These Vegan Black Bean Brownies are seriously fudgy, rich and indulgent and are the best secretly healthy dessert - you definitely won't notice the black beans! They're packed full of protein and fibre and are perfect for satisfying sweet cravings. They're super easy to make, requiring just one bowl (food processor) to make and are ready in 30 minutes! They're also gluten-free, grain-free, oil-free, refined sugar free and date-sweetened.
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Place the black beans, soaked and drained dates, cocoa powder, almond butter, salt and plant-based milk in 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
- You can use any type of nut or seed butter - almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, tahini etc.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk - almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, rice milk, oat milk etc.
- You can replace the ground almonds with ground hazelnuts or ground walnuts.
How long do these 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
- Avocado Brownies
- Beetroot Brownies
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.
Watch how to make this recipe
Vegan Black Bean Brownies (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 170 g (¾ 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 (⅓ cup) cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons smooth almond butter (or sub peanut butter)
- 175 ml (¾ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or sub any other plant-based milk)
- Pinch salt to taste
- 135 g (1 ⅓ 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 - I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin.
- 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.
Video
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Laurel
These brownies look AMAZING! Can't wait to give them a try.
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much Laurel, I'm so glad you like them! Please do let me know how you get on if you do try them 🙂
Mary Zdrojewski
Ooh! I'm going to make these asap! I can't get canned adzuki beans where I live. If I cook them from dry, how many cups would that be? About 3.5?
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much! Yes around 3.5 cups sounds good. You can always taste the mixture once you've blended it and add more cocoa powder for chocolate flavour or dates for sweetness if you think it's necessary. Hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions 🙂 Thank you!
Gerry
Thankyou so much for this delicious recipe! ? Its so amazing that something so chocolatey good is packed with beans! Just wondered about the consistency of the recipe - I used 500g cooked adzuki beans (cooked from dry) and I certainly couldn't "pour" my mixture into the baking tin as it was more like a dough. Am I missing something or should their be some liquid added somewhere?...... Otherwise how does one get a "pourable" mixture from beans and dates? And also I couldn't swirl in the caramel at the end as the mixture was too thick! ? Thankyou in advance for clearing up my confusion! ?
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so glad you like it! I didn't find it necessary to add any liquid as the adzuki beans and soaked dates I used were already quite liquidy when blended. If it's looking quite thick then I'd say add a small amount of any kind of milk (or water) until you get a thinner consistency that you'd be able to swirl the caramel into. I hope that helps and sorry you had some problems with the recipe!
Anonymous
Really easy to make and tasted amazing. Love that it contains lots of protein and fibre too.
Rhian Williams
Thank you!
Karla
I made them today and was very excited. After the first try I was absolutely dissapointed. They are disgusting. Nobody likes them, not even my little son who eats pretty much everything. They taste like beans with cocoa. Almost no sweetness, though I used more dates. I hate throwing away food, but I really can't force them down.
Too bad about the beautiful dates, they are so expensive here.
Rhian Williams
I'm so sorry to hear you didn't like the recipe, and sorry about the waste too.