Vegan Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

These were absolutely delicious! I loved the peanut butter addition, as chocolate and peanut butter is always a winning combo. I made them in the muffin tins, and they turned out great!

What do you think about using red beans instead of black beans in this recipe? I’ve looked around for “red bean brownies” and I haven’t seen much, but I have a few extra cans on hand that I’d love to use up!

Hi Dana!

Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I bake each week for the English Educators Club at my school, and although I’ve been vegan for six years, gluten-free baking is new to me, so I was a bit apprehensive to try it out for the first time when I would be feeding a group of people. If the recipe was from any other website, I probably wouldn’t have tried it tonight, but every single recipe I’ve made from minimalist baker has turned out beautifully in the past, and I knew that you wouldn’t lead me astray. Everyone loved them! They got absolutely devoured. I can’t wait to make them for my family when I’m home on break.

Thank you again!!!

Any idea how many grams of cooked beans I need? Conversions on the Internet are mostly for dried beans

These are delicious: the only adjustment I might make is I found I needed more honey than the recipe suggests in order for the black bean base not to taste bitter – that may be because agave is perhaps sweeter than honey?

I made these last night, and WOW! So rich, fudgy, and chocolatey! They were a bit crumbly about an hour after I took them out of them oven, but they were nice and firm this morning. These are delicious! Super easy to make and really decadent. What a great treat! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe!

Super good and teenage boy approved!!

Well this turned out just like your other black bean brownie, DELICIOUS!! I am loving the peanut butter taste too. My only problem was that I cooked it 30 mins in a 8.5 & 9.5 inch pan, so they turned out a bit dry and crumbly. Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely not like cake, still pretty moist inside. But when I used your other black bean recipe, I cooked them 23 minutes in the same pan and they were soo goey inside! So next time (will definitely be a next time) 23 min will be my mark! Thank you!!

Okay I have to admit they looked (and smelled) SO good when I put the batter in the baking dish that I just couldn’t wait and skipped the peanut butter part. These are seriously YUM. Saving the recipe.

Tried it. They’re even better than expected. All my non vegan friends and their kids couldn’t believe it was vegan, gluten free and made of BEANS!! They kept munching till the whole tin was gone, so obviously didn’t mind too much about the beans. Thank you, great recipe!

Hi there! These look amazing. I was wondering if it would be possible to substitute the sugar for more maple syrup/honey?

Do beans need to be soaked and cooked? How do I use dried beans, please?

i made these today and they’re SO GOOD! i subbed the flax eggs for regular eggs because that’s all i had- and used coconut sugar instead of raw. anybody who is skeptical on black bean brownies; MAKE THESE. HOLY YUM. dana i love you. that is all. (and john too!) CANNOT WAIT FOR THE COOKBOOK :)

There are many recipes from Minimalist Baker that are aboslutely wonderful but… Unless you have gluten free requirements I would NOT recommend this recipe! Not one of the non-gluten-free eaters at the party could palate this and only 1 of the gluten-free eaters seemed to enjoy these. If you do choose this recipe make sure to carefully watch your bake time as I made the cupcake size and it was done around 14 minutes not the 20-26 minutes.

Oh my God…This looks divine. I`m gonna try this recipe asap! Your work is flawless, you are a true inspiration for me(You rank my inspiration page from my blog btw). I`ve been reading your recipes for a while now, and ever since I decided to start a food blog, this was my go to site everyday for resources. I used John`s tutorials to setup my foodie theme and frankly I couldn`t thank you enough for everything. Keep up the good work.

These are amazing. My family is all meat, cheese, and potatoes, and had no idea these were vegan.. and healthy! I substituted cashew butter for peanut butter, and used a Splenda blend instead of raw sugar. Thank you for the great recipe. I have already had to pass it along to my wife’s coworkers!

Will it change the baking time to use a 7 X 11 size pan? I know it’s not ideal, but it’s all I have!

I knew these were going to be good when I licked the bowl like a maniac. But these were the best brownies I’ve ever had. I can’t wait to try them out on my health food hating father in law. Bwahahaha!

I love your website and I really wanted a chocolate treat, so here I am! I just ran to the store for a few missing ingredients and I will let you know how well I succeed with baking :) Flaxseed meal was impossible to find so can I do this as the substitute? Lori

First stab at vegan baking and these were delicious. Fed them to friends and no one was the wiser to the beans. I sprinkled the top of the bronies with some maldon before putting them in the oven and I have to say, I didn’t hate it.. ;)

These look delicious! Can I substitute raw sugar for coconut sugar?

