Black Bean Brownies
I was the co-leader for my daughters Brownie troop. And everyone knew, I was the one who ‘eats healthy’. It was my turn to bring snack in for the girls and it was obvious…Brownies!
Of course I couldn’t just bring in regular brownies, so I thought…’why don’t I give the girls a taste test and make 3 different kinds of healthy brownies’. I didn’t tell them what was inside until they’d already eaten them. I’ve learned that lesson with kids before!
I made brownies with spinach, brownies with zucchini and brownies with black beans. The overwhelming winner was the black bean brownie!
I made them at home again, and decided to bump down the sugar. That day my son had a friend over for a playdate, and when his dad came to pick him up I made him taste one. (I might make people taste things a lot…) He not only took a bite, but he took the whole brownie home and reported back to me that although he wasn’t a sweets person, he ate the whole thing! That’s success in my book.
These brownies are almost too good to be true. They take under an hour to make they are moist, rich, fudgy and they’re even Gluten free! And with a whole can of beans in them they are full of protein and fiber. I declare this recipe a winner, and so did my troop of 8 year old Brownies!
Make them…you won’t be sorry!
Black Bean Brownies
Yield: Makes 1 8×8 pan- You decide the serving size!
Ingredients:
1-15 oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
½ cup quick oats
½ cup dutch-processed cocoa powder
2/3 cup organic light cane sugar
1/3 cup refined coconut or vegetable oil
(*if you use coconut oil, make sure its refined, or your brownies will have an essence of coconut- which is actually pretty good, but only if you like coconut!)
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup chocolate chips
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350, and lightly oil an 8×8 glass pan.
In a food processor, combine all ingredients except for the chocolate chips. Blend until very smooth. This could take 3-5 minutes. Check the texture and scrape down the sides occasionally. The batter will be thick.
Stir in the chocolate chips, then pour out into a pan, smoothing the top of the mixture with a rubber spatula. The look of the top will not change much during baking, so make sure it looks presentable!
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean.
Let cool at least 10 minutes on a rack before cutting.
Enjoy your delicious and nourishing brownie!!
i made these delicious brownies for my very picky twin 17 year-old boys. They gobbled it all up and asked for more!! The only thing I did differently was to use honey, and only 1/3 cup as we try to limit sugar where possible. They were still plenty sweet and a hit with the boys because I could tell them they have a protein content! 🙂 Thanks so much for the wonderful recipes!!
That is so wonderful!! I love to hear about substitutions that work well. My mom eats a diet with less oil in it, so I have her to tell me when something works without oil. Please let me know if you try any other recipes. BTW isn’t it amazing that a can of beans can taste so great!!
Made them for my church snack today and sent a bunch of people to your website for the recipe–people loved them and I think we maybe converted some carnivores!
That’s fantastic!! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. And what’s even better is that you helped people discover that they can enjoy a healthier treat! Good stuff!