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Black bean brownies are a special kind of flourless gluten free brownie, and this amazing recipe doesn’t taste like beans at all. Tasting is believing.
What makes these black bean brownies special?
High in protein and fiber, these black bean protein brownies are made entirely with basic pantry ingredients that almost everyone has already. And all the equipment you need is a simple blender (otherwise, you'll have whole black beans in your brownies!), a bowl and spoon, and a pan to bake it all in.
I think can agree that baking with beans mostly means tasting beans. But it doesn’t have to be that way! I’m about to show you that sometimes you can bake with beans and not taste them. Instead, you’ll just taste … brownies.
The only equipment you need is any blender (both my high-speed blender and my mini, nonfancy blender that I got for free ages ago work perfectly) or food processor. Just remember that the food processor won’t puree the beans quite as smoothly.
The only ingredients are canned black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, brown sugar, vanilla, a touch of baking soda, salt and some brewed coffee (even decaf). Unlike classic gluten free brownies, there is no rice flour at all in these. They’re tender as could be, plus rich and not-too-sweet.
What's in it
Recipe ingredients
Recipe ingredients
The full recipe is below, but here are a few words about the key ingredients in these brownies that I think are helpful to keep in mind:
Semi sweet chocolate chips – These are entirely optional, but they add extra chocolate flavor and some nice texture to an otherwise very moist, melt-in-your-mouth brownie.
Black beans – The backbone of this recipe, use good quality canned black beans, and be sure to drain and rinse them until the water runs clear, then let the water drip out entirely.
Eggs – Without flour, eggs are the main binder here. Make sure yours are at room temperature so they don't make the oil form clumps.
Oil – A neutral oil is great for baking with cocoa powder, since together they create a chocolate flavor with the proper smooth texture.
Pure vanilla extract – This helps enhance the chocolate flavors, so don't skip it!
Brewed coffee – The depth of flavor in brewed coffee is preferable to hydrated instant coffee granules; decaf is fine, since the coffee is only used to bring out the flavor of the chocolate (you don't taste the coffee itself)
Cocoa powder – For the deepest flavor, use Dutch-processed cocoa powder, but since there's baking soda in the batter, it will neutralize the acid of natural cocoa powder so that's fine, too.
Baking soda – To neutralize the acid in natural cocoa powder, and in the brown sugar, and provide a bit of lift. There's no need for baking powder in this recipe, since we don't want the brownies to rise more than they already do.
Salt – Salt always enhances the other flavors in any dish, in cooking or baking. I bake with kosher salt, since it has larger granules that are much harder to overmeasure than fine table salt.
Brown sugar – Light brown sugar adds depth of flavor and moisture along with sweetness, of course.
How to make black bean brownies
Prepare the wet ingredients
- Rinse and drain a can of black beans. Be sure you rinse them as well as you can without losing any of the beans. They may break, but we’re going to blend them, so it doesn’t matter.
- Place the beans, oil, eggs, vanilla, and coffee in a food processor or a blender and turn that mixture into a puree. But even if your puree isn’t 100% smooth, you still won’t taste beans in the brownies.
Finish making the brownie batter
- Whisk together light brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the blended or processed pureed bean mixture, and mix to combine.
- Mix in most of the chocolate chips, if you're using them.
- The mixture will be quite soft, and thinner than “regular” brownies.
Bake the brownies
- Transfer the raw brownie mixture to a square baking pan lined with parchment paper or greased or nonstick aluminum foil.
- Bake at 325°F for about 25 minutes, or until the center springs back when pressed gently with your finger. When you shake the pan gently from side to side, it doesn't jiggle at all.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the brownies to cool in it until no longer hot to the touch (about 30 minutes).
- For cleaner slices, place the pan in the refrigerator or freezer to chill before removing from the pan and slicing into 9 equal squares.
Do these brownies taste like beans?
No! You do not taste the beans in these brownies; all you taste is deep, rich chocolate flavor. The vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and a bit of brewed coffee take care of that (no, you don't taste the coffee either—just the chocolate!).
These naturally gluten free black bean brownies are truly flourless, but like all flourless baking, they need an alternative base. Instead of melted chocolate, like in our classic flourless brownies, the base here is the humble can of black beans. The beans provide structure and tons of fiber without adding any bean flavor.
The same goes for my flourless black bean cookies, which also taste rich and chocolatey, not at all like beans.
Even though they'r not chewy, these brownies also aren't cake-like in the traditional sense. The look cakey, but they're actually really smooth in texture. They quite literally melt in your mouth.
My Pro Tip
Expert tips
Use a blender for the smoothest texture
You can blend the drained and rinsed can of beans in a food processor if that's all you have, but a blender will make the smoothest black bean puree. That means the smoothest brownie texture.
