Black Bean Brownies

by The Meal Makeover Moms on July 10th, 2009

A few weeks ago, we posted a recipe for a Flourless Chocolate Cake made with garbanzo beans (AKA chickpeas). At the end of the post, we promised to create a brownie recipe using black beans – something we’ve been wanting to do for years now.

bean-brownies-in-pan

Lucky for us, after reading our post, Mindy, a mom of 8-year-old twins from the suburbs of Chicago, sent us her family’s favorite Black Bean Brownie recipe from All Recipes.com. Mindy told us her kids gobble them up and ask for seconds and thirds. “I don’t feel bad about my kids eating seconds of these brownies because I know they are getting fiber and protein in every bite.” That, plus the fact that Mindy’s sister-in-law is a pastry chef in Phoenix and makes theme all the time for her family, convinced us to give the recipe a try.

Mindy’s recipe called for a can of black beans, a small amount of vegetable oil, sugar, and half a cup of chocolate chips.  Given our inability to leave well enough alone, we tweaked the recipe a tiny bit and came up with brownies so good, you simply won’t believe they’re made with black beans (nor will your kids).

bean-brownie-up-close

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
Makes 16 Servings

  • One 15 ½-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed very well
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, optional
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 X 8-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Place the black beans in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth and creamy.  Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth.  Add ¼ cup of the chips and pulse a few times until the chips are broken up a bit.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.

4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 120 calories, 5g fat (1.5g saturated, 0.3g omega-3), 95mg sodium, 18g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 3g protein

A few things worth noting about this recipe:
> A recent University of Tennessee study found that draining and rinsing canned beans washes away 41% of the sodium.
> If you like nuts, you could add half a cup of walnuts or pecans, chopped.
> The original recipe called for topping the brownies with all the chips. We decided to add half to the batter and half on top.
> Also, the original didn’t call for any baking powder. We added ½ teaspoon per Mindy’s suggestion because the first time she made the recipe, the brownies came out flat.

leah-with-brownie-and-milk

Since Josh and Simon are still at sleep-away camp and Carolyn was at work when we tested the recipe, Leah became our lucky taste tester. Like Mindy’s kids she really loved the brownies.

If you have a black bean brownie recipe that you’d like to share — or any dessert recipe using beans, for that matter — feel free to post a comment.

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25 Comments | Filed Under Beans, Desserts 

25 Responses to “Black Bean Brownies”

  1. Renata on July 12th, 2009

    Oooh, I’m looking forward to trying this recipe (I need to get some cooler weather to use my oven again… and some beans). And I’ll have to tell my mother about it because she can’t have wheat.
    By the way, I often cook my beans from scratch (totally sodium free) and I use 1 3/4 cup instead of a can.
    Thanks ladies!

  2. Amy J on July 20th, 2009

    These brownies got mixed reviews at my house. My dad and I thought they were okay, but had a bit of a black bean flavor that made them a little odd. My mom and my husband didn’t like them at all (but he also doesn’t like dark chocolate, so…). However, my four-year-old LOVED them. She had great time helping me make them – especially getting to push the button to run the food processor ;) . I think the only part she enjoyed more was actually getting to eat the brownies – and I think she was personally responsible (over the course of several days) for polishing off at least half the pan. Final analysis: I don’t think I’d make these for adults, but definitely might make them again for my kid – I liked feeling like I was giving her a half-way healthy dessert ;) .

  3. Stacey Viera on July 24th, 2009

    I’ve had this one bookmarked for a while. The ‘black bean’ part of it is holding me back. So I had a question: can I add in 4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate and take out the cocoa powder? Is 4 oz. too much? I’d like to mask some of the bean flavor with some more chocolate if that would do the trick. Thanks for this recipe!

  4. The Meal Makeover Moms on July 24th, 2009

    Hi Stacey:
    The cocoa powder and the chips did the trick for us in terms of masking the bean flavor. The only change we made to the recipe since the original blog post was the addition of 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts. Simon (Liz’s 10-year old) described that version as “creamy.” We have a dietetic intern working with us for the next few weeks, and we were going to have her make this recipe again with 1/3 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract. We thought the peppermint/chocolate combo would be fun. We’re not sure what would happen if you took out the cocoa powder, but since it’s a dry ingredient, we hesitate to take it out (the beans add a lot of moisture). You could always toss in a few more chocolate chips too. Be sure to let us know how you decide to make the recipe!

  5. Katie on July 25th, 2009

    I LOVE THESE BROWNIES!!!!

    I am so grateful to have found this site! I think these brownies could endure a little more tweaking if someone was looking for the “boxed mixed taste” but then again, it wouldn’t be as good for you.

    You could easily make this vegan by taking out the egg and figuring how much of a flaxseed mix you’d need—or just egg replacer. You could take out the refined sugar and put in agave nectar, brown rice syrup, honey (it would change the taste, stevia too), natural cane sugar, xylitol, half splenda.

    I made these brownies this morning and added a little more vanilla, a little more cocoa powder (to make them darker, and resemble a standard brownie) and a little more sweetener after the sugar with a sucralose. I thought these were awesome!

    I’ve tried and tasted GF recipes in the past and it’s always frustrating to find one to make (when you know they are SO easy) that’s reliable without spending a fortune on a premade GF baking mix! THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE RECIPE!!!

    I am looking forward to trying others.

  6. Katie on July 25th, 2009

    Oh… and one more thing:

    I thought the texture was right on! (My husband said he thought they were a little grainy, but I’m not quite sure he’s basing his ideas on a boxed mix or actual homemade brownies.) Who can match Pillsbury, really?!

  7. Renata on July 25th, 2009

    We had a perfect baking day last weekend!

