Black Bean Brownies Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on this site, I may earn a commission.
Read my Privacy Policy.
These black bean brownies are delicious and healthy!
I know, the words “brownies” and “healthy” don’t often go together. But in this case, they absolutely do! Brownies made with black beans may sound odd, but I promise, they are delicious.
Black Beans In Brownies
Black bean brownies are brownies that use black beans as a base instead of flour or other ingredients. These brownies are often made, at least in part, with a food processor in order to blend up the beans really well. In this case, I made the entire batter with my food processor. It was quick and easy!
Do Black Bean Brownies Taste Good?
Oh my goodness, yes! A black bean dessert may sound odd, but I promise, it’s just alike any other brownie with a slightly different texture. More like a caky brownie than a fudgey one. And no, you don’t taste the black beans. All you taste is chocolate!
Let’s Talke Brownie Pans
If you need a good brownie pan, there are many on the market, and each has its own advantages. I’ll cover a few below.
My brownie pan was an 8 x 8-inch casserole dish, which is the main reason I used parchment paper. If you have a non-stick pan, the parchment may not be necessary, but I would still oil the pan just to be safe. Also note that in a thinner pan, you may not need to bake these as long. So keep an eye on cooking times and doneness.
BROWNIE PANS
If you need a good brownie pan, here are some options and the different benefits of each.
Wilton Brownie Bar Pan, 12-Cavity
You won’t have to worry about your brownies falling apart when you cut them with this pan because they are “pre-cut” for you.
Baker’s Edge Nonstick Edge Brownie Pan
With this pan, every brownie has a baked edge, so nobody fights over the end pieces. They are very easy to cut in portioned sizes as well.
Wilton Performance Pans Aluminum Square Cake and Brownie Pan, 8-Inch
This is your basic brownie pan. This particular pan is on the thinner side, so your brownie edges will be thoroughly cooked. Watch cooking times with this one.
HOW TO MAKE BLACK BEAN BROWNIES
The process is pretty simple. You’ll want to preheat your oven and line your baking pan with parchment paper first.
Now you’ll just blend everything, except the toppings, in a food processor. You don’t want to over-blend this batter, but you do need to be sure it’s well blended. So keep a close eye on it during blending and turn it off immediately, once the batter looks like it’s well mixed.
Pour the black bean brownie batter into your baking dish, sprinkle your toppings over the top, and bake! Easy!
How To Serve Black Bean Brownies
These brownies are delicious, however, unlike most brownies, these are better cold. They are very delicate when warm and do not have any gluten to hold them together. So you’ll want to cool these, in the baking pan, in the fridge until they are totally cold. Then you can lift them out and cut them.
They taste best just out of the fridge, so you’ll want to make them ahead of time for a special occasion and pull them out of the fridge only just before serving.
Recipe Notes
For this batch, I added one ingredient that is NOT listed in the recipe below. It isn’t “clean”, so I wasn’t sure if I should include it or not
To these brownies, I added 2 tbsp. instant coffee (decaf). Not everyone will like that, however. There is a slight coffee taste to them, so if you want to use it but don’t want to taste the coffee as much, you can reduce it down to 1 tbsp. Or, just leave it out completely as the recipe below does. All it really does is give the brownies more depth of flavor. It’s very good, but not everyone will want that, and it won’t change the batter one way or the other. So it becomes totally optional.
SUBSCRIBE:
Remember to subscribe to my free, Gracious Pantry Newsletter to receive all my latest recipes in your inbox! Click here to sign up!
More Brownie Recipes
Black Bean Brownies Recipe Card
Black Bean Brownies
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 15 oz. can black beans (drained and rinsed, no sugar added)
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil (melted)
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (or maple extract)
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp. pink salt
- ¾ cup Sucanat (or other dry, clean sweetener)
- ½ tsp. baking powder
Toppings:
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips (I used the Lily's brand)
- ½ cup walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper and spritz it with an oil sprayer.
- In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except the toppings, and blend until just combined. You want everything well combined, but also do not want to over-mix this.
- Pour the batter into your baking pan and sprinkle the nuts and chocolate chips over the top evenly.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Give this lots of time to cool down. They taste best straight from the fridge.
- Do not freeze.
Hi Tiffany,
I have fresh beans from my garden. I need to cook the beans first, right? Or is soaking them enough? Thank you.
Miriam – Yes, you would want to cook them first. Hope you enjoy them! 🙂