Vegan Gluten-Free Black Bean Brownies

I just made these using my Vitamix and they turned out perfectly! I didn’t have black beans so I used navy beans. My husband is eating them and has no idea what’s in them, teehehehe.

Thanks for this recipe, my first attempt at vegan brownies….

I think I will try them again, but with more sugar. A “heaping 1/2 cup” of raw sugar might mean different things to different people, maybe? Next time I will use at least 3/4 of a cup of sugar, and see. Or maybe a little less cocoa! As much as we love chocolate around here, the balance wasn’t quite to our liking.

But I loved the ease of making them, had all the ingredients, and thought the texture was great!

Beautiful brownies, I had an almost identical recipe before, I love the fact that theyre loaded with the goodness of black beans; the only thing is that SUGAR is a NO NO for me, it kills the healthy food-factor IMO. I used dates to sweeten them instead, (or any dried fruit, maple syrup, honey > in moderation <, stevia works too).
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Sergio
~for a sugar free world~

These are delicious! My new go-to brownie recipe! Thanks!

I made these today, and substituted out the sugar for stevia and applesauce. wrong. they didn’t turn out well at all. I tried to like them. I even buttered one to see if they would pass as a muffin. nope. I did the only humane thing left to do. I tossed them out. I’m not sure what makes me sadder, that I wasted the ingredients (raw. organic), or that I still need something sweet on my no-sugar regimen. I know the original recipe is wonderful, my daughter served them at a kids party and they went in a snap. But I cannot have the sugar. Also, I used real organic eggs.
Do you have any idea how to make this work with stevia? It is the only sweetener I can use. That’s right. No agave, no honey, no maple syrup, no xylitol. nope. none. nada.
Thanks! My taste buds eagerly await…

WOW these are incredible. I’ve been on an elimination diet and thankfully chocolate and sugar seem to be doing ok in my body…plus on top of my senstivities, my kids are sensitive to gluten, dairy, and eggs. It’s been hard to find any recipes that work for the whole family and actually taste great. I have been fiending for a decadent brownie for a month and while I was making them, I couldn’t resist tasting the batter but I was deep-down sure it would taste like a can of beans. NOPE. Just fudgy, chocolately goodness. These are incredible unbaked, a batch almost didn’t make it into the oven because of my double-dipping.

FYI I subbed 1/2 of the sugar for maple syrup. I didn’t change anything else and the brownies still cooked up perfectly in 25 min @ 350F. A fudgy, chewy center is the gold standard in brownie baking. These went beyond that expectation, as the coconut oil gave the crust that perfect crunch reminiscent of a ‘bad for us’ brownie. My kids are clamoring for more and I can’t wait to fool my husband. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for giving this chocoholic family a new go-to recipe!

I forgot to mention I used 2 organic eggs!!

I am back again!
Not being vegan, and trying this recipe 3 times already and having it come out dry, I have tweaked it and wanted to share my changes for those who are not vegan.

I used a stick of salted butter.
Left out the salt.
Added a heaping 1/4 tsp of instant coffee
used 1/2 cup xylitol and 1/2 cup honey
upped the chocolate powder to one cup.

I mix in a ninja so maybe that’s why it comes out soft.
I think omitting the eggs will make it fudgy but I would rather have the protein from the eggs than the flax!

I found my recipe for chocolate bean muffins and it is almost exact-the difference is the flax vs eggs.

I hope vegans know that without animal protein it is almost impossible to get amino acids for building protein and neurotransmitter for the brain. God gave us meat for food. I was a vegan for many years in the 1970’s and did not get adequate protein, and was very sickly.

Using this much sugar without fat or protein to balance it out is not healthy!

Dear Lord, these are amazing! I’m so happy! Thank you for your simple philosophy and simple recipes :)

Your gluten-free banana muffins are my fiance’s favorite (and he doesn’t even like GF!). I cannot wait to try these as well! Hopefully they will go over as well as the others :)

Fantastic! I substituted the Chickpeas for All Purpose flour, and the coconut oil for a stick of butter. I also used 2 eggs as opposed to the Flax eggs and a cup of Granulated sugar… To top them I used reeses cups and crushed oreos (to make them vegan). Will be baking more often… yummy yummy!

