Black Bean Brownies

These black bean brownies are surprisingly delicious and fudgy while also being healthy! Gluten free, easy to make, and only needs 10 ingredients!

A closer shot of a stack of 4 fudgy black bean brownies on a plate.

I’m going to tell you a secret. I have a massive sweet tooth. I love cookies, cakes….anything sweet. BUT! My absolute favorite dessert would be brownies. I will take any opportunity given to make them. And while I love making traditional brownies, I think there is definitely a space for some versions that include some healthier ingredients. That’s how these black bean brownies came into existence. Still fudgy and still delicious as brownies should be.

A food processor with all of the black bean brownie ingredients inside.

Why black beans in your brownies? 

The concept might sound strange, but adding the right ingredients to your black beans can make them into a really tasty dessert. While you can absolutely enjoy your typical brownies, I think it’s so fascinating that different food combinations can still lead to the same enjoyable experience. The bonus is that you’ll get a few more nutrients along the way.

The added benefits of adding black beans to your brownies

  • Higher protein: If you have a sweet tooth, this actually might be a benefit to add in as it can help to keep your blood sugars a little more stable.
  • Folate: From cell division to it’s involvement in creating genetic material, this b vitamin is important to get in. Beans happen to be a good source of this nutrient as well.
  • Iron: Beans are a great source of iron on a plant based diet.
  • Fiber: Not only do beans have fiber, but they also happen to have a special type of fiber called soluble fiber that happens to be especially good for our hearts. Soluble fiber acts like a gel and absorbs water, but can also help to reduce bad cholesterol as well.
Folding chocolate chips into brownie batter.

How to make black bean brownies

  • Prep the chocolate and almond butter. Melt the almond butter and chocolate chips together and mix into a smooth mixture.
  • Dry ingredients. Process your dry ingredients first to turn into a fine flour before adding the beans. This will help make sure you end up with a nice consistency.
  • Wet ingredients. This includes your beans. Make sure you are blending to make a smooth batter. If you have a weaker food processor, you can still get a smooth consistency, just blend to the best of your ability. Any really tiny pieces, should be unnoticeable once it bakes.
Tray of baked black bean brownies with a swirl of nut butter and chocolate chips.

Tips for making black bean brownies 

  • Blend it well. I suggest using a high speed food processor. The better the quality, the more smooth your batter will be and it will be more convincing your your audience eating them. If you see chunky pieces of beans in your batter, you unfortunately won’t be able to fool many people with them. So make sure to blend, blend, blend!
  • Use runny nut butters. Having a runny nut butter makes all the difference as it will result in a smoother batter. Make sure to opt for natural nut butters that only have the nut in question plus some salt. If you are allergic to nuts, you can also make this with sunflower seed butter. If nut butter is stiff, microwaving it for a few seconds will help to make it a little softer.
  • Dutch cocoa. The type of cocoa you use will result in different flavor and color. Dutch cocoa tends to be richer in color and flavor, so I recommend this variety if you can find it. If not, regular cocoa still works.
  • Fold in the chocolate chips. If batter is really warm after processing, wait a minute or two for it to cool then fold in the chocolate chips. The chocolate chips are necessary as it will make these brownies more moist and fudgy. No one wants a dry or cakey brownie.

Need some more chocolate goodness?

Four plated black bean brownies that are stacked up on top of each other.
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Tray of baked black bean brownies with a swirl of nut butter and chocolate chips.

Black Bean Brownies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 7 reviews
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 9 pieces 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American

Description

These black bean brownies are surprisingly delicious and fudgy while also being healthy! Gluten free, easy to make, and only needs 10 ingredients!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips for melting
  • 1/4 cup natural almond butter
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free quick oats
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Set oven to 350F.
  2. In a microwave safe dish, place 1/4 cup chocolate chips and almond butter together and place in microwave for 15 seconds. Stir to combine, and if not fully melted, place back in microwave for an extra 15 seconds until contents mix together smoothly.
  3. Place all oats, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a food processor.
  4. Process on high until oats have turned into a fine flour.
  5. At this time, add in chocolate almond butter mixture, maple syrup, black beans, and vanilla extract, to good quality food processor and continue to process until a smooth batter forms.
  6. You will likely need to scrap down sides as it processes to make sure batter is evenly mixed and smooth.
  7. Add in 1/3 cup chocolate chips and fold them into the batter with a spatula or spoon. Do not process the chocolate chips.
  8. Spoon mixture into a lined or greased 8×8 baking pan and spread as evenly as possible around your baking pan.
  9. Place tray in the oven and bake brownies for 20 minutes.
  10. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Notes

