Today is good. The sun is out and I just tested a brownie recipe that Kim suggested for our newsletter. It is healthy, is flour-free and is a source of protein. Can you guess the surprise ingredient? Black beans! No one would ever know unless you told them.

healthy brownies recipe with black beans

Thanks to Katie over at Chocolate Covered Katie for this inspiration. We have modified it a bit to suit our tastes. We would love to hear of your modifications in the comments below.

Black Bean Browniesclick here for printable version

Ingredients: 

  • 1 1/2 cups black beans
  • 2 Tbsp. cacao powder (option to use cocoa if you don’t have cacao)
  • 1 Tbsp. cinnamon (this is very optional – Shannon loves it, Kim loves it without)
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/8 – 1/4 tsp. salt (I use sea salt and 1/8 is plenty)
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1 tsp. vanilla powder (or 2tsp vanilla extract)
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips (plus a few more to sprinkle on top)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine all ingredients except chips in a good food processor, and blend until completely smooth. Make sure the mix is very blended.
  3. Stir in the chips.
  4. Pour into a greased 9×9 pan. (I use coconut oil)
  5. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top.
  6. Cook for 15-18 minutes.
  7. Let them cool 10 minutes before cutting (if possible).Makes 9-12 brownies, which is not enough in our house so I tripled the recipe.