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Black Bean Brownies

ByKristen Wood Last updated

4.96 from 48 votes

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These rich and fudgy black bean brownies prove you don’t need flour to make an incredible treat! They’re vegan, gluten-free, surprisingly moist, and full of deep chocolate flavor. One bite and it’s hard to believe they’re made with beans. They really are some of the best brownies you can make.

A stack of chocolate black bean brownies topped with chocolate chips sits on parchment paper, with extra chocolate chips scattered around on a light surface.
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5-Stars From Our Readers

“I am honestly shocked at how good these are. I don’t even like black beans but my husband wanted to try these and they are delicious. You can’t taste the beans at all!”
— Stephanie

Four chocolate brownies with chocolate chips on top, arranged on a piece of parchment paper—these rich black bean brownies are both decadent and wholesome.

A Note From Kristen

I developed these black bean brownies when I wanted a healthier option that didn’t rely on flour, and they quickly became a staple in my kitchen! They use simple vegan and gluten free ingredients like black beans, avocado oil, rolled oats, and coconut sugar, and they bake into brownies with a deep chocolate flavor and a moist, chewy texture. You would never guess they’re made with beans, and I love that they offer plenty of protein and fiber while still tasting like a real treat. Happy eating!
~Kristen

Four chocolate brownies with chocolate chips on top—these are irresistible black bean brownies—are arranged on crumpled parchment paper, placed on a cooling rack, with scattered chocolate chips around.

Ingredient Notes

Please keep in mind that this is just a quick overview. Visit the full recipe for amounts and instructions!

  • Black beans: The main ingredient in this recipe, we are using canned black beans to replace flour and to add nutrition to this recipe. Black beans are full of protein, fiber, antioxidants that will help turn this brownie recipe into a healthy treat. Make sure to use a blender or food processor to have a smooth brownie batter and to fully combine black beans with other ingredients. The beans also replace what would normally be regular eggs in a conventional recipe.
  • Cacao powder: No brownie recipe will be complete without this ingredient. Use quality unsweetened cacao or cocoa powder to deepen the chocolate flavor of this healthy brownie recipe.
  • Coconut sugar: This recipe uses coconut sugar, but feel free to use granulated sugar as you wish. This will help sweeten and caramelize your brownies and help them achieve that moist and chewy texture. If you would love to use a liquid sweetener like pure maple syrup, I would advise using half liquid, half granulated for best textural results.
  • Oil: I use avocado oil in this recipe, but feel free to use any neutral oil that is available to you. Vegetable oil, coconut oil and sunflower oil all work well. Oil serves as the binding ingredient in this recipe and makes sure that your brownies have a good texture and won’t turn into a crumbly mess.
  • Vanilla extract: Using pure vanilla extract will help enhance this recipe’s flavors. Alternatively, you can use vanilla bean powder if you prefer.
  • Baking powder: This ingredient helps these brownies rise a bit and adds a bit of a cakier texture. For this recipe, we want to have more thick and fudgy brownies, so we are only using one teaspoon of this.
  • Salt: helps balance out the flavors and enhance the sweetness of the recipe. I like to use Himalayan pink salt.
  • Rolled oats: Use only certified gluten-free rolled oats, if necessary. Adding rolled oats adds texture and makes your brownie mixture more fudgy and cake-like.
  • Chocolate chips: No brownie would be complete without chocolate chips! Add chocolate chips to these brownies for a more satisfying, chocolatey result. We add them inside and sprinkle them on top for ultimate chocolate deliciousness. I like to use dark chocolate chips, but semi-sweet chocolate chips work well, too.
A stack of three black bean brownies sits on parchment paper, with chocolate chips scattered around on a light surface.

