Mix up these Black Bean Brownies with extra nutrients from black beans. They are just sweet enough, bake in about 10 minutes, and are so yummy to share with the kids!
I’m all about easy, yummy recipes with extra nutrition, and these brownie bites totally fill the bill. I’ve made them a few times recently with my girls and they love pressing the button on the food processor and covering the kitchen with sprinkles.
They think it’s so interesting that we can add beans to brownies and can’t really taste them. Though full disclosure: My girls love black beans in almost any form, so they may be predisposed to loving these!
You can use canned beans or beans that you’ve cooked from scratch. When mixed with a few other pantry staples, you get an easy dessert or snack that stores so well.
I am partial to storing healthy brownies in the fridge so they are super-duper cold. And I like to use a mini muffin pan, rather than a baking pan, to make bite-size brownies. They’re fun and bake up quickly.
(You may also like Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, No-Bake Snacks, Baby Cookies, and Salmon Bites.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
To make this easy black bean brownie recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients on hand. Most can be stored in the pantry so you can keep them on hand to make this whenever the mood strikes.
- Coconut oil: I usually use coconut oil (refined or unrefined both work) and it’s an easy dairy-free option, or you can use melted unsalted butter.
- Chocolate chips: I use semi-sweet, but dark chocolate chips would also work. Having these in the mix helps to balance the black bean flavor.
- Maple syrup: Pure maple syrup is my sweetener of choice in this recipe, though you can also trade in honey if you prefer for kids over age 1 or agave nectar.
- Vanilla extract: This adds flavor and balances out the cocoa powder for that classic brownie flavor you expect.
- Black beans: If you use canned black beans, rinse and drain them before adding them to the recipe. This will remove the liquid from the can (which sometimes includes salt.)
- Cocoa powder: I typically use Hershey’s Special Dark or SACO brand cocoa powder as I like their flavor.
- Baking powder: A little baking powder helps the brownie recipe rise just enough.
- Whole wheat flour
TIP: To make these gluten-free, use cup for cup gluten-free flour. If you can’t find flour, you can use oat flour.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the simple process involved in making these black bean brownies so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Melt the oil and chocolate together.
- Add with the rest of the ingredients, except the flour, to a food processor.
- Grind to blend well. Pulse in the flour.
- Divide into a 24-cup mini muffin tin lined with paper liners. Bake!
TIP: Sprinkles are optional but my kids love them!
What’s the texture of these healthy brownies like?
These are fudgy and moist rather than cakey. They hold together well even though they don’t have eggs! (And no, you totally can’t taste the beans.)
We love them so much when served cold straight out of the fridge.
How to Store
I like to store these black bean brownies in the fridge and we prefer to eat them cold. Store in an airtight container or bag in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Let cool fully first. To thaw, place in the fridge overnight or thaw at room temperature.
Best Tips for Success
- These black bean brownies are not crazy sweet, so stir in an extra ¼ cup chocolate chips before baking if desired.
- Sprinkles are optional but recommended.
- To make these gluten-free, use cup for cup gluten-free flour.
- You can use canned black beans, just drain them and rinse them first, or beans that you cook at home from dry.
- The batter is fairly thick, so press it down a little when you portion out the batter into the muffin tin.
- Let cool fully before eating if you can.
Related Recipes
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Please comment below if you try the recipe, as I’d love to hear your feedback!
Black Bean Brownie Bites
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (or melted butter)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 14.5- ounce can black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 24-cup mini muffin tin with paper liners.
- Add the oil and chocolate chips to a heat-safe bowl. Warm in the microwave for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and stir together until the chocolate and oil are blended together.
- Add the chocolate-oil mixture to a food processor with the rest of the ingredients except the flour. Blend well.
- Pulse in the flour.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups, using a heaping tablespoon in each. Flatten a bit with a spoon and add sprinkles if desired.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until firm to the touch. Let cool fully before serving.
Video
Notes
- These are not crazy sweet, so stir in an extra ¼ cup chocolate chips before baking if desired. (We don’t typically do that and my kids like them just fine, but just to manage you own expectations about the sweetness level.)
- I like to store these in the fridge and we prefer to eat them cold.
- Store in an airtight container or bag in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- You can freeze in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Let cool fully first and to thaw, place into the fridge overnight or thaw at room temperature.
- Sprinkles are optional but recommended.
- Gluten-free: Use cup for cup gluten-free flour.
- To make without flour, you can grind rolled oats in a food processor or blender until it resembles a coarse meal.
- The batter is fairly thick, so press it down a little when you portion out the batter into the muffin tin.
- Let cool fully before eating if you can!
Nutrition
This post was first published April 2020.
These are insanely good! I thought the black bean taste was going to linger but it didn’t. I think this is my favorite recipe of yours.
Can I make them without lining the muffin tin? Would greasing suffice?
Sure!
Made this today, my 3 year-old loved them! (And so did my husband!)
Unbelievable! So delicious, moist, dense and chocolatey! My husband said it was the best dessert I ever made and did not want to know what was in them. 😂
Make sure your beans don’t have granulated onion in them! I made this mistake and they came out a bit bean-y.
Otherwise easy to make and texture was great!
Worth getting the food processor out for.
I made these yesterday, and they were a HUGE hit at my house! My (very picky) 5 year-old and 7 year-old liked them so much, I made two more batches today! These are great to send as a school snack, or to have on hand at home as an after school snack. I will be making them frequently in the future!
My family of 5 loved these brownie bites! You can’t even taste the beans which is a win (my 2.5 year old is so hard to feed nowadays). I used butter for the oil and subbed agave for honey/maple syrup, and added the extra suggested amount of chocolate chips. Everything turned out so tasty. I’m about to make another batch of these now.
Could this work in a blender instead of a food processor? I’m not sure mine is big enough.
If you pulse the mixture and stop and scrape down the sides a few times, I bet you can get it to work. The batter is thick, is the only reason I use a food processor (it’s just easier to move it around with a wider surface area on the bottom). Enjoy!
I saw in another recipe that you replaced the maple syrup with sugar and milk–is that an option with this recipe? Maple syrup is so expensive. Thanks!
Sure, use the same amount of sugar as the maple syrup and just 1 tbsp of milk. Enjoy!
These are so good!!! I used white Flour because I ran out of whole wheat.
They wouldn’t set for us! I think I’ve figured out why. Used regular flour instead of whole wheat flour, and I think whole wheat sucks up more moisture? Also, 118g of chocolate chips is more than half a cup! Half a cup was 78g. Our squidgy chocolate bean cups are pretty yummy and chocolatey haha.
Yes it is likely due to the flour difference.
These are awesome lol. They hit the brownie craving but have some fiber and protein. Haven’t tried them on my toddler yet but they’re good enough that even if she doesn’t want them I’ll gladly eat them all
Can I use my sourdough discard for this recipe? Since that has whole wheat flour in it.
I haven’t made them that way so I can’t say for sure.
How would you go about substituting cocoa powder for the chocolate chips?
I haven’t ever made them that way so I can’t say for sure, and I am not sure it’s easy to swap those two without other adjustments since the consistency is so different.