Hi
Can I make with butter beans or cannellini beans? Black beans not on hand in my local supermarkets in australia. Thanks

Hi !

Since I discovered your websites I’ve been wanting to try all of your recipes ; you are doing such a fantastic job !
I was wondering though if I could use chickpeas or white beans for this recipe or any other blackbean brownie as I cannot find black beans where I live.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Thank you,

Houda. :)

I’ve made these a couple of times in muffin tins and they taste fantastic! Has anyone else had the problem of the batter rising around the edges and breaking off when removing them from the tin? I’m thinking that the PB center is weighing it down.

A lot of recipes I see calls for a food processor. I have a hand blender and a nutribullet… Would either one of those work? Also, how much applesauce do I put in to sub out the coconut oil? I am intrigued by the black beans.

I made these brownies a few days ago and they are gone….My kids loved them, I felt really good about making this recipe for them because you guys use healthy ingredients. I’m impressed what you can do with a can of black beans!!!

Thank you…..

These look amazing! Sorry this was late but can I sub the black beans with kidney beans instead? Or does it leave an aftertaste? Canned black beans are hard to find here, thanks

Super excited to make these, but was just wondering if you can use a regular hand or standing mixer to make these? Or a Vitamix? Thanks (:

excuse me i’m french and i want to know for the flax seeds, whats the T in 5 T water ?

Best bean brownies I have ever made and awesome brownies in their own right! No bean taste: you would never guess they were made with beans (I used kidney beans because it was what I had – thanks Stephanie!)

I subbed corn syrup for maple syrup and dextrose for the sugar because I am minimising my fructose intake. I might add a bit more dextrose next time because it’s not as sweet as sugar, but I also like that the brownies are not too sweet.

Unable to recall what I have just read for more than a few seconds, I made a mistake and used only one chia egg (I was out of flax) instead of two: two eggs would probably improve cohesion greatly, but the brownies are still delectable!

Thanks so much, this recipe is a WINNER.

Is there any way I could make these brownies without using any sort of egg or egg substitute?

I am fresh out of bananas, flax seed, and applesauce.

These are great! I brought them to my birthday party/get together at a local bar to share with my friends – and the bartender. Everyone loved them! I really liked that they were made in the food processor (very little cleanup) and are just subtly sweet, with no beanie taste. I didn’t have a liquid sweetener on hand, so I followed your other black bean brownie’s lead and just used 1/2 cup granulated sugar – next time I might try 1/4 sugar and 1/4 dates. I also made a spicy (cayenne, red pepper, etc) peanut butter to use in place of plain. My only problem(?) was, because they are so gooey, it was hard to transport them already cut. It would have worked better, even if it would have been more awkward in a bar, to have just brought them in the pan. I’ll for sure make these again – thanks!

WOW Dana. These are insane. I just devoured one that might have burnt my mouth a little cause I just couldn’t let them sit in the pan for more than 10 minutes without cutting in. WORTH IT :) These are for sure going to be a staple for me.

I haven’t found a way to make flax eggs work for me. Could one substitute applesauce or banana for the flax eggs?

I know this might be a dumb question, but I just wanted to make sure. Im planning on making these tommorrow night and I wanted to know how many eggs you use for the flax eggs? 2? btw, these look delish! Cant wait to make them!

I just made these for the second time…they are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. A big hit with my family. We cannot get over that they’re made of beans either! Thank you Dana!

Just made a batch of these for dinner tomorrow night…the batter was excellent….can’t wait to enjoy them in their finished form! I will share your recipe with anyone who loves them as much as I do! Thanks for sharing this :)

Very good flavor; I love the PB swirl.
They were a bit crumbly, however. I blame that on my substitution of yogurt for oil, so I would not recommend that to anybody trying this recipe.
I will make again.

Hi! This looks amazing! Could I use coconut sugar in place of the raw sugar? Thanks so much! :)

Holy moly! I replaced the oil w applesauce like other people, and only used one tbsp of PB mixed with water and a little agave, but these turned out soooooo perfectly. I really don’t like GF flour in baked goods and will probably be making these every week for the rest of my life. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

These were amazing!

This recipe is genious! Just made it and I’m thrilled. Definitely a new contender to my top 5!

Hello! When you say cocoa powder, do you mean unsweetened or regular cocoa powder?
Thank you!

Love!! Replaced the oil with applesauce and used PB2 to cut down on the fat. PERFECT!!!

these are amazing!

