Black Bean Brownies
Black Bean Brownies
My social media feeds are a strange mix of recipe hacks, health tips, and gardening videos alongside pictures of squirrels in nesting boxes. Clearly, our social media algorithm overlords are onto me. Since I enjoy cooking and I’m not opposed to a little weirdness, I decided to give one of the recipes a go and share the results with you.
Using black beans in a dessert adds protein, is naturally gluten-free, and uses up a can of those beans you bought before a snowstorm a few years ago. (The can I used was expired, but I decided to roll the dice and use it anyway.)
I made a few tweaks:
Sweetener: I swapped honey for maple syrup, because I avoid cooking with raw honey. I also removed the refined sugar, and just bumped up the maple syrup a little bit. I did keep the dark chocolate chips (yes, they have sugar!).
Chocolate: I used cacao rather than cocoa powder. I’m not trying to be pretentious - cacao is widely available, and is just the minimally processed version, retaining more of its natural magnesium content. Half of us are already taking a magnesium supplement, so why not get a little from dessert?
If you’re on the fence about the recipe, here’s my version, plus my full review.
Black Bean Brownie Recipe:
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed with warm water (not sure why it should be warm - some recipes said this helped to make the whole thing mix up smoothly, and I didn’t want to risk a lumpy bean-brownie so I obliged)
1/3 cup melted/soft coconut oil or butter
Skimpy 1/3 cup maple syrup - I prefer the dark grades for baking
2 eggs
¼ cup cacao
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla, plus a little more for good measure
¼ cup, or more, dark chocolate chips - for sprinkling on top, or as a mix-in
Grease an 8×8” baking pan and preheat oven to 350 F, or 325 F if using convection.
Blend rinsed beans, oil/butter, maple syrup, eggs, cacao powder, salt, baking powder and vanilla in a food processor until smooth.
Stir in chips if mixing them in.
Pour into greased pan and sprinkle with chips; bake for around 20 minutes, until just set.
Cool, slice and enjoy.
Review
We loved them! I made these for our anniversary and my husband was a total good sport. We thought they had a wonderfully smooth, dense texture without being overly sweet or tasting like beans. This was especially true the next day, likely because the chocolate and vanilla flavors had more time to meld.
This isn’t your typical brownie, if that’s what you’re craving. However, it is a tasty, no-stress dessert that comes together in minutes with pantry staples.