  • These brownies are especially good with an extra swirl of nut butter on top. Prior to placing brownies in the oven, add 2-3 spoons of a runny nut butter. With a butter knife, carefully swirl the nut butter around the surface of the brownies.
  • You can add other add ins like walnuts or sprinkle the top with salted pretzels for a tasty and fun treat.
  • The melted chocolate and almond butter will provide a nice moist and fudgy texture, so try not to miss this step!
  • To ensure this recipe is gluten-free make sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
  • If you are not using a a good quality food processor, your results may vary in terms of texture. Ultimately, if you have a low power motor, you might need to process for a longer time until the beans are as smooth as possible.
  • For a darker chocolate look, opt for dutch processed cocoa.

Did You Try This Recipe?
Then let me know what you thought! Share your creations by tagging me on Instagram with the hashtag #plantbasedrdeats

 Catherine

These black bean brownies are surprisingly delicious and fudgy while also being healthy! Gluten free, easy to make, and only needs 10 ingredients!
These black bean brownies are surprisingly delicious and fudgy while also being healthy! Gluten free, easy to make, and only needs 10 ingredients!

20 Comments

  1. After waiting years to try black bean brownies I finally decided to try this recipe today and I was not disappointed!! Made it in my Vitamix and everything turned out perfect. I swirled almond butter and added more chocolate chips and flaky sea salt to the top – SO GOOD! Will definitely be making again!






    1. I am so so thrilled that I was your first black bean brownie recipe attempt and so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you so much and happy baking. 🙂

  2. These are some of the best brownies I’ve had in a while! I used a mix of tahini and almond butter for the swirl on top and the brownies turned out so pretty! The texture is SUPER fudgey and addictive, so I’m going to have to restrain myself from eating 5 of them at a time😂






    1. That mix sounds absolutely perfect. I love tahini and almond butter a lot. So glad you enjoyed these. Haha I have the same issue with these brownies too. Hard not to eat the whole tray!

  3. Great recipe! I only added a few tablespoons of maple syrup and the rest was chocolate almond milk. I also didn’t process the oats to flour, for some added texture. I forgot to swirl the almond butter on top, so I added it after. Overall, great recipe!






    1. So glad that you enjoyed this Chassidy! And I agree, I love having oats in my desserts, so really love that you found a way to keep them intact for the recipe and still enjoy. Thank you for the feedback!

    1. They should work with the kidney beans too. Just want to make sure that they are rinsed well like the black beans. Hope you and the kids enjoy them. 🙂

  4. Also my first black bean brownie recipe. I don’t think there will be any news to try any other. I followed the recipe as is, except cut back in the maple syrup and added some brown sugar swerve (erythrtol). I also added some chopped walnuts to the batter. The brownies were very moist! Yum. Adding to my recipe book.






    1. Hi Andrea. I’m sorry that you are disappointed at the lack of nutrition information on the recipe. There is a reason for it. I counsel a number of individuals who suffer with eating disorders, and putting the nutrition information there can be triggering for those individuals that enjoy the content on this page. If you do wish to calculate the nutrition information, you can add the link into myfitnesspal to have the app calculate the nutrition information for you. This can provide you with more accurate results especially depending on the type of ingredients you opt for (example, chocolate can often vary depending on the type amount of sugar included with it). Hope that helps.

    1. Hi Judy, that is very true! The ingredient list does say to use gluten-free oats as oats are easy to be contaminated with gluten if not certified. 🙂

  5. Oh my God this is ridiculously delicious! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! I took some to work and even my co-workers loved it!

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