Black Bean Brownies Recipe
Black beans are not only a great source of fiber and protein, but they also supply kids with much needed iron and folate! Children ages 4-8 should be getting 200mcg of folate per day, and 1 cup of black beans provides 256mcg! We call these Black Bean Brownies “Dessert with benefits!” Not only is it dessert, but it comes with nutritional benefits as well.
Whether you homeschool, or send kids to school (or even if they aren’t old enough for school) kids like an after lunch treat. Heck, I like an afternoon treat! These black bean brownies make a great dessert for something a little sweet to finish off a healthy meal.
The reason I like these black bean brownies is you don’t have to puree the beans before adding them to the mix. Who wants to spend all that time in the kitchen anyway, right? I promise you, the beans blend right in with the rich chocolate taste of the brownies, that no one will be complaining.
One Tip: If you are using canned beans, make sure to rinse them thoroughly! Hot water is ideal. Get all the sodium rinsed off that you can!
For lunch, try a chicken salad (shredded chicken, strawberries, chopped pecans, and salad greens), some rolled up flat bread, and a mini, bite sized brownie.
Black Bean Brownies Recipe:
- 1 15 ounce can of black beans, or 1 1/2 cups pre cooked black beans.
- 1/2 cup cocoa (100%)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Rinse beans! Mix all ingredients together. Pour into an 8X8 inch greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
( a few notes- we don’t mash the beans, but using an electric mixer till he batter is well mixed, breaks them down quite a bit.)
Also, these aren’t very sweet! If your kids are used to traditional brownies, they may not love these. However, if you can keep them off of sweets for awhile, and THEN offer them, they’ll love ’em 🙂
* this recipe was adapted from one of my very favorite cookbooks, The Real Food Diet Cookbook (tons of great recipes)
** For the decorative brownie bites, I used a little writing icing from the baking aisle at the grocery store. You could also whip up some of your own royal icing as well!
Why should cocoa be a part of a healthy diet?
Cocoa powder
Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup black beans, canned
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large egg
- 1/2 cup flour, all-purpose
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rinse beans! Mix all ingredients together. Pour into an 8X8 inch greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
- ( a few notes- we don’t mash the beans, but using an electric mixer till he batter is well mixed, breaks them down quite a bit.)
- These brownies are not sweet. If you prefer a sweeter treat, add royal icing to the top. (or peanut butter is good also!)
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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Can you use an oil other than coconut? I don’t have that on hand. Tks!
Jill, any fat will do. My next choice would be canola oil… which is what I would use if I didn’t have coconut oil. Coconut Oil is so expensive!
Looks great! Just wondering what the little white specks are in side the brownie–nuts?
Also, could apple sauce replace any of the oil?
Love this site!
The white specs are the black beans, Elizabeth. If you want to reduce the fat in a baked good, I think a better substitute for oil than applesauce is a bean puree. Applesauce tends to make foods cakier. There was a study done by the American Dietetic association that showed substituting bean puree for fat in brownies made no difference in the texture of the final product. I wrote about it here: http://blog.superhealthykids.com/2010/05/bean-week/
However, coconut oil has been shown to be beneficial to health, so don’t discount it all the way!
I always thought chocolate was bad for a cough. Hearing that cocoa is good for a cough makes me wonder if maybe the sugar in chocolate is bad or it’s just a myth.
Ah Good point!! I bet the sugar is much worse than the cocoa!
Can you do a post on coconut oil? I’ve noticed that you use it in many of your recipes. However, I read that numerous governmental agencies and medical organizations recommend against the consumption of significant amounts of coconut oil due to the high saturated fat content. Is this true?
I love your site, btw 🙂
Just my 2 cents: I switched to using only coconut oil. That is the only change I’ve made to my diet excersice, and I’ve lost 2 pant sizes in the past year.
I’m totally on the coconut oil train!
And it’s becoming less expensive.
I actually don’t believe coconut oil is a better fat than others, and I’ve never found any solid evidence that indicates it’s superior (although loads of coconut oil advocates love to send me their literature.
