Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

Better than regular brownies. Fudgy, chocolately, delicious. Highly recommend you try them. 

Absolutely fantastic, so easy, and we add a splash of soy milk too. The topping is also divine. Just a small slice is enough to grab at the end of a meal to satiate any sweet cravings, it is so satisfying. Mostly we eat it warmed up slightly with berries and a spoon of coconut yougurt if we don't make the topping. We add some nuts towards the end to add a bit of crunch, walnuts or macadamias. Thank you for this incredible treat that is 100% healthy. (We also soak the dried dates in hot water for 20 mins then drain it, and so easy in a food processor. )

Love this recipe. The optional topping is a big hit with EVERYONE -- nutritarian to die-hard meat-eaters.

These are one of my favorite desserts! They freeze well.

This is a great item. I found it to be very tasty, not overly sweet and relatively easy to make. I suggest, like so many before me, to use a high powered food processor and add some milk to make the mixture wet so it will mix properly, I also (from someone else's suggestion, soaked my dates in warm water.) My confusion is in a couple places; 1) baking temp clearly says 325 in the recipe yet there are several reviews mention it to be 350. 2) several reviews mentioned over an hour baking time when the recipe clearly says 35 minutes. I cooked mine for 40 minutes to avoid underbaking and it came out just fine.

I wonder if the recipe changed over time since I see some of the comments/reviews are several years old.

These brownies taste great. At first I didn't know what to expect. The mixture (I used flax seeds and added 1/2 cup of soy milk in a food processor) didn't seem like it could taste any good, it didn't smell sweet. But after they were baked it was a whole different story. They really taste amazing, the texture and the taste remind me of a traditional chocolate marble cake. I am pleasantly surprised and I will continue making more of these.

These brownies are great but the recipe needs 1/2 of plant milk or liquid to process. ...

The sodium content is quite high on these if you use regular baking powder and baking soda.  1tsp of baking soda has 1289mg of sodium and the same amount of baking powder has 488mg.   I used no sodium replacements at 1.5x the amount and they came out fine.

I always keep a batch of these in the refrigerator and we eat them after dinner. Really yummy and very moist.

This was super easy to make, maybe the easiest plant based recipe i have ever made. I had bought a food processor after reading all the comments and needed one anyway. Love that it has beans in it and you cannot taste it at all! I doubled the recipe and made 2 pans. I added 1 cup of almond milk to the batter. The frosting is way too rich in my opinion. Since I made 2 pans, I did one with frosting & broken walnuts on top and one pan with no topping. One small brownie is enough to cure my sweet tooth!

How is the sodium so low with the baking powder and baking soda?

Not bad but I do like a dark chocolate flavor. I am not sure I could serve these without some comments. Has anyone tried swirling in some almond butter? Maybe next time. Otherwise, a great snack.

Ummm...wow!  I'm the OC (original chocoholic), and these brownies are fudge-y enough for me!  I just drizzled about 1 Tbsp of maple syrup on top and let that bake in...sooo good!  Thank you for this one.

I don't see how anyone could give these anything except 5 stars. Literally the best brownies I've ever made. Great recipe Dr. Fuhrman. Thank you for this one because I'm a chocolate person. 

If you add fresh berries on top, you can check off a "B" too! I love raspberries!

Tried these today subbing white beans for black, left out cocoa, subbed peanut butter for almond and added 1 cup rolled oats that was pulsed into flour-like consistency. My new Blondie recipe... and added cinnamon, extra vanilla and 3/4 cup plant milk.

Same bake time, yummy!

Righteous. This is now our go-to brownie recipe

Made these yesterday, and they were a hit with the whole family.  I soaked the dates beforehand in hot water, and opted to make mini muffin sized brownie bites.  This recipe made 22 mini muffins, and I had to divide them up among family members before fights broke out. :)  My youngest sliced each one open and made a sandwich of brownie bite stuffed with a banana slice.

I made these a week ago, they were pretty good. Sure kept me out of sugary stuff on Easter.

