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Healthy Vegan Brownies: Fudgey, Oil-Free, & Gluten-Free

These healthy vegan brownies are created with two unusual and wholesome ingredients.

Cooked black beans replaces most of the flour and avocado replaces the oil component. What you end up with is a fudgy, delicious, dairy-free, gluten-free, oil-free brownie.

There are many ways you can make these healthy vegan brownies your own. You could add chopped walnuts or non-dairy chocolate chips.  You could also replace the maple syrup with 3/4 cup of vegan sugar for a sweeter brownie.

Whatever you decide, no one will ever guess that they are eating a black bean avocado brownie. I call it desserts with nutritional benefits!

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below and rate these healthy vegan brownies. You could also snap a photo and post it on Instagram using the hashtag #ordinaryvegan. And of course, be sure to follow Ordinary Vegan on Instagram.

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Healthy Vegan Brownies, Fudgy, Oil-Free & Gluten-Free

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 12
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

Main
  • 1 15-ounce carton cooked black beans, well rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 of small avocado
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup oat flour (or gluten-free, wheat or white flour)
  • 2 flax eggs
  • 1/8 cup soy or nut milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup pure maple syrup (or 3/4 vegan sugar)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Method
 

Steps
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 baking dish and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  3. Add all the ingredients except the optional add-ins to a food processor. Puree for approximately 2-4 minutes. You want it smooth and it will be thick.
  4. Evenly distribute the batter into the baking dish.
  5. Bake for 30 -40 minutes or until the the top is dry and the edges start to pull away.
  6. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before removing from the pan.
  7. Store in an airtight container for a couple of day or refrigerate to keep longer.
  8. *Two flax eggs can be made by combining 2 tablespoons of ground flax and 5 1/2 tablespoons of water. Put into the refrigerator for 10 minutes to thicken.

 

 

 

38 responses to “Healthy Vegan Brownies: Fudgey, Oil-Free, & Gluten-Free”

  1. Lynne

    I love desserts that make me feel healthy because they have beans or vegetables in them — and chocolate of course! I didn’t have avocado, so I made several changes:
    Omit Avocado
    Add 1/2 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce (a single server container) (this liquid replaced the other liquids in the recipe as well as the oil of the avocado)
    Omit Flax EGGS, just add 2 Tbsp ground Flax
    Omit Milk
    I added 1 cup chocolate chips at the end of processing
    I also iced them with a mixture of melted peanut butter, soy milk and chocolate chips all melted together.
    Sorry if I changed your recipe too much, but we LOVE it and it is now our BEST brownie recipe.
    Thank you for the inspiration!

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Oh gosh! I love it! Can’t wait to try. Thanks for sharing !

  2. Amal Biggers

    Hello, can I use carob powder instead of cocoa powder?

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hi Amal – Carob powder can be substituted for cocoa powder as a one-to-one replacement in recipes although it lends a more subtle, roasted taste. Thanks for stopping by

  3. Maia

    This was one of the first recipes I made. I have teenage girls and they loved them. We all agreed that the “brownie flavor” comes out best if you eat them when they are cold versus warm or just from the oven. Also They were very moist! Beautiful ingredients! Thank you again Nancy. I love being apart of your community!
    You’ve made this process of becoming vegan a beautiful journey for me and my family.

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Maia – thank you so much for your feedback and for your beautiful words. I am so happy I could help. Wishing you and your girls a wonderful and compassionate holiday!

  4. Kim Pitsch

    Hello, I cant wait to make these today. Great for a snow day! I have a question Nancy, can I use Bobs Redmill egg replacer instead of 2 flax eggs? How much , would it be the equivalent to 2 eggs? I listen to your podcast mostly every day, even have listen to aome of them 2 or 3 times. You are a well of knowledge, thankyou for being a blessing.

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hi Kim – Thank you so much for saying that – I so appreciate your kind words and your support. Bob’s Red Mill is the same ratio – use 2 tablespoons of Bob’s and whisk it with 5 1/2 tablespoons of water – that will be the same as two flax eggs. Hope you enjoy them!

