Fudgy Black Bean Brownies with Sea Salt

(19 votes, average: 3.68 out of 5)

I love these fudgy, black bean brownies, which I originally found here on Minimalist Baker, for many reasons. For one, all you do is blam a few ingredients in the food processor, spoon the batter into a mini muffin tin and bake (now that’s my kind of baking recipe). For another, the whole baking-brownies-in-a-mini-muffin pan thing is genius–no breakage, no muss, no fuss, and they’re cute to boot. And yet another, they’re made with black beans in lieu of flour. There’s all kinds of fiber and goodness in this gluten-free brownie recipe, and yet all you’re going to hear on the receiving end is “man, these are AWESOME.”

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies with Sea Salt

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 36 muffins

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies with Sea Salt

This recipe doubles beautifully, and makes exactly three pans of mini muffins when you do.

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 (15-ounce) can (about 1-¾ cups) black beans, well rinsed and drained
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons coconut oil
¾ cups cocoa powder
Pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup raw sugar
1-½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon flake sea salt (like Maldon)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray 2 muffin pans with cooking spray.

Puree beans through baking powder in a food processor for about 3 minutes, pausing once to scrape down the sides, until the consistency of brownie batter.

Fill muffin tin holes to just below the top with batter, about 1 tablespoon each (you’ll likely have enough batter for 30 to 36 muffins) and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides and a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with flake sea salt and let cool completely before removing from pan.

Makes 36 brownies

This recipe doubles beautifully, and makes exactly three pans of mini muffins when you do.

http://nourishnetwork.com/2013/05/18/black-bean-brownies-with-sea-salt/

B

These are delicious. My 6 year old devoured these. Will never buy a boxed brownie mix again. Thank you!
- liahuber
  
  So glad! I know … they were an a-ha for me too :-).
Karen

Just tried these and they are delicious. However, the texture is more cakey than gooey. Any modifications you could suggest to change the the texture?
liahuber

Karen, they definitely have a more cakey than gooey texture by nature (the photo above is pretty true to the texture). You could certainly try taking them out a few minutes earlier, though, for a bit more gooeyness. If you give it a try, let me know what you did and how it turned out …
Doula TLC

I am addicted to these! I can’t stop making them! Thank you so much for this brilliant recipe. I was low on coconut oil the other day so I subbed in canned pumpkin and they were more brownie like them cakie. Right now I am pulling out of the oven some that I made with applesauce instead of the coconut oil- more cake like but still so good!!
Thank you!!
- deekla
  
  How much canned pumpkin did Doula use to replace the coconut oil?
  - Taryn Clawson
    
    I always double the recipe so I will do 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and 3 of something else. I have done pumpkin puree, applesauce, smashed banana and full fat yogurt all with great results.
    - liahuber
      
      Thanks for the advice, Taryn! That’s a great option for people who don’t want such a prominent coconut note, in a way that still keeps butter out of the equation (not that butter is bad … Just that it’s nice to have an option without it). Now you’ve totally got me wanting to experiment …
liahuber

WOW, Doula, I love the idea of canned pumpkin! Thanks for the tip. I’m going to try that next time, and good advice for Karen om the gooey factor. Thanks!
ram

Reduce the baking powder to reduce the cake-like texture.
liahuber

Thanks for the advice, ram. I’ll take all the baking advice I can get!
Friendly teacher

What’s an effective alternative to puree when one doesn’t have a food processor?
- liahuber
  
  Good question … and I wish I had a good answer. I’m afraid you won’t be able to get the beans chopped finely enough without a food processor. Anyone else have a suggestion?
  - Southerngirl
    
    I put the beans and melted the coconut oil and put it in my blender and let it process. Then I added the eggs and blended those with the beans. Came out smooth and then added the dry ingredients. I totally love this recipe!
    - liahuber
      
      Oh I’m so glad it worked in the blender!! Thanks so much for sharing! Wow … I’ll have to try them in my bullet next time.
Gina

I tried this recipe last night but I replaced Cacoa Powder with Raw Cacao and Coconut Palm Sugar for Regular Sugar. My brownies came out dense, almost like a fudge. What did I do wrong??
Alison Ashton

Hi, Gina! I don’t think you went wrong! These brownies are pretty fudgy and dense to begin with. Swapping the cocoa powder for raw cacao shouldn’t have made a big difference. But the coconut sugar may have a high moisture content than raw sugar — almost similar to brown sugar.
kelly06

Has anyone used a regular size muffin tin? If so, did you adjust baking time or temp?
- http://nourishnetwork.com Lia Huber
  
  I would bake a bit longer, Kelly … and test often with a toothpick.
Pingback: Black Bean BrowniesYeah…imma eat that()
mexicomurphys

I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical that black beans could taste good in a brownie, but I was curious too! We made these this afternoon, and they are delicious! Way to go Lia!
Moz Bourne

Quite a large step from “Puree the beans,” to “Fill the muffin tin holes.” What part do all the other ingredients play in this recipe, in what order, and with what preparatory steps??? Wet into dry? Dry into wet? How much mixing? Poor editing.
- liahuber
  
  Hi Moz. By “beans through baking soda” I mean purée all the ingredients between the two. (Everything but the cooking spray and sea salt). It’s that easy. No steps or separating wet and dry.
  
  And rest assured, this recipe has been tested and made (and enjoyed) dozens–if not hundreds–of times. (As writers and developers for national magazines for nearly two decades, we hold high standards for ourselves) I hope it finds its way into your repertoire.