No Bake Black Bean Fudge Brownies + 5 Healthy Black Bean Recipes
Just 1 bowl and less than 10 minutes to make these black bean fudge brownies which require no baking at all! Vegan, allergy friendly, gluten free and refined sugar free, they are also chock full of protein and fiber too- A healthy snack or dessert!
Pssst. Before we get into the post, remember to enter the Birthday giveaway (3 winners with a $500 prize pack!) and also this giveaway here– Hello, Holiday!
Beans in desserts have become more and more popular over the last few years. From seeing them in blondies, to dips to even cookie dough- They have been appearing left, right and centre.
I’ve always been skeptical of it and to be honest, refrained from it. When black beans were suggested as the theme for our first month of recipe collating, I wanted to throw a pie at Alexis thank Alexis for throwing a challenge my way.
Black beans…you met your match. I wanted to stick to something I’ve become known for on here- No Bake treats. This in itself was another challenge. Having the black beans baked or cooked in something really does allow it to mask the ‘bean’ taste. With no baking required, the beans needed to be very well disguised. After some failed attempts, wasted maple syrup and smelling like Chipotle minus the deliciousness, I hit success. SUCCESS.
However, I didn’t trust myself or my taste buds. I mean, I did but I needed confirmation. I asked my epic buddy Alison to taste test them. Why? Because she’s a blogger who loves her healthy eats and would NOT be fooled by beans. If they were Alison approved, they would be blog approved.
This was the text I got.
Did you see that? THE WORLD NEEDS THOSE FUDGE BARS.
hihi.
Before we jump into my recipe, check out these other beauties from these four epic legumes.
Linds from The Lean Green Bean had me saying ‘Ola, Hombre!’ with her Mexican Layer Dip.
Kylie from Immaeatthat has made me want to dance around a tandoori oven with her Black Bean Naan Bowls.
Alexis my Hummusapien brought my claws out to battle the Cookie Monster for these Fudgy Black Bean Zucchini Cookies.
Julia from The Roasted Root has me balancing out my Ben and Jerry’s with these Sweet Potato Black Bean Breakfast Wraps.
So let’s talk these No Bake Black Bean Fudge Brownies. They are so easy to whip up, short ingredient list and are pretty darn healthy too! They are full of protein thanks to the beans, full of fiber thanks to the coconut flour (and the beans again) and only use a half cup of coconut sugar– No maple syrup required. You can keep them as it is or if you want to do what I did, add dairy free chocolate chips or homemade white chocolate chips (see this post for a tutorial). They are also vegan, gluten and dairy free!
Ready in 10 minutes flat, you have no excuses. They can be eaten as is or even better- Refrigerated for 20 minutes for some chocolate fudgy goodness. Bonus- To make it allergy friendly, use SunButter!
hihi.
No Bake Black Bean Fudge Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 can unsalted black beans rinsed
- 1/2 cup almond butter can sub for sunbutter or another nut butter of choice
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar or any granulated sweetener of choice
- 1/4-1/2 cup dark cocoa powder depending on how much chocolate flavour you want
- 1/2 cup coconut flour sifted*
- 1 tablespoon + dairy free milk of choice**
- 1/4 cup + mix ins of choice I used dairy free chocolate chips + homemade paleo white chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, pulse your beans completely (you can mash it by hand but it will take much longer and more beans may remain intact)
- In a small microwave safe bowl or stovetop, melt your nut butter/sunbutter.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the black beans, melted nut butter, coconut palm sugar, cocoa and mix well. Add the coconut flour and ensure mixture is fully incorporated. Stir through mix ins of choice. If batter is too firm, add the dairy free milk 1 tablespoon at a time until a very thick batter is formed. If batter is not firm enough, add more coconut flour and omit the milk.
- Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Move the black bean brownie batter into the pan and press firmly. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or until firm.
Notes
** Only add if batter is crumbly
Brownies can be kept at room temperature but best refrigerated.
Have you ever eaten a dessert with black beans?
What is your favourite legume?
