Black bean brownies may sound a little strange but I promise you, they are sooooooo good! You’d never guess they contained black beans, but the secret ingredient comes with health perks!
Why this recipe rocks:
This recipe basically swaps out flour for black beans, which adds in loads of fiber, some extra protein, and other nutrients like potassium, magnesium, and folate (making this a great treat for pregnancy!).
This recipe also allows you to choose your fat/oil of choice— I recommend coconut oil, but truly any of my go-tos are great here (try butter, ghee, avocado oil, even olive oil). These fats are healthy for us, and can’t even be compared to the ingredients in store bought brownies, which often contain trans fats (pretty much the absolute worst for you of all fats out there, and they’re prevalent in store bought baked goods).
Lastly, this recipe also only calls for a natural sweetener, in this case maple syrup, but you can also use honey instead (choose raw and local for the best medicine!).
You can make your batch of brownies even healthier by adding in some crushed nuts or any healthy toppings you want. See below for suggestions. Now let’s get to it!
These brownies are a perfect healthier treat for celebrating Valentines Day, and your littles will love making them with you! Toddlers love measuring ingredients. It’s pretty much just dump it all in the blender, and then dump it all in your baking dish! I love keeping things easy.
Ingredients
-1/2 c whole oats (I like the One Degree brand which is gluten free and glysophate free)
-1 can black beans (standard 15 oz can), rinsed and drained OR better yet, soak and cook dried black beans prior to making
-2 eggs (preferably pasture raised)
-2 tbsp oil (like melted coconut oil, avocado oil, butter, or extra virgin olive oil)
-3/4 c cacao powder (this will be unsweetened)
-3/4 c maple syrup
-1 tbsp vanilla
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/3 c dark chocolate chips
Instructions
-Preheat oven to 350.
-Grease a brownie pan (like a 9x9 glass pyrex dish)
-Add the oats to a high powered blender and blend for 20 seconds to create oat flour.
-Add all other ingredients except for chocolate chips to blender and blend about two minutes until you have a thick batter. You may need to stop a couple times to stir and scrape the blender during your blending process.
-Add half of your chocolate chips to blender and stir or pulse a few times to combine.
-Pour batter into your greased dish and spread out evenly.
-Sprinkle the remainder of your chocolate chips on top (kids especially love doing this part!). Option to add on any other toppings you like, such as crushed walnuts, hemp seeds, finely shredded coconut, or even naturally died sprinkles.
-Bake for about 23 minutes, until the sides are set.
-Let sit for 25 minutes before serving so the brownies can firm up as they cool.
Enjoy!
