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
- 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.
On the cutting of the brownies. A friend shared with me if you use a plastic knife you can cut the brownies almost immediately! Some like them warm with their ice cream. Have not tried this hack a friend shared with on these but am going to make some today! I put apple sauce in regular brownies too!
That’s such a great tip, thank you for sharing! Warm brownies with ice cream are the best. Applesauce is a great addition too, enjoy baking today!
Amazing so good
I dont understand, why wouldn’t any other sweetener work? Like what would happen if I used granulated sugar? I just made a black bean brownie but without the applesauce. When I searched with the applesauce I came across this. But I do not want to waste my ingredients!
Because it offsets batter’s consistency. You can’t omit dates as they make up the volume. To add sugar on top of dates is not necessary. Baking is truly a science. Every black bean brownie recipe has different ingredients that work with each other. I recommend to find one for your ingredients and use it then.
My 94 yr dad has gout so I thought these would be a good dessert. They are not brownies. I think they are fine but my dad would not like them. I can taste the beans and they are not very fudgey. It is a nice healthy dark chocolate dessert. I will share with my 87 yr old neighbor. She is super health conscious and likes desserts on the less sweet side. I think she will love them.
Planning to make this today. Can you use truvia instead of dates?
Unfortunately not.
Are these sweet? Is there a way to use dark chocolate without it burning/becoming chalky?
Thanks,
They are sweet. I’m sorry I don’t think I understand your question… Do you mean if dark chocolate chips in this recipe burn? I don’t find that.
Delicious! So nice to have a healthy, flourless brownie recipe. Does not taste like black beans at all.
So nice of you to say, so happy you loved it! Thank you for the rating!
Just made your brownies , my husband has had a stroke and we are trying to incorporate more pulses etc in our diet, have to say they are absolutely delicious will definitely make again
So happy to hear you loved these healthier brownies!
I used date paste for my first try, and I wound up having to cook them twice as long as the directions say. I will probably try again, because they’re so good. But wondering if you have any idea if date paste would cause it to be more “liquid” than normal?
Hi Kate. Yes, date paste would not work in this recipe. Use Medjool dates. Date paste could be made not from Medjool dates, have added water plus it’s hard to measure how much of it you need instead of dates, it’s not the same amount. Baking is truly a science and it’s best to follow the recipe. Enjoy!
Would this recipe work as cupcakes? Interested in trying for my daughters’ second birthday party.
Maybe…I also have these healthy vanilla cupcakes you may want to try.
These are amazing. Thank you. We have just made our 2nd batch.
Our basic hand immersion blender worked just fine with the pre-soaked chopped up dates, even though I was doubtful.
Finally, this gives me a way to sneak beans into my partner’s diet.
Now, I’m off to search for a healthy ice-cream recipe.
Oh, and you’re so right about waiting until they are completely cooled. Didn’t think they would harden up, but they did beautifully.
Brilliant Recipe!
So happy the immersion blender worked and glad you loved the brownies!