WW Recipe of the Day: Skinny 2-Ingredient Black Bean Brownies
Recipes for black bean brownies have been floating around for years, but I never got around to making them until yesterday. I guess, deep down I had a hard time believing that a dessert made from black beans could taste good.
But, yesterday, I was looking for a quick and easy low fat dessert to satisfy a chocolate craving, thought of the brownie mix sitting in the pantry, and decided to give them a whirl.
Skinny Black Bean Brownies
After some searching I decided to go with Gina from SkinnyTaste's recipe for Black Bean Brownies, that she posted way back in 2008, and that I tweaked only slightly.
Many of the recipes I looked at call for using the black beans with their liquid; I liked that Gina used rinsed black beans and a little water instead.
Ghiardelli Brownie Mix & Black Beans
Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! The brownies turned out rich and fudgy with no hint of black bean flavor or texture. And they are low fat, high in fiber and protein.
There are lots of different recipes for black bean brownies - both from scratch and using a mix - out there. I've included a collection of those I think look best at the end of this post. Enjoy!
A Low Fat Brownie Made with Black Beans
Easy 2-Ingredient Black Bean Brownies Recipe Notes
I think one key is to puree the heck out of the brownies in a food processor (affiliate link) or blender (affiliate link) until they become a silky smooth puree. This is when my Vitamix (affiliate link) comes in handy.
How Many Calories/WW Points in these Low-Fat Black Bean Brownies?
I calculated the nutrition and points information with a 20-ounce package of Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix (affiliate link) and a 15-ounce can of Sprouts black beans and came up with 139 calories and:
6 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
6 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
6 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
4 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
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On The Path To Lasting Weight Loss Success?
If you like these 2-Ingredient Black Bean Brownies, be sure to check out some of my other Weight Watchers friendly dessert recipes including Crock Pot Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies, Lightened Up Apple Brownies, Easy Ganache-Topped Brownies, Moist & Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars Recipe and Caramel Chocolate Oatmeal Mini Bars
If you've made these Brownies, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Skinny Black Bean Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans
- 1 box (about 20 ounces) chocolate brownie mix
- 1 heaping teaspoon instant coffee powder (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the center and preheat your oven according to the instructions on the box of brownie mix. Spray your baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Open the can of beans, drain and rinse well.
- Put beans back in the can and fill the can with water.
- Put beans, water, coffee and cinnamon (if using) in a blender (affiliate link) or food processor (affiliate link) and blend until smooth.
- In a large bowl, mix together the pureed beans and dry brownie mix.
- Spread the brownie mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake the pan of brownies according to package directions.
- Cool and cut into 20 brownies.
Recipe Notes
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More Light Healthy Black Bean Brownie Recipes
Amazing Black Bean Brownies - These look delicious and may be great for those eating Gluten-free since they contain no flour, but with 1 cup of butter and 4 eggs in the recipe, these are far from Fat Free. Found at 101 Cookbooks.
Low Fat Vegan Black Bean Brownies - a super healthy variation I plan to try real soon made with black beans, bananas, cocoa powder and oats. Each brownie has just 85 calories and 2 Weight Watchers PointsPlus, *3 WW Freestyle SmartPoints from the Happy Herbivore.
Weight Watchers Black Bean Brownies
A from scratch variation with 6 WW SmartPoints found at Weight Watchers.
WW Chocolate Mint Cookie Bars
Seriously dense and chocolaty, black beans give these delicious sweet treats a rich dark color while providing a healthy dose of protein and fiber.
Easy Black Bean Brownies
Two variations that look that easy and delicious found at Best Ever Cookie Collection
Additional Weight Watchers Friendly Sweet Treats:
- Moist & Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars Recipe
- Caramel Chocolate Oatmeal Mini Bars Recipe
- Skinny Low Fat Chocolate Cake Recipes
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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kavita
Hi, we dont get black beans in the plce i live.. can I replace black beans with kidney beans or black eyes peas?