But, I do believe that not all saturated fat is created equal (and some studies indicate saturated fat doesn’t have the harmful effects on coronary artery disease we once believed) http://www.ajcn.org/content/80/5/1102.full and http://www.willner.com/content/561_A.pdf
However, research or not, I’m more in favor of the least adulterated fat we can find.. Hydrogenated fats should be out of our diet. Fats that have not been altered by modern science and methods should be included in moderate amounts. (Also out are fats from animals that are full of chemicals, hormones, or toxins).
Absolutely delightful! I have made something similar before and it is so tempting to nibble on the mini cakes rather than let your children have them in their lunchbox because they are really tasty. I replace the sprinklers with a single jelly tot, the family loves jelly tots.
what is the nutritional content??
[…] Lunch Time Dessert: Baby Black Bean Brownies Whether you homeschool, or send kids to school (or even if they aren’t old enough for school) kids like an after lunch treat. Heck, I like an afternoon treat! These black bean brownies make a great dessert for something a little sweet to finish off a healthy meal. […]
Hi, I am a big fan of your blog and have made several of your recipes and loved them. I am always looking for healthy recipes, especially when baking, so I was really excited to try these! They turned out, but were a little dry, and not the usual moist texture I prefer. I baked them in a 350 degree gas oven and took them out 5 minutes earlier than the recommended 40 minutes. Did your brownies produce the same texture? Thanks!
I should have some sort of disclaimer that I cook at a high altitude. Where do you live? If you are not at a high altitude, you could try a little extra liquid, or a little less flour (although there is not much flour in those to begin with. The texture of mine wasn’t dry, but it was definitely more dense than regular brownies. Also, other adjustments could be to decrease your temp by 20 degrees. If you try them again, let me know if they were less dry!
I made these for my 4 year old. Unfortunately he was excited took a bite and spit it out. Yes the beans aren’t bad but having that texture takes a little to get past. I really enjoyed the batter very tasty. Beans not so much.
We puree our beans first… the kids never seem to notice. If it’s a texture issue, that might help. 🙂
[…] creating this recipe: I loved Amanda’s almond flour brownies baked in cast iron. Amy made Baby Black Bean Brownies at Super Healthy Kids. Rachael, aka Fuji Mama, made dark chocolate buckwheat brownies. A Dash of […]
We have discovered Greek yogurt can be a nice frosting alternative.
I’m an experienced baker and recently i have been looking for healthier, yet delicious recipes. I came across this recipe a couple days ago and tried it today- making a few small changes. I partially mashed the washed beans in a bowl before adding the rest of the ingredients. Also i didn’t have oil so i subbed melted butter.
The texture was wonderful. I topped the warm brownies with 2 oz. melted semisweet chocolate, with a few drops of orange extract stirred in. The orange- chocolate icing improves the overall taste of the brownies. Great recipe. Will definalely make again. Thanks for a wonderful healthy recipe!
Also i should mention that ii only baked my brownies for about 25 minutes. 45 minutes would have ruined them!
I have made this before and love them! I was wondering if I puréed the brownies, whether I need to add/subtract the amount of other ingredients or it does not make a difference? Thanks
The beans*
Liz, I haven’t made these enough to experiment with the recipe. But if you make edits to it, I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Could avocado be substituted for the oil? I’ve heard of it used in some Bean Brownie recipes.
I don’t know Heather! But we’d love for you to try it and let us know!!
I dont use any kind of flour at all when I make black bean brownies.
I find this recipe delicious and wanted to share with you!
15oz. Black beans drained and rinsed
3 large eggs
3T canola oil
¾ cup sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 t vanilla
½ t baking powder
Pinch salt
½ semi sweet mini chocolate chips
Blend in food processor beans first then the rest! Bake in greased 8X8 pan 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
Hmmm? I was so excited to see this recipe! As vegetarians, it’s a nice protein dessert snack for the kids. But I’ll definitely have to make some changes next time. I’d puree the beans, as the texture of the whole beans is quite strange in a brownie. Also, I’ll double up the batter portion. It barely covered the bottom of my 9×13 pan. I only cooked it for 25 minutes at 350, which was just about right. Could’ve used an extra 5 minutes, maybe. But definitely not 40 minutes! They would’ve been burnt for sure! I’ll try again next time and see how it goes. Tempted to throw out the batch, but it’s such a waste of all that good cocoa!
