After years of always seeing recipes for black bean brownies floating around social media or the Internet, I finally decided to see what all the hype was about. Yes, I know… I’m a little late to the game. But when you think about it, it’s better that I tried them later, rather than never, right?!
Now in all fairness, I haven’t completely been living under a rock for the past few years since black bean brownies have become a trend. I’ve always wanted to try them, but with my restrictive eating disorder, I severely limited the types of foods I would put into my mouth. Therefore, eating brownies, or any dessert for that matter, was a big no-no in my mind.
Fast forward several years later to when I started my recovery journey, and I finally started allowing myself to eat sweets again. And thank goodness, because a life without chocolate or dessert is just no fun! Once I got to the point where I could confidently eat sweets without having panic attacks, I started experimenting with lots of new desserts… one of them being black bean brownies.
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting with these. I just couldn’t imagine how black beans could somehow find their way into a brownie and how people could actually enjoy eating them! But since they appeared to be pretty well-liked, I decided it was time to try them once and for all.
After looking at multiple different recipes on the Internet, I decided to combine a few of them and then make a few more tweaks based on my own likings. Once I had the ingredients all mixed up and ready to go, I put them into the oven and counted down until I would finally be able to test out the infamous black bean brownie.
As they were baking, the whole kitchen started to smell incredible. At one point, my mom walked in and even commented on how whatever I was baking “smells really delicious”. Now keep in mind, my parents had no idea what was going into these brownies. For all they knew, I was just making regular chocolate brownies. But boy, were they in for a surprise!
When it came time to test them out, I let my parents test them first. They immediately noticed that something was different: the texture. “These taste really fudgy – what did you put in them?” my mom asked me. Before telling her, though, I wanted to know her honest opinion – whether or not she actually liked them. After taking a few more bites of their brownies, both of my parents decided that they were really good! “Definitely not a traditional brownie, but they’re really tasty!” was the overall consensus.
After finally biting into one for myself, I could see why my parents like them. They were good! Extremely dense and fudgy, strong hints of cocoa, and just the perfect amount of sweetness. I never would’ve imagined that black beans in brownies could taste good, but boy, was I wrong.
I could tell that my parents were really anxious to know what they were eating, so I finally told them what was in the brownies. They weren’t surprised, given my nature of creating dishes and recipes with odd ingredients, but they told me they weren’t expecting that. After knowing what was in them, they had to try another one to see if they could taste the black beans.
To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t even taste the black beans. At all. Yes, they were more dense and chewy, and they had a bit of a different texture to them. However, the taste was right on-point! Personally, I like my brownies really dense, so I was a big fan of these! I’d definitely make them again, and my parents agreed that they would definitely eat them if I made them again. Ding ding ding, we have a winner!
Not only do the black beans contribute to the dense texture of these brownies, but they also provide a hefty amount of fiber and protein. And the only thing better than dessert is a dessert that tastes good AND is healthy for you! Do yourself a favor and try them out if you’ve never had black bean brownies. You might just surprise yourself by how much you like them!
- 1 (15-ounce) can reduced-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup natural nut butter (I used almond butter)
- ⅓ cup + 2 TBSP cocoa powder
- 1 TBSP brown sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. almond extract
- 1 tsp. instant espresso powder
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8" baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Add all ingredients (except chocolate chips) to a food processor or high-speed blender and pulse until smooth and completely mixed.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and pour into prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until top is slightly browned and brownies appear set.
