Black Bean Brownies (vegan & oil free) – Plant Based RD (2024)

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

• Healthy Edible Brownie Batter
• Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
• Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

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★Catherine