Soooooo beans are my least favorite food in the world but brownies are my favorite, aannnd some of my friends recently went dairy and gluten-free. I made these for them and they’re not out of the oven yet but I CANT WAIT TO EAT THEM. The batter tastes nothing like beans, even my bean-hating little sister could not detect them. I made them in my Vitamix and the recipe worked perfectly! I used canola oil instead of coconut and they are still amazing. Thank you for my new go-to brownie recipe-Ghirrarhdeli mix no more!

Well actually I take it back, it isnt fair to say that, when I DID substitute the flax egg for flax oil and water, and substituted the coacoa powder-because i didn’t have enough-for partial corn meal mixed with coacoa powder. That could have a lot to do with it… Obviously you can’t subsitute that much in this recipe, but next time i’ll make sure i have everything!

Hey thanks for making this recipe available.. Honestly though, I tried this recipe and I guess must’ve did it wrong because even though it tasted a like brownie, it made me really thirsty and have to poop immediately after eating only a little bit. I can appreciate that it is vegan, but I don’t think its a fool proof recipe for beginners.

I made these with real eggs and I thought they were very good. My husband and I tasted the batter and my husband gave it an 8 to 9.

I used a reader’s suggestion to make them in an 8 x 8 pan and cooked them for 30 minutes. They cracked on top, but were fine.

When my husband tasted the brownies, he gave them a 7 thought the batter received a higher rating. That being the case, I was thinking that the batter might make a good pudding.

Could I put nuts in the batter without affecting the result negatively? I think I noticed a comment about putting the nuts ON TOP.

Also I am wondering how I can make them less sweet. If I reduce the sugar, will they turn out or would I need to replace the volume of the sugar, and if so, with what?

I thought they were great, but too sweet. What could replace the volume of the sugar, so that I could make them less sweet?

Amazing! I used maple syrup and real eggs for mine. Also added dark cocoa chips and they were perfect. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe.

PS Hersheys now has sugar free chocolate chips. Maltitol (gives some digestive disturbance) and some sucralose( but with a small amount) not a big deal. Better than eating the sugar. Also I substitute honey for sugar since honey is a monosaccharide and doesn’t turn to bacteria in the gut (ileum) like regular sugar does.

Xylitol (sugar free-no carbs) is what I use now in replacement of sugar. For glycemic reasons. It is expensive but well worth not having my blood sugar crash.

I was looking for a black bean muffin recipe I lost and found this. Very similar.

Best black bean brownies ever! New favorite

Can coconut nectar be supplied in place of the sugar?

Wonderful article. awesome content I look
forward to reading your other posts. :)

My friend and I tried out this recipe today and followed the measurements exactly, using Ghiradelli dark cocoa. We baked them for 24 minutes and then let them cool for a good 25. The brownies turned out VERY successfully! They were firm on the outside, and fudgey on the inside. Couldn’t taste the beans at all whatsoever. SO GOOD.

They weren’t super sweet (so if you like sweeter brownies, add a littlee more sugar…) but the cocoa made them VERY rich and gave just the right touch of sweetness. Would totally recommend this to anyone who loves brownies but is looking for a healthier version of them ;)

Totally awesome brownies! The beans are not detectable at all and they passed the 10-year old chocoholic test. I didn’t mention the vegan part or the beans part and everyone is gobbling them up. Totally in love and totally making these again! Thanks for another great recipe.

I made these using a 9×9 pan, to thin, I will use an 8×8 next time. definitely satisfied my chocolate craving. These turned out so good, thought I would try some of your other recipes.

wow. these are incredible! i did use brown rice syrup, 3/4, plus a couple of dried figs (soaked for few minutes). the grocery was out of unsweetened cocoa powder, so i used a bar of unsweetened baker’s chocolate (100% cacao) instead (melted it!), and skipped adding any oil (as baker’s chocolate has cocoa butter). i upped the baking powder a pinch because of the substitution. (sorry for all the detail; hoping it helps someone in a similar situation)

the batter was rich, smooth and thick. i was concerned that maybe the subs would make it too moist or runny, but i ended up with incredible, thick brownies with wonderful crust and moist centers. they were not delicate as i had feared, held up about as well as any regular brownie. my folks (who have no food sensitivities) were amazed when i told them the ingredients. dad likes dark chocolate and the unrefined sweetness did well for both of them. i was so happy to share a chocolate dessert with them for the first time in many, many months!!!

thank you, and bless you for your blog! i usually don’t comment on these things, but this experience was exceptional!

happy holidays.

hi! looking forward to trying these! i scanned the comments for brown rice syrup substitution, and one person did that but didn’t mention how much, or how they turned out. have you tried it, and what would you suggest?

thanks!

