Things are getting weird. I mean I’m putting avocados in baked desserts again. But don’t judge just yet. I can assure you that after you taste them, you’ll know I’m actually not insane for doing so.
You guys. I swear that all I’ve wanted to do was blog all week to give you this recipe, but it’s taken me forever to sit down write and edit with everything else going on. Perhaps I forgot to mention that Ambitious Kitchen is going through a MAJOR redesign? I seriously cannot wait. I’ve hired a few designers over the past year or so, but have always felt like it wasn’t the right time or that it wasn’t my vision.
This time I’m working with two wonderful girls who actually have food blogs themselves so they are really able to think strategically about branding, design elements and techy stuff that I don’t get. Soon enough the new site will be revealed to all of you!
Besides site stuff, preparing for Easter has been crazy. It’s such a busy time with the brands I work on (outside of this blog), so I’ve been a little consumed with planning. Today I even helped food style on a video shoot which is always a fun experience! I’ve done a few and I really enjoy bringing them to life through an editorial lens. It’s also a great way for me to get outside the office and into a new creative environment.
After the shoot was over today, I came home and ran 4 miles around a lake near my apartment. It’s finally getting nice out so I’m trying to take advantage of being in the sunshine pretty much every single moment I can. GIVE ME THE VITAMIN D. Every single drop please!
Um maybe we should talk about the brownies that are just staring at you screaming EAT ME?
That’s probably why you’re really here.
These brownies were inspired by my Black Bean Avocado Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies that I made two years ago. It’s a popular recipe but I wanted to remake them with a vegan AND gluten free twist. You may have had black bean brownies, but never like this.
My goodness you guys. Just oh my YES. These are irresistibly fudgy and I swear they don’t taste like beans AT ALL. So what do they taste like? In my opinion, similar to a brownie from a bakery. So perfectly full of chocolate and sweetened just right. They’re rich, but don’t leave you feeling like you’re in a sugar and butter coma. Hells yea!
Really the best part is that anyone can enjoy these; they’re gluten-free, vegan, and healthy! Plus there’s no extra oils or butter used, just healthy fats from a ripe avocado to keep you satisfied. Be warned: the batter is incredibly addicting! I thought I was going to just finish it off all by myself. I probably would have but wasn’t so sure that eating an entire can of beans was good idea.
These are definitely worth trying. And remember to tag your Ambitious Kitchen creations on Instagram so I can see what you’re making #ambitiouskitchen.
xoxo!
More healthy dessert recipes to try:
Grain Free Omega-3 Fudgy Walnut Skillet Brownies
Grain Free Tahini Brownies (the best brownies I’ve ever eaten!)
Flourless Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies {vegan, gluten-free & healthy}
Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Small Batch Paleo Almond Flour Brownies with Raspberries
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healthy Flourless Black Bean Avocado Brownies {vegan and gluten free}
Ingredients
- 1 large flax egg
- 1 - 15 oz can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 medium to large ripe avocado
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8×8 inch baking pan.
- Place flax egg, black bean, avocado, vanilla, and brown sugar and process in a food processor until smooth.
- Add in cocoa powder, coconut oil, baking soda, and baking powder and process again until smooth. Batter will be thick. If batter is way too thick and won't process, you can add in a tablespoon or two of almond milk. This batter needs to be very thick in order to produce fudgy brownies.
- Fold in chocolate chip or sprinkle onto batter then transfer to prepared pan and use a spatula to spread evenly to sides. Sprinkle top of batter with 2 tablespoons of remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 22-30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out somewhat clean. We don't want these to dry out, but we also don't want them completely raw either! The top of the batter should be completely set and no longer jiggle.
- Cool pan completely on wire rack then cut into 12 bars.
They are very chocolatey, mine came out pretty bitter almost tasting like dark dark chocolate brownies so I made some chocolate ganache to go on the top and that helped. But honestly i think it needs more sugar and a pinch of salt also I would say use some milk or it will be too underdone. It’s very mushy if you like that kind of thing if you don’t then I suggest adding some other kind of flour with more sugar. But you can’t taste the beans at all.
These are meant to be rich and chocolate-y (not overly sweet) but I’m glad the chocolate ganache helped!
Amazing! Fudgy and delicious.
Hi these are great. I’m wondering if you might know what ratios to use if I wanted to try to add nut butter?
