Recipe for Black Bean Peanut Butter Brownies

Rich, chewy, chocolatey brownies can be regular treats when you’re eating healthy or are losing weight. Black beans are one of the not-so-secret ingredients. They add texture and, together with ripe banana and peanut butter, let you skip artery-clogging butter and avoid eggs. The result is a plant-based vegan recipe. 

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Here’s what else to note about the ingredients and nutrients in this recipe.

• Peanut butter is a source of heart-healthy fats and fiber. Feel free to use cashew butter, almond butter, or sunflower butter instead.
• Choose white sugar, maple syrup, honey, or agave. Regardless, each brownie has less than 8 grams of added sugars, which is far less than a full-sugar brownie might have.
• With oats, beans, and nut or seed butter, each brownie has more than 2 grams of dietary fiber.
• Oats are a whole-grain. Choose gluten-free oats if you want to avoid gluten.
• Optional: stir in ¼ cup of walnuts or use ⅓ cup of chunky peanut butter instead of ¼ cup of creamy peanut butter

Recipe for Black Bean Peanut Butter Brownies

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 can black beans
• 3 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder (baking cocoa)
• ½ cup of quick-cooking oats
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ⅓ cup of sugar, pure maple syrup, honey, or agave syrup
• 1 banana 
• ¼ cup peanut, nut, or sunflower butter
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
• ½  teaspoon of baking powder
• ½ cup of dark or semisweet chocolate chips

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Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray or parchment or wax paper.
2. Blend all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a food processor until completely smooth. 
3. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts if using.
4. Place in the baking pan and smooth.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until they are just starting to firm. 
6. Let cool before cutting. If they are too fudgy and gooey for your liking, you can place them in the fridge or freezer overnight to let them dry and firm.

Nutrition information per serving: calories: 90 kcal; total fat: 4 g; total carbohydrates: 12 g; sugar: 6 g; fiber: 2 g; protein: 3 g; sodium: 70 mg; cholesterol: 0 mg

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Reviewed by Natalie Stein, MS, MPH, CDCES