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!)
OMG these look delicious, I have to try them- my boyfriend and I have been trying to eat healthier and these would be a perfect “cheat” treat.
I have a can of red kidney beans in my grocery closet, do you think those would work the same? Or would it alter the taste?
Is the cocoa powder unsweetened? Wanted to clarify before I make them this weekend. This recipe sounds great. Can’t wait to try them.
Yes, but sweetened works as well.
Omg! I just made these in my blender, and I used brown sugar as the sweetener so it came out pretty dry so I added some water, but it may have been too much water because it came out too gooey! It tasted amazing though! Will definitely make again, but may try honey! 😉
I just made these bean brownies yesterday and I must say that I was totally shocked how amazing they are!!! I actually prefer these over, “normal” brownies. Incredibly fudgy, moist and not sweet in a artificial, over sweet way! I used a dark chocolate broken up inside as well since I did not chips on hand. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
My husband and I made these tonight for a labor day weekend party. We used 1/2 C rolled oats, 1/4 C peanut butter and 1/2 C pure maple syrup and baked them for about 18 minutes. Of course, we had to taste test them, and they are delicious! I’m very excited to share these with family and friends tomorrow and surprise them with the news that they are black bean brownies. They are more chewy than regular brownies (and we prefer the texture of regular brownies a bit more), but we REALLY enjoy them a lot! The taste is excellent.
Best brownies ever! Thank you
Wish I could post a pic! I just made these! I subbed half old fashioned oats but turned them into flour first before mixing! I also made these more sinful but adding a drizzle of chocolate syrup and marbling it through the top before baking! It added some gooey goodness to it! No one could tell! They’re yummy!
These were amazing!! Had never heard of “Black Bean Brownies” before and was VERY pleasantly surprised!
I did substitue the Stevia/sugar for 2 Tbsp of Chocolate Protein Powder (MuscleMilk) and they turned out great! 🙂
When I put the ingredients into my fitness pal, I get twice the number of calories per brownie? am I doing something wrong/how many does it serve? by the way they are totally awesome!! I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going overboard on calories to enjoy them. Thank you.
These should be wayy healthier and lower in calories, but I know that beans are high in protein, fiber, and calories. These calories are much healthier than the ones from butter, however! Butter has around 35% saturated fat per tbsp (varies among brands) and the around 100 calories per tbsp, whereas one tbsp of dry black beans = 40 calories, and about .5 gram of fat. Also, some companies count insoluble fiber in their caloric totals, while others don’t. Does fitness pal do that? Or maybe the serving sizes are off? In any case, the calories you are consuming in these brownies are much more nutrient-dense than in traditional brownies! Much less saturated fat too.
These brownies were quite possibly the best brownies I have ever had! I was blown away, impressed with these brownies. I used a whole bag of chips ( milk chocolate). I also added a couple spoonfuls of marshmallow puff creme (my husband begged me to). It was amazing slightly heated with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (or frozen yogurt)! I never post my opinions, even good ones, so for me to take the time to give a review on these brownies is saying a lot!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE these!! Made them tonight and they are wonderful. I did end up using old fashion rolled oats (I was out of quick cook oats) the brownies seemed to cook up fine, I cooked them for an extra 10 minutes, but that was the only adjustment I needed to make. I’m not sure if you can taste the quick cook oats in original recipe but you can definitely taste the old fashion rolled oats, but in a way that I really like!!
aloha I am going to make your black bean brownie recipe this week. I am going to use adzuki bean in place of the black bean but I’m not the biggest fan of oats. Can I just omit the oats? If so you think the cooking time or texture will be different? or do you have a suggestion for replacing the oats for something else? Let me know. I’m really excited to make these. 🙂 And I would really appreciate your suggestions.
Mahalo
Brit 🙂
You won’t taste much oat flavor in the final product– it’s more like a slightly nutty flavor. In case you haven’t already tried this recipe without oats, oat flour is just a very sticky, fine flour. Replace it with normal AP flour or whatever you like, but use less of it, unless you want thicker, drier brownies.
Hope this helped! I personally love oat flour for it’s nutty-ness, gf, and powder-like properties, but I know some people dislike oats or don’t keep them around. I’ve tried substituting different flours, and they don’t make major, major differences. Just that oat flour is lighter and work better in vegan recipes. Don’t be afraid to try new things! :))
Oh my God!! I tried this with 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, and I’ll have to uninvite my friends so I can eat all those delicious brownies myself!!
I have never had black bean brownies, but these are AMAZING!!!!! I
would take these over traditional brownies any day!!! I did cook them for closer to 25-30 minutes. Love it, I will never go back & my VERY skeptical husband really liked them too!!!
Had a craving for some brownies and wanted to try a new black bean recipe. So glad to have found your recipe, super gooey, sweet and chocolaty (I used cacao powder instead of cocoa)…awesome, totally satisfied my craving for brownies and love that they were super simple and quick too! Think I’ll back off the agave next time…yummy sweet but just a touch too much for my readjusted taste buds. Thanks again…will be searching for more yummy recipes!
Sooo, for the 1/2 cup of quick oats I substituted 2tbsp quick oats, 2tbsp rolled oats, 2 tbsp soy-flour, 1tbsp shredded coconut and 1 tbsp corn starch and everything turned out fine 🙂
Don’t ask why though, my brain went “Oooh and this! And this! Add that too, it’ll be good!” I guess it was right.
And I also used kidney beans because black beans are hard to find here. Still. Amazing 😀