I’m mad about black beans and crazy about dark chocolate, so what
better way to honor these two food faves than to combine them into a
decadent yet healthy, flourless, vegan dessert.
Going flourless may be beneficial for your health–and just what the doctor ordered.
However, flourless baking can be a real trial-and-error process.
Flour, when used in baking, adds body, structure, texture and flavor to baked goods.
It often acts as a binder, attaching ingredients together.
When you remove the flour, you have to add something else in its place that will perform
the same function.
In this recipe, black turtle beans and rolled oats provide body, structure and texture.
The black turtle bean has a dense, meaty texture, which makes it popular in vegetarian dishes,
such as frijoles negros and the Mexican-American black bean burrito.
They are protein rich and contain the B vitamins: folate and thiamin as well as calcium and fiber.
Rich in minerals–a serving contains 20% or more of your daily needs of six different minerals:
Iron (24%), Phosphorus (28%), Copper (20%), Potassium (20%), Manganese (44%) and
Magnesium (34%).
Black beans provide important antioxidants which have been shown to have anti-inflammatory
properties.
Antioxidants heal the body by removing free radicals from the bloodstream.
Black beans contain three main anthocyanin antioxidants: petunidin, delphinidin, and malvidin.
which are the antioxidants that are mainly responsible for the black colour of the beans.
They also also contain quercetin and kaempferol.
Research confirms that antioxidant consumption helps prevent many diseases, such as cancer
and Alzheimer’s.
Black bean consumption has also been linked to the reduction of risk of several types of cancer–
most notably, colon cancer.
Today we are going to use this flavorful bean as a featured ingredient in a decadently-delicious,
flourless chocolate brownie.
In addition, the rolled oats offer a nutty taste and course texture.
And of course, what’s a brownie without the fabulous flavor of chocolate–in this case, chocolate chips.
Studies suggest that eating dark chocolate may lower cholesterol levels in adults, reduce the risk
of certain cardiovascular problems, reduce blood pressure and boost cognitive abilities.
Why Go Flourless?
Celiac disease is one of the main reasons for going flourless, but there are other reasons to
go flourless.
It could be an allergy to wheat or gluten.
You may want a more natural diet that reduces many diseases and health problems.
Maybe you just want to reduce the amount of carbs you take in every day.
Flour is high in carbs.
Removing flour from your diet has been found to help improve health.
Studies have shown that omitting flour may help free the body from such chronic diseases as:
• Obesity
• Cardiovascular disease (heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, congestive heart
failure, atherosclerosis)
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cancer of many types
• Autoimmune diseases (multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease,
ulcerative colitis, etc.)
• Osteoporosis
• Acne
• Myopia (nearsightedness), macular degeneration, glaucoma
• Varicose veins
• Hemorrhoids
• Diverticulosis, gastric reflux
• Gout
Amazin’ Vegan Flourless Black Bean Brownies
Makes 12 brownies
Ingredients:
1 cup dry, soaked and fully cooked organic black beans –
which should expand to about 2 cups of black beans
Note: You can use 2 cups of leftover black beans from an earlier meal
or one 15 ounce BPA-free can of organic black beans
1 cup coconut palm sugar (or healthy sweetener of choice)
½ cup organic oats
¼ cup organic cacao powder
1/4 cup organic coconut oil (or healthy organic oil of choice)
1 teaspoon organic vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of sea salt
1 cup organic dark chocolate chips
Optional add-ins:
1 mashed banana or 1 mashed sweet potato
1/2 – 1 avocado instead of oil.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease an 8 x 8 square baking pan and set aside.
Drain and rinse the black beans.
Place all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a food processor until completely smooth.
Mix in 3/4 cup chocolate chips by hand.
Add batter to the pan and spread it evenly in the pan.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate over the top if desired.
Bake the brownies for about 20 minutes.
They will still be soft and won’t have the texture of regular baked brownies, so don’t let them
burn on the edges.
Let sit for about 30 minutes before serving, so the brownies can firm up as they cool.
Slice into squares and savor the flavor.
Betcha can’t eat just one!
Enjoy!
Have you ever made flourless vegan baked goods?
What’s your favorite flourless vegan treat?
Share your thoughts, comments and experiences with us.
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I’ve been a little skeptical about the whole beans in my dessert thing… but I tried chickpea chocolate chip cookies and they were pretty amazeballs. So I’ll give these a try =) I really love the idea of flourless baking – it’s a more whole-foods approach. And I’m gluten-free, so that’s always easier for me then buying all of these crazy gf flours.
Hi Kimmy,
Yes, I agree with the whole foods approach as well. It sometimes takes a while to get the right results with gluten free and flourless baking but it’s fun to eat the experiments. Have fun!
I don’t have coconut palm sugar. Can I just use regular sugar? Also, what is the measurement for the cooked black beans? If it’s 1/2 cup dry, is that 1 cup cooked?
Hi Laura,
Yes, you can use any kind of sweetener you like I have tried various sweeteners such as unrefined raw sugar to maple syrup, agave or even honey if you use honey. Some use mashed sweet potatoes or mashed bananas too. 1/2 dry beans generally swells to 1 cup cooked beans. Have fun with it. Experiment. All the best, Deborah
Great recipe! I will have to save this one for sure. Thanks for sharing all the health benefits of cocoa beans. Shared on google and pinned. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays Blog Hop.
These look really moist. Do you think they would hold together if I omit the coconut oil?
I love experimenting with beans in baked recipes like this. I find though they tend to not carry sweetness as well as flour – but maybe that’s just me?!?!? I think your recipe with the nice heap of coconut sugar might change my mind on that! 🙂
Oh my those look amazing. And no flour is even more amazing! Suddenly I’m craving brownies and it’s 10am, but these are healthy, right ahahaha 🙂