I wish you would include nutrition/calories per serving
Hi Pam, I don’t count calories and focus on the ingredients- You’re more than welcome to plug the ingredients into a calorie counting service like myfitnesspal if you want such information 🙂 Enjoy!
how does one get to be your epic friend and get these epic samplings? LOL!
hahaha live in New York!
Omg where have you been all my life and why am I only just discovering your blog in the last month. Seriously?! I want to eat every single recipe you post!
And I love how you said you didn’t trust your taste buds. I totally get that. I think pretty much everything I make is tasty, but I’m definitely used to “health food” and my taste buds have adapted. I always worry that the average person wouldn’t actually like it.
Speak for yourself- I’m not going to lie, I spent last week stalking your blog and your recipes!
Haha, when I was back in Australia, I’d have to get my sister to triple test everything
Beans are tough on my system in general, which is hilarious considering the amount of fiber that I consume on a daily basis. I’m also not the biggest black bean fan, but I really do like Cuban black beans (like, give me the spoon, walk away, the pain is worth it). But I want to try again! Maybe these will be my entre back into the world of beanage.
I agree with Lindsay, I’ll take some samples, shipping them to Philly isn’t far 🙂 LOVE that these are no bake, thank you for not making me turn on my oven when it’s 90 degrees!
OF course! That’s my goal! 😉
I can practically taste these through the screen and I’m loving them! Black bean brownies all day every day.
Right? They are tooooo good!
OH MY YUM. Do you think it would work if I used peanut butter in these? Sort of like PB Chocolate Brownies! Chocolate with peanut butter is one of my favorite combos 🙂
It definitely works with peanut butter, I made that version for a friend!
I love the fudgeyness of black beans brownies, but have not tried a no-bake version before, sounds like a fun experiment.
I adore black beans in general, but have a soft spot for lentil too!
Nice one! these are great Cara!
Dude! I am a huge fan of black beans! I used to not like them as a kid because we just never ate them. (You know, anything that you didn’t eat as a kid just isn’t good, right?) But some number of years ago, I overcame that fear of black beans. Now I love them! I usually toss them with some cheese into a quesadilla…but now I’ll have to save some for these bars! But you know what would have been awesome? Adding some maple syrup.
hahaha touche! Now I realllllly want a quesadilla!
pretty much dying over these. and the photos = epic
Speak for yourself! I was dying over your layer dip like…massive Mexican cravings!
When the world needs those bars then I have to try it 🙂 I wonder if I can plant this on Stefan without him noticing that it has black beens in it. I once made him eat bean brownies. The recipe was horrible and ever since he is quite aloof when it comes to beans in a dessert 😀
I love black beans! Fun fact: we have 1 brand that sells canned black beans here. I once tried to make dried ones in my slow cooker. They cooked for 24h after I watered them for 12h!
Promise he won’t be able to taste it- I made sure over 5 people try it out!
Yes, I read ‘THE WORLD NEEDS THOSE FUDGE BARS’. What?? Then I need one
You got me inspired with the whole bean thing. In Asia the use it often in their deserts, most of which I don’t like. However there are a couple that would be quite interesting to revamp.
Thanks for sharing!
Hahaha YES. Seriously try it out- I’ve always been so skeptical with them!
My dad prefers your treats over the ones I make. You don’t even know how many times he asked, “Do you still have those bars from Arman?” In my head: “But like, what about these oatmeal bars I made you?”
It’s okay though because these babies are seriously amazing. Pop never would have guessed there were black beans in there, and neither would I! Thanks for letting me try them as you struggled to find nourishment in the form of Fage yogurt.
Haha really?! Oh mad, well expect a tonne more, I’m experimenting next week 😀
Wow, Arman, these look great! I love baking with black beans, but have never thought to do a no bake dessert with them! Fantastic!
Thanks so much, Kelly- I was so skeptical but they turned out well 🙂
HAh! I love your texting conversation because it reminds me a lot of how my college friends and I communicate, minus a whole lot of vulgar terms to describe how they feel about the treats I give them ;).
These look great! I’ll admit that I am a little skeptical about beans in desserts still, but if you say so and have photos like this to shove in my face, my mouth is wide open!
LOL. I was fortunate it was cut off haha!