Vegan Black Bean Brownies with peanut butter frosting

These vegan black bean brownies are so tasty you won’t believe what’s hiding in there! Packed with canned black bean, raw oats and sweetened with Medjool dates, enjoy these flourless and gluten-free fudgy brownies without any guilt!

Sneaking healthy black bean in brownies is not what you would think of doing when you feel like a satisfying sweet treat. I hear you.

But, oh boy. These gooey, soft and extra chocolaty brownies are sooooo delicious, you won’t even notice they are hiding in there.

What’s to love about these vegan black bean brownies?

• They are gluten-free, dairy-free and low in fat (only 3 tbsp of oil!).
  
• They are a perfect healthy alternative to the classic brownies.
  
• Super easy to make! Most of the dough is done in the food processor.
  
• Freezer friendly. Make more and hide them in your freezer for later.

What makes these vegan black bean brownies healthier?

The base is made out of black beans! Nutrient dense and fiber packed canned black beans! You won’t taste them and it provides a perfect texture when making dense and chewy brownies.

Also part of the base, you will find lots of oats instead of flour. The oats are crushed in a food processor, so in this case too, you won’t realize they are hiding in there. They provide even more fiber and precious nutrients.

Also, to sweeten the dessert, leave the granulated white sugar aside and grab a few Medjool dates. These sticky, sweet, caramel-like and chewy dates will also help hold everything together.

Cacao vs cocoa? Which one is best.

The deep chocolate flavor comes from the raw cacao powder. You can easily find it at any regular grocery stores, but be careful of choosing cacao powder and not cocoa powder, if possible.

Why? Both comes from the cacao bean (seed) and usually are used to prepare chocolate products, but their health benefits are what sets them apart:

– CACAO is the unprocessed option. This means that the bean is cracked out of its shell, ground and packaged. Its mostly used for vegan and unprocessed chocolate product. It contains a load of anti-oxidants and is therefore the healthiest version.

– COCOA is the processed option. The beans are removed from their shells, but then brought to a factory where the beans are roasted in high heat and processed, then ground into cocoa powder. The manipulation of the beans makes cocoa a less healthy option since lots of its health benefit (anti-oxidants) have been eliminated in the process.

How to make these vegan black bean brownies?

You will have to first boil the dates in water for 5 minutes to soften them.

Then, add them and the other ingredients (except for the chocolate chips) to a food processor to prepare the dough. Super easy! Transfer to a bowl and fold in the chocolate chips.

The dough goes in a square oven safe container and pop in the oven.

Once the brownies are cooked, top it with an easy and delicious 5 minutes peanut butter frosting. You only need 4 ingredients, one bowl and a little whisk to make this healthy frosting!

These brownies are also delicious eaten cold, so it makes for a perfect dessert to make ahead! Just prepare it when you have more free time, store it in the fridge and you will have a satisfying healthy dessert for your busy week to come.

How to store it

These brownies can be stored in a air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

They also can be frozen! Just be sure to cut them before storing in the freezer so you can grab individual portions when craving something chocolaty.

You might also like these chocolate treats:

• Chocolate banana milkshake
• 3 ingredient chocolate pudding
• Mocha chia pudding
• Cashew chocolate milk
• Strawberry and chocolate baked oatmeal

I hope you will love these brownies as much as we do! If you try them, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was.

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