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Black Bean Brownies

Name: Black Bean Brownies
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 23 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Plant based
Ingredients: 2 15oz cans of black beans (preferably unsalted), rinsed and drained; 1 cup of oats; 5 tablespoons cacao powder; 1/2 cup maple syrup; 1/4 cup sugar; 1/2 cup olive oil; 1 tsp baking powder; 2 tsp pure vanilla extract; 1/4 cup chia seeds; 1/2 cup chocolate chips; 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Who would have thought that you can make some amazing brownies using a can of good ole black beans? Since I started making these black bean brownies I am absolutely obsessed. I’ve been slowly perfecting the most delicious version and I’m so excited to share this with you! These black bean brownies are so tasty, and they are super easy to make. Just toss all ingredients in a blender, that it. Promise me you won’t dis them until you try them. I bet you’ll be hooked and this will be your new go-to brownie recipe.

Black Beans in Dessert?

I know it’s a little hard to believe, but trust me. Black beans add a perfect texture to these brownies. The maple syrup, sugar, and cocoa powder camouflage any bean flavor. If you didn’t know the secret ingredient you would just think these were regular brownies. But we don’t want regular, we want delicious and protein packed as healthy as it gets for dessert brownies.

Here’s a deeper dive into the nutrition of black beans and why they are oh so good for you. According to the Mayo Clinic 1 cup of black beans contains 15 grams of protein and the following:

256 micrograms of folate or vitamin B9 (64% DV)
360 micrograms of copper (44% DV)
800 micrograms of manganese (35% DV)
400 micrograms of thiamine or vitamin B1 (33% DV)
120 milligrams of magnesium (28% DV)
3.6 milligrams of iron (20% DV)
241 milligrams of phosphorus (19% DV)
2 milligrams of zinc (17% DV)
611 milligrams of potassium (13% DV)

Wowza! There is not many foods that can check off that many nutrients. Besides being high in fiber, black beans also are high in antioxidants. Antioxidants are so important because they fight damage caused by free radicals. Basically antioxidants can reverse damage at a cellular level and keep our body functioning efficiently. Yes I want more of those!

The Musical Fruit

Beans certainly get a bad rap and many people avoid them because they are known to cause flatulence. But did you know that the more beans you eat the more your body becomes accustomed to processing beans and gas is a thing of the past? According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) 95% of Americans don’t get enough fiber. Your body needs fiber and when you regularly feed your body fiber, your body gets used to processing it. Literally things go a lot smoother. The recommended amount of fiber per day is 28 grams, 1 cup of black beans has about 15 grams of fiber or 53% of the daily recommendation.

NIH says “Fiber component of foods is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, certain gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, and metabolic dysfunctions, including prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, and colorectal, gastric, and breast cancers. Fiber also is associated with digestive benefits, such as increased stool bulk, decreased transit time, and fermentation by colonic microflora.”. In my opinion the benefits of eating a high fiber diet far out-weight the cons.

Gluten Free Delicious

These black bean brownies are not only high in protein and fiber but they are also, gluten free. Made with ground oats, this brownie recipe contains no wheat flour. Plus it’s dairy free and vegan. Basically this is the perfect dessert to make no matter whose coming over for dinner! Have a nut allergy? You can certainly leave out the walnuts or swap for a different nut that you tolerate better.

Cacao Vs. Cocoa

Time for food semantics! Cacao is the name of the plant, and unroasted (raw) beans are called cacao beans. Cacao powder is the raw beans finely ground into a powder. To make cocoa powder, cacao beans are roasted and then ground into a powder. Dutch processed cocoa powder, is processed using baking soda and greatly decreases the nutritional value of the cacao. You can use cocoa powder in this recipe, but I highly recommend using cacao powder. My favorite cacao powder is Navitas organic cacao powder, you can sometimes find it in a super size bag at Costco, but it’s readily available at Whole Foods or Royal River Natural Foods here in Maine. Great, now that we’ve cleared that all up we can move on to the secret ingredient!

How to Make Black Bean Brownies

These black bean brownies are a cinch to make. Only 5 steps, about 25 minutes and you’ll have a delicious dessert ready. To start preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 7×11 baking dish. I really like to use glass baking dishes. They are durable and withstands the test of time in my busy kitchen.

To grease the baking dish, I like to add about 1 tablespoon of butter to the baking dish. Then I pop it in the oven to melt the butter while the oven preheats. Once the butter is melted, pull the baking dish out of the oven and just rotate the dish to make sure the bottom is fully coated in butter. I like to try to get the butter to run partially up the sides of the dish as well so nothing sticks. If you don’t want to use butter, you can skip warming in the oven and just add some olive oil. If using olive oil, get in there with your hand to make sure the dish is well coated.

Next prepare the brownie batter. Add the drained black beans, oats, cacao powder, maple syrup, sugar, olive oil, baking powder, and homemade vanilla extract to a blender or food processor. Blend until everything is mixed and smooth, usually less than 1 minutes. You may need to scrape down the sides so everything gets incorporated. Next add the remaining ingredients: chia seeds, chocolate chips, and chopped walnuts. Mix these in by hand using a spatula. Then pour the batter into the greased baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Once you pull these out of the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes before eating. Waiting is the hardest part!