Today I added half cup rolled oats pulsed in food processor before adding other ingredients. Increased plant milk to 3/4 cup and decreased cocoa to half cup.

Baked them the same , for 35 minutes.  I like them even better!

The batter tastes richer and fudgier than the baked brownies, in my opinion. May leave out the baking soda and baking powder next time and eat them with a spoon. Great recipe! Hard to believe it's Fuhrman approved. :)

Please try this with peanut butter as a "frosting" w/ a glass of unsweetened soymilk!

Mmmmmmmmm ... yum!  You may never want to do the avocado topping again!

Equally delicious w/ kidney beans!

Can you use a flax egg instead of the chia seeds? Because the chia seeds kinda get gushy, so I was thinking that the flax egg might work the same. Excited to try this recipe!! I love when I can eat healthily but it tastes like normal food lol

The brownies did not solidify enough to cut or handle. Tasty, but the consistency achieved is almost like a tray of frosting. I follwed the recipe precisely. Is the 200 degree temperature instruction correct? Hmm.

Any beans will work - do not have to be black. I have used kidney beans, adzuki beans and half great northern, half black beans. Chopped pecans or walnuts add a nice crunch. Use a food processor and definitely soak the dates in boiling water for about 10 minutes before mixing. Use a little of the soaking water if you need some liquid in the mix. 

Easy to make and tastes great!  I used a natural organic peanut butter instead of almond butter and it tasted awesome!  Great comforting healthy snack.

I agree with the comments here. The end result is fantastic! It was very difficult to mis in the blender though. I will try using a food processor next time, and possibly soaking the dates to soften them so they blend easier. Love love love them! 

Wow. Positively scrumptious. I used homemade cashew butter instead of almond butter and soaked the dates for about 5 minutes in boiling water. Then I fished them out and added to the rest of the ingredients. Used the food processor and needed no additional liquid. Cooked them for the entire time recommended. My husband loved them and had no idea they were made with black beans. A real keeper. Think there will always be some of these in my freezer. 

These are more like really soft fudge, but oh my they are good! I put a bit more walnuts in them, as well as on top of the frosting. I've made these a few times and it's one of my husband's and my favorite. 

My Blendtec could not blend this without adding some soy milk. What am I doing wrong? They were good anyway. I also added 2T date paste, since I couldn't get the dates to blend thoroughly. I make date paste in my food processor, so maybe I should have used that instead of the Blendtec. I made with 1/2 black beans and 1/2 lentils, since that is what I had, and it didn't make any difference. It still had a nice brown chocolate color. I will share this with some friend tomorrow. I didn't bake it. It was too lovely raw and none of the ingredients need to be cooked. What I ended up with was more of a chocolate mousse. 

These were better after chilling in the fridge for a day. I made them in my food processor and added 1/2 cup of almond milk as others had suggested. Instead of the topping, I put about half a cup of sliced strawberries on top. This made a nice dessert.

As with many sweet, baked goods, freezing them and eating then straight out of the freezer brings out the sugars and sweetness (imho).

We have made these with different beans, Black, adzuki, and a Rancho Gordo bean similar to pinto bean texture.  Using a mushier bean is better.  Adzuki came out nice.  It blends beautifully in the Vitamix, fluffy and lightly sweet.  

This is delicious and forgiving. I forgot to grind the chia seeds but in they went. Added an extra date. Used peanut butter instead of almond butter. Cacao powder instead of cocoa. Also needed to add a 1/4 cup of almond milk (next time I'll go with a 1/2 cup). Man these were good. Served them to my two year old for her bday and she loved them. So did my mom and her friend and my friend and her 4 year old. Whoosh! Gone! Next time I'll add coconut and maybe some nuts and make a double batch. These will be what I'm bringing for dessert to Thanksgiving. Just so damned thrilled with these. Yum yum!

