Black Bean Brownies Recipe

Fudgy black bean brownies are a truly decadent dessert. You won't even notice those missing calories.

Black bean brownies may sound extremely unappealing, but I can assure you they are phenomenal. You will not notice the black beans in these, I promise.

I put this to the test on my mother-in-law. Now, she usually turns her nose up at my healthy meals and any attempts to make things healthier, lower in calories, or more whole-grain.

It’s not that she doesn’t like that we try to live a healthy lifestyle. It’s not that she isn’t grateful that I’m trying to keep my family healthy and well-fed. It’s more that she’s just a meat and potatoes, white pasta, white bread kind of girl.

I should also add that she eats and appreciates most everything that I make and is always very willing to try new things. And like me, she has a major sweet tooth. Especially when it comes to brownies and cupcakes. When they said they were coming over for dinner, I knew I was going to make these brownies and put them to the ultimate test. I told my husband about my evil plan and got to baking.

I pureed the beans and got out the cocoa powder. I left the eggs in the fridge. I left the oil in the pantry. I pulled the whole wheat flour out of the fridge and left the all-purpose in the pantry. I got the chocolate chips out though, because let’s be real, they were necessary. I also grabbed some espresso powder to deepen the flavor of these and really bring out the taste of the chocolate.

Mixed it all together and baked them in what else? A 350 degree oven. Set them on a cooling rack and quickly got rid of all evidence.

Keep in mind that I’m a terrible liar. I mean, really, really terrible. So my mother-in-law comes in and I can barely wait to shove a cold glass of milk into her hands with one of these moist, rich black bean brownies.

She tastes them and barely finishes saying, “These are great” before I blurt out, “They have black beans in them!”

I think her exact words were, “Really? Wow! I’d still eat another one even though I know that.”

But she didn’t. Minor details, really. These brownies are phenomenal. Try them, you’ll see!

And don’t worry, my husband and I didn’t let these go to waste. They disappeared all too quickly. Thank goodness for the reduced calorie content!

Craving more chocolate brownie goodness? Try these protein brownies, Mexican chocolate brownies, Kahlua-cinnamon brownies, or sky-high confetti cream cheese brownies.

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