Made these for a family holiday gathering and everyone loved them (not just the GF folks they were made for). Just wanted to add that I did use a mini muffin pan and they turned out just fine (and the bite size serving helped). Thanks for posting this recipe!

Redonkulous good. Fudgy and perfect. I used chia eggs (1 tbsp ground chia plus 3 tbsp water) and date sugar. I added 1/4 cup walnuts and chocolate chips.

Are the calories fat carbs and protein numbers for the serving size or for the whole batch?

This may be a silly question

I notice there are canned beans being sold that have no added salt.

Which ones are being used in the recipe?

I’ve made these several times now and they’re fantastic. My children love them and, as we’re vegan, it’s an easy way to get them to eat something rich in iron.

I made these but cut the sugar in half and replaced with organic apple sauce.

I added a bit more flax because the apple sauce made it runnier.

Got yourself a winner here! Yum yum yum!

Have been gluten-free for just a month. I have been searching high and low for everyone’s “best” recipes. I decided to try this recipe and have to say, I love it. Is definitely a keeper!

Thank you so much for this awesome recipe. Just a quick question: I used a cookie sheet because I did not have muffin tins and the texture is kind of gooey rather than cakey. Did I do something wrong or is it supposed to be fudgy and gooey? What can I add to make it more cake-like?

I’ve made this many times- it has a fudgey texture and rich chocolate flavor. I use 1 1/2 cups black beans instead of 1 3/4 and 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa powder instead of 3/4 cup. I prefer to use regular cocoa powder over Dutch-processed (Hershey’s Special Dark), which I find to be slightly bitter in this recipe.

I love black bean brownies! Can this batter be frozen to use later?

I just made these today and they are fabulous! I was a little nervous at first to make them considering you don’t usually put beans in brownies, haha- but after they came out of the oven they looked great and they taste even better! I am so happy I made these and I will definitely be making them again!

I substituted 1/2 an small avocado plus 2 tbsp water for the oil. These turned out perfect! My nieces and nephews ate them up and the adults had a couple each even after I “spilled the beans” about the ingredients. Thank you for the brilliant recipe!

Can you substitute the oil for applesauce?

I am so happy with these brownies! I’m doing a cleanse right now (and i’m a vegan) and I really wanted something motivational to give some non-vegan friends tomorrow that screams “vegan can be freakin delicious too!” This does it! Even the batter amazes me I can’t believe how well everything comes together, other black bean brownie recipes are not this good….Bravo!

I’m planning on making these today! But I’m just curious if you think honey would work as a sugar substitute in this case?

hello, I tried them however the batter was really hard, there was not enough moisture to absorb the cocoa and I had to add some oil. Is it possible to have the measurements in grams?
Thanks

Word to the wise: these do NOT do well as sheet brownies!!!

They do, however, work great in cookie form if, like me, you don’t own a muffin tin.

(Also, the idea of beany sweets isn’t actually that weird–if you look at Chinese food, there are lots of sweet bean dishes, and few savory ones.)

These brownies are wonderful! Thank you so very much for the recipe! I like them because they’re healthy but many of my family members are gluten intolerant so they’re great for family functions as well. I’ve made them a few times now and they’ve been great every time!

Made these exactly as stated except I did not have any vanilla extract.

Fantastic texture, no discernible bean flavor but nowhere near sweet enough for my family or me. I like less sweet than my husband but found these verging on blah. Maybe the vanilla extract would help?

I will make these again when I get more vanilla and will definitely use more sugar.

Really delish. I do not think I rated it in my last comment. Five stars.

By far the best black bean brownies. I love that there is no flour. They come out soft, rich, and dense with a bit of crunch at the edges. I topped mine with chopped hazelnuts amd used coconut sugar as my sugar. i bet you could probably use date syrup too although I am uncertain as to how you would adjust. Next time I will try that, same proportion. Other than the fact they ate gluten free, I also like that this recipe does not use flour. Superb, and I have enough for 11 more days.

