These rich and super chocolatey vegan black bean brownies are so easy to make! You won’t want to eat just one and everyone will be shocked at the “secret” ingredient. Gluten free recipe, can be Top 8 Allergen Free!
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Whether you are gluten free or trying to get more healthy ingredients into your kids’ diet (or maybe your diet), you are going to love these vegan black bean brownies.
If you’ve read this far, you are at least intrigued by the thought that you can add a healthy ingredient to brownies and they still taste good. You know they taste good, because otherwise, we wouldn’t be posting the recipe.
I’ll also use this time to tell you that when I first had black bean brownies, I was super nervous.
I mean, who puts beans into brownies and still thinks they are going to taste good? I completely get it. So let me now take the time to tell you that you will be completely blown away.
The beans act as the flour in this allergy friendly brownie recipe and (promise) you can’t taste them at all.
It’s actually kind of crazy, right? Okay, let’s get into this recipe.
What ingredients do you need to make gluten free black bean brownies?
Obviously, you already know you need black beans, but this recipe needs just 10 total ingredients. It’s a really fast recipe and you are going to be shocked at how little you did to make delicious homemade vegan brownies.
The ingredients that you need are:
- black beans
- maple syrup
- coconut oil
- brown sugar
- vanilla
- baking powder
- cocoa powder
- salt
- unsweetened applesauce
- dairy free chocolate chips
How do you make vegan black bean brownies?
The first step is to drain and rinse your bean and dry them off. See below for how to do this if you aren’t sure.
Once your beans are dried, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8X8 pan.
In a food processor, add your beans, coconut oil, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Blend well. Then, add in the cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla and salt. Blend again.
Next, remove the center of the food processor and add the applesauce. Stir to combine. Fold in three-fourths of the chocolate chips (reserve ¼ cup).
Pour the brownie mixture into the greased pean. Top with the rest of the chips. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let sit for 15 minutes before cutting.
How do you dry black beans?
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.
Can I make this a Top 8 Free brownie recipe?
Since we are replacing the flour with the black beans in this gluten free, vegan brownie recipe we’ve already skipped one of the main allergens many have. It’s also already dairy free and egg free since all of our recipes are vegan.
The only ingredients that we would be concerned with for a Top 8 allergy free brownie recipe would be the coconut oil and the chocolate chips.
You can replace the coconut oil, with dairy free, soy free butter. We like Earth Balance soy free, in the red tub, for our recipes.
Lastly, ensure that you are using Top 8 safe chocolate chips. We are already using dairy free, but some dairy free chips contain soy. We like Enjoy Life for our recipes.
Can I prep this recipe ahead of time?
These vegan black bean brownies are good for up to 7 days, so you can prep them ahead at least that many days in advance if you are going to eat them all before the time is up.
Can I make a smaller amount of brownies?
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 dairy free 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:
- Dairy Free Apple Pie
- Layered Vegan Strawberry Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Easy Vegan Peach Cobbler
- Vegan M&M Rice Krispies
- Vegan Lemon Pound Cake
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
Pin these vegan black bean brownies for later:
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 can black beans, thoroughly dried*
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup coconut oil **
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cups dairy free chocolate chips **
Instructions
- Drain, rinse, and completely dry your beans.*
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8X8 pan.
- In a food processor or high speed blender, add beans, coconut oil, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Blend.
- Add in the cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla and salt. Blend again.
- Remove center of the food processor if using and add the applesauce. Stir to combine.
- Fold in ¾ cup of the chocolate chips (reserve ¼ cup).
- Pour the brownie mixture into the greased pan.
- Top with the rest of the chips.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let sit for 15 minutes before cutting.
- Cut into 16 brownies (or desired size).
Notes
Video
Nutrition
This post was originally published on 5/27/19 and updated on 4/15/20.
Tried this recipe tonight and the batter was so delicious! I couldn’t stop eating it, but when I baked them, they came out really soft and not brownie consistency at all. I don’t have an 8×8, so I used a 9×13 and thought that the larger pan would mean a shorter cook time, but I went the whole hour and still they were not done. I will try placing in the fridge as someone above mentioned, but any other advice on how to handle this next time? Higher temp or just longer cook time? Maybe less apple sauce (the batter seemed a bit liquid-y for brownies after adding the sauce in). Thanks foe the great recipe and your help!
The biggest reason this happens is the beans weren’t dried enough
Hi, I found this recipe really good. My only question is how much grams are the beans once they have been drained from the water? I leave in Europe so I don’t know how much grams are 2 cans beans without the water.
Thanks for the good recipe 🙏
Great question! Once drained, a can of beans weighs about 240–260 g, so you’d want 480-520g for 2 cans. Hope this clarifies and enjoy the recipe!
I underbaked them accidently but after a few hours in the fridge they were fudgy and delicious 😋 plus since they’re vegan I didn’t worry about food safety!
So happy to hear you loved the recipe. Thanks so much for taking time to leave a review, we appreciate that a lot. Have a great week!
I tired this and I wasn’t so sure about them personally. I thought it needed more sugar. My neighbors are usually my taste testers. I went over not realizing they had dinner guests. I arrived before dinner and asked them to try the brownies without telling them what it was made of and suggesting that it needed more sugar. They vehemently disagreed. Then I told them the brownies were made of beans. They were blown away. If offered for them to keep the pan. My neighbor started to decline as they often do. The guest immediately chimed in, “we’ll keep them!” Lol. They were a hit.
HAHA, it’s funny how everyone’s taste buds are different. We’re glad to hear they were a hit for the guests!
Great flavor! My son loved them. Thank you!
We’re so happy to hear that! Thanks so much for leaving a review, we really appreciate it!
These are the best brownies I’ve ever tasted ! I love the look people gave you when they love it and you tell them it’s made of beans ! Thank you for this !
HAHA, love that. Excited to hear you love the recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review, we appreciate that!
I made these and they came out great! You can’t taste the black beans at all!! Super rich and super yummy!!
Thank you so much for taking time to leave a review! We’re so excited you liked the brownies. Have a great day!
These look great! I want to make them! How large/what size of canned black beans do you use? Thanks!
15.5 oz cans