These Black Bean Brownies are easy to make, fudgy, healthy and completely flourless. All you need is a can of black beans and a blender! They’re also gluten free.
If you’ve never had black bean brownies, you are in for a treat!
Full of good-for-you ingredients like black beans, eggs, 100% unsweetened cocoa powder and cinnamon, these brownies pack some serious nutrients like fiber, protein and iron that you wouldn’t normally get from your average brownie made with all-purpose flour.
And the best part is they don’t taste like beans at all! Really! Beans are the last thing on your mind when you take a bite of these. It’s pretty amazing how tasty they are.
Ingredients in Black Bean Brownies
To make these brownies, here’s what you need:
- Black Beans – One 15-ounce can is all you need. Make sure to drain and rinse the beans beforehand.
- Eggs – The eggs help to keep the brownies moist and rich as well as act as a leavening agent alongside the baking powder.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – Adds that pure chocolate goodness we all know and love! I used regular cocoa powder, but you can use dark cocoa powder if you’re a dark chocolate lover.
- Granulated Sugar – Helps to add a touch of sweetness to the brownies since the cocoa powder has none.
- Unsalted Butter – A touch of butter helps to keep the brownies moist. You can also use vegetable oil or applesauce to lower the fat.
- Ground Cinnamon – I love the combination of cinnamon and chocolate! However, you can omit the cinnamon if you want a pure chocolate flavor.
- Baking Powder – This acts as a leavening agent and helps to give the brownies a little rise so they’re not completely flat. But don’t worry – they’re still fudgy!
- Vanilla Extract – Really helps the chocolate flavor pop!
- Salt – A hint of salt helps to balance out the sweetness in desserts, including these black bean brownies.
- Chocolate Chips – Used for topping the brownies right before baking for extra chocolaty goodness!
How To Make Black Bean Brownies
The best part about these black bean brownies is that no hand mixing is required. You don’t need to use any bowls, let alone two separate bowls for wet and dry ingredients. All you need is your handy dandy blender. Just dump all of the ingredients into your blender (except for the chocolate chips) and blend until smooth.
Pour the batter into an 8×8 baking dish, top with your favorite chocolate chips and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
When they’re done, you should get something that looks like the photo above. Fudgy. Chocolatey. Irresistible.
Recipe Tips and Variations
A lot of the brownie batter can get left behind in the blender after mixing. Use a silicone spatula to get as much of the batter out as possible and into the baking pan.
Looking to cut out some of the fat? Substitute applesauce for the butter in the recipe.
Not a fan of white sugar? Use maple syrup, honey or coconut sugar instead.
To add a hint of peanut butter, use 1/2 chocolate chips and 1/2 peanut butter chips.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! If you made this recipe or have any questions, let me know in the comments below!
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place parchment paper in 8×8 baking dish and set aside.
- Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour and scrape batter evenly into the baking dish.
- Top batter with chocolate chips.
- Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
AMJ says
To be honest, I was really scared to try this, but they turned out amaaaaaazingly! They almost have a slight coffee aroma to them that I love. Overall, I’m super impressed. These will probably be my new go to brownies since they’re delicious, don’t make me feel like crap after I eat them from all the sugar, and are just perfectly sweet!
Allison Townsend says
These look fantastic, can’t wait to try them! Quick question though, do you think it would be ok to make these in a food processor instead of a blender? I don’t own a blender apart from my nutribullet so I’m hoping these would come out just as good in a food processor. Thanks!
Isabel says
Yes, a food processor will work too! I hope you love them!
Genie says
This is the third time I’ve made this brownie/blackbean brownies. Always comes out GREAT. I always add nuts on top–love nuts.
Isabel says
That sounds delicious! I think that’s a great addition for a little crunch!
Darcy says
I’m so glad I stumbled across this recipe. I’ve been on a black bean kick so I figured I would give them a try. Oh my gosh…I’m so glad I did. They are delicious. The best part is my 20 year old son grabbed one and commented how delicious they were. Guess what??If he knew there were black beans in there that brownie wouldn’t have touched his lips.
This recipe is a keeper. Thanks!