  5. Seonaid Whitefield

    You say these can be refrigerated, can you freeze them too? Asking because I’d like to make them, but I wouldn’t eat them within a week, so I’d like to freeze if possible

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hi Seonaid – Yes you can freeze them. Hope you enjoy and thanks for being part of our healthy community!

  6. Rachael

    The fam likes them but they definitely taste like black beans!

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hi Rachael – Thanks for your feedback and for being part of our healthy community!

  7. Taylor

    These were so delicious and are honestly my new favorite healthy vegan brownie recipe! My sister and I are tempted to eat the whole pan lol! Thanks for the awesome recipe. I will definitely be making these again!

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hi Taylor – thank you so much for taking the time and letting me know and I am so happy you loved them!

  8. Simren

    Hi I made these Brownies and they didn’t cook in the oven, the whole mixture was hard from the top and runny inside.

    Any idea what went wrong 🙁

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Ugh – oh no Simren! all those wasted ingredients. I don’t know – this is the first problem anyone has had with them. Sounds like too much liquid – Did you drain the beans?

  9. Tanya Dolan

    Just popped these in the oven but we tried the batter and as a baker these are pretty darn close to tasting like traditional brownie batter. I substituted garbanzo beans for black, carob powder for cocoa, agave for maple syrup, and almond/coconut flour for the oat flour. All the same measurements. My hubby is on a very particular diet hence the substitutions and I didn’t have all ingredients on hand but very very good

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hi Tanya – Thanks for the feedback and substitution ideas! And thanks for being part of our healthy community!

  10. Christine

    Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I used a 19oz can of beans and sprouted spelt flour. The brownies came out great, my whole family enjoyed them very much. I was looking for an oil-free recipe and using the avocado instead is brilliant!

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      I appreciate the feedback and thanks for stopping by Christine and thanks for being part of our healthy community!

  11. Rachael

    I didn’t have any black beans so used chick peas instead and it worked a treat! I also used rice malt syrup and reduced the quantity to 1/2 cup and they were still great! I’m going for round two today with black beans this time 🙂

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Love the idea of using chick peas Rachael. Thanks so much for taking the time to share. I appreciate it!

  12. Jaime

    Oh man. I’ve had some good black bean brownies and these were not good. These tasted like cooked sweet black beans. So sad. So much syrup and avadaco in the trash 🙁

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hi Jaime – I am so sorry that they didn’t work for you. I know how frustrating it is to make a recipe, not like it and waste all those ingredients. So many people have enjoyed the brownie recipe (see below) but like all food, not everything is for everybody. Thanks for your feedback and for being part of our healthy community.

  13. Edna St. Louis

    Just made these! I’m excited. I haven’t had brownies in a very long time!

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hi Edna – Hope you enjoy and thanks for stopping by!

    2. Edna St. Louis

      Omg! They came out delicious!

    3. Nancy Montuori

      Oh Edna that makes me so happy! Thanks for sharing! Nancy

  14. Marley Kingston

    I’m making these now for a group of church folks who are meeting here. Can’t wait to taste them myself and see how others respond to them.

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hi Marley – I hope they enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by and for being part of our healthy community!

  15. Jillian

    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I am completely in love with these brownies. They taste amazing and super delicious. All my non vegan friends loved them as well and couldn’t get enough of them.

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hi Jillian – thank you so much for taking the time and sharing your feedback ! and thanks for being part of our healthy community! Nancy

  16. Cocolizo

    Thanks! You helped me a lot! ;D

    Reply
  17. Grover

    Thanks 🙂 Loved It

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Thanks Grover for taking the time and letting me know, and thanks for being part of our health & wellness community!

  18. Diana

    Oh my gosh! I can’t wait to try these. They look delicious and even with my limited cooking skills, I might be able to pull these off 🙂

    Reply
    1. Nancy Montuori

      Hope you enjoy them Diana and thanks for being part of our healthy community!

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