Have you ever tried black bean brownies before? I know, I know. They sound a little strange. Beans in brownies?! I thought it was weird too, until my mom made them a couple years back and they. were. amazing. Soft, texturally unique, fudgy, ooey gooey goodness. SO, when I was looking for a healthy chocolate recipe, I thought to myself, “why not try mom’s black bean brownie recipe?”. And then as I was thinking about how to make things even more interesting, caramel and nuts came to mind. Thus these black bean turtle brownies were created. 🙂 And I would say it was a success, because everyone loved them! Even my little sister who usually won’t even try “healthified” things. 😉 Plus these brownies are FLOURLESS, GLUTEN-FREE and REFINED SUGAR FREE (if you make it with coconut sugar instead of raw, like I did)! Yay. Hope you guys enjoy!
Black Bean Turtle Brownies {gluten free}
Ingredients
BROWNIES:
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed well
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar or raw sugar
- 1/2 cup homemade raw caramel sauce recipe below
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
RAW CARAMEL SAUCE:
- 1/2 cup date paste 2 parts dates to 1 part water pureed thoroughly
- 1/2 cup raw almond butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
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To make your raw caramel sauce: Make date paste in blender and puree until smooth. Add almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon, and salt and blend again until smooth. Place in fridge in airtight container until ready to use.
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To make brownies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 pan with foil or parchment paper and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
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Pulse drained and rinsed beans and coconut oil in food processor until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl and add eggs, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and sugar. Stir until thoroughly combined.
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Pour half the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 9-11 minutes, or until top is set. Drizzle 1/2 cup raw caramel over the brownies and use the back of a spoon to spread it out if necessary. Pour the remaining brownie batter over the top, then sprinkle pecan pieces and chocolate chips on top.
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Bake for 16-18 more minutes, or until the top of brownies are set. Side note: because there is caramel in the middle these brownies will be very fudgy and moist! When cooled, drizzle more caramel on top if desired. Enjoy!
Wow! That looks sooo amazing! You are so creative! 😀
Thanks so much, Sarah! You are so sweet! Thanks for coming by my blog–headed to yours now! 😉
I can admit the use of “black beans” combined with the brownie term scares me. Just a little. 😉 I did recently have a black bean burger though, which was quite tasty. Thanks for sharing – these look delicious! 🙂
LOL — I don’t blame you! I never, ever would of tried it if not for my mom making it. Even then I was wary, but I ended up loving it! Of course, they’re definitely not for everyone–the texture is a little different but you can’t tell there’s beans in there. 😉 After that, we tried “interesting” things like chickpea blondies, cashew “cheese” bars, etc. Haha! Thank YOU for visiting my blog–as always–and for stopping by to chat with me. 🙂
I made the Black Bean Turtle Brownie last night and it was a hit at home. I brought some to work to share and no one even knew there was black bean in it. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Mary! Yay, thank you so much for coming by to share! It made me so happy. 🙂