How to Make Black Bean Brownies

Top-down view of a blender containing a mound of cocoa powder and whole coffee beans, ready to blend into rich black bean brownies, on a light textured surface.
A top-down view of a blender containing a mound of light brown powder, perfect for making delicious black bean brownies, on a light-colored surface.
Overhead view of a blender containing ice cubes and a brown liquid mixture—perhaps the base for delicious black bean brownies—on a light countertop.
Top-down view of a blender containing a mixture of dry baking ingredients for black bean brownies, including flour, cocoa powder, and sugar, on a light-colored surface.
Top-down view of a blender containing uncooked rolled oats, perfect for adding to black bean brownies, on a light, textured surface.
A top-down view of a blender containing oats, chocolate chips, and brown sugar—perfect ingredients for homemade black bean brownies—on a light-colored surface.
A blender containing a thick, dark brown black bean brownie mixture sits on a light-colored textured surface.
A square baking pan lined with parchment paper, filled with unbaked black bean brownie batter, rests on a light countertop.
A square baking pan lined with parchment paper holds a batch of decadent black bean brownies topped with chocolate chunks.
A square baking pan lined with parchment paper holds unbaked black bean brownie batter topped with chocolate chips, placed on a light-colored surface.
Close-up of rich black bean brownies batter topped with scattered chocolate chips.
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
  2. Add all ingredients except ¼ cup of the chocolate chips to a blender or food processor and blend until the batter is mostly smooth.
  3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
  4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center feels just firm.
  5. Let the brownies cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Storing Black Bean Brownies

These brownies are best eaten fresh within 1-2 days of baking. For proper storage, you can place these brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. If you want to keep them for longer, place them in the refrigerator and they can last up to a week. Brownies taste better and can last a bit longer if stored unsliced.


To reheat the brownies stored in the fridge, simply preheat your oven to 350ºF. Place your brownies on a baking sheet and reheat them for 3-10 minutes depending on how many brownies you are reheating.

A stack of rich black bean brownies topped with chocolate chips sits on parchment paper, with more brownies and chips scattered on a light surface nearby.

Kristen’s Top Tip

For nice, thick brownies, you can double the ingredients and bake for 15 minutes longer.

Four square black bean brownies topped with chocolate chips are arranged on a sheet of crinkled parchment paper.

Do Black Bean Brownies Actually Taste Good?

Yes, absolutely! You won’t actually taste the black beans in this brownie recipe since you have used your food processor to combine all the ingredients for your brownie batter. These Black Bean Brownies will taste like your normal rich and chewy brownies (except they are healthier!) and your kids wouldn’t even know that this recipe has beans unless you tell them!

Can You Freeze Black Bean Brownies?

Yes, these brownies freeze well! You can either freeze the batter before baking or freeze the brownies after baking.

To freeze the brownie batter before baking, place the brownie batter inside a freezer bag. If you want to keep the batter flat and even, you can lay the freezer bag onto a flat sheet pan before placing it inside the freezer. Make sure to remove any air from the container. You can freeze the brownies for up to a year.

To freeze baked brownies, you’ll need to allow them to cool first. Next, you’ll want to remove your brownies from the pan and then wrap them unsliced either in aluminum foil or plastic wrapping. You can freeze this for up to three months.

Can I Reheat Brownies After Freezing Them?

Yep! Remove your brownies from the freezer and allow them to thaw at room temperature before reheating them in the oven at 350ºF for five minutes. If you want to eat your brownies immediately, you can also microwave them straight from the freezer in 15-second intervals until they are warm and soft.

Two black bean brownies stacked on parchment paper, surrounded by scattered chocolate chips on a light surface.

More Gluten Free Desserts You Might Love

A stack of chocolate black bean brownies topped with chocolate chips sits on parchment paper, with extra chocolate chips scattered around on a light surface.

