These super fudgy & decadent vegan black bean brownies are naturally sweetened with dates, healthy & gluten-free ! A really great healthy dessert to have.
This might sound unexpected, but black beans are actually a really great base for brownies ! Thanks to their mushy texture, these brownies are super rich and decadent tasting, yet is healthy, high protein and sugar-free as they are date sweetened.
So, are you ready to bake yet ? Read on !
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🥜What you will need
📓Notes / Substitutions
- Both canned black beans or black beans made from scratch can be used.
- Any kinds of plant based milk works well in this recipe. You can even substitute it with water instead.
- Make this gluten-free by using certified gluten-free rolled oats.
- Peanut butter can be substituted with almond butter, hazelnut butter or cashew butter.
- To make this nut-free, use tahini, pumpkin seed butter or sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter.
🔪How to make
If your dates are dry, start by soaking them in boiling hot water for 20 minutes to soften them up. Skip this if your dates are fresher and moist.
Preheat oven to 180 c / 300 F. Lightly grease or line a 8x8 square baking pan.
In a food processor, place in rolled oats and blend until a flour like consistency forms, about 30 seconds.
Place the rest of the ingredients and blend until a smooth batter forms. Feel free to stir in some vegan chocolate chips.
Transfer the batter to the baking pan. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, smooth out the batter. Optionally, top it with more chocolate chips.
Bake it in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out fairly clean. A few crumbs left is generally ok.
Let the vegan black bean brownies cool to room temperature in the pan before slicing into it and enjoy !
🍦How to serve
These black bean brownies with dates taste pretty amazing on their own, but here are a few more ideas on how to serve them !
- Drizzle on a generous amount of of nut butter, like this coconut almond butter.
- Pair it with a scoop of your favorite vegan ice-cream.
- Serve them alongside some fresh fruits like sliced bananas and berries.
- Oh, and did I mentioned that these vegan black bean brownies can be served for breakfast too ?! To make them more filling, you can serve them with a side of yogurt and granola.
❔Commonly asked questions
Yes, these black bean brownies are naturally gluten-free. But if you have a gluten sensitivity, use certified gluten-free oats as cross contamination might occur in oats during harvesting or processing.
No, as some chocolate chips contain milk or other dairy products. Do read the ingredient label and look out for ingredients such as milk or milk powder, whey or milk fat.
There are some really great vegan chocolate chips in the market, though. I especially like this enjoy life semi sweet chocolate chips.
Yes, this is a must if you want to cleanly cut your brownies. Give it ample time to set, for at least 30 minutes, before slicing and removing it from the pan. Plus, it will taste so much better as the flavors will develop further will cooling !
You can definitely freeze these vegan black bean brownies for up to 3 months. To do so, store brownie slices in a sealed container, and do line each layer with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together.
To reheat, let them thaw at room temperature for a few hours. You can then enjoy them cold, or warm them up in the microwave / oven if you prefer the brownies to be warm.
🍽 More healthy vegan desserts
- Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies
- Vegan Sweet Potato Oatmeal Muffins
- Peanut Butter Chickpea Blondies
- Dark Chocolate Dessert Hummus
- Coconut Matcha Protein Balls
📖 Recipe
Sugar-free Vegan Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled / quick oats ( use gluten-free oats if necessary )
- 2 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed ( about 3 cups cooked )
- 1 ½ cups dates ( about 260 g )
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup peanut butter ( or other nut / seed butter )*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup plant based milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- chocolate chips to top
Instructions
- If your dates are dry, start by soaking them in boiling hot water for 20 minutes to soften them up. Skip this if your dates are fresher and moist.
- Preheat oven to 180 c / 300 F. Lightly grease or line a 8x8 square baking pan.
- In a food processor, place in rolled oats and blend until a flour like consistency forms, about 30 seconds.
- Place the rest of the ingredients and blend until a smooth batter forms. Feel free to stir in some chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter to the baking pan. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, smooth out the batter. Optionally, top it with more chocolate chips.
- Bake it in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out fairly clean. A few crumbs left is generally ok.
- Let the vegan black bean brownies cool to room temperature in the pan before slicing into it and enjoy !
Notes
To reheat, let them thaw at room temperature for a few hours. You can then enjoy them cold, or warm them up in the microwave / oven if you prefer the brownies to be warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
Kathia
I've made them yesterday and they are just delicious! I'm saving this recipe! It's healthy, very simple to make and absolutely 5 stars for all my family ! (My kids didn't notice the beans, The balance is perfect!) Thank you so much for sharing it !
Jim Mee Sha
Am so happy to hear that! Thanks for your kind comment.😁
ACC
Do you think this would work with reconstituted pb2 powder?
Janet
I baked at 350 for 35 minutes and it hasn’t really baked. The brownie is still very batter like. How much longer can I bake them?
Meesha
Sorry for the late reply. The brownies will usually harden up as it cools, so you don't need to increase the baking time. Let me know if you have any more questions!
Flo
I had trouble getting them baked at the recipe temperature for the time indicated. I had to put them back in for 5-10 minutes increments about four times. Any help here??
Jim Mee Sha
The brownies will be soft once it is out of the oven, but will firm up upon cooling. 😁
Erin
Hi if I already have Oat flour, is it still one cup?
Meesha
Yes, it will still be a cup, but do not pack the flour in!😁 Or, I recommend weighing it out. 1 cup oat flour = 90g. Hope this helps!
Lyly Nguyen
for the nutrition portion is it one brownie?
NUTRITION
Calories: 153kcal
Carbohydrates: 24g
Protein: 6g
Fat: 5g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Sodium: 96mg
Potassium: 296mg
Fiber: 5g
Sugar: 10g
Vitamin A: 3IU
Vitamin C: 1mg
Calcium: 56mg
Iron: 1mg
Meesha
Yes, it is!
Donna
Hi, I love this recipe , but there is one issue. I find the batter very thick. I used my food processor and it burned it out with the batter being so thick. I transferred it to my vitamix , but this is not the best to use either. What type of food processor are you using? I added a little more almond milk, but that didn’t really help. It’s a very thick batter. Thank you
Meesha
I am using the brand Magimix for my food processor, and it blend really well. As this is a bean based recipe, it tends to be quite thick.😅
Stephanie
This happened to me, too. 🙁
Sheetal
We don’t like dates, can I substitute coconut sugar?
meesha
Yes, I think it will work ! You might need to reduce the amount of milk used. 😊
Elizabeth
How many servings does it make?
meesha
About 16 brownies 🙂
Laureen
Made these last night at the last minute. Common ingredients, super easy to prepare, and so good! Very moist, and would probably trick non-vegans 🙂 Will definitely be making these again!
Christine
Looks yummy! Thanks for sharing! You listed two different bake temperatures. Is it 180 or 150c?
meesha
Sorry about the confusion ! It is supposed to be 180c 🙂
Jyoti
It was very hard to blend , is the recipe correct as it calls for 2 cans of 15 oz beans??
Meesha
Yes, as this is a bean based recipe, the mixture will be quite thick. It is normal and yes, you will need 2 cans of beans. 😁
CT
Simple ingredients, easy to follow instructions and they came great! Only thing I would do different is give them another name - for introducing to friends. I loved them and plan to make them again.
meesha
I am really glad you like them ! Haha yes probably just dont mention about the black beans. 🤣