Black Bean Brownies

Black. Bean. Brownies. Say what? When I first heard of black bean brownies, my first thought was “Eww, there is no way those would taste good!”  After hearing from friends who said black bean brownies taste very similar to regular brownies, I decided why not give it a try; if it involves chocolate, it has to be good, right?

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I first made black bean brownies for my family for Super Bowl Sunday. I wanted to experiment to see if they liked them without telling them what the brownies were truly made of. After everyone had eaten their fair share of the brownies, I asked if anyone noticed a difference in the brownies. They said they did notice that they seemed a little different than “normal” boxed brownies but could not figure out what it was. After telling them the brownies main ingredient was beans, they were flabbergasted! 😉

What I love about these brownies are they are high in fiber and protein, and low in sugar. They are also free of gluten, eggs, soy, nuts and dairy! They make a guiltless dessert or a tasty afternoon snack.

One thing I like about this recipe is it is easily adaptable to what you have on hand. Instead of using sugar, you can use honey, pure maple syrup, or agave to sweeten. A quarter cup of oil is needed to keep the brownies moist. I used avocado oil because that is what I currently had on hand. If you want to make a lower fat version of brownies, replace the oil with equal parts of unsweetened applesauce. You can use sweetened applesauce as well but I like to limit added sugars so I always buy unsweetened.

To keep these brownies free of harmful ingredients, choose baking powder that is aluminum free. I recently learned that many baking powder products contain aluminum (sodium aluminum sulfate). Aluminum is a neurotoxin that has been linked to Alzheimer’s and dementia. The picture below shows the products I used including the baking powder. I used Rumford Baking Powder, Aluminum-Free.

Another tip to avoid potential harmful ingredients is using pure vanilla extract versus imitation vanilla extract. Imitation vanilla has chemical preservatives such as potassium sorbate as well as caramel color, and can also contain added sugars. Potassium sorbate is a preservative that prevents mold growth. Caramel color can be made naturally by heating up sugars to create a brown color or it can be made using sulfites. These artificial preservatives can potentially cause hypersensitivity, allergies, and other adverse health problems. I recommend choosing a vanilla extract where the ingredients only include: extractives of vanilla bean and alcohol (natural preservative). I have used McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract as well as Simple Truth Vanilla Extract from Kroger. Make sure to choose vanilla extract instead of vanilla flavor. Beware, pure vanilla extract is not cheap. A little goes a long way so it will be a good investment!

For the chocolate, choose organic cocoa powder. Organic will ensure that the cocoa is free of toxic chemicals.  You want to choose cocoa powder that only has the ingredient (organic) cacao powder in the ingredient list.  For the chocolate chips in the recipe, I like to use dark chocolate chips because of the higher antioxidant levels. My favorite dark chocolate chips are Enjoy Life brand as they are lower in sugar and are free of dairy. Most chocolate chip brands have 7-9 grams of sugar per serving. Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips contain only 5 grams of sugar per serving. A win win!

If you need the brownies to be gluten-free, make sure to purchase rolled oats that are gluten-free. Oats are naturally gluten-free but some oats are manufactured in a facility that contains gluten. I also recommend buying organic rolled oats as well. The recipe below uses rolled oats that are mixed into the batter. The food processor does chop down the oats some when all the ingredients are mixed together but it does give the brownies a thicker texture. If you are wanting a smoother texture that resembles more like boxed brownies, I recommend using a food processor/blender to pulse blend the oats until they reach a flour consistency. Then you can use the oat flour in the recipe like normal.

How to Make

One of the reasons I love this recipe is because there is not a million steps to make the brownies. All the ingredients are put and mixed in one container. A food processor or blender is used to pulse and mix the batter. The blender I use is the Ninja Blender. Not only can the Ninja blend, it can also double as a food processor.

Once all the ingredients are measured and added to the blender/food processor, pulse/blend until well combined. I recommend using a spatula to clean the sides as you go until the mixture is well blended and is a creamy texture like a regular brownie batter. After the batter is mixed, spoon into a prepared (oiled) 8×8 pan and evenly distribute the batter, a spatula works great for this. Any toppings can be added on top for extra flavor before baking. I love chocolate chips so I sprinkle dark chocolate chips on top of the batter. Other options include adding fruit like strawberries or blueberries, or adding nuts like peanuts, walnuts, or pecans.

These black bean brownies do not take terribly long to bake, about 15-18 minutes. The brownies are ready when the batter is set and no longer jiggles, and the edges are crisp. Best when served warm and gooey. 🙂

Enjoy these high protein, high fiber, low sugar brownies!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6311025/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887233309003853

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