Thank you for this recipe, I just made it tonight because I happened to have all the ingredients! They are delicious!!!! The peanut butter provides a nice salty kick to a sweet brownie. I lovvvvve it! I actually forgot to add the chocolate chips so I just sprinkled some on top and they were still awesome. Will definitely make these again!!! =)

I must first point out the subs I made:
1. Unsweetened applesauce for the coconut oil
2. Truvia equivalent for the raw sugar
3. Used sugarfree maple syrup
4. Walnuts in place of choc chips.
5. I didn’t add the PB to the batter. (They were great without. I would use PB2 in place of reg PB to greatly improve upon the grams of cal,fat,carbs vs reg PB).

Baked for 42 min. Wonderful. The nutritional breakdown on these with my subs turned out to be really good. For each of 9 squares: 97 cal, <1g sat fat, 4g unsat fat, 14g carbs, 6g fiber, 5g protein, 1/2g sugars. (Even eating the entire pan is doable [in an emergency of course]) :o)

I must say eating the batter is quite tasty as well!

Thanks for the great recipe.

These are AMAZING! When I made to first batch I had planned on sharing but after the first bite my husband and I decided we should probably just go ahead and eat the whole pan just to make sure the last bite was as amazing as the first. :) I have made these a couple of more times and shared with coworkers who want the recipe. Thanks and keep sharing!

I just wanted to thank you for this recipe! As a lactose intolerant vegetarian and a newly diagnosed celiac these brownies are a life saver. I combined this recipe with your other black bean brownie recipes, and I omitted the peanut butter (I just wanted to see what the plain base was like, but next time peanut butter will have to happen). These brownies were so delicious, better than all the others I had pre-celiac. I also made coconut milk ice cream (adapting your different recipes) with dates, walnuts, and maple syrup. It made for a delicious lunch ;) Thank you again!

These were the best vegan brownies I’ve tried! I’ve made a few recipes using beans but usually I can still taste them, but I couldn’t taste them at all in these! I also had to use kidney beans because I was out of black beans. Thank you for such an amazing recipe that I will be using over and over!

These are so delicious, it’s ridiculous. :)

I’ve made these 5 times now, and I’m about to make my sixth batch. I’ve made them for me, my gluten-free roommate, friends, family, and colleagues, but the true taste test came when I made them for the high school runners I mentor. I knew this was a winning recipe when they ate them all. Thank you for posting!

I made these and they are so delicious! I have shared them and whoever tries them wants the recipe. I can’t tell you how great they are. I cut them and put them in the freezer. Whenever I want a brownie I take timeout of the freezer for a couple minutes and it is ready to eat. I travel frequently for work and they are a perfect travel snack. I can’t say enough, thank you so much!

Been drooling over these all afternoon! Cannot wait to make them!!

Never knew eating vegan could feel so naughty! These brownies are perfect for Valentine’s Day.

These were my first black bean brownies and they were AMAZING!!!
I made a couple of adjustments: used real eggs and put a bit more sugar. Next time I will definitely try a 100% vegan version.

I was a bit worried about adding so much baking powder and baking soda (I am very sensitive to the smell of soda in baked goods) and then was worried that there weren’t a lot of dough and that my brownies would come out flat. Well, everything worked PERFECTLY and they were really really yummy.

Thank you so much for the recipe, Dana!

OH MY GOODNESS! I had been eyeing your Vegan Brownie recipe forever and was going to make them the weekend you posted this recipe and drizzle peanut butter and chocolate chips on them and then you read my mind and came up with this recipe!
Thank you so much. These taste like heaven. I subbed stevia in place of raw sugar, used two real eggs and used kidney beans instead of black beans. Will be making another batch tomorrow! =)

I just made these this afternoon, and they are so yummy! Super fudgy and rich. Thank you!!

We tried these and they were absolutely delicious! We used agave syrup, but other than that we followed the recipe. I’m impatient and tried the brownie straight out of the oven, but you were right, they’re much better after being in the fridge for an hour. NOM Thanks for a great recipe!

I followed the recipe, put them in a 9×9 pan for 30 minutes, and they came out cakey and crumbly. Such a disappointment! My search for the perfect fudgy vegan brownie continues.

Perfect timing! I have a vegan friend coming to stay next weekend and was thinking of whipping up some treats for her. These will be utterly perfect :)

These look absolutely amazing and the nutritional content is SO much better than most brownies. Awesome job (and beautiful photography!).

I love black bean brownies! I forget about them every now and then until a recipe like this jolts it back up!

What?! Gah! Never stop creating black bean dessert recipes, please. Must…have…these…. ;)

Thanks Dana for this! I wish I could post pics of my first attempt at gluten-free vegan brownies because these photograph so well! I didn’t have any powdered sugar at hand and didn’t have time to make it myself but the brownies were still beautiful.