Uh Oh! did you see it was supposed to be an 8X8 pan?
I just made some of these. They were AMAZING!! They were nice and moist as well. Thank you so much for so much for coming up with a healthy treat! Next batch I make I am going to add some nuts and very lil dark chocolate chips.
Also, would I be able to nock out the honey and use stevia? I’m thinking no but thought I’d try. I’m not sure how this would taste but I know when using flour you can substitute 1/2 cup of flour for wheat germ. Wonder how that would taste in stead of using the flour…? Hmm
I just made some of these. They were AMAZING!! They were nice and moist as well. Thank you so much for so much for coming up with a healthy treat! Next batch I make I am going to add some nuts and very lil dark chocolate chips.
Also, would I be able to nock out the honey and use stevia? I’m thinking no but thought I’d try. I’m not sure how this would taste but I know when using flour you can substitute 1/2 cup of flour for wheat germ. Wonder how that would taste in stead of using the flour…? Hmm
Don’t use Canola! It’s almost guaranteed to be GMO
Thank you for sharing I love these and so do my grand kids. I’ve tried these with a protein powder instead of flour for a Gluten Free option. Just wondering what you used for a frosting?
http://www.healthyconnection247.com/1/post/2014/02/healthy-black-bean-brownies.html
I have a very similar recipe, but instead of the oil I use no sugar added applsauce and my recipe doesn’t have any flour in it. Totally LOVE black bean brownies and no difference using the applesauce versus oil (except for saving me from some artery clogging fat).
can I use dark chocolate coca? thats all I have on hand…
You can try it Angelica- I’m not sure how it will taste, but probably pretty good!
Liz- I just used a powdered sugar and milk mixture.
Amy: would you recommend another 1/2c of sugar if I wanted to forge the icing?
No, I wouldn’t add more sugar.
HI,
could you tell me how many servings this yields and what the serving size is?
thank you!
@jennifer- it would just depend on how small you cut your pieces. The entire recipe fits in an 8X8 pan, and we generally cut ours into 12 pieces- fairly small.
Coconut can be expensive,yes but you can purchase a large jar of it at Costco for under 20 dollars. That’s where I get it and it’s organic unrefined coconut oil which can be used for SO many things.
I’m substituting the flour with brown rice flour.
Hello, has anybody tried to use a substitute for the eggs? maybe banana?
We omit all wet ingredients (except honey) and only use beans and water. Just rinse the beans , return them to the can and then fill with water. That has worked very well for us.
Amy, can you sub the honey for maple? does the flavor change much?
Does pureeing or crushing the black beans in any way diminish their nutritional value? As I’m at sea level, would adding some ground flax help with the altitude issue? Do you think it would taste alright or would you recommend I stick with flour?
I’m excited to try these! We have a standard go-to chocolate zucchini cake for all our birthday cakes (a recipe handed down by my late grandmother), but Brownies would be a nice change. Thanks! xx a
@Mackenzie! Yes, I started buying ours at Costco as well.
@Donielle- Interesting. I haven’t cooked much with rice flour, but in this one, I think it would be an easy substitution.
@sandra- I haven’t tried that. Can you not eat eggs?
@Shirley- haven’t tried that either, mostly cause I’m too cheap and maple syrup in Utah is outrageous. Wish I lived in the northeast 😉
@meredith- If anything, crushing them makes the nutrients MORE available to you. I use ground flax in place of flour a lot- I don’t notice much difference in a recipe that doesn’t need to rise.
@angela- I also like chocolate zucchini cake!
My son it allergic to eggs, milk, and tree nuts. What could I substitute eggs for?
I believe you can use Flax seed in place of eggs. Not sure exactly how that works. I think you add out to your liquids of your using it for baking. But I would look it up
@laceyfarrar I recently made muffins and substituted 1 mashed banana for the 2 eggs called for in the recipe and it turned out great!
Hi, can’t say I have really seen or heard of black beans here in OZ, do you have a suggestion for blackbean replacement?