My whole family loves, loves, loves this recipe. I have never made the optional topping but the brownies are fabulous.  Warning, they are NOT sweet.  They ARE chocolately though!  I never tell people they are made with black beans until after they have tried them, and they all love them!  I usually just say that the brownies do not contain sugar so they are not very sweet, but they are healthy and lo-cal. I usually double the batch since I am going through the effort of making it. I bought a new food processor specifically for this recipe and the extra power makes it easier to blend everything.  Still, I add 1/4 cup of unsweetened natural apple sauce to help blend everything better.  I have made it several times, and here is the best taste and consistency when making a single batch as directed (brownies only, not the topping):

       add 2 extra dates
       add 1/4 cup natural unsweetened apple sauce
      add 1/4 cup or more unsweetened shredded coconut
      add 1/4 cup or more chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds

Love these brownies. Go great with berry sherbet! 1:10 time made them moist and fudge

Made these brownies for the first time tonight and while we all loved the taste, they were very dry so I will definitely be adding liquid next time. Also don't think they need to cook for an hour and a half in the oven, Will try again as taste/texture were great. Any other tips woudl be appreciated especially for a more moist brownie.

Thanks to the comments that told me they had to add a liquid.  My VitaMix could not handle this.  Even after I added some almond milk I had to leave what seemed like quite a bit in the blender.  I could not get it out.  I can tell you that between my grinder taking extra muscle and my blender choking I burned a bunch of calories.  The jury is out for me.  I'm hoping the effort will be worth it.  If so, I will update my comment!!

Update:  The finished product was good enough to warrant another attempt.  This time I used my food processor for the mixture and it didn't require extra liquid and it was much easier.  First time I ended up with very little avocado because mine was mostly rotten.  This time my frosting has a full avocado.  This is a success in my book.  I put walnuts on top for crunch and flavor.

I made this for a dinner party. My daughter suggested I serve it with coconut cream. We poured it as a sauce, added one drop of stevia into the sauce and it looked like whipped cream served with brownies. Visuals are everything.   I made it a second time, this time I used peanut butter instead of almond butter and I forgot the chia seeds. This batch came out fudgier. I eat these as a snack and I can hold off till lunch or dinner. The first time I put it in the Ninja blender and the dates didn't chop conpletely, maybe because it was too dry. The next time I put it in the Ninja food processor and let it blend for a while, it cam out very creamy. This recipe is a keeper

I just dont know the difference between the Medjool dates and regular dates.

These were absolutely delicious! You cannot tell they are "healthy." My husband and I love them! The topping itself it like a whipped pudding treat!  I would recommend a couple of changes, which really helped me the second time I made them.  First, chop the dates in a high powered blender (Vitamix), they are easier to mix in once you get it all in a food processor. I like the dates with pits in them because sometimes the pitted dates ended up being dry.  It takes almost no time to pit a date. I am almost tempted to make a batch and take them to work and see if the guys like them without telling them they are made from black beans.  :-)

I just baked these and my husband and I both thought they were a great substitute for the real thing! They do NOT taste like the typical sweet brownie, but reminded me more of the taste of chocolate bars that contain a high percentage of cocoa. I didn't have black beans, so used garbanzo beans instead.  And due to the other comments, I soaked 20 deglet dates (approximately 1 cup) in 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk (didn't have medjool dates) and used the almond milk in the recipe as well.  Otherwise I followed the recipe as stated, also baking for 1 1/2 hours at 200 degrees. I forgot to add chopped walnuts, definitely will add next time. I will also add a few more dates (the recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups domestic dates) since I only used 1 cup. 

These are great.  If you're making this recipe for the first time don't be alarmed by how dense the batter is after it's blended. It will bake so much fudgier that way.  I agree with others that it's alot to ask of any blender without added liquid. I've made it in the Blendtec quite a few times but the thickness of the batter is easier to remove out of a food processor. The time that I did add liquid cost me a lot of the fudge texture.  I haven't soaked the dates before but I wil try this next time.

These are really good. I have made a few times. But! I am looking to substitute carob powder. I don't want caffeine. Any suggestions? 

The mouth feel of these is great. Dense and goey. Try topping these with any nice cream. I topped them with a cherry banana nice cream and it paired well. The wetness of the nice cream offsets the somewhat dry consistency of the brownie.