Best Black Bean Brownies
Posted Aug 23, 2023, Updated Oct 21, 2024
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These black bean brownies are an easy, healthy dessert made with 9 ingredients in 30 minutes and are delicious straight from the oven. This is the best black bean brownies recipe and it’s gluten-free, dairy-free and has no refined sugar.
I enjoy dessert so much that I eat it every night – which is why I like to create healthier recipes, like these Black Bean Brownies! Dessert doesn’t have to derail your healthy eating habits, with this black bean brownie recipe it can be part of your daily routine – because what good is a day without chocolate?
Topped with this Vegan Peanut Butter Frosting, these black bean brownies are one of favorite desserts. They are loaded with protein and fiber and are gluten & dairy-free! So you can feel good about enjoying a little chocolatey treat.
These are the only black bean brownies I have ever made that taste good directly out of the oven, and I’ve made my fair share over the years. I still like to let them cool a little bit so they retain their shape better. But if patience around brownies isn’t your forte, feel free to dig right in.
Black Bean Brownies: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Coconut oil. Melted butter (highly recommended) or ghee can be used in place of coconut oil.
- Coconut sugar. Any granulated sugar works well in place of coconut sugar. Or you can replace the granulated sugar with additional honey.
- Honey. Maple syrup is a good substitute for honey.
- Chocolate chips. Use your favorite mix-ins. Chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, nuts, etc.
Room Temperature Ingredients
Make sure that your ingredients are room temperature before adding them into the Vitamix (or another high-powered blender).
Rinse the beans with warm water, not cold.
Melt the coconut oil before adding it to the blending container.
This will ensure that your mixture blends easily and becomes silky smooth.
How to make Black Bean Brownies
This recipe is very easy to make, simply put the ingredients into the container of a blender and blend until smooth, then bake. Don’t forget to watch the video, and follow the step-by-step instructions.
Begin by greasing an 8×8″ baking pan, then set it aside. I suggest a ceramic or glass baking dish for the best results. If you use a 9×9″ baking pan, reduce baking time by 3-5 minutes.
Next, blend the black beans, coconut oil, honey and coconut sugar together until well-mixed.
Then, add the cocoa powder, vanilla, baking powder and sea salt and blend until combined.
Next, add the eggs and blend until the mixture is completely smooth.
Finally, stir in the chocolate chips by hand. I have also used pieces of chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, etc, and pulsed carefully to break them up in the batter.
Don’t over-blend. If you blend the mixture for too long it will start to get very warm. This becomes problematic when the chocolate chips melt when they’re added to a warm batter. Blend just until the mixture in homogenous {the same throughout} and smooth.
Then, pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and spread until the top is smooth.
If desired, top the black bean brownies with extra chocolate chips, then bake until the top and edges are just set (about 25 minutes).
Remove the black bean brownies from the oven and let them cool completely in the baking dish. Then, cut them into squares and serve.
Serve
These black bean brownies taste amazing on their own. If desired, here are some serving suggestions:
- Nut Butter. I like to drizzle some peanut butter, almond butter, Nutella, etc. on top of the brownies.
- Ice Cream. Serve them slightly warm with homemade ice cream like dairy-free vanilla ice cream, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, dairy-free chocolate peanut butter ice cream.
- Frost the brownies: or slather your favorite frosting on top. Suggestions include: peanut butter frosting and chocolate buttercream frosting.
Store/Freeze
Store black bean brownies in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Warm them in the microwave for about 10 seconds to restore the fresh-from-the-oven taste!
Recipe FAQS
Yes, you can double the recipe and bake it in a 9×13″ pan.
The only other bean I have tried to use in this recipe is great northern beans, and while it tasted good I far prefer black beans. I don’t suggest making substitutions for them. If you want to bake with chickpeas, try these healthy chickpea blondies.
They are still a treat, but they are made with nutritious ingredients and lower in calories than other baked goods.
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Healthy Black Bean Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 oz black beans drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup honey
- ⅓ cup coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8″ baking pan and set aside.
- Put beans, coconut oil, coconut sugar and honey into the container of your (Vitamix) or food processor. Blend until well combined.
- Add cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
- Add in eggs and blend until just combined.
- Mix in ½ cup chocolate chips by hand.
- Pour into greased 8×8-inch pan and top with remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is set and brownies are just barely pulling away from the sides.
- Let cool, cut and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Coconut oil. Melted butter or ghee are great substitutions.
- Coconut sugar. Any granulated sugar works well, or you can replace it with additional honey.
- Honey. Maple syrup or agave are good substitutes.
- Chocolate chips. Use your favorite mix-ins. Chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, nuts, etc.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Loved these… Tried to make them with flax instead of egg to make them vegan. 2 tbs flax and 6 tbs water for 2 eggs .. They were delicious but a little too fudgy… the edges were perfect .. I was thinking of maybe baking them longer or adding more flax? Was worried about burning the edges though.. Anyone have a better outcome than me? Either way will definitely make again … Still delicious!!! Thanks for the recipe.
Hey Sandra! If they’re too fudgy for you I’d suggest baking them longer.
I made these brownies yesterday and after a couple of not very good recipes for black bean brownies, I had stopped trying. Then I tried your recipe and all I can say is WOW and Thank You for showing me it can be done!
Thank you Linda!!! This is one of my all-time favorite recipes, so it always makes me happy to learn others enjoy it as well!
So good my whole family is addicted!!
Hey Laura, the Cal. Amount is for the whole mix or per brownie? Thank you
per brownie!
Could I eliminate the chocolate chips and add more cocoa….maybe?
I wouldn’t add more cocoa powder. I’d just omit the chips! The brownie itself tastes great without them!
Love them…Could I add a Peanut butter swirl? if so, how could i do this?
Yep! You can just swirl some peanut butter on top after spreading the brownie batter into the pan, then bake!
I followed the recipe exactly and the brownies turned out great! Couldn’t taste the black bean at all and it was very fudgy and chocholatey! I liked that it didn’t have a bunch of harder to get ingredients like avocado, almond flour like some of the other recipes I found. I was afraid of the brownies sticking to the bottom of the pan so I did line just the bottom with parchment paper but that was a mistake on my part. The side edges had a nice firmed edge but the bottom was quite gooey and stuck to the parchment paper. It tasted wonderful though. Thank you so much for a great recipe! Will definitely make it again!
Awesome,
I omitted the coconut sugar and increased the honey to 1/3 cup. Also added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon which I think plays well with chocolate.
I will be making these often! Nice chocolate flavor and not too sweet.
Thank you for the recipe.
Dawn
I’m so glad you love the recipe, Dawn!
I didn’t have a Vitamix and didn’t want to break out the food processor lol but I did end up blending the beans in my NutriNinja and it worked just fine really blending them up and spooned into a bowl and then added liquids and then cocoa and such & used beater. I will say batter looked really thin for others wondering bit when baked it sets like a fudgy cake omg these were soooo YUM!!! It took all o had not to eat the whole pan and I was making them for my love for Valentines Day ….oh well guess I’ll just have to make another batch
Another batch is always a great idea! 🙂
These turned out great! Not beany at all. I’ve made other recipes in the past and they ended up tasting like sweet black beans. These just tastes like good brownies. Definitely making again.
Thank you Lauren! No sweet beans coming out of ovens around here! 😉 I make these all the time and love them too!