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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Very nice recipe – but keep in mind that agave (90% fructose) is worse than sugar (50% sugar). It really is the worst sweetener out there.
I am a die hard black bean fan this recipe is sick ?????????????????????????☺️????????????????❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️????????????????????????????????????????????
Hi, these are delicious! They are so good that I couldn’t believe they only had 5.5 g of fat per serving. Most of the fat in this recipe appears to come from the coconut oil and chocolate chips. When I did my own calculations though, using the coconut oil and chocolate chips I bought from the grocery store, I get a much higher fat content per serving. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of coconut oil (56 g of fat) and at least 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (36 g of fat). So 92 g of fat using the minimum amount of chocolate chips (I used 50% cocoa dark chocolate chips) and not even including the fat content of the other ingredients in the recipe. The recipe says there are 9-12 servings. So if using 12 servings the fat content per serving is 7.7 g and if using 9 servings the fat content per serving is 10.2 g. Again, this is using the low end of chocolate chip quantity and not accounting for the fat content in the other ingredients. When I factor these in, I got a fat content per serving of 10.1 g which is almost double the 5.5 g of fat per serving listed on the website which increases the calories per serving from 115 to almost 200. Am I missing something here? Can anyone else attest to the accuracy of the nutrition info, particularly the fat content per serving? Thanks. Nick.
I had a black bean brownie at a restaurant in Los Angeles. It was like eating a meal! Can’t wait to try these. Thanks Katie!
While I am not vegan, or really even a dedicated vegetarian, I look at those kind I’d recipes for my friends who are… But I am a confessed Chocoholic! That is why I decided to check out your Black Bean Brownies. I’m very glad I did–they look delicious!!
Thanks for a new place for me to smack my lips… <3
I cannot stop making these. I’ve stayed true to the recipe, but then had a wild hair to substitute the coconut oil with almond butter (to increase protein). I did a blind taste test (side by side–I’d made two different pans of them) with my husband who declared the almond butter to be less sweet, but both are awesome! I do use Black Onyx Cocoa Powder (which is really chocolate-y) which helps with the authentic taste. Thank you for this recipe! I’ll never eat “regular” brownies again.
I tried making them with rolled oats instead of quick oats and they still turned out delicious, so I don’t think that distinction really matters 🙂
I followed and made this 4 times they were always delicious. Once I didnt use sugar and replace with maple and honey, the texture was more moist and surprisingly gorgeous my yogi friends love it. This receipe is delicious, pleasantly sweet but not too sweet, healthy and indulgening..so yummy
Love your healthy recipes, but the he pop-up ad to sign up for your newsletter is beyond annoying. I signed up but still get continual pop-up message telling me to sign up. That needs to be fixed.
I just found your website & thought the black bean brownies were interesting, never heard of such a thing & gave it a whirl yesterday, I was astonished. I really enjoyed them, I cut out the sugar (I’m on the I Quit Sugar program) and only added a little choc chips and a portion of maple syrup, next time I’ll add in cacoa nibs & rice malt syrup to reduce the amount of sugar. Yay great easy recipe, I’ll share these with my family & friends. Thanks 😉
They are in the oven and after 20 minutes I will be able to tell you how these brownies turned out
Just tried the Black Bean Brownies; so good! Thinner than I expected, but they firmed up right away and were delicious topped with peanut butter and sea salt.
For the black bean brownies what would I substitute oatmeal for? I am making for my niece who is gluten intolerant.
Okay. I’m not one to leave reviews, but I have to for this recipe.
I’m pregnant, and lately always trying to find ways to eat healthier versions of whatever junk food I’m craving. I found this recipe via Google because I heard once from an old friend that black bean brownies were a thing, and figured that now is the perfect time to try out a recipe for the crazy-sounding stuff.
I followed this recipe exactly, let the brownies cool, then gave one to my husband when he got home from work. I had him try to guess what the secret ingredient was, and he couldn’t! When I told him, he didn’t believe me. I’m pretty sure that pan of brownies was gone by the end of the next day. I made another batch recently, and we just polished that one off– and I bought more ingredients to make another pan when the mood strikes next. 🙂 I will say that my favorite way to eat these is thoroughly chilled and straight from the fridge. And the kind of black beans you use changes the flavor (organic, store-brand… whatever) but not to a point where they aren’t still delicious.
Do give these a try. You won’t regret it! So glad I found this recipe.
I was super skeptical that these would be good for a “healthy” brownie, but these are better to me than regular brownies! My husband was amazed when I told him the ingredients!
Hello Katie,
I absolutely love all your recipe and your lovely blog.
I’ve been wanting to try out this black bean brownies one but I’m a bit confused about black beans As live in Switzerland and we don’t have that many types of beans, and from what I’ve read black beans are native to the US. Could it work with other types of beans? The only type of black beans I’ve come across are very dark red (almost black) beans.
I found the black beans and it was an absolute success. My guests couldn’t stop eating them. I didn’t smooth them before putting them in the oven, so I made an icing to top it off (coconut oil, cocoa and icing sugar.) DECADENT. Thank you.