Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth with Gluten-Free Black Bean Brownie Bites
I have had these at a fellow health coach friend’s house a few times and could not believe they had black beans. For one of my healthy living workshops, I wanted a sweet treat that was easy to make and eat and I had already spent a lot of time baking zucchini bread for another workshop early in the week. You won’t believe how simple this! And they are seriously so delicious. My husband and boys love these and it gives me some piece of mind for my 2 year-old especially that he is getting some protein and not all carbs – he could be happy eating french fries and bacon for every meal!
Ingredients and Baking Instructions
- Get a box of gluten-free brownie mix (available at most big grocery stores or an organic market; my preference is King Arthur gluten free brownie mix which I get at Target
- Preheat oven to box instruction, usually 350 degrees F
- Prepare batter to instructions on box – however, swap the butter or vegetable oil called for on the instructions for refined coconut oil
- 1 can or box of organic black beans – add entire can or box to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. There may be a few little bean specks – that’s ok.
Add the black beans to the large bowl of batter and stir. Grease a mini muffin tray with coconut oil (I used the Trader Joe’s coconut oil spray but often I just take coconut oil from a jar and grease using a paper towel or napkin). Fill each mini muffin tray until batter comes just below the top. You will likely need to make at least 2 batches or use two trays since adding the beans yields a lot of batter. Bake for 10-12 minutes until tops are not showing liquid. Remove and cool about 5 minutes and then transfer to a cook sheet lined with waxed paper for additional cooling time.
You may need to re-grease the muffin tins before you add the next round of batter. When tin is cool, use a paper towel to wipe out remnants from first batch (does not have to be perfectly clean, just no large chunks).
To jazz these up even more, add mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter. You could also add unsweetened shredded coconut or chia seeds – depends on who is eating them and whether they have texture preferences or tree nut allergies. I recently added my Juice Plus+ Chocolate Complete and it was an awesome that made them healthier yet still super delicious!