I love baking and I love sweets. Except, I try to limit the amount of refined sugar and fat I have in my diet. This creates a problem. How can I still bake but not create food that isn’t good for me? Well, I’ve been experimenting a little more with adding in beans. I know it sounds weird, but black bean brownies actually work. It’s not just black beans either. I tried chickpea chocolate chip cookies last month, and those were pretty delicious also.

So these black bean brownies aren’t the healthiest thing on the planet. They still have some sugar and chocolate. But as a whole, they are much better for me than any other brownie recipe I’ve ever made. I even lightened them up a little more than the original recipe by taking out a 1/4 cup of sugar.

These black bean brownies turned out really well for two reasons. First, the addition of the coffee (I actually opened a nespresso capsule and added that directly), really brings out the richness of the cocoa powder. Second, the chocolate chips give it all the richness and sweetness it needs, in my opinion. The black bean brownies are actually quite rich, even with very little fat in them.

If you’re trying to eat on the healthier side, I’d definitely suggest you give these a try. Or, if you’re like me, you might want to find ways to sneak in more healthy ingredients for your kids. They don’t love beans on their own, but I know they’ll eat a black bean brownie or a chickpea cookie if I offer it to them. Mom win.

Easy Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients:

1 (14 oz) canned low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
2 large eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon oil
1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (or skim)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground coffee or instant coffee
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided in half

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a nonstick 9 x 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray.

Blend the black beans, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil, almond milk, balsamic, baking soda, baking powder and coffee in the blender until smooth and pour into a bowl. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips until combined.

Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the top of the brownies.

Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing them into squares.