These simple Black Bean Brownies are rich and fudgy and are sugar free! You wouldn't even know these brownies are made with black beans instead of flour they are that moist and packed with chocolate flavor!
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Recipe Highlights
- These brownies are fudgy, rich and moist with so much chocolate flavor
- You absolutely CANNOT taste or even see the blackbeans!
- Makes 16 brownies, each with 6 grams of protein and they are under 200 calories per serve
- Not too sweet, perfect for those who find regular brownies too sugary, sweetened with monkfruit sweetener.
- They're freezer friendly!
I absolutely love baking with blackbeans because they create a deliciously moist baked good, they much more filling than flour baked goods and a whole lot healthier. Check out my Black Bean Chocolate Cake here.
Not a fan of Black Beans? You might like my 7 Ingredient Chocolate Banana Brownies, and they are dairy free and sugar free too, or maybe these very decadent fudgy chocolate chickpea brownies.
Ingredient Notes
- Black beans: Use canned black beans that have been drained then rinsed.
- Monkfruit Sweetener: I've used a combination of both white and brown monkfruit sweetener in this recipe as I find it gives a little more more richness. However, you could also use just one or the other. Details on how to do this are included in the recipe card.
- Cocoa powder: Use a good quality unsweetened cocoa powder for best results. Check out my low calorie Peanut Butter Blondies for a chocolate free variation!
- Eggs: 3 large sized eggs were used in this recipe.
- Oil: Use a mild flavored oil such as vegetable or canola oil. Alternatively, the oil could be replaced with ¼ cup melted butter.
- Vanilla extract: The vanilla extract can be substituted with 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence.
- Baking powder: Not to be confused with baking soda.
- Salt: The salt amount can be increased or decreased to suit personal tastes.
- Chocolate chips: Sugar free chocolate chips were used in these brownies, however you could also break a sugar free chocolate bar into chunks to create a similar effect. Or, skip the chocolate chips and check out my 99 calorie chocolate brownies or these Cheesecake Brownies that are under 150 calories
If you have a sweet tooth like me, sugar free desserts are your best friend. And these single serve desserts under 200 calories are perfect for after dinner cravings, along with these sneaky sugar free chocolate desserts.
How To Make
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°c. Line a 8-inch/20cm square baking tin with baking parchment, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Process Ingredients: Add the drained black beans, brown sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, granulated sugar, oil, vanilla extract, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Process for around 1 minute, or until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add Brownie Batter to tin: Stir ¾ of the chocolate chips through the brownie batter. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin, then sprinkle over the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.
- Bake: Bake the brownie for 25 minutes, or until just set (the brownie will still be soft in the center. Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before removing from tin and slicing.
Expert Tips
- Dish: I used a rectangle metal loaf tin 30 cm x 15 cm (12 inch x 6 inch).
- Storage: Store brownies in the fridge in an air tight container for a week.
- Freezing: Freeze for upto 8 weeks. To defrost, microwave for 30 seconds, or let defrost naturally at room temperature.
The Perfect Brownie
To achieve perfectly moist and fudgy brownies, cook for 25 minutes at 350°F/180°c. Slightly undercooking the brownies is better than letting them go longer if you're unsure. Taking them out and letting them rest in the pan for around 30 minutes after removing them from the oven allows for a gooey center while ensuring the edges are set.
I like to do the toothpick test to see if its cooked after it has had time to rest. Pop a toothpick into the center and when you pull it out ideally you you want a few moist crumbs clinging to it the rather than coming out completely clean.
Often recipes for black bean brownies still include sugar or honey, but I wanted to make a black bean brownie that was also sugar free and higher in protein. My mission with this recipe was to create a delicious rich and fudgy brownie that was sweet (but not too sweet), without using refined sugars.
When I shared these black bean brownies with friends at a recent gathering, I didn't tell them that they were secretly healthy brownies, or that they were sugar free. I was wondering if anyone would guess. They were so popular, several of the people there wanted the recipe!
Sugar Free Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 can Black beans, drained and rinsed - (note 1 for size)
- ½ cup Brown monkfruit sweetener - (also called golden)
- ¼ cup White monkfruit sweetener
- ½ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 medium Eggs
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Sugar free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat fan oven to 350°F/180°c. Line a 8-inch/20cm square baking tin with baking parchment, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Process Ingredients: Add the drained black beans, brown and white sweeteners, cocoa powder, eggs, oil, vanilla extract, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Process for around 1 minute, or until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add chocolate and pour batter into tin: Stir ¾ of the chocolate chips through the brownie batter. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin, then sprinkle over the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.
- Bake: Bake the brownie for 25 minutes, or until just set (the brownie will still be soft in the center. Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before removing from tin and slicing.
Notes
- Black Beans - 1 can of black beans was used in this recipe (15 oz or 425 grams) Don't skip rinsing and thoroughly draining them to get the brining liquid off. That should not go into the brownie mixture as it will make it too salty and bitter.
- Monkfruit Sweetener: Whilst I love using a combination of white and brown, if using only one sweetener, use ¾ of a cup total.
- Oil: Olive oil can be swapped with vegetable oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, or other neutral flavored oil.
- Chocolate Chips: can be substituted with a chopped up sugar free bar. I love using Noshu Dark Sugar Free Chocolate Chips.
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.
Sandy Payne
Will Barhi dates work instead?
Kim
I haven't made it with Barhi dates. If they are similar to medjool dates in terms of sweetness and size they should be fine to sibstitute.
Jaimie
Such clever ways to utilise healthy ingredients and still replicate traditional brownies! I very much look forward to trying this out 🙂