Dana,

I made those last nite and they came out great! I use agave instead of the raw sugar and I had a few of my friends/family try them out and they Loved them. Thanks Dana for sharing your recipe. :)

amazing! wow, these were so so so so good. not to mention really quick to make. i substituted an equal amount of agave for the sugar. the result was decadent. not too sweet. topped with walnuts and a chunk of 85% dark chocolate and BLISS. thank you so much!

They’re in the oven right now. I substituted rice syrup for sugar and cashews for walnuts (didn’t have the respective ingredient in the house). The kitchen smells like a chocolate factory already! Can’t wait to have a bite.

These are amazing. My husband said these are the best brownies he’s ever had. My daughter wolfed them down and I just had two for breakfast. An absolutely amazingly great recipe. I added a handful of unsweetened coconut to the batter and a pinch of himalayan salt to the top. Yum!

Just made these! The house smells wonderful. I’m not a big brownie fan and I found this recipe whilst searching gluten free / dairy free / sugar free treats. The picture hooked me! I’m just tasting them now. I used eggs instead of flax (2 large) and based on other comments I reduced the cooking time by 5 min. I substituted Truvia for the sugar. And I did one batch as two-bite brownies (mini muffin tin) and those were ready in 15 min. You don’t taste the black beans at all. I do however find them very salty – guessing this is based on the amount of baking powder. I would use more sugar / sweetener, no salt and top with chocolate chips or similar next time. I’m missing a real chocolately experience. All in all, a great success and I will definitely try these again.

Just made a batch this evening. I followed the recipe to the letter. They are super easy to make, chocolatey-rich and — as so many others have commented — you’d never know they were made with black beans. The extra treat (aside from their nutritional value, compared to traditional brownies) is being able to lick the spoon when you’re done, since there are no eggs in the mix! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.

Just made these, they are awesome! I think I would use a little Les cocoa next time, and I think I over cooked them. But they were still amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

I used eggs from my backyard chickens, granulated organic sugar, and a combo of chick-peas and kidney beans. I baked them a little too long, so no fudgy centre, but I still think this is an excellent recipe! I’ll make them again!

These were a bake sale hit. Thank you! I’ve been sharing this recipe everywhere.

I will try this recipe tomorrow…..thanks!

Surprised at how easy this was to make! They’re rich and fudgy- and I used 1/4 c raw honey, 1/4 c sugar and they still turned out great. The taste came out to be more like a dark chocolate (probably due to the cocoa powder I used) which is a beautiful thing! I sprinkled mine with shredded coconut, paprika, and walnuts (separately). The variations are endless- I bet you could even do some orange zest to twist things up :)

Vegan, free of flour, gluten, and refined sugar AND full of fibre, protein, antioxidants and other nutrients? AND delicious??? Holy grail.

Just made these today and they are AMAZING! Can’t detect the beans at all. I am blown away. I wanted to make smaller brownies so I used a mini muffin pan and reduced the baking time to 12 minutes and they turned out great.

Hey, I made these tonight after a tough day craving sweet things and helping my sister recover from an operation and am happy to report that they were DIVINE!!!! Very good recipe; I tweaked slightly and swapped half the sugar for agave and used two eggs, cooked for 20 minutes which made them cakey but still amazing, and am very much satisfied after eating two do them (and some batter…!). Thanks so much for a great recipe!

I just took these out of the overn + tasted them.. not bad at all, but they DID taste a tad nutty… nothing I mind, but we’ll have to see if they pass the test of my younger brothers. It may be the almond extract I added rather than the beans (I used white, because though I SWORE we had black, a thorough searching of the cabinet revealed I was mistaken), but I’m not quite sure. I will be making these again though, considering the amount I would like a chocolate dessert. :)

Thank you for this recipe. I’ve tried other black bean brownies recipes, some with twice as many ingredients and some of them expensive or hard to find. This is a winner and I’ll make it often!

