This recipe is for a wheat-free brownie made with a secret ingredient: black beans! In this particular recipe, the black bean’s flavor is completely indistinguishable. But, its nutritional benefits are there in full force, namely protein and fiber! So grab a blender or food processor and get to work!
Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies
Servings
12 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can black beans rinsed and drained
- ½ cup coconut oil melted
- ¼ cup strong brewed coffee or 1 shot espresso
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a 9×9 brownie pan and line with parchment paper.
- In a blender or food processor, combine black beans and coconut oil until very smooth.
- Add coffee, cocoa powder, sugar and eggs and mix to combine.
- Add apple sauce, salt, baking powder and mix to combine.
- Fold in half the chocolate chips, pour batter into pan, smooth top. Top batter with remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake about 20-30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the pan comes out clean
- These brownies are rich and decadent with a fudge-like texture. I’d love to hear from you if you make them at home. Hope you enjoy!
I REALLY ENJOY THESE! I baked them at 350 for 30 minutes in a 9×9 pan. The knife came out clean, but, when I cut into them they were wetter than I cared for. So, I just put them back in the oven that I’d already turned off and let them sit in there until the oven cooled. When I took them out and let them cool, they were still soggier than I preferred, so…. I inverted them and let the air get at the wet bottom and the sogginess disappeared! They were great! I also only used half a cup of chips and mixed those into the mix, none on top. They were sweet enough for me and I have a major sweet tooth.
I froze the few bits that were left over and today they were amazing frozen! Probably a little too good…ruining my food program! LOL!
I just made two more batches and I will freeze them for future. This time I omitted the chips completely! They are baking as I type! It is great because they are pareve, gluten free and the beans are an additional healthy boost!
I made mine in a Vitamix. I think the real key is getting them very smooth from the very beginning. Haven’t tried a food processor.
I have made other black bean recipes but this one definitely takes the cake!
I made these today. I let them bake 30 minutes. The knife came out clean. They were a bit soggy on the bottom, so I put them back in oven that was still warm, but turned off and let them stay in until the oven cooled. Then, after sitting on counter to cool, they were still a bit wetter than I preferred, so, i just inverted them to allow air to get to the bottom and the sogginess went away! They were delicious! I also cut back the chips to 1/2 cup that I mixed in and next time I’ll omit completely as they were sweet enough and I would like to minimize calories.
This was a very good option.
I mixed the batter in a vitamix. It got really smooth.
I’ve made other black bean brownies but these take the cake!
Thank you!
Hi! Yes — actually olive oil should work fine here! One thing I really like about coconut oil is the mild flavor, but olive oil should work too. Good luck and thanks for reading!
-MW.
Can you suggest a substitute for the coconut oil? I usually only have extra-virgin olive oil or mayonnaise in the house.
I love beans, too! Applesauce is a great addition to desserts to cut down on fat! Hope you enjoy if you make these at home, Rosie!
Yum! Sounds great. Thanks for letting me know, Robin! Enjoy!
These sound soo good. I know some Asian desserts use beans, and I love the health benefits of beans. I’m amazed this has applesauce, too!
Delicious! I replaced the coffee with a tsp of vanilla and added chopped walnuts too. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks for sharing and I’m thrilled you enjoyed them! Thanks for your comment. All the best…MW.
For me the bean flavor didn’t come through at all – just yummy chocolaty goodness! I did make sure to blend it REALLY smooth, really, really smooth. It was a bit too moist {not stiff like a traditional brownie} but on the whole a great recipe. I cut and served them warm, that was GREAT!
Hi Ariella,
Thanks for your comment. Chickpea flour is great! So happy you enjoyed the brownies!
All the best…MW.
I used 1 cup of chickpea flour instead of beans based on a previous comment. I also used canola oil instead of coconut oil. They came out nice and fudgy. I also mixed in all of the chocolate chips instead of putting some on top. The batter did not taste good, but once they are cool they taste great.
Hi Lorraine,
I’m happy you and your husband liked the recipe! Hope you keep on enjoy them! Thanks for your comment.
All the best…MW.
Sorry you didn’t like the recipe, Alice!
All the best…MW.
Hi there,
I made these pretty much as you wrote it. I do not like to use regular sugar so I used organic coconut sugar instead. This made the brownies just sweet enough! I did not read any of the other posts, so I lined my pyrex 8 inch square dish and baked them at 350 for 20 minutes. Usually, if I’m using pyrex I lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees for some reason I did not do that this time. Anyway, they were fabulous! Very fudge-like, not too sweet and, non-dairy! My husband and I have almost eaten the whole container, just a little left for after lunch!
I let the “brownies” cool – then tasted a corner. It still was not solidified, so covered it (to prevent top burning) and put it back into the oven for a bit more. Needs much more time in baking than recipe indicated. Husband did not care for it, so would not make it again. Sorry.
Hi Susan,
Thanks for your comment and for your take on the recipe. Chickpea flour is a great gluten free substitute!
All the best…MW.
Hi Ann, Sorry to hear your family didn’t care for the brownies!
All the best…MW.
I tested this recipe and read the previous comment first. So I did not want to wast good ingredients. I substituted chickpea flour instead of the black beans. made this vegan by using egg substitute and used less oil by half and just added more applesauce. This was a good non gluten recipe but I would not cut the oil, like I did, to make it low-fat. Leaving the 1/2 cup in would make it fudgier.
We found this recipe to be a disapointment. It look longer to bake than the recipe indicated and my family said that although it had a nice chocolate taste, the bean-taste came through. The cake must cool completely before cutting (oh well, no warm brownies). The vote of our household was not to bother, if you need gluten free there are better options.