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Home » Method » Baking

Black Bean Brownies - They Can't All be Winners

By: Kita · Published Jul 11, 2011 · Updated: Nov 14, 2016 · This post may contain affiliate links

Black bean brownies are all of the rage, so I really thought I'd like them, but I didn't. 

Black Bean Brownies Recipe // PassTheSushi.comThey can't all be winners, right? As far as recipes go, this one was a failure for me.

And frankly, it would be unrealistic to assume everything that comes out of my kitchen is covered in awesomesauce. Truth be told, it's not. I spend time picking apart even the dishes I get the most compliments on. Jotting down my thoughts and notes in cookbooks, on scraps of paper or here on the computer on how to better the recipe the next time around. I burn chicken, experiment with foods that Handsome pushes around his plate trying to make disappear, and have on more than on occasion, watched all day for a dough never to rise. It's all about learning though - and that's why I keep coming back for more. I probably wouldn't have such a hard time consuming an expensive hobby if I didn't.

I spotted these black bean brownies on the food porn sites and penciled them into my list of things I wanted to try.

Black beans are a favorite of mine, and I love even more the idea of sneaking something somewhat healthy into a snack that Handsome may not even notice. Shh, don't tell him. Problem was, once these came out and cooled, I hated them. They weren't brownie-like in texture or taste. All I could taste was sodium. And not that, 'I just walked up and ran my tongue along a salt lick' kind of sodium. More like something that crept up on the back of your throat and just hung out there. I took another bite hoping I was just being too critical, but no. These were gross.

So, why post them then? Well, I figured what the hell, maybe someone has some tips or suggestions regarding this recipe that they could post. I'll try anything twice. 😉 The hostess of the blog that the recipe comes from loved them, and so did her family, so maybe I'm just weird.

Black Bean Brownies Recipe // PassTheSushi.com

Black Bean Brownies

Discovered on Mmm is for Mommy Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

  • 1 19oz (540ml) can black beans
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • ⅔ cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso
  • ¼ cup bittersweet chocolate chips (in my case Reese's Pieces)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish.

Drain and rinse the beans very well. Place all ingredients, except for chocolate chips, into blender and blitz until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with chips.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is dry and the sides pull away from the edges.

 

Ok, now please tell me where I went wrong. Nothing breaks a girls heart like throwing away an entire tray of brownies.

 

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Pat Watters says

    July 11, 2011 at 9:00 am

    I've made black bean brownies before - a recipe I got from a friend. It's a brownie box mix and one can of black beans. Rinse the beans, puree them in a blender and add the resultant mush to the mix, stir well; nothing else, that's it! Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. They're a bit moister than my family's homemade brownies, but pretty tasty. My son had to bring in a healthy food for his HS nutrition class and this was what he chose to bring. He didn't tell his classmates the ingredients until after the taste test and still had kids coming back for 2nds and 3rds. As a caution, eating too many of these is like eating too many beans!

    Reply
  2. Isabelle says

    July 11, 2011 at 10:05 am

    My initial reaction is that the whole can of black beans is where you went wrong. I love me some beans, but they just don't belong in brownies IMO. 😛
    That said, you might have better results if you use an organic brand of canned beans - I find they have much less sodium than the regular commercial brands. Unless you can find a no--sodium brand of beans, you can probably omit the 1/4 tsp salt too, since the beans should have more than enough salt for a whole pan of brownies.
    Good luck! At least this failure looked pretty,,, mine usually look like such a disaster that I can't even manage a nice photo. 🙂

    Reply
  3. ping says

    July 11, 2011 at 10:29 am

    How do you make a failure look so pretty? I certainly am in no position to give out any advice but personally, I'd never have thought beans and brownies would go together. I feel the same way about throwing away a whole recipe ... so sad after all that effort. Perhaps all the wise advise above might help for the next batch ... there will be a next batch, right?

    Reply
  4. Sandra's Easy Cooking says

    July 11, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    My opinion, your brownies look INCREDIBLE! I love your presentation, and photo Kita! Just beautiful and tasty looking!

    Reply
  5. Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says

    July 11, 2011 at 3:20 pm

    Ok - as a lover of BB Brownies, here's what I think: not enough cocoa, use unsalted butter instead of oil, sub agave for sugar (to avoid granules since the beans make the texture unforgiving), use no sodium black beans, and add more flavor - coffee + vanilla + maybe some spices.