Hey there!
Has anyone ever tried making these in one big pan instead of the muffin tins? Would it work if I adjusted the baking time a bit?
Thanks in advance,
Jazz

THIS RECIPE IS DA BOMB!!! I haven’t had a decent brownie since I went gluten free over a year ago and this brownie is soooo satisfying. I love that it’s mostly just beans and cocoa powder! The only tweak I made (cause I didn’t want them to come out sticky, and the ones in the photos here look a little collapsed) was I added 1TB of tapioca flour and 1TB of coconut flour. They came out sooooooooo good- still fudgey but with a decent crumb as well- but next time I’ll probably just add 1TB of tapioca so they’re a bit more dense.

I just made this. OMG!!!! Delish. I made only 1 substitution. 1/4 c Ideal Brown sugar substitute and 1/4 c coconut sugar simply because I did not half 1/2 c of either. Wonderful. Will definitely make again.

THANK YOU for this recipe! It was the inspiration for our recipe overhaul at Rocky Mountain Middle School. Last year they were cooking boxed brownies in a microwave. Very exciting new year for them!

These are fantastic! I made them as a surprise for my daughter and for company tonight and everyone loved them, adult and child alike. Who woulda’ thunk?

Ann Kroeker on her Food on Friday site, referred us to your recipe for black bean brownies, and I definitely will try them.

Oh my goodness!! These are amazing. I have tried other black bean brownie recipes that didn’t produce the most desirable results but these, you weren’t messing around when you created these. Thank you! This recipe is going in my “favorites.”

How many servings will this make?

I topped 3 with pecans, 3 with cashews, 3 with raspberries and 3 with banana. They turned out incredibly! Thank you for the great recipe :)

I just made these delicious brownies today, and they were all gone within a couple of minutes! I posted the recipe on my blog(with full credit to Minimalist Baker!) because I knew people would love them?
Thank you
Mercedes

Delicious, fudgy texture and a rich chocolatey taste! I added a scoop of cappuccino protein powder and balanced that out with a few tablespoons of coconut milk and they tasted great!

I just baked these and they’re awesome! Delicious. So chocolatey!! Thank you.

I tried these and they are one of the best brownies I’ve ever tried! i tried another black bean brownie recipe before and it failed, so I was skeptical. But definetley try these they are a keeper!

Oh. My. Goodness.

I was having a hankering for brownies tonight and was searching google for brownie recipes that didn’t require a million ingredients and were soy-, nut-, dairy-, egg-, AND gluten-free. I was pretty sure whatever I would find would taste like my cereal box but I was pretty desperate.

Anywho, I found this recipe and decided it was worth a go. Literally, the beans are undetectable. I couldn’t believe it. SO good. Thank you so much!

Can you use normal eggs instead of flaxseed eggs and could you sub kidney beans in for black beans? Your advice would be really appreciated :)

I am going to make these for an event, but need bite size. So am using mini muffin pans. Does anyone know the amount of time I should bake them?

These were delish! I have made a handful of different black bean brownies, all vegan and gluten free, but this was the simplest, most delicious recipe! I used beet sugar, because that’s what I had, and baked them in a square pyrex, which added about 5 extra minutes to the baking time. They were fantastic!

Just made these… substituted the olive oil with unsweetened apple sauce because we are oil free and they came out AWESOME! Thanks so much for a great recipe. =)

Will chia seeds work for this recipe? Also, will these taste like regular brownies? I’ve recently converted to veganism from being a meat eater, and I kinda need these to fool a meat eater as well.

Any answers would be super appreciated!

These brownies kick b…
The best GF cake I’ve ever had!
:)

made these subbing chia+water for the flax eggs and they were awesome. made a second batch without any baking powder and put into pop molds, yumm.

Okay, so I just made these after convincing my gluten-free hubby that they sounded amazing. …..OMG! Amazing! I just tried one and I am in complete heaven. Delicious! Thank you so much for this!!!

In regards to the coconut oil, does it make the brownies taste coconut-y? Also, I’ve seen both refined and unrefined coconut oil in the stores, is one preferred over the other? I’ve never used coconut oil, but I’ve been wanting to try it!

Just made these brownies and they taste AWESOME!! I’m tricking my boyfriend to eat these tomorrow since he is disgusted by anything that gluten free and/or vegan! Can’t wait to see his reaction because these are the best gluten free brownies I have ever had!

