Yep, I said it: beans in your brownies. Brownie in a muffin. Totally a thing. Totally amazing. Trust me… please?
I first made these amazing black bean muffins about 4 years ago and was shocked at how fudgy and delicious they turned out. They were inspired by my famous avocado black bean brownies and being the Muffin Queen that I am, I wanted to turn them into muffins for a wonderful treat or snack. These babies are naturally sweetened with a little maple syrup (or honey) and have the most perfect texture. Plus, they just so happen to be gluten free, grain free and dairy free!
They’re seriously full of chocolate love and you will never ever be able to tell that they’re made with black beans. PROMISE. Surprise your kiddos, friends or significant other with this sneaky healthy treat and watch them devour!
What do black bean muffins taste like?
I promise you won’t be able to taste the black beans AT ALL in these delicious black bean brownie muffins. They seriously taste just like a fudgy brownie with the perfect amount of sweetness and melted chocolate in every bite.
Not only do they taste delicious, but they’re also packed with fiber and protein, and are gluten free and grain free thanks to the black beans.
Everything you’ll need to make these black bean muffins
These delicious, healthy black bean muffins use super simple ingredients and are full of rich brownie flavor. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Black beans: you’ll use a full can of black beans as the base of these muffins! This is what allows them to be flourless and grain free.
- Eggs: the three eggs help the brownie muffins hold their shape. I would not suggest trying a vegan egg or egg replacer as the eggs are key to the consistency of the brownie muffins.
- Sweetener: because we don’t really want them to taste like beans, you’ll need some pure maple syrup or honey to sweeten them.
- Coconut oil: add a little coconut oil for the perfect amount of moisture.
- Cocoa powder: I recommend using a high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder for that rich chocolatey flavor.
- Baking staples: you’ll also need vanilla extract (learn how to make your own here!), baking powder, and salt.
- Optional mix-ins: I like to add a tiny bit of brewed coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor, plus dark chocolate chips! Feel free to use dairy free chocolate chips to keep the muffins dairy free.
Can I use different beans?
Black beans have a very neutral flavor to them in baked goods, so I suggest sticking with the recipe as-is. Feel free to use a can of chickpeas in these flourless peanut butter chickpea muffins!
How to get a cake-like texture
If you like more of a cake-like consistency rather than a fudgy one, simply use 4 eggs instead of 3!
Delicious black bean muffins in 5 steps
Another cool thing about these black bean brownie muffins is that you don’t need any mixing tools — just a food processor!
- Blend the beans. You’ll start by blending the black beans with 1 of the eggs in a food processor until they’re nice and smooth.
- Blend the wet ingredients. Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the food processor and process until well incorporated.
- Blend the dry. Finally, add in the dry ingredients and process the batter once more. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide batter & bake. Once your batter is ready to go, divide it into prepared muffin cups in your muffin tin, sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake.
- Cool & enjoy. Let the muffins cool completely, then enjoy!
Store & freeze them for later
- To store: feel free to keep these black bean muffins at room temp for one day, then I recommend storing them in the refrigerator. They seriously taste like fudge brownies when they’re stored in the fridge! Feel free to warm them up in the microwave.
- To freeze: allow the muffins to cool completely then put in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to reheat, you can thaw at room temperature, or heat up in the microwave in 30 second intervals.
More healthy muffin recipes you’ll love
- Nourishing Almond Butter Double Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins (that taste like CAKE!)
- Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins (dairy free + gluten free)
- Blender Double Chocolate Spinach Muffins
- Fluffy Flourless Peanut Butter Chickpea Muffins
- Vegan Paleo Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Get all of my amazing muffin recipes here!
If you make these flourless black bean brownie muffins, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Flourless Black Bean Brownie Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 eggs*
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or sub honey)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon brewed coffee, optional to enhance chocolate flavor
- 1/2 cup high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder (or use cacao powder)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with baking liners and spray the inside of each liner with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place black beans and 1 egg in food processor and process until beans are well blended.
- Add two other eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and coffee; process again until smooth.
- Next add in cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; process once more until smooth. Next fold in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips.
- Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips evenly among the tops of each muffin batter.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffins comes out clean. Place on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove muffins from tin and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Keep muffins for a day at room temperature, then transfer to fridge and place in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on July 11th, 2018, and republished on January 17th, 2022.
I made these recently and really liked the flavor but thought they turned out quite crumbly / hard to eat. Any tips / thoughts? Thanks!
I’m not sure what could have happened, so sorry you had an issue! Did you follow the recipe exactly and use all of the ingredients? I just made these recently and had zero issue!
I did! Trying them again now 🙂
Fueron un completo éxito en mi casa. La receta más fácil, deliciosa y nutritiva. Los he hecho más de 3 veces ya.
Gracias. 🙂
Very very good!!! Thanks for a great recipe.
Glad you enjoyed!
I was pretty skeptical about making bean brownies but was surprised that they weren’t too bad. There’s definitely still reminiscences of bean in the flavor and texture, but if someone else had made these, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. It’s not quite at the point where this will be my go to healthy muffin recipe. I’ll still be looking at other recipes trying to find the perfect one for me, but I would probably make these again. I used honey instead of maple syrup, so maybe the maple would yield a better result as well.
I’m glad you enjoyed them! They’re definitely different than a traditional brownie, but still fudgy and delicious. You can find all of my brownies and bars here!
I did actually make this recipe – it’s great but does need tweaking.
The batter is very runny and because of this all the choc chips sink to the bottom during baking. It made 8 (not 12) muffins.
I will make it again with a 4th egg but will also add some flour – either buckwheat or cassava to help bind it better.