Use a smaller, light colored pan
Since these brownies are so tender and have no real flour replacement, they're a bit more fragile—so I like to make them in an 8-inch square pan for that extra thickness. Be sure you're using a light-colored metal pan or your brownies may burn before they bake all the way through!
Some readers have said that they have successfully made these brownies in lined muffin tins. Try lining the wells of a standard 12-cup muffin tin, filling them about 2/3 of the way full, and baking for about 18 minutes. Like in the original recipe, they're done when the top springs back when pressed gently in the center with your finger. Cool completely.
Don't overbake (but bake fully)
For a firmer, more cake-like brownie, stop baking as soon as they are set in the center and don't jiggle when moved side to side. They'll be really fudgy, though, so stick the cooled tin of brownies in the freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes for clean slicing. Be careful not to underbake them, though, or they won't hold together even after they cool.
Let them cool completely for clean slicing
No matter how long you bake your black bean brownies, they'll need to be cool, or your knife will drag through and pick up pieces of brownie along the way. For the cleanest slice, place the cooled pan of brownies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or the freezer for 10 minutes before slicing—and clean your knife after each cut.
What to serve with these brownies
Since the taste is rich chocolate, just like you'd expect, you really can serve them any way you would a classic gf brownie. Here are a few serving suggestions, but of course they're perfect on their own:
- Top with a scoop of marshmallow ice cream for the ultimate smooth and creamy addition
- A dollop of whipped cream and a few fresh berries make a beautiful presentation
- Drizzle some warm peanut butter on top for a peanut butter-chocolate treat
make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
You can store any leftover brownies at room temperature in a sealed container for 2 to 3 days. You can also store them that way for up to a week in the refrigerator.
The texture and taste of these brownies do really well in the freezer. Place them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, and be careful with them as you load them into the freezer, though, since it's hard to avoid breaking off some moist crumbs.
They never actually freeze solid, so you don't even really need to defrost them unless you prefer them at room temperature. In that case, let them sit on the counter at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving them after freezing them.
substitutions
Recipe substitutions
Dairy free
These brownies are already dairy-free when the recipe is made exactly as written. Just be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips and you'll be all set.
Egg free
If you can't have eggs, you can try using a boiled flax eggs in place of each of the two eggs. These need more structure than “chia” eggs can provide.
Sugar free
I am fairly certain that these brownies would work with coconut palm sugar in place of brown sugar, although I haven't tried it. For a sugar-free replacement, try Swerve brown sugar replacement or Lankato brand brown sugar replacement.
Alternative sugars tend to leave baked goods a bit dryer than normal. I recommend adding an extra tablespoon or two of brewed coffee to get the batter to the proper consistency.
Coffee
If you don't like the taste of coffee, rest assured the couple tablespoons of coffee only enhance the chocolate flavor. The brownies don't taste like coffee at all. You can use decaffeinated coffee, if you don't want to add more caffeine than is already in the cocoa powder.
You can also replace the coffee with an equal amount of milk or water. For added flavor and sweetness, try replacing the coffee with 1 1/2 tablespoons (32 grams) pure maple syrup.
Choosing an oil
A neutral-tasting oil is all that you need here, so you have lots of options. I usually use grapeseed or canola oil, since I always have those in my pantry. You can also try peanut oil, but nothing with more than a very subtle flavor, like avocado oil. Avoid olive oil, since we don't want a competing flavor.
Recipe FAQs
Some are! Some black bean brownie recipes are made using black beans in place of some ingredients, but include flour and most other classic brownie ingredients. This recipe is truly flourless, so it's safely and naturally gluten free.
Yes! I've included (estimated) nutritional information in the recipe card below, so you can see how much fiber and protein you'll find in these brownies—and how little fat compared to a classic brownie recipe. They still have sugar, though, and oil, so they're not truly health food.
No, this recipe doesn't have the structure to turn out chewy, no matter what you do. We have a separate recipe for classic chewy gluten free brownies that might be what you're looking for.
Sure! The brewed coffee is only added to enhance the chocolate flavor from the cocoa powder, and you don't taste it. You can use decaf coffee, or just replace the liquid with any sort of milk, or even water. The chocolate taste will be a little bit more subtle.
You can use dried black beans that you've cooked fully at home, but only if you cooked them in plain water alone. If they're made with stock, stick with the plain black beans from a can.
The cake tester/toothpick test isn't reliable in this recipe, since it will come out nearly wet even when the brownies are done baking. Continue to bake your brownies until the top is set and it springs back when pressed gently in the center with your forefinger. And when you shake the pan gently from side to side, it doesn't jiggle at all.
If you're not sure that your brownies are done baking, lower the oven temperature to 300°F and continue to bake for another 3 to 5 minutes.