Should I not have used unsweetened cocoa powder? My batch seemed to turn out kind of strangely and based on all the rave reviews, I must have done something wrong. Argh!

These were really good! However, mine didn’t sink in the middle like yours, but rose. I was looking forward to the little cups yours seemed to form. Any suggestions? Is it an altitude thing (I’m in Florida)?

I’ve made a few different kinds if bean brownies and these were the best so far but still not quite sweet enough for me. I used unpacked brown sugar, so maybe that was my problem. I will make these again but just add some more sweetener. Thanks!

Just out of the oven……..Amazing! Can’t help but wonder Who thought to use
Black beans! Genius..

I have a question about the can of black beans. Do you use regular sodium or low sodium? Wanted to know how the sodium level would affect the flavor. I use Goya black beans for everything outside of baking as they have a perfect texture. Thanks!

I have a 6 year old son with severe food allergies to wheat, eggs, and nuts. I made these brownies and everyone went crazy over them. I have to tell you that they are the best allergy free dessert that I have made. I just whipped up another batch for tomorrow. Even my teenagers, who know what brownies are supposed to taste like, loved them. I can’t wait to try some more of your recipes!

I have made these brownies twice and they have not come out whole either time I have made them. They do taste delicious but they broke. I did substitute black beans for chick peas. I am wondering if that makes any difference. Can someone please help?

These, Were. Amazing. I’m using the past tense because they didn’t last long! I’ve recently stopped eating grains, not necessarily Paleo or Atkins, just no grains. The batch of Paleo brownies I made were gritty from the almond meal, and had a bitter taste. These tasted exactly the way brownies should taste. No grittiness, just fudgy goodness. I’m VERY particular about my brownies…either making my own from scratch or using Ghiradelli mixes. These rival either of those, and sooo much healthier! I’m thinking I could even fool my husband with them (who was definitely not excited about the garbanzo bean cookies I made him try). I didn’t have any flax seed, so I used one egg, and I added 1/2 cup Good Life MINI chocolate chips. The mini chips are great because they suspend in the batter instead of sinking. Fabulous. I ground the raw sugar in my coffee grinder, so there was a little bit of coffee flavoring in these as well, which was a nice layer of flavor. I love baking them in the muffin tins because it’s like getting a corner brownie every time, and they cool more quickly, which means you can eat them more quickly. I’m excited about this recipe…can you tell?

These were amazing!!! Fudgy and chocolately. Thank you for the recipe!

These are AMAZING! I have read before that, with bean brownies, you need to let them completely cool before eating, otherwise they will taste like beans. I tried one hot, and then one cool, and the cool one was much better. Super fudgy, rich, sweet, and amazing. Brownies are my all time favorite dessert, and these might be some of the best I have ever had. I added a small chunk of chocolate and some almonds to each, and I cannot wait to make these again. I’m going to serve these to my junk food addict relatives and see if they can taste the difference.

I really like this recipe! I’ve been searching for a healty brownie recipe and this one appealed because of its simple ingredients and easy preparation. I tried it tonight usign canola oil and brown sugar and topped with chopped walnuts. They have a great texture. My husband would like them a bit sweeter, so next time I’ll add chocolate chips on top next time or maybe try honey or pureed dates as a sweetener. I can’t wait to prepare them for my friend on a gluten-free diet. Beign vegan is a bonus. I will be sharing this link. Thank you!

These were AMAZING! Previously I’d been disappointed by a black bean brownie recipe, but these were delish – rich, chocolatey fudginess that my non-Celiac, non-vegan family devoured within an hour. They couldn’t tell there were beans in them! The batter and brownies tasted and had the same texture as the regular, gluten-containing recipes I used to eat. I used 1/3 cup of cane sugar, 1T of brown sugar, and 3 packets of PureLeaf stevia to cut back a bit on the sugar and they were perfect. Definitely making these again, and I’m going to try them with pureed dates instead of sugar to see how that works. Thanks so much! :)

I had a similar problem to Talia’s: I subbed 2 regular eggs, cooked for about 20 minutes, and though they tasted DELICIOUS, they turned out really dry and crumbly. What do you suggest I add or change? Would it help to drop it down to 1 egg? (I saw someone else added apple sauce and olive oil, but I wanted to hear your particular advice). Thanks!