Yes, the beans are back!
You all know that I have a sweet tooth and lately I’ve had this thing with beans. I’m wanting to put them everywhere, and in places, they aren’t intended to be, like sweets. Nutritionally, beans are powerhouses, full of plant protein, fiber, calcium, iron, and magnesium, which are all great for a well-balanced diet. So why just save them for dinner? These black bean brownie balls are ridiculously simple and have only 5 ingredients.
5 Ingredient Black Bean Brownie Balls
This recipe was adapted from my Black Bean Banana Brownie Recipe and eventually turned into an easy decadent ball of chocolate goodness. They require a handful of ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand, and all you need is a food processor, so cleanup doesn’t get much easier than that.
Besides being simple to make they are insanely delicious. These brownie bites can be eaten as a quick energizing pick-me-up or you can cover them in chocolate and eat them as a healthy dessert. This is my favorite way to enjoy them, plus they are perfectly sized to help you practice moderation, (I’m a sucker for chocolate) which can be a challenge with this recipe.
I love making healthy things taste good. You won’t even know they are made with black beans. I also made these nut-free since I’ve been asked to make more nut-free recipes.
For those that are grain free or looking for an oatmeal alternative. You can use almond flour or coconut flour as a substitute. I also like to add hemp seeds and chia seeds in the recipe just to up the protein content, mostly because my kiddos love them. I take advantage of any opportunity to pack in more nutrients for my kids.
But for this recipe, we are going to keep it only 5 ingredients but feel free to add ingredients in as you’d like.
5 Ingredient Black Bean Brownie Balls
- Prep Time: 7 mins
- Total Time: 7 mins
- Yield: 12-16 1x
- Category: Dessert, Snack
- Cuisine: Vegan, Gluten-free, Nut-free
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 half cup black beans or 1 can
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 6–8 dates (soaked & pitted)
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Make sure you’ve rinsed and thoroughly drained your black beans.
- Add ingredients into your food processor and puree – about 3 minutes – scraping down sides as needed. You want it pretty smooth.
- If the batter appears too thick, add a Tbsp or two of coconut milk/ water and pulse again. It should be slightly thick like cookie dough.
- Use a 2” ice cream scoop or spoon to scoop out enough dough to make bite size brownie balls. Roll and store in fridge.
- Optional: Dip your brownie balls into your favorite chocolate sauce and allow them to harden in the fridge/ freezer.
Nutrition
- Calories: 107
- Sugar: 18.8g
- Fat: 0.6g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 26.5g
- Fiber: 3.8g
- Protein: 2.1g
- Cholesterol: 0g
I hope you give it a try and if you do please tag me on Instagram @LiveSimplyNatural. I love seeing what you guys are cooking up in your kitchens. Stay tuned for more healthy recipes :-)
Hugs,
9 Comments
Thank you for the effort in making delicious and nutritious recipes! I believe it required at least three times the quantity of dates, as it just tasted like black beans mixed with chocolate, but it may depend on the dates used. Mine were possibly small and not as sweet as some other dates.
Yes, the sweetness of your mix will depend on the sweetness of the dates. Since I dip these in chocolate I usually don’t make them too sweet as the chocolate adds enough for my preference. But please play with the recipe and make it your own :)
Loved this recipe! Such a nice chocolately hit whilst also being wholesome and low fat :) I used 120g dates, which I soaked in boiling water beforehand, and just 0.5 tsp vanilla. These are also good frozen, if you let them defrost for a min or so before eating!
Made these today for a women’s game night and they were a hit.
Looking back on the ingredients – I forgot vanilla. Oops.
I did add a splash of water to it and a little maple syrup, plus a bit more cocoa powder and oatmeal.
I melted traderjoes chocolate chips with about a tablespoon or less of coconut oil and dipped them in it. I sprinkled hot cocoa mix from Stonewall kitchen on the top. Delicious.
I will definitely be saving this recipe. Thank you!
You did not write that the half cup of black beans must be cooked. I have not tried the recipe, so I don’t know how it tastes. But it looks great!
They don’t have to be cooked….
No, that’s what makes it so great, an easy no bake recipe. The beans are already cooked