These fudgy black bean brownies are made with canned black beans instead of flour. They are gluten free and have less fat than regular brownies.
Over the years, I have tried a lot of different ingredients in my brownies to try and make them healthier. Some have been successful, others not so much (Hi baby food prunes). But the healthier brownie recipe I keep coming back to is these Flourless Black Bean Brownies.
I first posted this recipe way back in the early days of my blog. I remember it being the first post that anyone aside from my immediate family actually read, primarily because it featured the first photo I ever had accepted by Foodgawker.
I figured the post could use a little refresh after so many years, and since I was making these as a Quarantine treat, I figured I'd re-shoot the photos and share it again.
These fudgy brownies are a great pantry baking project! All the ingredients in them are ingredients that you can bet are easily found in almost everyone's pantries and fridges.
Plus, they're great to serve your friends with dietary restrictions. They're naturally gluten free because they use black beans instead of flour.
How do you make black bean brownies?
Making these black bean brownies is a little different than making traditional flour based brownies because you will need a food processor to process the beans and mix the batter. Don't worry if you don't have one - you can always use a blender or immersion blender instead.
Flourless Black Bean Brownie Ingredients:
- 14 ounce can of black beans
- Large eggs
- Cocoa powder
- Granulated sugar
- Canola oil
- Plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (use your favorite Dairy Free yogurt alternative to make these brownies Dairy Free)
- Vanilla extract
- Instant coffee powder
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Chocolate chips
Want more Flourless Dessert Recipes?
Flourless Black Bean Brownies Nutrition Notes:
These brownies have less fat than regular brownies, and particularly less saturated fat since the fat they do have in them is oil which is low in saturated fat. They also have more fiber, thanks to the black beans as well as the cocoa powder.
These brownies are naturally gluten free and can easily be made dairy free by swapping out the yogurt for non-dairy yogurt.
Flourless Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients
- 14 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons canola oil
- 2 Tablespoons plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (use your favorite Dairy Free yogurt alternative to make these brownies Dairy Free)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon instant coffee
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9x9" baking pan by lining with foil and greasing lightly. Set aside.
- Add 14 ounce can of black beans, (rinse and drain them first), 2 large eggs, ½ cup cocoa powder, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons canola oil, 2 Tablespoons plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon instant coffee, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon baking soda to a food processor. Pulse until completely smooth. Stir in half a cup of the chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining half a cup of chocolate chips on top of the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean. Place on a wire rack and cool completely, at least 30 minutes. Remove foil sling and peel foil from brownies. Cut and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Lois says
I don't have a food processor, so I will blend the black beans first with my immersion blender. then add the other ingredients and continue blending with the immersion blender.
I cant wait to make these brownies.
PS Is it possible to have the nutritional facts in the printable portion?
thank you for all of the healthy recipes !
Carissa says
You may have a hard time blending the black beans without adding liquid. I made the recipe with my immersion blender, blending all the ingredients at once, no problem. You should be fine with that method too. Unfortunately the nutrition facts and the recipe are two separate items, so it can't be added to the printable recipe. The only way to do it would be to maybe copy and paste both into a Word document and then print.
Erikka says
These are fantastic!!!! Whole family loves them! I subbed the sugar for erythritol (1:1 ratio, as the erythritol package said I could), and added dark chocolate instead of chocolate chips, to lower the sugar. I ran out of cocoa powder, so I added powdered peanut butter. I also baked them in silicone mini muffin pans for 12 minutes. Will absolutely make again and again!