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
Currently Trending Posts:
(15 Different Flavors)
Lentil Soup – Reader Favorite Recipe
More Healthy Brownie Recipes
(No crazy ingredients!)
OH NO! I JUST gave away my food processor!! I have an EMERSION BLENDER and was wondering how you think that might work for this recipe? I know a blender will be a total pain so I don’t even want to try to go there. Also, I do have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
Help! Thank you 🙂
(PS I HAVE made this before and they ARE excellent. No one knew! Hee hee hee!!)
I worked with only an immersion blender and a coffee grinder for several years in college, and still successfully made this recipe as well as hummus, baba ganouj, etc.
In a deep-sided pot, spot-blend the beans (with the recipe liquids to make it easier, excluding coconut oil) and keep doing that for several minutes until you get a smooth paste. You will have to press down with the immersion blender to get the beans moving through it and out the little side slits.
For the oats, measure out the oats and grind them into a flour in the coffee grinder in small batches, or measure out the same weight with pre-made oat flour. Combined the dry ingredients with the oats, and then mix all the ingredients together with melted coconut oil and proceed with folding in chips and baking, etc.
THanks Savannah! I’ll give it a try.
Do you have to use black beans?
I’ve used adzuki beans in the past and they were delicious in the recipe. I think any variety of beans (but not any legume–I can’t imagine lentils would work) will be fine and the only noticeable change will be the final colour of the brownies.
Does anyone have an idea what to use as an oat replacement?
https://lett-trim.today/2013/10/08/fudge-brownie-chocolate-protein-bars/%3C/a%3E 🙂
These are so delicious! I tried instant porridge oats as I’m not sure what the ‘quick oats’ equivalent is in England and I have just made another batch using rice flour which also worked really well! (I used half the amount of rice flour compared to oats).
I have a friend who’s allergic to all nuts and “culinary” nuts (not botanically categorized as “nuts” but are colloquially called nuts nonetheless, ex. almonds and cashews). Coconut oil is not an option for them. I want to make these brownies for them, though. Has anyone experimented with alternative oils? Could olive oil work? Or are the structure and texture heavily dependent on the coconut oil due to its ability to be solid at room temperature?
I used mild olive oil and it turned out great! I always sub olive oil in my chocolate recipes.
Hi Katie,
Is it possible to make these without the oil? Please let me know as I really wanna make these but need it to be low fat. Thank you soo much!
I used very little coconut oil (maybe 1/6 cup) and the rest (about 3 tbsp.) apple sauce. Turned out really good. I also added more cocoa powder and walnuts. I think that chocolate chips is a must to hide the taste of beans. I had a square without choc chips and I could taste beans.
Please update your nutrition information! it doesn’t say the serving size and that makes the calorie per serving size very misleading!!!! As someone else pointed out, when i put the ingredients into MyFitness Pal the calories came out to just over 200!!!! Not exactly what I was looking for >.<
Other than that, verrrry delicious!!!
Delicious!! I doubled the cocoa and ommitted the sugar cuz I prefer a very dark chocolate taste. Thank you!
Thanks for this awesome recipe. Tried it, love it.
Could I use regular white beans for this recipe? Black beans are very hard to find where I live…I read somewhere that it doesn’t matter what type of beans you use as long as you don’t mind the lighter colour. Is that true?
I made these just now and concur that they are delicious! I used buckwheat flour instead of oats, added walnuts (kept the chocolate chips, I don’t imagine they would taste as good without them)
Delicious, deliscious, deliscious! Made them today and was sceptical until they came out of the oven, but proven wrong. They are soft, moist, and heavenly chocolatey! Bringing them to a kids party, they’ll be a guaranteed success!
I’m confused about the nutritional information… when I calculate (based on all nutritional information on the ingredients that I used), it ends up being ~180 cals / brownie. Can you tell us what you are assuming for the nutritional information for each ingredient? Thanks!!
I just baked these today, and they turned out really good. I used one part coconut oil and one part apple sauce (to be less fat). Only I don’t know how to store them? In fridge? Container or not? Please reply. Thank you.
Love!!!! Best brownies ever! Used unpasteurized honey & a couple extra tbsp of dark cocoa, rich, chewy brownies loved by even my fussiest eaters! Used heart shaped cookie cutter for Valentines day brownie shapes – no need for frosting or drizzle as these are perfection! Thank you for a GREAT, healthy dessert!!!
Hi, I live in Brazil and we don’t have black bean brownies here, that’s news to me!
I don’t understand how to use the beans, is it raw?
Could you gimme some tips? 🙂
Tks a lot!!