That said it’s the best black bean chocolate muffin recipe I’ve tried and it’s almost perfect.
Let me know how it goes with your tweaks!
I absolutely loved them! It is hard to believe there is actually beans in the mix. My kids loved them too!
Do you have a vanilla version for it? Maby with yellow beans (in México we call them “frijol peruano” and they have a neutral favor as well)
Thanks for sharing!!!
Such a fun treat or snack! And try my chickpea muffins HERE 🙂
Honestly pretty good!!! You can tell they are a healthier muffin but I still enjoyed them! They are a bit on the flatter side, don’t have that puff up like a normal muffin, but I like that it’s a light chocolate treat with no junk in them. I will make them again for sure!
Absolutely! A great sweet treat or snack 🙂
So good. Such a fun sweet treat with some hidden nutrition
Absolutely! Perfect snack or treat 🙂
These are delicious!
So glad you loved them!
So fudgy and delicious! You truly can’t taste the beans. Everyone loves them!
Absolutely! Glad they’re a hit!
Delicious! Next time, I won’t add chocolate chips to the batter. It is so thin that all my chips sunk to the bottom and then they weren’t evenly distributed. I wanted more chocolate in every bite, ha. Next time I’ll try adding a spoonful to each muffin after they’re in the tin. I did also add cinnamon because I love cinnamon and chocolate together. I’ll be making these again!
Thank you for giving them a try, Jen!
The texture on these brownie muffins was much like a flourless chocolate cake. I’ve used another black bean chocolate muffin recipe that was more moist and thought these were on the dry side. I baked them 23 mins and they were definitely done. They had the appealing cracked texture on top as in the photo. May try them again and not bake them quite as long. I upped the sweetness and doubled down on the chocolate flavor a little with a cashew butter, date, cacao ganache frosting. My guests liked them.
Let me know if you give a try with a bit less baking time! That should help 🙂 I’m glad your guests enjoyed!
Our first time making muffins with black beans. The muffins were tasty and kids approved. My husband was not a fan. Our batch turned out a little dry and crumbly. I would add an additional egg if we make them again. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m glad the kiddos enjoyed! Did you use 3 eggs? You can absolutely add another egg for more of a cake-like consistency.
can I use freshly cooked black beans instead of canned black beans? will this work? If yes, what is the quantity to use by grams?
Yes, you’ll need about 390 grams of black beans.
These are excellent! If I wanted to use a substitute for maple syrup or honey to make it lower in sugar would you recommend anything in particular? I have lakanto which is 1:1 for sugar o liquid allulose.
I haven’t tested these with a sugar alternative so I’m not sure how the flavor will come out! Those sweeteners tend to be lower in sugar but are VERY sweet, so I’m afraid the muffins will turn out too sweet (but let me know if you give it a try).
This recipe is 10 out of 10! Very light and fluffy, even when cool. I’ve tried several recipes and am very pleased with the texture and sweetness even when substituting monk fruit.
So happy to hear that!
Absolutely delicious. Used red beans and it worked out really well. Taste best the next day after baking.
Quick and easy. Even the grandkids love them! Moist and chocolate-y !!
So happy to hear that!
I made them as is 1st and 2nd time I added 1/3 cup of oats (I know it’s no longer flourless) I think it helped the texture for my family. Kids like them
Perfect! Glad they were a hit!
Black beans, who would have known?These muffins are amazing and very easy to make.
Right?! So good!
Perhaps I’ve already left a rating previously, but fast-forward a few years. I’ve made this recipe dozens of times, and just pulled another batch out of the oven a few minutes ago. We love them, and my tween/teen boys gobble them up in under 24 hours (hench, the dozens of times I’ve made these). Thank you for a great recipe that I’m happy to make again and again, knowing we’re getting a healthier-for-us treat that’s also delicious!
Amazing! So happy to hear it’s a hit with the family 🙂
Can I use a 19 oz can of beans instead of 15?
Hmm I’m not sure if the extra beans will change the texture!
Taste was delicious and one COULD NOT tell that it was made with black beans. I’m a little unsure what I did wrong because I followed the directions, but the muffins turned out very crumbly. The first day it wasn’t as bad, but the second day onward was pretty messy. The only thing I did different was use avocado oil instead of coconut oil – could that have been the cause even though I did a 1:1 ratio?
Hi! Amazing recipe! They turned out amazing 😻
Do you have any tips on how to make it a cake? Can I swap some of the beans with some flour? All the beans could be hard to digest.
So glad you enjoyed! I’ve only made these as-is, so I’m not sure what I’d change by adding flour, different wet ingredients, etc. Let me know if you experiment!
This recipe is so good! Is it possible to switch to kidney beans instead of black beans?
I haven’t tested it so I’m not 100% sure if the flavor will change! Let me know if you try it 🙂
I cannot believe I only found this recipe the other day. I made it exactly as written minus the coffee, and it is outstanding. My husband could not believe me that there’s no flour in these things. I made them into muffins and in a brownie pan, 100 out of 10. Thank you!
So happy you both loved these!!
I made these with a few minor tweaks after several batches. Reduced the maple syrup to 1/4 cup. Reduced the chocolate chips as well. I also added 2 tablespoons of applesauce because the texture was a little bit crumbly. These are absolutely excellent for my kindergarten kiddo and she has no idea she’s eating beans!
Amazing! Glad she loves them!
These taste only like chocolate fudge cake. It is SO GOOD. I love the added protein and fiber. Teens and picky 10 year old didn’t know the ingredient list until after they had eaten 2 each. Minds were blown. I love this so much.
Love that!! Perfect snack 🙂