Thanks,
Sarah
You could swirl in 1/4 cup peanut butter over the top of the brownies then bake!
Love these! We’ve tried other black bean brownie recipes, but this one is one of the best! We always make sure to blend all of the ingredients super super well to make sure all the black bean skins are gone. My husband doesn’t care for avocado and I made these without telling him they were in there and he couldn’t tell! He was so surprised, but loved them…so we made them again. (:
This is one of my favorites! I always like them better when they’re cold, so I bake them and then let them chill. So yummy and delicious!
Love these cold. Glad you like them too!
Delicious! It was my first time making brownies from scratch, and they turned out pretty good, just didn’t taste like the normal brownies I’m used to (from the box). I used 3 eggs, swirled peanut butter into the batter, and cooked for about 45 minutes. And used a whole large avocado instead of half. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
These are definitely a healthier version of traditional boxed brownies! The PB swirl sounds delicious in here 🙂
Made these last night as the recipe stated with 2 eggs and brown sugar, except I only sprinkled the chocolate chips on top. It was pretty straightforward and came together as expected. I am pretty pleased these and don’t feel as guilty in indulging. I feel like they satisfy my craving for something sweet with just a small bite too. Thank you for the recipe!
Perfect! I’m so glad you enjoyed these 🙂 Such a great, healthy treat!
Made it almost according to recipe, added a whole small avocado and used coconut sugar rather than brown sugar. I was a little concerned when I tasted the batter, I didn’t think it was very chocolatey and it had an odd texture/flavour, but very happy with the results!! Baking seemed to diminish the bean/starchiness and the chocolate flavour was deep, rich and delicious!! Texture nice and moist, tastes much more decadent than the healthy ingredients would suggest. Thanks so much for the great recipe!!
So happy you enjoyed these! And yes, baking them does bring the fudgy, brownie texture in here (even with all of the healthy ingredients!)
These are delicious! I’ve made them several times now and they came out yummy each time. I added one extra egg this last time and they were a little more cake-like. The first time I forgot the oil and they were still great. I think the people who don’t like this recipe either don’t like fudgey brownies, like way more sugar in their treats or are doing something wrong when they make them. These have been a no-fail quick dessert for me! Not planning on telling my 7 year old son about the ingredients. He’s a picky eater but he loves these😀
I’m so glad you guys love these! And agreed – these are perfect for a fudgy brownie that has wholesome ingredients 🙂
I’m surprised by some of the negative comments. I just made these for the first time and they are delicious. OK, I will admit, if you’re expecting them to taste exactly like a traditional brownie, you might be a little disappointed, but for a healthier plant based alternative, they definitely satisfy a chocolate craving. I substituted coconut sugar for the brown sugar, and used an extra 1/2T of maple syrup, and while not overly sweet, they certainly weren’t bitter. I baked them for 24 minutes, and I love the texture. Moist on the inside with some crispy edges. I popped one in the freezer for about 15 minutes to see how they tasted cold, and I think they are even better chilled. I will be making these again!
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I used my Vitamix (by mistake…I know, I know, read the recipe thoroughly first!!!!), and then added the wet ingredients to a bowl with the dry ingredients, and the batter was smooth and perfect. Next time I’ll try it with my Cuisinart as the recipe states.
So glad you enjoyed these! Agreed that they’re a great plant-based alternative to traditional brownies. I’ll have to pop mine in the freezer next time 🙂
So I’ve made my fair share of black bean, pumpkin, sweet potato, chickpea, avocodo, date, banana, etc. based desserts.
I’m not usually one to complain or waste Foods either. I made the brownies exactly how the recipe called & they came out of the oven completely underdone. I tried chilling them & when I was finally able to try them…. it was just bad. Considering how much sugar I used I was expecting such a better turn out. I even gave them a peanut butter chocolate frosting to give them some life & nope, I will not be finishing these. I can see where you were going with it but it’s just not there yet. I was actually try to impress family the night I made these like “I can make delicious vegan brownies out of beans & avocados!” & nobodies hopes were as high as mine. Now they think this is the kind of stuff vegans eat. I’m sorry for this comment but just it anyone else reads these comments first I’d like them to save their ingredients & time until something in this recipe Is fixed.
