These Black Bean Quinoa Brownies are a delicious dessert that no one will suspect is healthier! Gluten free and vegan, this is a dessert you can feel good about serving.
Ok, raise your hand if you are done with your Christmas shopping.
No? Well I am about to make you feel better.
I haven't started. (Don't you feel good about yourself now????)
Alex's birthday is Wednesday and I'm actually quite pleased that I am done shopping for that. I ordered everything from Amazon and it will be here Tuesday. Nothing quite like waiting to the last minute.
I'm looking at it as a good thing that I haven't started, because every year the boys come up with a whole new list of things they really, really need just days before Christmas. They sprung their sudden need for Angry Birds GO (something I'd never heard of) this morning. Aren't my boys lucky to have a Mom who procrastinates shopping? Now I can get them what they really want.
Because it is the most stressful time of year to be a mom, I'm giving you chocolate today. Only these babies are the best kind of chocolate dessert. The guilt free kind.
Brought to us by Jessica from Desserts with Benefits, these babies literally let you have your cake (err....brownie) and eat it too!
Fudgy Black Bean Quinoa Brownies
Ingredients
- Dry:
- ¾ cup Swerve or sweetener of choice
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup quinoa flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Instant Coffee I used Starbucks VIA Columbia
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- Wet:
- 3 tablespoons flaxseeds ground
- ⅓ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- ½ cup fresh blueberry puree plus 1 tablespoon
- 15.5 ounces black beans drained and rinsed well
- 1 tablsepoon coconut oil melted
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 9" brownie pan with parchment paper both ways, set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir the flaxseed and almond milk together, set aside to thicken.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
- Rinse ~1 cup of fresh blueberries and puree in a blender. Pour all of the puree into a cup (no need to rinse out the blender, but try to pour at as much as possible). Measure ½ cup + 1 tbs and add back into the blender (drink the remaining blueberry puree ;D ) along with the black beans, oil, vanilla and thickened flaxseed mixture. Puree until all of the beans have been liquified. Pour into a clean large bowl.
- Add â…“ of the dry ingredients to the blender mixture and whisk. Add another â…“ of the dry to the wet and whisk, then finally add the last â…“ and whisk again (batter should be thick, feel free to fold in ~1 cup of chocolate chips, you chocolate-lovers!)
- Scoop the batter into the prepared brownie pan and spread to the edges. Bake for 45 minutes. To test if the center is cooked tap the surface and if it's firm and springs back, it's ready. Let cool for about 30-40 minutes in the pan, then flip onto a drying rack top-side/ugly-side down. Peel off the parchment paper and let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
**These brownies have no blueberry taste. I couldn't even tell they were in there! No one will notice either, they will be focused alllll on the chocolate
These get even better if eaten the next day! I didn't know it was possible, but they got even more fudgy and chocolatey. I suggest wrapping half of the brownies for later and eating the remainder the day of... you know, just so you can compare the two 😉
Servings 9, Calories 100, Fat 3.5g, Carbohydrates 18g, Protein 4g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 290mg, Fiber 6g, Sugars 2g
Nutrition
Jessica Stier is a university student majoring in Nutritional Sciences who also posts healthy dessert recipes over at Desserts with Benefits™! Jessica uses natural and nutritious ingredients to make dishes that you can feel good about eating because they are beneficial to your body and overall health.
Jessica now lives a healthy, active and balanced lifestyle after growing up unhealthy, sedentary and addicted to sugary, processed foods. She is determined to show people that healthy dessert does exist with every recipe she posts.
To learn more about Jessica and to see her healthy dessert recipes, check out here blog, Desserts with Benefits™!
Lisen Lundblad
Erythritol, what natural foods could I use instead? X
Toni Logan
I'm trying to figure out why you would use canola oil???? It's extremely unhealthy, plus most is GMO so it has heavy pesticides plus glyphosate!!
Wendy Polisi
You are so right! This is actually an older guest post that I just included in the newsletter. That is a good reminder to check the recipes first - I never, ever, use canola oil. I didn't know how bad it was years ago, but now you won't see it in my home.
Shannon Graham
This is a really nice dessert!