One of my first jobs out of high school was the daycare at my local gym, and once a week a fitness instructor would deliver us homemade goodies that she called her disguised treats. We’d take a bite and guess the secret ingredient – sometimes it would be obvious (like zucchini muffins) and other times it would be more subtle, like her beet brownies. The beet brownies held me up. I was intrigued, inspired, and soon thankful as she shared with me the recipe with a suggestion: try these with black beans instead.
These brownies, similar to her beet brownies, are equally fudgy, delicious, and downright addicting. Throughout the years I have never had a friend tell me otherwise.
I do make this with a quick and easy homemade unsweetened applesauce, but store bought works just as well. You will see in the recipe notes!
Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
Keep the screen of your device on
9
brownies160
calFor the Applesauce
- 1 large gala apple
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- For the Brownies
1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup homemade applesauce*
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar*
1/3 cup chocolate chips, plus more
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
First, prepare the apple sauce. Peel, core, and chop the apple into small pieces. Add to a small pot with the water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the apples are soft. Remove from the heat and puree. Set aside until needed.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 8x8 baking pan or line with parchment paper. Have a blender or food processor on stand by.
Add the beans and applesauce to a blender. Puree until smooth. If needed, add a little splash of water to get things moving.
Add the eggs, vanilla, sugar, and cocoa powder. Blend until combined.
Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in thirty seconds increments. Add to the blender and mix until combined.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend. The batter should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with extra chocolate chips, if desired. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
Allow to cool slightly and top with sea salt or powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
- You can skip the homemade applesauce part and substitute with 1/2 cup of store bought unsweetened applesauce.
- You can use coconut sugar instead of granulated white sugar!
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @vodkaandbiscuits on Instagram and hashtag it with
Like this recipe?
Follow @vabrecipes on Pinterest
Just made these (eating one right now) and they are delicious! My husband is a brownie addict and he really enjoyed them. I used stevia to take the place of the sugar and used the rest of the ingredients and I love them. Will be making this recipe from now on. Glad I stumbled upon your blog 🙂
I’m so glad you like them! I think people are hesitant stepping out of their comfort zone with brownies, but really this is just as delicious AND healthier. Whew, bonus points.
This are addicting!!! I love your blog!
THESE WERE SOOOOO GOOD! I just made them and absolutely loved them! Even made my roommates try them and they loved it!
Perfect guilt-free dessert!
Glad you like them!!!
Can i use coconut flower instead of regular flower?
I wouldn’t without altering the recipe. I wrote a little about coconut flour in the GF Carrot Loaf Cake, basically saying the ratio to coconut flour and eggs is like 1:6. I would do a little research with altering recipes and then try it out! I made the mistake by thinking I could just swatch the two flours once and I made a disaster. Hope this helps 🙂