I had seen this recipe on Pinterest last year and said, “Pff,
black beans in MY brownies, heck no!” Then
I kept seeing it in healthy living blogs, like this from Powercakes, so I decided I would give it a
shot. I am in love with healthy ‘ice
creams’ now, so why not brownies?
(My Healthy
Ice Creams = combos of frozen bananas, frozen fruit, Greek Yogurt, cocoa
powder, peanut butter, & nuts)
Your Healthier Black Bean Power Brownies
- 1 Can Black Beans, drained & rinse
- ½ Can Pumpkin
- ½ C Milk (Vanilla Almond = Yum!)
- 2 T Peanut Butter, or other nut butter
- ½ C Cocoa Powder, unsweetened
- 1 t Baking Powder
- 1T Chia Seeds, ground
- 1 t Vanilla extract
- 3 t Cinnamon
- ½ C Chopped Walnuts
- In a food processor (or blender), combined your black beans, pumpkin, peanut butter and ½ of your milk. Blend until smooth.
- Pour black bean blend into a large bowl and add remaining milk, cocoa, baking powder, chia seeds, vanilla & cinnamon. Blend until smooth.
- Add in chopped walnuts & pour into 8 x 11 pan. (Other sizes will work, that’s just my favorite pan.)
- See below for swirl options you could add at this time for a different, yet still healthy flavor
- Cover with foil & bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Toppings:
Because these brownies aren’t as sweet as I am used to, they
aren’t loaded with a ½ cup sugar after all, I wanted a little something sweeter
on top. I took equal parts of organic raspberry
jelly & organic Greek yogurt and mixed them in a bowl before letting it all
melt on top of my warm brownie.
That makes for a great & still healthy brownie!
Another topping I saw here was a combination of frozen bananas,
blueberries, & walnuts mixed in a food processor and spread on top. I’d try that!
Recommendations:
Use the type of cocoa powder you would normally use in your
other favorite brownies. I tried dark
cocoa in these, and I think they were a little too bittersweet. Since I normally use it, I will try regular
cocoa next time.
Next time, for a tastier combination, I am going to make a
brownie swirl. To make your swirl, simply pour your brownies into your pan as
usual, then plop your swirl ingredients in multiple locations on top, use a
knife to cut the swirl design. (See here
with my Pumpkin Brownies Swirls)
- 2 Swirl Options I’d try:
- Greek yogurt/Peanut Butter combination and swirl my brownie mix before putting it in the oven
- Add in my favorite fruit, raspberries. Crush ½ a container and swirl them into the mix with a knife before baking.
Have you ever made Black Bean ‘Power’ Brownies? Will you try any for yourself?
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