For each post, I will take on a new recipe or workout and give my reviews about them. I’m no expert, but I do hope that my reviews are useful. Here’s to healthy living!
First Challenge: Black Bean Brownies
I have seen a ton of recipes lately for black bean brownies. For example, here’s what I found on Minimalist Baker, Imma Eat That, and Chocolate Covered Katie. At first blush, black bean brownies sounded incredibly weird to me: who pairs black beans with chocolate? Well, I decided to try this recipe from Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen, mainly because it used very little oil. I made a few adjustments to their recipe:
Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons expeller pressed canola oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 banana, mashed
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with oil or nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Place the drained black beans in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, mashed banana, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth. I have a small food processor, so I poured out the pureed black beans and mixed the other ingredients together by hand. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Top the batter with more chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, coconut, or cacao nibs.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing into 2-inch squares.
Notes
The Verdict: Delicious!
I loved the banana taste to these brownies. I have to admit that they don’t taste like conventional brownies because they are not quite as “cakey.” But they are incredibly fluffy, light, and low in sugar! My brownies were also a bit soft in the middle, so the middle pieces were a bit difficult to take out of the pan to eat. Nothing that a fork and plate can’t solve. I intended to make these as a dessert, but I ate one this morning for breakfast (oops). They were screaming for me.
Give these brownies a try, and let me know what you think!
Meal Makeover Mom Janice says
Glad you liked our Black Bean Brownies! People don’t believe how good they taste until they try them themselves! Welcome to the blogosphere. 🙂
singinginthenoir says
Thanks for sharing your recipe!