These vegan black bean brownies are fudgy and moist and decadently delicious. No one would guess that black beans are the main ingredient!
Black beans aren’t what you would automatically think of when you think of brownies, yet they are the main ingredient in these vegan black bean brownies and no one would even know they’re there at all.
All you can taste is the most fudgy and decadent brownie ever. These are indulgent to the extreme.
They’re packed with chocolate flavor and they even have those gorgeous shiny cracked tops!
Of course if you love brownies then you’ll definitely love our fudgy vegan brownies and our vegan biscoff brownies so check those out too.
How To Make Vegan Black Bean Brownies
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Prepare your flax eggs by mixing ground flaxseed meal with hot water and letting it sit so it becomes gloopy.
- Add black beans to the food processor along with the flax eggs, oil and vanilla extract and process until well mixed.
- Transfer the black bean mix to a mixing bowl and add all purpose flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt and instant coffee and mix into a thick batter.
- Add vegan chocolate chips and fold them in.
- Transfer to a 9×9 square dish lined with parchment paper so that there is overhang on each side, and smooth down.
- Sprinkle more chocolate chips directly on top of the brownies.
- Bake for 40 minutes at 350°F. The tops of the brownies should be shiny and cracked and dry.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before lifting the brownies out using the parchment paper overhang and place them on a cutting board.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Ingredient Notes
Canned Black Beans: We used canned black beans that we drained and rinsed before use. This is certainly the easiest way to go about it. It worked out to 3 cups (500g) of black beans. If you don’t want to use canned black beans and want to rather cook them yourself, then you can do so, and just use 3 cups of cooked black beans.
Canola Oil: We used canola oil in this recipe, but you can use any vegetable oil or even olive oil. If you use coconut oil then melt it first.
Instant Coffee: This recipe uses a little finely ground coffee or instant coffee to boost the chocolate flavor. The brownies don’t taste like coffee at all, it just enhances the chocolate flavor. You can omit it if you prefer though.
Chocolate Chips: You can use any vegan chocolate chips that you like, or you can chop up a bar of vegan chocolate and use that instead.
Make It Gluten Free
If you want a gluten free version of these brownies then you can use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend in the same quantity as the regular flour.
Storing and Freezing
These brownies will keep very well in an airtight container for up to a week. You can also store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
They are freezer friendly as well if you would like to freeze them.
More Vegan Brownies Recipes
- Vegan Chocolate Brownies
- Raw Vegan Brownies
- Simple Vegan Brownies
- Vegan Zucchini Brownies
- Vegan Gluten Free Brownies
- Vegan Biscoff Brownies
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 Flax Eggs (2 Tablespoons Ground Flaxseed + 6 Tablespoons Hot Water)
- 2 (15-ounce) Cans Black Beans Drained and Rinsed
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml)
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup All Purpose Flour (63g)
- ¾ cup Cocoa Powder (65g) Unsweetened
- 1 ½ cups White Granulated Sugar (300g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder Optional*
- 1 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips (175g) plus more to place directly on top of the brownies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 9×9 square dish with non-stick spray and line it with parchment paper so that there is overhang on either side. Set it aside.
- Prepare your flax eggs by mixing 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoons of hot water. Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Drain and rinse your black beans and then add them to the food processor along with your flax eggs, oil and vanilla extract and process until well mixed.
- Transfer the mix to a mixing bowl and add in the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt and instant coffee powder and mix into a thick batter.
- Add the chocolate chips and fold them in.
- Transfer to your prepared 9×9 square dish and smooth down.
- Sprinkle more chocolate chips directly on top of the brownies.
- Bake for 40 minutes. The tops of the brownies should be shiny and cracked and dry.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before lifting the brownies out using the parchment paper overhang and place them on a cutting board.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Notes
- Black beans: The rinsed and drained black beans (from the two cans) works out to 3 cups (500g) of black beans. So if you don’t want to use canned black beans and want to rather cook them yourself from dried, then you can do so, and just use 3 cups of cooked black beans in the recipe. If you’re using canned black beans like we did, then just use the two 15-ounce cans, there is no need to weigh or measure out the beans.
- Canola Oil: We used canola oil in this recipe, but you can use any vegetable oil or even olive oil. If you use coconut oil then melt it first.
- Coffee: The instant coffee powder is to boost the chocolate flavor. The brownies don’t taste like coffee at all, it just enhances the chocolate flavor. You can omit it if you prefer though.
- Chocolate Chips: You can use any variety of vegan chocolate chips or you can cut up a bar of vegan chocolate and use the chocolate chunks instead.
- Gluten Free: If you’d prefer these brownies to be gluten-free then you can use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend in the same quantity as the regular flour.
- Storing and Freezing: Keep them stored in an airtight container for up to a week. You can also store them in an airtight container in the fridge. They are freezer friendly as well if you would like to freeze them.
FINALLY!
I tried 8 different bean brownie recipes and they were all terrible, this was going to be the last one I tried…and it was a success!
None of the other ones were fudgy or chewy, just dry with no crinkle top. But this one was. And the added bonus of not having just 1 but 2 cans of beans!?
I reduced the sugar to 200g and it was plenty sweet.
That’s awesome Karl! Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review!
Has anyone tried almond butter in place of the oil? I’m oil free but really want to try this.
This sounds amazing! I only have an 8×8 pan. Will that affect the bake time? Can I use decaf instant coffee or does caffeinated coffee work better to boost the chocolate flavor? Also, can I cut the sugar down to 1 cup without the recipe suffering? Thanks!
Hi I don’t actually own a food processor at the moment. Would it be possible to mix the wet ingredients by hand?
Hi ZJ! If you have one, you can use a potato masher to mash up the beans before mixing them with the rest of the wet ingredients and then continuing with the rest of the recipe.
These easy to make vegan brownies are DELICIOUS!! Thank you!! I followed your recipe precisely except I only needed 32 mins bake time in my oven. 40 mins would have been way too long in my oven. These will be made again and again, thanks!!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review Julie! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
Could I omit the chocolate chips ? (just because I am dying to make these now and don’t have any chocolate chips on hand). By the way your recipes are my go -to EVERY time I want to make just about anything. I don’t think twice before following your recipes. I always trust they are foolproof already, and I am never ever wrong about that.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your trust in our recipes! And you can definitely omit the chocolate chips. 🙂
This are my go-to brownie recipe. Everyone loves them. They can’t believe they are vegan and have black beans. Thank you for the fabulous recipe
That’s awesome Brenda! Thanks so much for your lovely review!
The best vegan brownie I’ve ever eaten. 🖤
Yay! Thanks so much Julia!
Hi can you use any other type of beans or just black beans work in this recipe?
Thanks
Hi Tahira. We’ve only tested this recipe with black beans. If you do decide to experiment with other beans, let us know how it turned out!
So delicious! They are soft and moist and a little cakey towards the top. The instant coffee really brings out the cocoa flavor. I used regular dark choc chips. This will be my new go to brownie recipe… it’s that good! Thanks..glad I found it.
Thanks so much Cindy!
The BEST vegan, black bean brownie recipe I have ever tried! Moist, and chocolately!
Thanks so much Cathy!
Hi just made a batch with carob powder, oats flour, and coconut oil substitutes. Very tasty.
So glad it worked out great!