The first time using this recipe exactly didn’t come out good over powering cocoa taste …very disappointed….. Will try again cocoa
my friend and i made these for our cooking class, easy and taste great!
This may sound crazy but I found organic refried beans at Harris Teeter that just contained black beans and salt. I used almost the entire can. I substituted honey for brown sugar and added an extra 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. They came out really nice and I think the refried beans made the mixture really smooth.
I made these, they were delicious! I used cacao powder and the 1/3 cup of agave. I wish I’d used my Vitamix, the blender I used left some black bean skins. These are definitely more fudge-y than brownie, but I almost don’t taste the bean – really really good and will sure kick a chocolate craving
These are currently cooling on the counter, and the corner I tested was lovely! The texture is perfect despite not having a food processor or blender. I just mashed the beans and avocado into a paste and then used a hand mixer. Also added a bit of coffee and salt for a different flavor. Thank you so much for this recipe!
These brownies are really great. I substituted the sugar for 1/3 cup of honey (as recommended) and I personally like that it’s not as sweet as a regular brownie. The beans are great in it and it’s got a very deep and creamy texture; overall really scrummy! However, for those who do prefer their desserts on the sweeter side and wish to use honey as opposed to dark brown sugar, I’d recommend using just a touch more than 1/3 of a cup. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
These are absolutely horrible…bitter as heck! I love all healthy desserts but this one was disgusting. A waste of ingredients
Finally I step upon healthy cake dessert recipe without using butter(&Yes u are wonderful to even suggest honey in subsitute from sugar!?).
Pardon me this is going to be my 1st time baking. May I ask what can I substitute for black beans? Or can I don’t add beans? And also can I don’t add the coconut oil(don’t like oil and butter). Appreciate any kind advise pls… m yearning to do this for my 1st sweet baking!?
Wow! Made these brownies tonight and thought they were amazing! My husband even loved them. Will definitely add this to my favorite recipes. Thanks!
So I am new to eating vegan and love that I found this recipe. It was absolutely delis hand if I didn’t make them myself I wouldn’t believe what was in them…or not in them. Thanks so much for this one
I replaced the brown sugar with white baking stevia. Not a good idea – i totally destroyed it. Also i am from Germany and i need to convert cups to grams. I did a horrible job with the cacao powder and used way too much. Not eatable at all 🙁 Do you have a good link for conversion or any idea for good sugar alternatives in this recipe? Thank you and greetings from Germany 🙂
Hi Monique…I love your blog and do post on Instagram. I have to take a dessert to a friend’s tomorrow evening so thought I would whip these babies up. I didn’t realize until I got started that here in Canada a can of black beans is 540mL or 19oz…. I added more avocado and had to add almond milk as my Vitamix would not smoothly mix the consistency. My food processor is a Braun and I switched to my Vitamix after not having any success. What type of food processor do you use? The mixing was painstaking and they are presently in the oven. Just wondering if anyone else had trouble getting the beans smooth? Thanks!
I have a Cusinart!
Just made these and had 2 while they were still warm! (cut into 9 pieces) I know you said they are better chilled but they are absolutely amazing just out of the oven too! They are chilling in the fridge right now. I did skip the vanilla extract and coconut oil, and subbed about 1/4 cup honey for the brown sugar as well as a real egg for the flax egg. I also think I may have used a little more than half an avocado… sooo delicious!!! Only bad thing is it crumbled when I took them out but hopefully when it’s cold it will come out in one piece! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Finally made these! Used a real egg instead of a flax egg and still delicious. I’ve wanted to make black bean brownies for a long time and now there is no going back. Thanks Monique!
Just made these, they took much longer to cook and were still very sludgy. Do you have to keep them in the fridge for them to kind of set properly? Had to peel them off the tray and they crumbled a lot 🙁
Hi! I just made these but they took an hour to cook and still aren’t raw inside? What could I have done wrong? Could it be that the avocado I used wasn’t really creamy but more of the watery kind (if you get what I mean?) They do taste like molten lava cakes now though hehe :))
Oh and i gifted these to clients over the holidays and many were pleasantly surprised at how good they were (and guilt free). With all the holiday cookies and candies, parties and indulgences, its nice to have a slight alternative. I made in mini cupcake foils and topped decoratively with nuts (because the consistency is not the prettiest. I was unable to get the square bar form as perfect as pictured.