These Black Bean Brownies are flourless, fudgy and delicious healthy dessert. No one will ever guess these brownies are made with black beans and are packed with protein and fiber.
Other gluten-free desserts we love are these healthy zucchini brownies, almond flour brownies and cottage cheese brownies!
Reader’s Review
My go to brownie recipe. No one ever believes they are healthy! I use a flax egg or chia egg always turn out great. Thanks for the recipe.
Mindy
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Black bean brownies have all the taste and sweetness you crave in a brownie but contain no refined sugar. Dates provide all the sweetness you need!
Black beans also have the perfect texture and color to replace flour making this black bean brownies recipe truly naturally gluten-free!
No one will be able to tell these brownies are made with black beans. My kids call them “beautiful”, they really do not have black bean flavor! We loved them so much, I now developed no bake brownies recipe with similar ingredients!
Ingredients for Black Bean Brownies
You will need just 10 simple ingredients, most of which are pantry staples and you probably have on hand right now.
- Black beans: Black beans are the basis of this brownie recipe. No substitutions, not even lentils or chickpeas. You can use canned black beans or dried beans. If you have any cooked black beans like Instant Pot black beans, use about 1 1/2 cups to 1 3/4 cups.
- Medjool dates: Most grocery stores carry 2 types of dates, “regular” and Medjool. You have to buy Medjool variety. Their meaty and moist texture adds volume and fudgy texture to brownies. And fresh is best! As dates get older, they dry out and sugars start to crystalize on the outside.
- Eggs: I used 2 large eggs. I have not tried to make egg-free black bean brownies. What might work is 1/4 cup coconut oil. But you would have to cool brownies. I think when coconut oil cools off, it will solidify and hold brownies together.
- Coffee: Brewed coffee adds more depth to the chocolate flavor but you can skip it. It’s not a crucial ingredient but if you have leftover morning coffee, save it and add to brownies.
- Cacao powder: You can use cocoa powder instead of cacao powder. It’s interchangeable in all chocolate recipes, the only difference is that health benefits of cacao powder are greater.
- Applesauce: I use unsweetened applesauce.
- Baking essentials: Pure vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt.
- Chocolate chips: I use dark chocolate chips. You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips.
How to Make Black Bean Brownies
Just blend, bake, and enjoy. Dirty one blender, not even another bowl.
Prep: I cannot stress enough that it is a must to line your 8 x 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Blend ingredients: In the following order, add eggs, applesauce, black beans, cacao powder, coffee, vanilla, baking soda, salt and dates to a high speed blender or food processor.
Either kitchen appliance will work, but I should caution you that it is a struggle to fit all the ingredients into a mini food processor.
Black bean brownie batter doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth and can have small chunks of dried fruit or beans in it.
Add chocolate chips: Stir until well combined.
Bake: Transfer batter with rubber spatula into the baking pan, level and sprinkle with more chocolate chips. Then bake black bean brownies for 30 minutes.
Cool: Let the brownies cool completely before slicing. These brownies taste great warm or cold and get even fudgier the next day.
Tips for Best Results
- Don’t make substitutions: Don’t skip Medjool dates or black beans. Both add volume to the batter and fudgy texture to brownies. If you skip them, your black bean brownie batter consistency will be off.
- If your dates are hard: Usually when they are older, they will be hard to blend. Soak them for 10 minutes in hot water, drain and then blend.
- Let brownies cool: It’s worth repeating multiple times. I know it’s hard, but please have patience. Again, this is to ensure that bars do not fall apart.
- Line baking dish: It makes brownies easy to cut and remove, and ensures they do not fall apart. I love these parchment paper sheets.
- Do not use any other sweetener: Any dry sweetener like sugar, stevia or xylitol will not work in this black bean brownie recipe. The same goes for honey or maple syrup.
Variations
- “Regular” dates: I tried and didn’t love the results but you can use them. Soak 15 of them in warm water for 15 minutes and drain well. One of the readers used prunes instead and she said the brownies turned out amazing! I haven’t tried, please let me know if you do.
- Vegan: Someone in the comments skipped eggs and used flax eggs. Someone else said it didn’t work. You can also try 1/4 cup melted coconut oil instead and cool brownies completely in the fridge.
- Dairy-free: As is, this recipe is dairy free, except the chocolate chips. Just use dairy-free chocolate chips and you are all set!
- Add-ins: Add chopped nuts like walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts to the batter. Top with fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries before baking. Also freeze-dried fruit will work well as an addition.
