Vegan Black Bean Brownies

Jump to Recipe • Print Recipe

This past spring I ran a half marathon for the second time in my life, I even beat my personal record by quite a bit, but that’s another story. At the finish line of the race they had black bean brownies for the runners, the recipe for which had been published in that week’s paper. They were so tasty I thought I needed to make a version of my own.

The recipe published used a boxed brownie mix and an entire 15oz can of black beans, liquid and all. The first step I took to create my own version was to come up with a mock brownie mix recipe. After countless Google searches and comparisons I came up with one that I thought would have the right ratio of ingredients and the right amount of mix needed.

Next I followed the original recipe and added a whole can of black beans pureed in a blender with their liquid. If you’ve worked with canned beans before you may notice the liquid is very….gelatinous. Definitely not something you want to use to describe a brownie ingredient. Well the resulting brownie tasted good, but I found the texture was a bit gummy and sticky.

For my next round I drained the beans and rinsed them before pureeing them with some rice milk in place of the “bean water”. The results were waaaaaay better. A soft yet slightly chewy brownie with no guminess. The taste and texture really remind me of No Pudge Fudge Brownie Mix so this might even be considered a healthy “mock” recipe for those. Oh, and by the way they are totally fat free brownies and vegan to boot!

Making them is very easy. First sift all the dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and whisk well to combine.

Next drain and rinse the can of beans. Put the beans in a blender along with the rice milk (you could use another non-dairy milk or just water if you like). Puree for about 1 minute.

Pour the pureed beans into the dry ingredients and mix well until you have a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into a 9×9 inch square pan that has been lightly greased with baking spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes then let cool for a few hours before cutting.

Print

Vegan Black Bean Brownies

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 12

Author Jennifer Rao - Around the World in 80 Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup (4.8 oz) all-purpose flour (dip & sweep method)
• 3/4 cup (2.5 oz) dutch processed cocoa powder (spooned into a cup)
• 3/4 teas baking powder
• 3/4 teas salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup (6 oz) rice milk (or other non-dairy milk)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9x9 inch square pan using baking spray (the kind with flour in it). Spread the spray around using a pastry brush. If you don't have baking spray you can grease and flour the pan.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients together into a medium bowl. Whisk well to combine, set aside.
3. Put the drained and rinsed beans into a blender along with the rice milk. If you don't have non-dairy milk you could use water in it's place. Puree the beans for about one minute. The mixture should be fairly smooth.
4. Pour the bean puree into the dry ingredients and stir until all the liquid is absorbed and well combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out. Tap on the counter a few times to eliminate any air bubbles.
6. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least one hour before cutting. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.