    My husband said he noticed the beans taste, but a friend and I couldn’t and we certainly didn’t mind the additional taste tests to make sure. My kids of course like it. I made two batches, one almost as your original recipe, and the other with chopped Andes Mints I had been given for my birthday (I used 20 mints, but that made more than the 1/2 cup I think). My favorite was the mint. I also used special dark cocoa so it was a lot darker than the ones in your picture. I was also out of Vanilla, so I used raspberry flavoring in the first batch (but I had a really weak flavoring so I couldn’t taste it). In the Andes version, I omitted the flavoring and I also accidentally added 4 eggs instead of 3, which make it more like a cake brownie, but still very good.

    I personally prefer chewy brownies, but unless there’s some gluten/flour in it, I’m not sure if it can be done. When I get some tapioca starch, I’ll try that (tapioca starch can give a nice chewy texture to some other baked goods). I’ll report back when I get back around to it.

    I still love it enough to make it my primary brownie recipe.

  8. Colleen on July 27th, 2009

    I just made these for my kids and myself…WOW! I was so pleasantly surprised! They are really good, especially with a little scoop of lowfat vanilla bean ice cream! I did keep the 1 tsp of instant coffee like the original recipe called for, just because I think it brings out chocolate flavor so well. Great recipe!

  9. The Meal Makeover Moms on July 30th, 2009

    It’s funny, this recipe does seem to appeal to kids even more than adults. Sometimes, adults have preconceived notions about what they will like (ie, not black beans in a brownie)! We’re still playing with the recipe and will keep you posted.

  10. The Meal Makeover Moms on July 30th, 2009

    Hi Katie:
    We agree about upping the cocoa powder to 1/2 cup and just edited the recipe to reflect this!

  11. The Meal Makeover Moms on July 30th, 2009

    We tested these brownies again yesterday and added 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, and upped the cocoa powder to 1/2 cup. This version is no longer gluten free but we like the texture better.

    Our kids all loved the new version. Josh’s 14 year old friend Erik tried it and said, “I don’t care if they’re made w/ black beans. If they are, I will eat black beans every day for the rest of my life.”

    Check out the photos on our Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mealmakeovermoms/sets/72157621769893395/

  12. Podcast 68: The Gluten-Free Diet & a Great Giveaway | Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen on August 18th, 2009

    [...] most of the show, however, we dished about two fabulous gluten-free recipes — Fudgy Black Bean Brownies (which we posted to the blog back in July) and Garden Minestrone Soup. We also talked about some of [...]

  13. Lisa on August 22nd, 2009

    These brownies were great! I will try adding 1/2 cup brown rice flour for texture next time instead of the 1/2 cup all purpose flour mentioned already. I will also try adding xanthum gum. Thanks for the recipe!

  14. Jennifer on September 7th, 2009

    I just made these brownies today and they are GREAT! Better yet, my daughter said exactly “these are soooo good, Mom.” Yea!!! I’ll never tell. =)

  15. Renata on September 18th, 2009

    Just an update:
    I have shared this recipe with so many people and get rave reviews of these brownies over and over again. I made them at my mother’s labor day weekend as she is gluten intolerant. Everyone loved them and asked for the recipe. I did finally try the tapioca flour, but it was slightly rubbery, not chewy. Everyone has been satisfied with it as is, so I’m going to leave it just like that. I still like them well enough :-)
    AND I just made these in a cooking and health class I’m doing with 6th-8th graders. When I asked them on a scale of 1 to 5, how they liked it. They said, “definitely a 5!”
    Everything you do is with excellence. I have never had a “miss” in anything I’ve tried. I have great joy and pleasure telling others about your resources.

  16. The Meal Makeover Moms on September 23rd, 2009

    Thanks for the update and the kind words Renata. We’re glad these brownies are a hit with you and your friends! Janice made brownies using a Trader Joe’s mix today and cut the butter in half and added a half cup of canned pumpkin to the mix. Yummy!

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  19. Carol Houseworth on January 10th, 2010

    I have delicious cake type of bean brownies recipe, but first I might like to submit to recipe contests. Do you know of any contests I might enter a bean brownies recipe in?

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  22. Maria Bodoh on January 22nd, 2010

    Simply superb. I tried this recipe and I think it is just fabulous. When I made it again, I had to make a few tweaks because my son is allergic to eggs. They still came out great, but I liked yours better. :-) You can see my version of the recipe at my blog, http://icantbelieveitsnotmeat.blogspot.com/2010/01/black-bean-brownies.html

  23. Penandra on February 5th, 2010

    Thank you so much for this recipe. I tried it last night. I rinsed and drained the black beans very well before processing them in my food processor. I added 1/2 cup flour (King Arthur), but I think next time I will try just 1/4 cup. The brownies are excellent. Obviously not the texture of “from a mix”, but if I wanted from a mix, I would have made a mix — it’s easier than measuring, etc. I will now have to explore online for other recipes with black means and garbanzo beans as ingredients.

    I will definitely make these (minus ALL flour) for fellowship after church as we have a couple of kids in our congregation that are gluten sensitive . . . I know their folks will welcome them having a dessert with no gluten!

  24. Michelle on February 12th, 2010

    My family loves these, especially my husband. I substitute agave syrup for the sugar and only sprinkle 1/4 cup of mini chips on top. I use quality cocoa and they taste a bit dark – might try them again with 1/3 cup cocoa. I like them best refrigerated. I puree the beans with the agave syrup for a good long time and don’t have any “grainy” issues. You should let family try them before telling them they have beans in them so they are not biased. I also make a blondie recipe using white beans instead of black, omit the cocoa and add a tsp. of pure maple flavoring and sprinkle heath bar bits on top and sometimes add 1/2 cup oatmeal to the batter that I’ve run through the food processor.

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