No joke, these brownie bites taste as good as they look. I’m forever trying to find recipes like this; recipes that taste great, are simple to make, pack easily in lunchboxes, can be served to guests because they don’t taste weird, and that are grain and refined-sugar free.
Though both black beans and cocoa technically are on the “GAPS not allowed” list, they’re both allowed on SCD, which GAPS is based on and many people on GAPS, even strict GAPS, are okay with them.
Because my daughter is back on GAPS for learning disabilities (she made huge progress with reading when we did a GAPS trial, so for now we’ll be back on it), be looking for more recipes on the blog as we are motivated to try new things and improve on our prior favorites.
Fudgy Grain-Free Black Bean Brownie Bites
1-3/4 cups cooked black beans, drained (I buy black beans here)
1/3 cup coconut oil or butter, melted (I buy my coconut oil here)
3/4 cup cocoa powder (I buy this cocoa powder)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/8 if your beans were salted (I buy this sea salt)
1/2 cup honey (I buy this honey, or the honey at Costco)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/2 cup crispy pecans {optional} (I make crispy pecans with this recipe)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350* F. In a food processor, blend beans, melted coconut oil or butter, and honey until beans are smooth.
Add in cocoa powder, sea salt, and vanilla, and puree until mixed in.
Add eggs and pulse to mix.
Finally, add in crispy pecans and pulse to chop and mix in.
Line a 8×8 or 8×10-inch pan with parchment paper and pour in batter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until top starts to crack and brownies are set and not runny when you push down gently in the center.
Allow to cool, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Serve with sliced strawberries.
Store in the fridge, these are best at room temperature or chilled, making them ideal to pack in lunchboxes!
Yield: 16 bites
Nutrition analysis
I was curious and wanted to see how much protein vs how many calories were in this.
In 1/16th of the recipe: 136 calories, 9 g fat, 14 g carb (3 g fiber), protein 3 g
Fudgy Flourless Black Bean Brownie Bites - Grain and Refined-Sugar Free
Ingredients
- 1-3/4 cups cooked black beans drained
- 1/3 cup coconut oil or butter melted
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/8 if your beans were salted
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup crispy pecans {optional}
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350* F. In a food processor, blend beans, melted coconut oil or butter, and honey until beans are smooth.
-
Add in cocoa powder, sea salt, and vanilla, and puree until mixed in.
-
Add eggs and pulse to mix.
-
Finally, add in crispy pecans and pulse to chop and mix in.
-
Line a 8x8 or 8x10-inch pan with parchment paper and pour in batter.
-
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until top starts to crack and brownies are set and not runny when you push down gently in the center.
-
Allow to cool, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Serve with sliced strawberries.
-
Store in the fridge, these are best at room temperature or chilled, making them ideal to pack in lunchboxes!
-
Yield: 16 bites
Free for this month!
20 Grain-Free treat recipes including Mouth-Watering Bacon Roses, Buttery Grain-Free Shortbread, Creamy Coconut Vanilla Custard, and MORE!
Thanks for the recipe! I will definitely be making these. How long do you soak your beans for?
To be honest, I did the ‘boiling water’ soak cheat for this (soak for 1 hour in hot water) but normally I do 24 hours.
Thanks Cara! Always nice to have a cheat up your sleeve when things are hectic!
Could you use navy beans instead? There’s a thermomix magic bean choc cake recipe we use that uses white beans with similar looking outcome so that would probably work I’m guessing and as I recall navy beans are fine on GAPS??
Yes! Navy beans are fine on GAPS, I haven’t tried them here, if you do can you let us know? :)
These look wonderful. I especially like the no weird taste you described. Stopping by from Keeper of the Home. Pinned.
These are DELICIOUS!!!! LOVE the recipe! Thank you!! :) It reminds me of the Japanese sweet bean cakes they make. They are really soft and sweet but very delicate. Beans actually make good sweets! :)
Can I sub carob for the cocoa? Is there anything wrong with carob so far as diet goes? Would it work in the recipe? I get terrible 4 day migraines from chocolate/caffeine in any amount.
Love these brownies! I’ve been making them for years and they’re so tasty, healthy and easy to prepare. No-one can believe they’re made on black beans with no flour. I’ve tried other recipes over the years but this is by far my favourite ☺️
I may just not be used to more healthy recipes, but found these brownies to be inedible. The texture is chalky and they were not nearly sweet enough. Even a bit bitter. Reminded me of eating unsweetened cocoa powder right out of the can.
Very bitter