Needing a fun recipe that uses up tins of beans? These brownies are surprisingly good! Black beans provide a brilliant alternative to flour their flavour being subtle and colour rather fitting. However, you can also use other legumes such as chickpeas or butter beans. This recipe is simple and flexible; I’ve included a few suggestions of ingredient alternatives so if you don’t have everything at home (hopefully) there is no need for a trip to the shops. Not only will these brownies warm your soul but they will also nourish your body – the main ingredients being wonderfully nutritious legumes which are high in fibre plant, protein and vitamins and minerals. This recipe is also a great one for getting kids involved in – it’s easy, fun and what a way to increase the family’s intake of legumes!

To make a small brownie slab, you need:

A loaf cake tin or small square/rectangular cake tin (Note: These ingredients make an amount that is suitable for filling a small tin ie. the size of a loaf tin. If you only have a larger slice/brownie tin I’d suggest doubling all)

• 1 x 400g tin of black beans (or an alternative such as chickpeas or butter beans)
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tbsp. oil (olive, canola or coconut)
• 1 tsp. vanilla essence
• 1/3 cup cocoa (or cacao) powder
• 1/3 cup sugar (you could also use brown sugar or maple syrup)
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• A pinch of salt
• A few handfuls of frozen blueberries (or other berries)
• ~ 1/4 cup dark chocolate, roughly chopped

A few other ingredient suggestions:

• Nuts (e.g. walnuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans, macadamias, peanuts)
• coconut
• Swirls of nut butter (if keen to add nut butter I suggest adding dollops to your mixture after pouring it into your tin, then swirling the dollops around a bit with a fork)

To make:

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius and grease a loaf or small slice tin. I find that a loaf tin was the right size for the amount of mixture that this makes.

Drain and rinse your tin of beans and place in a blender/food processor with your oil and blitz to create a semi-smooth texture. Spoon the beans into a bowl, add your eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together your cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder. Then add the dry ingredients and your chocolate to the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or whisk until smooth.

Add your blueberries, stir through then pour your mixture into your tin and bake for 30-35mins. I suggest testing at 25mins (using a skewer). For a fudge-like brownie, you still want a little moisture in the middle.

Once ready, remove from oven and allow to cool before removing from tin and slicing. These freeze well so I always like to store some in the freezer to enjoy at a later date.

I hope you enjoy these. Happy baking!

Gestational Diabetes –

These brownies can certainly be enjoyed if you GDM. There are a few adjustments I’s suggest and the amount you have does matter. I recommend following the recipe and using coconut sugar (as this is a little lower in GI than regular sugar or maple syrup). I also suggest adding only 50g of dark chocolate (bites/chopped) OR using sugar free dark chocolate). Once baked, divide your brownie slab into 12 pieces or more. Enjoy one slice with a cup of tea (herbal or a tea with a dash of milk). One piece is fine to have in between meals or later after dinner (I’d suggest at least 2 hours or more after dinner if your dinner meal contains carbohydrate foods). I would however suggest not having a snack like this with chocolate every day. If you love these you can certainly make them without chocolate too. What is best for each and every individual varies so if needing some guidance please speak with your Dietitian or reach out to me via email or social media.

Lara x