These healthy vegan black bean brownies show that you can have a delicious vegan dessert while still being gluten-free, oil-free and refined sugar free!
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If you are looking for a delicious chocolate dessert, then you are going to love these healthy vegan black bean brownies.
We do have another gluten free black bean brownie; however, we were being asked for an even healthier version – specifically one that was oil free and free of refined sugar.
Still, our main goal was even though we wanted to provide you with a healthier chocolate dessert option; we didn’t want to sacrifice flavor or taste.
And yes, we know, can it really taste delicious? Yes, yes it can!
Why You’ll Love Healthy Vegan Black Bean Brownies
On Hand Ingredients
We always try as much as possible, to use ingredients that most people have in their pantry and this recipe is no exception.
This recipe only uses 10 ingredients and almost everything is one that most people have stocked in their pantry at all times if you do regular baking.
Easy Clean Up
All of the ingredients for this recipe go into a food processor to blend and then pour directly into a baking dish. That means less dishes for you in the end and an easy clean up process!
Great Taste
Through everything, what you’ll love most of all is that you can have a healthier delicious chocolate treat that still tastes great!
Healthy Vegan Black Bean Brownies Ingredients
Below are notes about the ingredients before we get into the full recipe located lower in this post on how to make this black bean brownie recipe:
The ingredients that you need are:
- black beans – black beans are acting as a source of flour for this recipe. The biggest thing to note when using beans is to make sure that you get them as dry as possible
- cocoa powder – we are using dutch processed cocoa for this recipe, but you can use any unsweetened cocoa that you have on hand
- almond butter – the nut butter acts as a binder for the recipe helping to hold everything together and give a delicious nutty taste to the recipe as well
- salt – salt helps to heighten and bring out the flavors of the dish
- oats – oats are also helping with the binding and keeping this recipe completely gluten free
- maple syrup and coconut sugar – we are using two different natural sugars in this recipe to help with the sweetness. The liquid and non-liquid versions helps to give the perfect balance of texture, as well as a delicious balance in sweetness
- vanilla – like salt, vanilla helps to only enhance the flavors of all the other ingredients
- baking powder – this helps with the rising of the brownies with the rest of the ingredients
- dairy free chocolate chips – who doesn’t love more chocolate and we love adding chips for a bit of a difference in texture as well
Substitutions and Variations:
- black beans – we do not recommend you swap the black bean with other beans
- almond butter – other nut butters or sunbutter can be used to replace almond butter in this recipe. Note that the difference in taste can affect the ending taste of the recipe. You can make your own nut butter easily as well!
- oats – you could swap with almond flour, but you will need to measure by weight
- sugar – maple syrup can be replaced with agave or date syrup. Coconut sugar could be replaced with brown sugar.
- nuts– if you love nuts in your recipe, feel free to chop some up and add them to your recipe
Step by Step Instructions:
Into a food processor, you want to pour all your ingredients except your non-dairy chocolate chips. Then process until smooth, uniform consistency is obtained.
Then, remove the center blade for your food processor and fold in the chocolate chips. Stir together and then add your mixture to a parchment lined 8×8 baking dish and spread into an even layer.
Then bake until set. Remove and let cool.
Frequently Asked Questions:
These healthy vegan black bean brownies are good for up to 7 days, so you can prep them ahead at least that many days in advance.
One of the most important steps is that you dry your black beans. You can do this by placing them on a baking sheet and putting them in a 300 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or so until all the moisture is absorbed.
You could also leave them on a towel to dry out. This method take about 30-60 minutes. You could speed this method up by rolling them around in the towel yourself.
You’ll want to use sun butter instead of a nut butter. Additionally, use a non-dairy chocolate chip like Enjoy Life that is Top 8 Free.
Instead of the full recipe, you can cut it in half and instead of greasing an 8X8 pan, grease a standard bread loaf pan. Proceed to make the recipe as instructed. They will be the same thickness.
What other gluten free vegan dessert recipes should I try?
Obviously once you try this and realize how delicious vegan desserts can be, you’ll want to try more. Here are some amazing dairy free dessert recipes that you should try:
- Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten Free Vegan Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Most of our vegan cake recipes can also be made gluten free with a gluten free one-to-one flour blend.
Pin these healthy vegan black bean brownies for later!
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients
- 15 oz can black beans, drained, rinsed and thoroughly dried* (425g)
- ½ cup almond butter (125g)
- ½ cup rolled oats (45g)
- ⅓ cup maple syrup (105g)
- 2 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoon dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup dairy free chocolate chips (125g)
Instructions
- Drain, rinse, and completely dry your beans.* Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8X8 pan.
- In a food processor, add all your ingredients except chips and process until a smooth consistency. Remove center of the food processor and add in chips. Stir. Pour the brownie mixture into the greased pan.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let sit for 15 minutes before cutting. Cut into 16 brownies (or desired size).
I used dates/date sugar instead of coconut sugar because that is what I cook with. they were really goooood! I will definitely make again.
Yay!