Black Bean Brownies
Posted by Celine on July 26, 2007
update: here’s my take on them, the one I can barely stop myself from making all the time. yum!
and now for the original recipe:
Activist Mommy’s Vegan Brownies
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup vegan sugar
2 bananas
1/4 cup applesauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a lightly greased 8×8 pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!
I’m aware I should probably be focusing on my own recipes at the moment, but I’ve seen this one pop up in several places [including the ppk] and couldn’t resist the strangeness of it.
the husband loves them! I only mentioned the black beans after he said he liked them a lot. woohoo! haven’t tried them myself though.
they stayed rather mushy, from what he said, even though I added over 10 minutes to the baking time. I’m sure they’ll be perfect after spending the night in the fridge, yo.
NOTE: Activist Mommy recommends to cut down on applesauce for less mushy brownies. and JSnow’s idea of adding cayenne pepper sounds really good.
final update: I tried them and the first bite is very banana-y, but right after that you get hit by all the delicious flavors that make the usual brownie taste so good. a definite winner, will make again with a few variations. yum!
July 26, 2007 at 3:48 pm
So this is.. A dessert? Wow. That’s.. Weird. First there was [url="http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/02/cant-be-beet-chocolate-cake.html"]beet chocolate cake[/url], now this, so I wonder what’s next. TVP-brownies maybe?
I cannot help but admire peoples’ imagination!
July 26, 2007 at 6:33 pm
WEIRD! I may have to try this.
July 26, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Okay, I’m scared. But now I have to try them. Dang! Gluten free too. That is kinda cool.
July 27, 2007 at 12:34 am
black beans in a brownie? what an intriguing recipe!
July 27, 2007 at 3:01 am
i don’t know if i’m brave enough to try this, but it’s the most surprising thing i’ve seen in a while. black beans in a brownie??? wow!
July 27, 2007 at 3:04 am
Mushy brownies?! Hello heaven! Very unique. i like unique!
July 27, 2007 at 3:37 am
it was just too weird not to try. if the picky eater loves them, I think it’s a safe bet that anyone would. except maybe those who hate bananas, which is a strong flavor.
July 27, 2007 at 4:20 am
I’m glad you liked them. :) They’re a favorite around here. I have to limit my oldest son or he’ll eat the whole pan, and in brownies beans are still beans. LOL enjoy!
July 27, 2007 at 4:21 am
they’re so healthy, a whole pan of them doesn’t sound like a bad thing at all! thank you for a great recipe, AM. :D
July 27, 2007 at 4:28 am
Oh, I forgot to add if they’re too mushy for you cut back on the applesauce to fix that.. :)
July 27, 2007 at 4:44 am
ooh, thanks for this! I’ll definitely try them again with that correction.
July 27, 2007 at 9:46 am
i like how activistmommy wrote “… and in brownies beans are still beans” — heh! Gotta be careful with too many legumes, even if the body is “used” to ‘em, ‘eh!? Celine, thanks for turning us on to these. i’m gonna try to make ‘em at some point.
July 27, 2007 at 10:05 am
but we’ll blame the cows if the beans aren’t going straight where they’re uhm supposed to, K. it’s all good.
July 27, 2007 at 10:56 am
Wow, I’m another these are so bizarre I just have to try them kind of person. Plus I love black beans. Plus I can eat them and still be on a diet (well sort of :P)
July 27, 2007 at 11:26 am
I wonder how they’d work out with a natural liquid based sweetener like maple syrup instead of plain sugar. might be able to leave out the applesauce all together?
July 27, 2007 at 11:28 am
that’s what I was going to suggest before I read the last sentence of your comment, Addy. I think it would work great.
July 27, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I’ve made these before w/out bananas and they’re really good! ;)
July 27, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Wow, what a concept! I’ve certainly added some unusual ingredients into baked goods, but this one is really innovative. I must make some time to try it out myself…
July 28, 2007 at 4:11 am
good tip, Marci, I’ll try them that way.
I hope you’ll like them too Hannah!
July 28, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Hmmmm….I made these earlier today and they never set up! I baked them for an hour too. Strange. I then put them in the fridge all day. They are still good–like a thick fudgy pudding, however, I would not call them brownies! Maybe next time I will use less applesauce?
Courtney
July 31, 2007 at 12:00 am
Black beans in brownies kinda scares me, but they look so good! And moist. Maybe I’ll be adventurous and try them.
July 31, 2007 at 6:26 am
yes Courtney, ActivistMommy recommended to cut down on the applesauce for less of a pudding-like consistency. I think I’ll actually remove the bananas and use all the applesauce instead next time. I’m not a banana fan!
go for it Hilary! just be sure to cut down on the applesauce for them to be a bit firmer. or maybe it’ll work for you to do it exactly as the recipe says, it seems to go differently for every single person who tries them!
January 2, 2008 at 2:44 pm
[...] black bean brownies, courtesy of Activist [...]
April 17, 2008 at 12:28 pm
[...] You would never guess from looking at them, or even tasting them, but these are indeed the infamous black bean brownies that everyone was talking about ages [...]
April 23, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I had the same problem as Courtney - the brownies wouldn’t set! Maybe I tweaked the recipe too much. I only used one banana and a spoonful of apple butter instead of the apple sauce. I also included a splash of espresso to counter the black-bean flavor, to no avail. Still very beany. Interesting healthy chocolate dessert, but definitely not a brownie.
April 24, 2008 at 7:42 am
have you tried my adapted version, Callie? they do set and are mighty tasty. and come on, you know calling it a brownie was never meant to be taken to the letter: we’re talking beans and fruit here, not cream, margarine, and white sugar. ;p
May 26, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Hi. I was wondering if there is a basic recipe for applesauce to be used specifically for baking and recipes. Also, I just have to add that it is utterly inane to write and thoroughly annoying to have to cruise through all the “wow, I want to try that” and “gee, that looks yummy” comments. Hows about only writing useful feedback on recipes you’ve actually tried. Thanks.
May 26, 2008 at 5:55 pm
a little aggro, mazey, aren’t we?
May 26, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Trying to cut back on the white sugar. Might be a little edgy.
June 1, 2008 at 11:38 pm
holy crap, i finally made these. they are AMAZING! i used activist mommy’s original recipe since i had everything on hand plus some ripe bananas that needed to be made into bread but i am going gluten-free for a week. i’m going to try your adapted recipe soon. but wow! i was really not expecting to like these as much as i do.