EASY BLACK BEAN BROWNIES (VEGAN + GLUTEN FREE)
Yep, there are black beans in these brownies! But you’d probably never know it unless you made them yourself. A truly decadent and healthy treat!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Makes 12 Brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: blend, bake
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 heaping cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons coconut* or neutral-flavored oil (or applesauce)
- 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons flaxseed meal + 5 tablespoons water)
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
- 12 teaspoons natural peanut butter or almond butter (divided), chilled
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your muffin tin by lightly greasing it with oil. Use muffin liners if you prefer.
Flax egg: In a small bowl, combine the flax-seed meal and water, mixing well. Place in the refrigerator for 5 – 7 minutes to set. When ready, it should be thick and goupy.
Blend: In a food processor or blender, add black beans, flax eggs, cocoa powder, maple syrup, oil, baking powder, and vanilla. Blend until creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. The batter should be about the consistency of pudding, not too thick, not too thin. Mix in chocolate chips.
Fill muffin tin: Fill each cup about 1/4 – 1/3 full. Use any remaining batter to make sure all tins are equally filled. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled nut butter in the center of each cup. Using a toothpick, chopstick, or something pointy, swirl the nut butter into the chocolate.
Bake: Place in oven on middle rack and bake for 22 – 25 minutes. Let cool about 15 – 20 minutes. Using a butter knife, gently guide the knife around the outside of the muffin making sure it is away from the pan. Gently nudge under each brownie with the knife and lift it, removing it from the tin.
Makes 12 brownie cups
Store: Leftovers can be stored in a covered container for 4 days.
Notes
Oil-free: Use plain unsweetened applesauce in place of oil.
Nut-Free: In place of nut butter, use sunflower or cashew butter.
I found the nut butter does best when chilled before baking, otherwise, it’s very runny when trying to mix with the batter and won’t look as good once baked.
You can use 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup of your favorite healthier sugar. The first batch I tried this way and it was slightly drier but not by much.
You may like to opt-out of using the nut butter swirl and adding in 1/2 cup or so of fresh/frozen blueberries, raspberries or blackberries.
*If using coconut oil, be sure it’s in liquid form. Make sure maple syrup is at room temperature or it will harden the coconut oil with its coolness.
If you don’t have flaxseeds or flaxseed meal on hand, try using 3/4 of mashed banana. You can also try using a chia seed egg. Mix 2 tablespoon chia seeds + 6 tablespoons water in a small bowl, set aside for 7 – 10 minutes to thicken.