Black Bean Brownies Recipe
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 standard can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed well
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (56 g) neutral oil, (like grapeseed, canola, peanut, or vegetable)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee, (decaf is fine)
- ¾ cup (60 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, (natural or Dutch-processed, your choice)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup (164 g) packed light brown sugar
- 3 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan securely with parchment paper or line with aluminum foil that is nonstick or greased well. Set the pan aside.
- In a blender or food processor, place the drained and rinsed beans, eggs, oil, vanilla and coffee, and blend or process until smooth.
- In a large bowl, place the cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar, and whisk to combine well, breaking up any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Create a well in the center of the cocoa powder mixture and add the pureed bean mixture. Mix until well-combined. The mixture will be very soft.
- Add about half of the (optional) chocolate chips to the batter and mix to combine.
- Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer with a spatula or by shaking the pan from side to side. Sprinkle the remaining (optional) chocolate chips even on top of the batter, and press down gently to help the chips adhere.
- Place the baking pan in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until the top springs back when pressed gently with a finger (about 25 minutes).
- Continue to bake your brownies until the top is set, and it springs back when pressed gently in the center with your forefinger. And when you shake the pan gently from side to side, it doesn't jiggle at all.
- For cakier brownies, lower the oven temperature to 300°F and continue to bake for another 3 to 5 minutes or until the center is really stable.
- Remove the pan from the oven, place it on a wire rack (still in the pan) and allow to cool until no longer hot to the touch.
- Remove from the pan and slice into squares with a sharp knife. For cleaner slicing, place the bars still in the cooled pan in the freezer for 10 minutes or the refrigerator for 30 minutes or more.
- Remove the brownies from the pan by lifting up on the paper or foil, and place it on a flat cutting surface. Using a large, sharp knife, slice into 9 equal pieces using one swift motion per cut.
- Serve immediately after slicing.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I would love to try the recipe … May I have the measurements of added ingredients ?
Lily, at the end of the post is a recipe with all of the ingredients, their amounts and the method.
I just want to find out how i would prepare the black beans as i have fresh black beans and not from a can.
Just measure them by weight, Bryany, and it should be fine.
I’m legitimately astonished! You can’t even taste the beans in the BATTER, a.k.a. “that place you taste everything they swear you won’t be able to taste once it’s been baked.” To be fair, I did use powdered espresso and a lot of it, but it didn’t taste of coffee, either. Nor did the baked brownies. Just dark and bittersweet and amazing!
The fact that these are also dairy-free just endears them to me all the more. This recipe is absolutely a keeper.
I use powdered espresso sometimes, too, Cora. But I don’t bother mentioning it since you see the reaction to coffee in the batter! So glad you love them!
I’ve put in a couple tablespoons PB powder. It makes it more fudge-type, and the flavor makes my mouth happy!
I’ve made from a different recipe, but similar to your black bean brownies, adding chopped walnuts and baked in a muffin tin. They were delicious, but very dense and filling. One was enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. I often feel that way about GF substitutes that contain GF flour as well. It doesn’t take as much to satisfy me (or on the other hand, sometimes they aren’t as good as gluten-y so I just don’t want more, but that happens less and less). Anyhow, anyone doubting that these will taste like real brownies, and not like beans, I pretty much can promise you won’t taste beans, and if you didn’t know they were in there, you wouldn’t question the ingredients. I brought some to work and did indeed tell people they were made with black beans…they all said “thumbs up.”
Would love to give these a try since i love incorporating healthy stuff in my everyday baking. Quick question…would i get away with using honey somehow? maybe omitting the coffee ?
Hi, Char, you can try using coconut palm sugar in place of the brown sugar. You can’t use a liquid sweetener in place of a granulated one without further altering the recipe.
About the coffee, as I mentioned in other comments to this post, any liquid will work, but the strong flavor of the brewed coffee helps to mask any residual bean flour and enhances the chocolate flavor. You don’t taste the coffee. You may not be very sensitive to any bean taste—but those you serve it to may indeed! So I recommend making it with coffee. Maybe try decaf coffee. The caffeine isn’t at all necessary.
Hi Nicole! I love Love love your recipes. I have had a lot of luck with most I have tried. The cut out cookies are a go to now. Just made some for a baby shower tomorrow. I was going to ask you – have you ever tested the GF AP flour from American Test Kitchen? I was reading over your list of GF flours and I didn’t see that one on there. Was going to make your RL cheddar biscuits and have to go to the store anyways so I was going to get some better batter or I was going to make your cheat b/c I have all the ingredients in the kitchen. I just have a huge container I just mixed Of the ATK AP Flour from their cookbooks and wanted to know if that was going to work. And since I probably won’t get a fast response I’m going to get BB flour or mix one of your’s on the list. I hate to not use the 20 cups of flour I have mixed. And btw- I purchased all your cookbooks yesterday on Amazon so I can switch to all your recipes. Thanks in advance and thank you for making GF food delicious. I have tried every flour and every thing that is gluten free it seems like and I just want it all to be what I remember about gluten food that I loved. Like Buscuits. I have tried so many recipes and they all turn out like hockey pucs. (I haven’t tried your’s but you’re so right that you can not sub GF flour into a non gluten recipe. I know I’ve done it many times) . I just want a light fluffy biscuit for once or really good bread. And then my life will be complete again. ? Thanks again!