Black Bean Brownies Recipe

Author: Kristen Wood
122kcal
5 from 48 votes
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Prep 10 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Total 40 minutes
These rich and fudgy black bean brownies prove you don’t need flour to make an incredible treat! They’re vegan, gluten-free, surprisingly moist, and full of deep chocolate flavor. One bite and it’s hard to believe they’re made with beans. They really are some of the best brownies you can make.
Servings 12 brownies
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 1 15-ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
  • ⅓ cup cocoa powder or cacao powder
  • ½ cup coconut sugar or any granulated sweetener
  • ½ cup rolled oats certified gluten-free if necessary
  • ¼ cup avocado oil or any oil of choice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ cup chocolate chips of choice plus ¼ cup for topping
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper then set aside.
  2. In a blender or food processor, combine the black beans, cocoa powder, sugar, oats, oil, vanilla, baking powder, ½ cup chocolate chips, and salt.
    A top-down view of a blender containing oats, chocolate chips, and a light brown ingredient, all arranged in separate sections—perfect for making delicious black bean brownies.
  3. Blend until you have a mostly smooth batter (it’s okay to have chocolate chips dispersed throughout).
    Top view of a blender with a thick, dark brown black bean brownie mixture against a light-colored countertop background.
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, then top with ¼ cup chocolate chips.
    A square baking pan lined with parchment paper holds a batch of decadent black bean brownies topped with chocolate chunks.
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes (I find 27 to be the sweet spot) or until the edges are firm and the center is just firm to touch (no jiggle).
    A square baking pan lined with parchment paper holds unbaked black bean brownie batter topped with chocolate chips, placed on a light-colored surface.
  6. Let cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!
    Close-up of chocolate brownies cut into squares, topped with chocolate chips—these rich black bean brownies are a delicious twist on a classic treat.
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Notes

If you are a fan of walnuts in your brownies, you can totally add some to this recipe. Throw in half cup roughly chopped walnuts if that’s your jam!
If you do not have parchment paper on hand, simply spray the baking pan liberally with cooking spray.
Are you a fan of peanut butter and chocolate? Drizzle a little PB over before serving!
 

Nutrition

Serving1brownieCalories122kcalCarbohydrates14gProtein2gFat7gSaturated Fat3gPolyunsaturated Fat1gMonounsaturated Fat3gCholesterol1mgSodium57mgPotassium97mgFiber1gSugar7gVitamin A1IUVitamin C1mgCalcium47mgIron1mg

Nutritional information is automatically calculated using a third-party calculator and is an estimate only.

Equipment

Have You Tried This Recipe?

Rate and comment below to let us know how it was!

Kristen is a writer, photographer, recipe developer, and certified functional nutrition expert. She is also the author of Fermented Hot Sauce Cookbook, Vegetarian Family Cookbook, and Hot Sauce Cookbook for Beginners. Her work has been featured in various print and online publications including Elle, NBC, Chicago Sun-Times, Martha Stewart, MSN, New York Daily News, Healthline, and many more. Kristen is also a syndicated writer for The Associated Press.

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Recipe Rating




 

14 Comments

  1. salt was mentioned in the write up but not in the recipe. how much should be used in the recipe?

    Reply

    1. Hi! I’m so sorry for the oversight here and I appreciate you letting me know! That would be 1/4 teaspoon salt. I will update the post! I hope you enjoy the recipe!

      Reply

  2. Hi!
    I tried this recipe today….. are you supposed to use the whole 15oz of black beans? If so then there isn’t enough oil to combine the ingredients! I’ve had to keep adding oil (and some water) to even get it out of the mixing bowl!

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    This was such a unique brownies recipe. It’s full of healthy ingredients so I don’t feel bad if my kids keep eating these.

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    My family loves these brownies! It’s a great treat for my kids when they come home from school. So glad they couldn’t tell its made from black beans!

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    I am honestly shocked at how good these are. I don’t even like black beans but my husband wanted to try these and they are delicious. You can’t taste the beans at all!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    This recipe really is the best. Do you think I could get my toddler to eat black beans EVER? Nope. But now? Mwahaha 😉 Not to mention, these taste just like delicious classic chewy fudgy brownies.

    Reply

  8. 5 stars
    Kristen,
    Thank you for another delicious healthy high altitude recipe for those of us who live at an higher elevation. Awesome!

    Reply

  10. i keep meaning to try black bean brownies and this looks like a good recipe to try. I was just wondering if a nut butter could be used in place of the oil. Do you think that would work?

    thanks.

    Reply

    1. Hi Jacquie – I actually think that would work wonderfully! I haven’t tested that out in this particular recipe, but I have in similar recipes. If you try it, I would love to hear about it. 🙂

      Reply