe!
I made these today and they are fantastic! I used old fashioned oats since I didn’t have any quick oats on hand and they turned out great. I had to bake mine for about 5 minutes longer and pulled them when a toothpick came out clean. I’m storing them in the freezer for a cool chocolatey summer snack!