Hi, Heather,
I have tried America’s Test Kitchen blend, and I’m afraid although it’s o-k, and I can’t promise that it will work in my recipes. They are very pro-Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flours including their rice flour, which I consider to be one of the very worst out there. It is very grainy and of inconsistent quality. If you used their rice flours, I really don’t recommend the blend.
I know that a lot of people like America’s Test Kitchen, but I have been extremely disappointed in their gluten free efforts. I felt like they had the opportunity to really do some good on a very very large platform, and they missed the mark, I’m afraid. I was given a review copy of their first gluten free cookbook, but declined to write about it because I was so disappointed in the recipes.
I know that these may not be very popular opinions, but I stand by them based upon my experiences over the years. Come what may!
Hope this is helpful. :)
Hi Heather! I actually use the ATK mix for all of my gluten free baking. Now, I don’t make anything requiring the Bread Flour, but for everything else, it works great. I know that it may not be what is recommended, but I buy Bob’s Red Mill flours because I need to buy in smaller amounts because I can’t afford more than that. I still weigh everything because I believe THAT is crucial to good GF baking, but I’ve had great success with that ATK blend.
I’m glad you found something that works for you, Lynne, but for others’ benefit, I do NOT recommend using Bob’s Red Mill rice flours at all. Even if you aren’t particularly sensitive to their gritty texture, others you bake for likely will be. They are of inconsistent quality, at best. At best, that will mean poor mouth feel. At worst, it actually interferes with their ability to combine with other ingredients successfully in baking and a recipe will fail because of it. I can’t stress enough that you should not use them.
Thx so much for replying Nicole. I have switched over to the brands you have suggested for the rice flours, whey protein and everything else. I only have a little of the ATK flour left so I gave half to my mother. (Who may or may not use it. She still doesn’t get the GF thing.). And the little I have left I’ll throw away or find a use for coating or something. I thought maybe you might have a cheat to do something with crappy flour instead of throwing it in the bin. But at this point I think I’ll throw it in the bin. That has been my go to for awhile b/c I didn’t have your cookbooks. But now I have all of them and am switching everything to your suggested brands and your recipes. I had some luck with my family cookie recipes (non GF recipes) a couple Christmas ago (using BB and ATK- swopping cup for cup) and they turned out great. But now I think I can make it even better using your flour recipes. I made you cheddar biscuits for my SIL baby shower over the weekend and my cousin, who is also celiac like me, almost cried. She was so excited and said it was the best biscuits that she has had in a decade. And stuffed several not only in her mouth but took 3-4 home. And I know if she likes them, they have to be good. Which I agree with her!! They were amazing!! And your Cut out sugar cookies which has been my go to for a couple years now- were also a HUGE hit. And only a few were left. (Which was good for me cuz I took them home). Thank you so much for all your work. I could cry that I finally am excited again about cooking. And can actually have soft bread, biscuits and other delicious things that I have been searching, baking and striving to achieve once again. I’m kinda a biscuit snob so I want my granny’s buttermilk biscuits again and FINALLY going to be able to make them successfully. I’m a total convert. And am stocking everything you have listed and using this solely going forward. Thank you again for making food delicious again and for doing these books and recipes. No more crappy bread, pizza and everything I missed about food! Oh and the biscuits!! Hallelujah!!
I resisted black bean brownies for a long time. Once I tried a successful recipe from a source I trusted, I was hooked. I developed and have been tweaking my own recipe ever since and it has developed into something very similar to yours in ingredients and proportions. I have also experimented with substituting other beans for black beans, and pretty much any white or red bean can make a brownie. What I think is special about black beans is, besides the obvious chocolatly color, the softness of the skin. Everyone loves these and no one suspects a thing!
I would like to say thank you for your wonderful recipes, my daughter would starve if it wasn’t for you. Can’t wait to give these a try.
That’s so kind of you to say, Jody, but really she’d have nothing to eat if it weren’t for you! You’re the one taking care of her. ❤️
The suspense was absolutely killing me so I had to try them. Even hubby-with very sensitive taste buds-couldn’t guess they were black beans! We liked them so much I am making another batch this week. I followed the recipe almost exactly (but swapped half the brown sugar amount for a brown sugar Truvia baking blend to lower the calories). We both agreed that since they were a moist, cake-like brownie instead of a chewy type, the next batch must have peanut butter frosting on them or peanut butter chips mixed in. Glad you tried these out first Nicole. I’m not sure I would have been brave enough to go there on my own!