How to Store
Store: Keep black bean brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. But I doubt they will last that long!
Freeze: Simply place brownies in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on a counter at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
I freeze cut up brownies right in Pyrex glass container I bake in. It comes with a plastic lid. Just lift a black bean brownie with a butter knife and defrost. Perfect!
FAQs
For rich fudgy brownies, remove when the center still jiggles somewhat. For a firm brownie, use the toothpick method. Remove when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean (a few crumbs is okay on the toothpick).
More Brownies Recipes to Try
- Oat flour brownies
- Banana brownies
- Chickpea blondies
- Healthy pumpkin brownies
- Sweet potato brownies
- Protein brownies
- Healthy brownies
- Greek yogurt brownies
Black Bean Brownies
Video
Ingredients
- 14 ounces can low sodium black beans, drained & rinsed
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 10 large Medjool dates, pitted
- 2 tablespoons brewed coffee, optional
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, divided
- Cooking spray, I use Misto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8 x 8 square baking dish with unbleached parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- In a powerful blender or food processor add ingredients in the following order: eggs, applesauce, black beans, cacao powder, coffee, vanilla, baking soda, salt and dates; then process until smooth. Add 1/4 cup chocolate chips and stir to mix.
- Pour batter into baking dish, top with 1/4 cup chocolate chips and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let brownies cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing. Cut into 16 squares.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Do not leave sitting out, mold could develop.
- Freeze: In an airtight container up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Perfection Olena. Bless you, your talent, and passion for promoting health and real food.
Thank you Jana, thanks for being here and making the recipes!
These are so good you will not miss having regular brownies and they are chocked full of goodness. I made a few slight alterations by putting all the chips (white sweetened with stevia) and two tablespoons ground flax seed also incoroporated in for higher fibre and then put chopped walnuts on top. OMG just love these. I am sure these will become a staple in our household
So happy to hear this Claudia!
We are up to a double batch now. LOL
Love it!
Love this recipe! Thanks so much 😊
So happy to hear Vanessa!
Great recipe- changed the apple sauce for tahini (and some MCT oil). Perfect consistency.
So glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is good! They definitely have a different texture and not quite chewy, but more like a dense cake. I followed the recipe as written, but I baked them on a cookie sheet with parchment. I used the small scoop and they held their shape. 12 min @350, and they are the perfect bite size. They are easily removed from the parchment. I wanted smaller ones so everyone could try one at our Halloween party. I did pipe a small ghost on each one to make them look festive! This batch made 48 yummy bites!
That sounds so cute and festive! Enjoy!
I met a friend for coffee and she handed me a brownie to sample. I had no idea it was made with black beans – in fact I didn’t think it was even possible let alone would be so delicious! Immediately made them for myself when I got home to see my husband’s reaction. He was amazed. I took some to work too so my colleagues could check out how lovely they are – particularly as they have no flour, fat or refined sugar! A wonderful recipe!
Wow! Yeah! so glad to hear this!
Hello all! I made these brownies but they did not firm up at all. I followed the recipe exactly, except that I used flax eggs instead of real eggs. I let the brownies cool overnight, but they still looked raw on the inside. I cut them anyway, put each square on a cookie sheet, flattened them out and baked them like cookies for about 20 minutes. They are delicious, but does anyone know what happened? How can I get them to bake all the way through? Thank you for any ideas!
Hi! Brownies do get fudgier after they sit (even when made with eggs). Although we have not tested with flax eggs, another reader had success using 2 tablespoon ground flax + 6 tablespoon water (not sure what ratio you used). If the fudgy texture is not quite what you wanted, sounds like baking them as cookies turned out well and was a great idea for a healthy brownie cookie!
These are great! I followed the instructions exactly and they were delicious. I used Lily’s sugar free chocolate chips to make these totally sugar free. Eating sugar free will be easy with recipes like this!
Awesome!
Hi! I’ve tried this recipe twice but both times the brownies came out super wet/gooey (not even close to being able to hold shape) .. even after 35 minutes of baking, and after cooling in the fridge overnight… Any suggestions? I’m following the recipe to the T
Hm weird. Are you draining the beans?
Great recipe! Came out wonderfully. I was preparing for someone on a strict diet with a concussion protocol. So I omitted the coffee. I used my own homemade applesauce. Additionally I couldnt find the dates in my little town, so I substituted 1/2c of all natural organic peanut butter. They ended up cakier, but a huge hit! Even took a second batch to a family picnic and didnt tell anyone the ingredients until later. Pan was empty!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!