Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies

Kitty FloridoMay 18, 2020

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

I honestly wasn’t looking to make a gluten-free dish, but it happened… and it was amazing. I was chatting with a friend that’s currently in the stage of hiding veggies and grains in food for her no-longer toddler, and this seemed like a genius move (also, because Ignacio loves chocolate!). Helga already made a recipe like this, we talked about it a few times, and even had me double thinking if we already posted a recipe like this one on the site… but we didn’t so no double-take on an oldie!

Since we’re all working from home, sheltering in place – and using what we have – I didn’t want to run to the store to get a can of black beans. I usually have a small 2-pound bag of uncooked beans to make Black Bean Soup, using the beans for a quick lunch (like this Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl), and to have some black beans as a side of a sunny side up egg. If you’ve never cooked beans from scratch, don’t worry, I’ll show you how. Usually I prepare them using the Slow Cooker, but this time I’ll show you the usual stove top way.

The most important thing to do is wash your beans, as you remove any dirt, you’ll see some of the beans float to the top. Discard those (see them in the pic above?), and change the water to purified water (so the beans have an inch or two of water above them), letting them soak for two hours or overnight. Then, strain the those beans, move them to a pot, add water and cook. In this case, without any savory add-ins as we’re using it for a dessert. The beans substitute the flour, but you won’t notice. I promise.

As you can see, the batter looks totally normal. The chips get divided, half in the batter, half on top. The inside chips are what give these brownies the extra fudginess that you expect when biting into a little square. Just because I didn’t have any vanilla ice-cream in the fridge, I didn’t serve them with a ice c0ld scoop. And my last bit of advice, wait until the brownies have completely cooled before cutting. The task will be much easier.

Kitty

Gluten-Free Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste
Yields: 16 squares

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups of black beans, rinsed and drained – or ⅔ cup of dry black beans
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon of instant coffee
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (divided)

Instructions, for cooking the beans:

If you’re cooking the beans, start here, if not jump to the next section.
Quick wash the black beans in water and see if any of the beans float to the top. If they do, you can discard those. Soak the beans in purified water for at least 2 hours, but preferably over night. Strain the beans and add them in a big pot, covering them with 2″ to 3 inches of water.
Boil for 45 minutes to an hour, always making sure that there’s always water in the pot. Add more as necessary. We’re not adding salt or anything else to the beans, so when you taste them they will taste bland.
After the beans have been cooked, measure 1 ¾ cups of drained beans and set aside for the brownies.

Instructions, for the brownies:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease a nonstick 9-by-9-inch square baking pan with baking spray, and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
Add the ingredients to a blender, starting with the liquids and beans first: eggs, oil, balsamic vinegar, and black beans. Blend until smooth.
Add the cocoa powder, sugar, balsamic, baking soda, baking powder and coffee, and blend until smooth and pour into a bowl.
Fold in ½ cup of chocolate chips until combined and pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on the top.
Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 to 32 minutes.
Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing them into squares.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen

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