    Here's my favorite version: https://www.sprint2thetable.com/2011/01/spice-up-your-dessert/

    If you try them and don't like them I'll send you a batch of regular brownies. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Mi Vida en un Dulce says

    July 11, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    Oh Kita, I'm so sorry for this, I cann't believe you have to discard the bownies. I never tried black beans in a brownie, but what if you add a touch of coffee? and melted chocolate? I don't know, sorry...are you sure you want to give another opportunity to this?

    Reply
  7. fivefinickyeaters says

    July 11, 2011 at 4:56 pm

    I hate recipe failures too. I say move on...and try a different recipe.

    Reply
  8. Christine says

    July 11, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    I think your brownies look amazing.

    Reply
  9. Lindsey@Lindselicious says

    July 11, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    Oh no thats the worse! I hate when you try to be all healthy and you think maybe I did one too many subs. I have been wanting to try these for a while too. Thanks for sharing- even thoug they didnt come out like you wanted. But they look good!

    Reply
  10. Felice says

    July 11, 2011 at 6:44 pm

    They look amazing. I have never made these before but maybe next time you could use a no-sodium can of black beans? They do sound intriguing and I love a recipe where people are shocked at the secret ingredient.

    Reply
  11. Vicki @ WITK says

    July 11, 2011 at 8:06 pm

    Bummer, I've read about these a lot and have never tried making them. I figure that if I'm going to eat a brownie, I can leave out the beans 🙂

    Reply
  12. Sandra says

    July 11, 2011 at 9:20 pm

    Nothing beats a failure except a second try ( or a third).

    Reply
  13. nicole says

    July 11, 2011 at 10:39 pm

    aww sorry your brownies were are failure. maybe try again with a low sodium bean and now added salt? Love your pics tho.

    Reply
  14. Kate says

    July 11, 2011 at 10:50 pm

    I just love that you use the word, "awesomesauce". Love your blog. As Julia Child said, "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude." I'm just impressed you attempted black bean brownies! Bravo!

    Reply
  15. Jill Colonna says

    July 12, 2011 at 5:02 am

    No advice needed here. Photos are gorgeous for a start and love the idea of sticking smarties on them to sweeten up the sodium, lol. Never even attempted these but why not call them Blackies? Or Reddies, if you use red beans? No idea but sounds mad, anyway 🙂

    Reply
  16. Manu says

    July 12, 2011 at 5:31 am

    I have never eaten bb brownies, so I can't help you on this one... but they look pretty good to me! I am like you though... I always try to experiment and make things "better" by taking notes while trying and retrying recipes until I am 100% satisfied!!! hehehe <3

    Reply
  17. Emily @ Life on Food says

    July 12, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    Don't give up on Black bean brownies just yet. I have had multiple versions and they have all been delicious. 101 Cookbooks has a great recipe.

    Reply
  18. Eliot says

    July 13, 2011 at 8:39 am

    My mom first told me about these and I was intrigued. I think I had more success than you did, but, you know, they are still black bean brownies. 🙂 I don't think they stand up to the old "tried -and-true" recipes with all the good stuff like butter!!!!!!!

    Reply
  19. Kelly says

    July 13, 2011 at 9:47 am

    Aww I'm so sorry for your failure! But they sure do LOOK good 🙂

    Reply
  20. Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts says

    July 14, 2011 at 11:02 am

    I had high hopes for these. I have heard of black bean brownies before, and I wanted them to be good! Maybe some trial and error and you can come up with a winner recipe!

    Reply
  21. Amy @ Elephant Eats says

    July 18, 2011 at 9:27 am

    Haha, I made black bean brownies with the same results! They tasted like...well, beans. They were dry and disgusting and after forcing myself to eat 2 so that I didn't feel like I had just wasted all of the ingredients that went into it, I couldn't bare another bite. I hope the trash can wasn't insulted when I tossed them in.

    Reply
  22. Tori @ The Shiksa in the Kitchen says

    July 18, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    Love the honesty of this post. Hey, it happens. Nobody is immune to an occasional kitchen disaster!

    Reply
  23. Bonnie says

    February 06, 2012 at 9:08 pm

    The best black bean brownie recipe is at: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/black-bean-brownies-recipe/index.html

    I have made it four times. Hubby didn't know about the beans for the first 2 batches. By the 3rd batch, he loved 'em so much he didn't care!

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Kita! The mountain biking, travel junkie, professional freelance photographer, and creator behind the scenes.

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