It came out a bit more fudgy / moist than I’d like but I only baked it for 22mins so perhaps 5mins more in my oven would’ve done the trick. What I did was to put these in the freezer – they don’t freeze so much as they “stiffen up” and I love eating it cold. For the leftovers (only 4 left!), will see if nuking it for 30secs will make it crisper.

I made these as a welcome home treat for my vegan boyfriend paired with a note and he was super psyched! Couldn’t believe it was made of black beans with no flour.

Thank you thank you thank you! Sorry for the long post – I don’t normally comment but just want to say I am now a fan and will look at your other recipes… and books? More power to you….! :)

So I’m not vegan but these caught me eye (gluten free) No harm to the out come if I use 2 chicken eggs instead of flax eggs, right?

Hi Dana, what kind of cocoa powder you recommend?

Geez almighty, yum and yum. First black bean brownie I liked that didn’t actually taste like black beans!! The hardest part was of the whole process was staring at the pan after it was done, having to wait for it to cool. Testing it on the little one tonight!

Black bean brownies have been on my “to try” list for a long time now…I think these would be the perfect recipe to start with! Thank you for sharing :)

I haven’t tried making black bean brownies before, but it’s something I want to try. If I can add a little healthiness into my brownies, it’s a win-win.

OK, this is the second post today I’ve seen for vegan black bean brownies- must make them! The PB swirl looks incredible!

I still have yet to try the infamous black bean brownie — I’m now inspired to, these look ridiculous! (drool)

Absolutely amazing!!! I couldn’t stop eating the batter before I put it in the pan and the final baked products are even better. In addition, my hubby didn’t even realize they were black bean based he just thought they were delicious! Thanks for the awesome vegan gluten free recipie!

These brownies are just genius. Can’t wait to try them

Hi Dana, I only have a mini food processor, not a full size one. I’m dying to make these but I”m concerned it will become a big messy fail if I attempt to make them in my mini processor. Any thoughts on how I should proceed?

Ok, that´s it. I HAVE to try this bean-brownie-thing! If it tastes as good as it looks……I´m sold! ;)

These look to die for. definitely added to the “must try” folder on my computer hahaha!!

Any substitute for the flaxseed meal? That’s not sold in Mexico :(

Ahh, these brownies look incredible! And that’s actually saying quite a bit from me, one of the few people on planet earth who does not like the PB + chocolate combo. But I’d take one of these brownies any day! They look splendid.
Pinning!

These look amazing!!! Can I just get one clarification on the flax eggs please? Is the 2 tablespoons of flax meal + 5 tablespoons of water the measurement of one flax egg (so would need to be doubled) or does that equal the 2 flax eggs? Sorry if that’s a silly question!!!

This look amazing good – I made some not-so-virtuous Peanut Butter Brownies a few months ago and they went down a huge storm, both for the people who ate them and on my blog. Chocolate and peanut butter has to be THE best combination!

Wow! These look amazing!

I’ve never tried black bean brownies, but wow do yours ever look delicious. And that first photo..I just want to take a bite out of the screen!

Can’t. Stop. Staring. At. These.

Must. Eat. All.

Just got a food processor and have been dying to try a black bean brownie. These are the perfect recipe for me to try first!

Could I use Kidney Beans instead of black beans?

These look AMAZINGly fudgy and delicious. Love the peanut butter swirl.

Wow, these brownies are gorgeous and they look so delicious! It doesn’t get much better than chocolate mixed with peanut butter!!! And they are made with black beans :) I will definitely have to try them out! Thanks for the recipe :)

Gah sent before I finished typing. I had to walk out cause they looked so good and I couldn’t control myself. Can’t wait to make these. You are a genius. Back to work!

Dana! I’m sitting in a meeting right now and I legit had to walk out because I c

These looks too good to be true. For reals.

Oh, be still my heart.

i love when you write “hubba hubba” ;)

I love this idea! Black bean brownies with peanut butter = brilliant!

I haven’t made a bean brownie yet but now I might have to give them a try! :)

Oh sweet mama! These look so sinful :) Is there any sub for the powdered sugar; I don’t usually keep that on hand.

This is so cool! I had no idea you could make “black bean brownies.” I will have to try these out. :-)

Dang, these DO look perfect!! So fudgy and tasty!

I’ve been wanting to make these since the Christmas version was posted – they look so yummy. I’m just waiting for my food processor to come. Counting the days…

What a delicious treat! I have yet to make a black bean based brownie, but can’t wait to give these a try. They look amazing :)