These Vegan Black Bean Brownies are seriously fudgy, rich and indulgent and are the best healthy dessert!
Why you’ll love these Vegan Black Bean Brownies:
- you’ll definitely never notice the black beans
- they’re fudgy, gooey and tender
- they’re seriously indulgent but secretly healthy
- they’re packed full of protein and fibre
- they’re perfect for satisfying sweet cravings
- they’re undetectably vegan and gluten-free
- they’re refined sugar free and date-sweetened
- they’re grain-free
- they’re oil-free
- they’re easy to make
- they’re ready in 30 minutes
- they require just one bowl (food processor) to make!
How to make these Vegan Black Bean Brownies
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (including measurements and full instructions).
- First, start off by adding the black beans, soaked and drained dates, cocoa powder, almond butter, salt and plant-based milk to a
food processor or blender.
- Once you’ve whizzed that all up until it’s completely smooth, add the ground almonds (almond meal) and baking powder.
- And blend again briefly to combine.
- Transfer the batter to a square baking tin.
Tip: Line the tin with greased 
baking paper to make it easier to remove the brownies after.
- Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes – be very careful not to over-bake them!
- Leave to cool slightly before cutting into squares!
Substitutions you can make to this recipe:
- you can use any type of nut or seed butter – almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter etc
- you can use any type of plant-based milk – almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, rice milk, oat milk etc
- you can substitute the ground almonds with ground hazelnuts or ground walnuts.
How long do these Vegan Black Bean Brownies keep for?
These Black Bean Brownies keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days – the taste or texture remains unchanged which means they’re great for meal prep and making ahead for entertaining.
More vegan chocolate recipes:
- Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (also made with black beans!)
- Mississippi Mud Pie
- Chocolate Truffle Cake
- Chocolate Baked Donuts
- Chocolate Truffles
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Vegan Black Bean Brownies (GF)
Ingredients
- 170 g (3/4 cup) pitted dates soaked overnight in cold water or 10 minutes in boiling water
- 400 g (14 oz) tin of black beans , drained and rinsed
- 35 g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons smooth almond butter (or sub peanut butter)
- 175 ml (3/4 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or sub any other plant-based milk)
- Pinch salt to taste
- 135 g (1 1/3 cup) ground almonds (almond meal) (or sub ground hazelnuts or walnuts)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Drain away the water from the soaked dates and all to a food processor or blender with the black beans, cocoa powder, almond butter, almond milk and salt
- Blend until completely smooth, mixing it around a couple of times if necessary
- And the ground almonds and baking powder and blend briefly just to combine
- Transfer the mixture into a square or rectangular baking tin lined with greased baking paper
- Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. They should be slightly cracked at the top and slightly firm inside but still quite gooey - be careful not to overcook!
- Leave to cool before cutting into squares
- Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of these films, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Leah
December 31, 2018 at 5:34 pmCan I substitute cocoa powder for cocao powder, or would I need to add more or less of something else?
Rhian Williams
January 2, 2019 at 5:43 amYes you can substitute with cacao powder, I would recommend using a little bit less cacao powder than cocoa powder as it’s a bit stronger but it won’t change the recipe otherwise!
Julia
March 14, 2019 at 10:58 pmHey Rhian,
I just made the brownies… they taste AMAZING & they are healthy – I am SO greatful for ur recipes as they make my life as a vegan very easy.
I get a lot of inspiration on here!
I made the brownies for a birthday party & no one knew they were vegan or contained beans – everyone loved them – they coulnd´t believe when I told them about the ingredients. Btw. I used kidney beans and it worked out very well!
Also a BIG plus is – kids can eat them without having to worry bout refined sugar etc.
Thank you Rhian !
Rhian Williams
March 14, 2019 at 11:48 pmHi Julia, thank you so much for your feedback! I’m so glad you liked the brownies! Great idea to use kidney beans, thanks for sharing!