Terri says
I made these today and they are delicious! I used Stevia instead of sugar and apple sauce for the butter. Made 9 cupcakes – baked 15-20 minutes. YUM!
JeterPancakes says
I liked the idea of these and had to try just because…black beans?? 🙂
These were pretty good. To be fair, my hubby is the chocolate person, not me. He is not a fan of cinnamon, though (weird, huh?), so he was luke-warm because of that. I personally prefer a more dense, chewy brownie rather than a cake-like one. So, I was interested if there are any changes that you can think of that I might make to this recipe to make it more dense and chewy? I was thinking of applesauce in place of the butter, maybe? Maybe I should just find a recipe for the dense chewy kind and figure out how to sub the black beans in? Any thoughts, anyone?
Michael says
Recipe is awesome. But…. Why are so many people so concerned about replacing the butter? Butter is all natural and considered “good” fat. So much of what people use as a replacement is so bad for you it ain’t funny. Processed oils including coconut oil are far worse. Nothing natural about them. Research how there manufactured. Your car was made to use oil, not your body.
genie nakano says
I agree. The doctor said butter a day keeps the doctor away and prevents Alzheimer disease because Our brain is made up of fat.
Ashleigh says
Oh my, my, my! I just made these for desert. I followed directions (except used 1 egg and egg whites from 4 eggs to cut out a little fat)….. they are moist and fudge. Delicious! And, passed the husband test! Thanks….. I’ll be looking up more of your recipes!
Isabel says
Yay! I’m so happy you liked them!
Adrienne says
My boyfriend and I are trying to eat healthier, but I have a massive sweet tooth and these fixed my craving!
I’m also a school teacher and my students are always begging me for treats by the end of the day. I let a few of them have a piece the other day, and didn’t tell them they were black beans till they finished them and told me they are “the perfect amount of sweet”.
Isabel says
I’m so happy you and your students loved them! They’re one of my favorites 🙂
Sylvia says
I am almost exactly 2 years too late on this post, but I will still leave a comment. Thank you for this recipe. I love sweets, but I’ve been wanting to not feel the guilt behind eating sweets. These brownies are sooo good. I cant even tell the difference between black bean brownies and regular, sugar filled, calorie exceeding, bad for you brownies. The only mistake I made was leaving out the butter and they were still delicious. These are awesome and I will definitely be making these again.
-Sylvia
Isabel says
I’m so glad you like them, Sylvia! I feel the same way about them – you can’t even tell they’re made with black beans!
Linda Reed says
I love these brownies!!!! Any change to time or temperature if I double the recipe and bake it in a 9 x 13 pan?
Isabel says
They might need about 5 minutes less since they’ll be slightly thinner.
Sophie James says
Waw its looking so yummy
thanks for sharing this yummy creation
Dawn says
This i could sub the butter with applesauce for a lower fat version?
Isabel says
Yes! I’ve never actually tried that version so I’m not sure how it will turn out, but it’s worth a shot.
Mason's Mom says
I have these in the oven right now. But the mixture was so thick my blender just wouldn’t go. I used 3 tbsp canola oil instead of butter, I wonder if that was why…. I had to add some heavy cream…. Didn’t work, then tried almond milk…. Still a thick sludge but at least mixed. So I plopped it in the pan and now we wait.
Isabel says
Oh no! I’m not quite sure what went wrong there. I’ve made these multiple times and they’ve always come out well.
Kristine says
My Husband is eternally grateful for your recipe. I have never seen my husband so happy eating dessert. The only changes I made instead of sugar I used 1/2 cup of maple syrup and had to use dried beans as I didn’t have canned beans. 1/2 cup dried beans, soaked overnight and cooked for an hour and cooled first before blended. Sincere thank you for your amazing recipe. I would love to have more of your recipes.
Isabel says
I’m so happy he loved it, Kristine! Thank you 🙂
Susan says
Gotta admit I was a tad skeptical, but these are REALLY tasty! Thabks for the recipe.
Isabel says
You’re welcome, Susan! I know some people are surprised they’re so good, but you really can’t even taste the beans!
Isabel says
Haha, love it! These are some of my fav brownies, so I’m glad they loved them!