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Best & Fudgy Black Bean Brownies Easy Healthy Recipe

These are the best brownies on the market. Hands down one of our favorite desserts that I could easily eat for every meal with no guilt.  But SHHHHHHHH! Do not tell anyone, because I have a secret. These are not regular brownies; these are a decadent chocolate treat that are actually healthy brownies made of black beans! These cakey brownies are a good idea for anyone trying to making desserts that you love with healthy foods.

 These delicious and simple black bean brownies recipe will fool any guest. They are to die for tasty and leave your guests begging for the best black bean brownies! I’ve made these healthy black bean brownies a million times, and nobody has ever guessed these brownies were made with black beans!

Best & Fudgy Black Bean Brownies Easy Healthy Recipe

Why Use Black Beans to make brownies healthier?

I love substituting items for more health-conscious substitutions. The fat-reducing power of baking with beans is really amazing and we use black beans in our recipes a ton. Compromising neither texture nor flavor, incorporating a bean in lieu of a portion of the fat found in traditional baked treats adds a major nutritive boost to favorite sweet indulgences.

I have made healthy black bean brownies thousands of times for my guests, and they have NEVER once guessed that they had black beans in this brownie recipe!  There are so many substitutions that can be made in this recipe compared to a boxed brownie mix recipe that makes this a healthy dessert.  You can make this black bean recipe with less sugar but still with rich chocolate flavor.  

Healthy Black Bean Brownie Ingredients:

  • 2 large eggs / flax eggs for someone who wants vegan black bean brownies. Flax eggs are a substitute in place of eggs for those looking for vegan brownies.

  • 1 can of black beans, 15 ounces, rinsed (I tend to get Great Northern Beans but any will work)

  • ¼ cup of honey

  • ¼ cup of sugar / coconut sugar

  • ¼ cup of coconut oil / avocado oil / canola oil

  • 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

  • Square baking pan

  • Nonstick spray

  • High speed blender

Dry Ingredients for Black Bean Brownies:

  • ¼ cup of regular cocoa powder / raw cocoa powder

  • ½ tsp of baking powder

  • Sprinkling of course salt

  • ¾ cup chocolate chips

Optional ingredients that can be added to the brownie batter or added to the top of the batter too:

  • Chopped Walnuts

  • Peanut Butter

Black Bean Brownie Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  I used an 8 x 8 baking pan and used olive oil nonstick cooking spray to grease.

  2. Mix black beans, coconut oil, sugar, and honey together (I used my Cuisinart Food Processor). Blend until the beans are smooth, 2 minutes or so.

  3. Add the raw cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and vanilla extract. Again, blend until smooth.

  4. Add eggs and blend.

  5. Add half of your chocolate chips and mix by hand.

  6. Pour mixture into the baking pan and then sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.

  7. Bake for 20-25 minutes in preheated oven. Check with toothpick and take out when comes out clean.

  8. Allow brownies to cool to room temperature before cutting and serving.  

It's not likely that you will have any leftover black bean brownies but if you do, store them in an airtight container or with plastic wrap so they stay moist.

Best Black Bean Brownie Recipe

This will be your go-to brownie recipe and you will never make brownies from the box again. The secret ingredient are the black beans!  I love that I can indulge in these fudgy brownies but know they are packed with healthy ingredients compared to your typical brownie.  Sometimes I even use a muffin tin, and make brownie muffins to switch it up a bit!


If you are making these black bean brownies in the fall, take the black bean flavor up a notch by making them festive for the Thanksgiving holiday.  

You will use this healthy black bean recipe as the base and add the turkey toppings for a great Thanksgiving turkey themed dessert. These turkey themed Thanksgiving brownies are so cute and SO much fun to make.  Eat as many as you want since they are guilt free and made with black beans!  

Whether you make these fudgy black bean brownies for an every day dessert or for a guest or when you are hosting friends or family, these black bean brownies are going to be your favorite to go recipe!