Name: Flourless Black Bean Protein Brownies (Low-fat)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1¾ cups Black Beans (1 15oz can (425g) or Cooked from (130g) dry); 3 Eggs; ¼ cup Non-fat Greek Yogurt (56g); 3 Tbsp Unsweetened Applesauce (45g); 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup (Sugar free preferred); 1 tsp Vanilla Extract; ⅓ cup Cacao Powder (or Unsweetened Cocoa Powder); 1 tsp Instant Coffee (Optional); ½ tsp Baking Powder; 1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder (30g, about ⅓ cup)

Decadent Flourless Black Bean Protein Brownies made with Cacao Powder, Chocolate Protein Powder and Greek Yogurt. Moistened with applesauce and no oil or butter, these low fat black bean brownies make the perfect dessert and post-workout snack!

Jump to Recipe

Okay this recipe you HAVE to try! Yes it’s easy, healthy, delicious and all of that, but I also put in SO much effort to get the recipe – and photos right.

A lot of research and a failed attempt to create something that needed no fat but was still the right texture and taste.

And then did 4 photo shoots for this. The first one just had terrible lighting coz it was too late in the day. A bad setup on the second. And then I forgot to use fresh chocolate drizzle on the third. So I had to do that 4th one.

4+ hours just for these shots!

So you can imagine how much it would mean to me if you gave it a try.

Ingredients for Flourless Black Bean Protein Brownies:

These fudgy black bean brownies are made with healthy but simple ingredients like cacao powder, protein powder and sugar-free maple syrup to make the perfect chocolate dessert. It’s just pantry staples here:

Black Beans: Essential for black bean brownies! I cooked mine from dry beans, but you can use the canned ones (go low sodium) here too.
Cacao Powder or Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Chocolate Protein Powder to not only make them high protein brownies, but also replace the flour, and add some sweetness without the added sugar. Quest protein powder is my go-to for these recipes.
Non-fat Greek Yogurt for extra protein and also as a replacement for the typical fat source – no oil or butter here.
Unsweetened Applesauce another contributor to the oil-free part of these black bean brownies since it adds the moisture
Eggs for the rise and I guess more protein too
A bit of Maple Syrup for sweetness, but I’d recommend a stevia sweetened or monk fruit sweetened one for a sugar free brownies
Pure Vanilla Extract
Instant Coffee to enhance the chocolate and get rid of some of that black bean taste
Baking Powder

And if you want the drizzle too, stevia sweetened dark chocolate chips from Lily’s so there’s still no added sugar in these brownies!

Since there’s no flour – no oats and no oat flour either – these black bean brownies are completely gluten free!

How to make Low Carb Black Bean Brownies?

This recipe for black bean protein brownies is low carb because it has no flour and no sugar, but uses stevia sweetened maple syrup and protein powder for sweetness and “flour”.

The best part though is that these are super easy blender brownies! Well I used a food processor, but the pulse option on a blender would be just fine.

Prep by preheating your oven to 325°F and lining an 8×8” pan with parchment paper
Puree the black beans in a blender or food processor
Add in the eggs, greek yogurt, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla and pulse until its smooth
Add in the cacao powder or cocoa powder, instant coffee and baking soda, and pulse again to combine. You might need to scrape down the sides here.
TRANSFER TO A BOWL, and then fold in the chocolate protein powder. DO NOT OVER-MIX.
This is important because doing it in the blender would make the batter too tough even though these are gluten free brownies.
Pour the mix into the pan and bake for about 20 minutes.

How to know when black bean brownies are ready?

This can be a bit tricky as compared to normal brownies.

The top of should be completely set in the center
Edges should be pulling away from the side
A tester (toothpick or thin sharp knife work well) should come out with some crumbs and a bit moist

You want to take the brownie out at this point because it will continue to cook from its own heat.

Wait about 5 minutes, lift it out using the parchment lining and place the brownie on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Don’t cut in early or you’re going to end up with a mess.

Tips for Baking Brownies with Protein Powder

At the risk of sounding repetitive, I’m going to put this down here because I made these mistakes.

The typical way of baking with protein powder is to use it in palace of ⅓ of the flour in a recipe. But I really wanted to drop that part entirely, so it needed a few adjustments.

Add more moisture to the batter since protein powder is more absorbent. This was where the Greek Yogurt came in.
Not over-mixing the batter because the protein powder would make it too tough. This is similar to what happens when over-mixing a batter with whole wheat flour.
Solution? Transfer the batter from the blender or food processor to a bowl and fold in the protein powder until it’s just combined.
If adding chocolate chips or other mix-ins, you want to add them before folding.
Bake at a lower temperature since the protein powder would make the brownies dry out or “burn” or so to say.
We use 325°F here instead of the usual 350°F.
Let the brownies be (just slightly) under-baked since they will continue to cook in their own heat.
So the tester should come out with still a few crumbs and moist, but not completely wet.

Can you store these Black Bean Brownie Protein Bars?

This chocolate black bean brownie recipe keeps well for a meal prep dessert or post workout snack and is freezer friendly too!

They keep at room Temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Store them in the fridge for about a week in an airtight container.

You can also freeze them for 2-3 months individually wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in freezer-safe zipper bags.

Some alternate ingredients for Healthy Black Bean Protein Brownies

To make completely fat free black bean protein brownies, use a liquid eggs substitute in place of the eggs. This is an egg substitute made with egg whites and some additives for the binder, so you don’t have the fat and cholesterol from the yolk.
Vanilla Protein Powder instead of Chocolate, but taste and probably add some more cocoa.
If you’re not too picky about the no fat part, you can go for a Greek Yogurt that has some more fat content – 2% would be just fine.
Switch out the applesauce for mashed banana – or even pumpkin puree, but you will need more sweetener in this case
A reader confirmed that Pumpkin Puree works here.
You could use regular maple syrup or honey, but they won’t be naturally sweetened and sugar free anymore.
A reader confirmed that 1:1 Monkfruit sweetener in place of Maple Syrup works here.
I made mine with no chocolate chips, so that’s an option too.

Side note, you can skip the eggs and just have this as plain black bean brownie batter.

Want more baked goods and desserts with protein powder?