Thanks
Martha McKinnon
I'm not sure. I've never tried anything other than black beans. I think that white beans such as cannellini might work, but haven't tried it yet. If you try with kidney beans or black eye peas, I would love to hear how it turns out.
kathleen
The nutrition information is for 1 brownie, but many does a batch make--what is "1" equal to out of the whole batch?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Kathleen,
If you look near the top of the recipe, you'll see that it says, "Serves: 20" and the end of the instructions says cut into 20 brownies so 1 brownie is 1/20th of the pan.
I hope this helps.
Lily
I have a brownie mix that is 10.25 ounces for an 8x8 pan, should I use half a can of black beans instead of the whole can? And how many cups of water I should I use?
Thank you 🙂
Martha McKinnon
Hi Lily,
I've only done this with the larger brownie mix and full can of beans so I'm not really sure. I'd say try half the can of black beans. Place them in the can and fill the can with water half way or about to the same level as the beans. I can't guarantee that this will work. You may need to adjust the baking time to 🙂 Good Luck!!
Beth C
Excellent! Made it for the Bunco group and didn't let them know until later that evening what was in the brownies. Great recipe and so moist. I included the cinnamon and used espresso powder for the coffee.
Bernice P
Martha, I am a recent subscriber to your blog. I just love it and all the information and recipes that you work so hard to provide is with. Everything has been so helpful to me on what I know is going to be a long journey as I have quite a bit of weight to lose.
This black bean brownie recipe sounds wonderful. The recipe says it is 4 Weight Watcher Points. Is that Freestyle points or points for a prior recipe.
Again thank you for all your hard work to help all of us with our weight loss journeys.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Bernice,
Thanks for your kind comments. 4WW Points Plus refers to a previous WW Program. According to my calculations these brownies would have 6 WW Freestyle SmartPoints each. Hope this helps!
Chris M Meredith
I love this recipe and am making brownies for Thanksgiving dessert!
Deb
I make these all the time and surprise my friends when they find out they’re made with black beans! Try it with Cool Whip...awesome!
Laura
Super easy and satisfied my chocolate craving! My coworkers really liked them, too.
Risa Weiner
Super easy !! my daughter love this alot. today i'm going to make this. thank you for posting. you can check my recipes as well , i hope you will find them interesting. please checkout at https://www.risaweiner.com/
Thank you
Risa
Toni
I just can’t figure out why these are so many points??? Another website has them at 0 points. And WW has a regular delicious brownie at 5 points! Why are the listed as 6?? Especially since you are getting 20 brownies out of a 9 x 9 pan?
Martha
Excellent. I've tried with other brownie mixes, but Ghiradelli is best and worth the extra points for the chocolate fix!
Jennifer Bess
These brownies were great! I was sceptical about using black beans, but gave it a try and was really surprised!
GF/Lectin Free Cook
If I make my own black beans in the pressure cooker, do you have an idea of the quantity of beans and quantity of water to use in this receipe—since I wouldn’t have the can as described?
Martha McKinnon
I'm really sorry but I've only made these as the recipe instructs. I'm not sure how to figure out the amounts of beans and water separately. ~Martha
JB
A can of beans is 15.25 ounces, so just a tiny bit less than 2 cups.
Theresa G Corigliano
I make these with sugar free brownie mix. WW puts the mix at 2 points and black grabs at zero so wouldn’t thus lower the points? My recollection is they used to be 4 pts.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Theresa,
Yes, these would have fewer points with sugar free brownie mix. You can always play with the ingredients in the WW Recipe Builder to check on the Points. Hope this helps. ~Martha
Nancy
Where’s the recipe????
Martha McKinnon
Hi Nancy, There's a recipe card with the recipe toward the end of the page. You'll find a "skip to recipe" link at the top of the page. Hope this helps. ~Martha
Terry
These were super easy to make, but had a strong aftertaste of beans. I followed the recipe to a tee. I am a bit disappointed.
Michael
I'm not much of a baker. This recipe is simple and amazing! Thank you.
Martha McKinnon
Thanks for letting us know Michael 🙂