Hi, can I use black bean powder instead ?
Hi, my son has the same allergies (but all nuts, not just tree nuts). He is 20 months old. How old is your son?
Do you have any good recipes you could share with me? I make banana bread, and some cakes with out eggs or dairy that I can pass on if interested.
Thanks
Shantal
You can use chia seeds as an egg replacement too. You grind them like you would with flax seeds. Just soak a tblsp of ground chia seeds in 3 tblsp of water for about 5 minutes (till they get fairly goopy) to replace 1 egg
Please note that “Canola Oil” is not nearly as good as coconut oil. It only means Canada Oil” has nothing to do with “goodness”. Coconut Oil jus available at Walmart and quite reasonable. All the other oils are very expensive too.
Made these yesterday and love them. The kids not-so-much but they don’t usually eat brownies anyway, so may be a texture thing. So I guess these will just have to be my little snack when I have that sweet craving. Super delish!
@rebecca, some call them Black Turtle beans. Have you seen those?
@ginn- I’ve never heard of black bean powder!
@Tamara- sometimes it’s nice : ) you don’t have to share. lol
hi there 🙂
these looked and sounded DELICIOUS so i tried them.
the one thing i find that is missing from this recipe (or at least a step that i will do next time) is you need to soak the beens over night, not just rinse, the beens came out really hard with just rinsing other than that it’s delicious!
will definitely try this recipe again with the soaking 🙂
other than t
Hi, lovely cake very yummy I used light olive oil instead of coconut and also added 30g of shopped orange flavoured buttons on top of the spread cake. Love the cake as it s low in carb would like to see more low carb recipes as I have a little 4y old Type 1 diabetic at home and we do like baking.
thank you soooo much great healthy treats!
i meant uncooked beans
@yael, this recipe calls for cooked beans. So you definitely have to soak and cook them first or they will be very hard!
These turned out great. I cut the flour down to 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour and pureed the whole mix until it was smooth. Baked at 350 for 30 min and topped with dark chocolate icing.
hello from Switzerland!
would anybody have european measures for me?
how many grams of which?
can’t wait to make them!
thank you in advance!
Do you think these will freeze? I do that with my chocolate beetroot cake – cook in slice pan and freeze for snacks and this might be another option….. And for other Australians, yes, canned black beans hard to find! I have been Googling tonight and an Americans living in Oz forum tells me to try health food stores or Asian food stores, where it is possible to find them. I dont think you can sub really.
I would think it would Kate- let us know if you try it!
Wished I read the comments before baking. 40 minutes was way too long and ruined my batch. 25 minutes would have worked. Otherwise a great recipe!
You can actually make them even simpler. We use a gluten free mix and a can of black beans. That’s it. I rinse the beans and the can well, return the beans to the can and fill with water. Blend the mix, the beans and the water and pour in a pan. That’s it. We’ve tried it with homemade recipes and omited all of the wet ingredients (except the honey… needed a little sweetness) and that also worked out great. And it was great for my grandma who is watching her cholesterol… no eggs or oil.
That’s awesome Brittany!
What is the nutritional information for this recipe? My 3 year old daughter has Type 1 diabetes and this looks like a great treat for her. Thanks in advance!
Hi Stephanie, I haven’t analyzed this one yet, but you can do it at http://nutritiondata.self.com/
I made these gluten free by using brown rice flower. I also sprinkled with mini chocolate chips (instead of the icing) and they turned out great! The flavor gets better after they cook completely.
Way better than I expected. My 4 yo and 7 yo loves them. I added chocolate chips and they were perfect.
Let them cool all the way and we added chocolate chips and YUM!
What frosting did u use
Hi Rita! We used just a basic glaze… any buttercream or glaze frosting will work well.
I love this recipe! Thank you! Just one question, what about honey? I’ve heard it’s toxic if you cook it. Is there any other ingredient we can use instead?
Hi Carla, thanks for reaching out. There’s simply no evidence that honey is toxic when cooked. Feel free to use it in this and any other recipe! If you prefer to use another sweetener, you can try pure maple syrup.