Black Bean Brownies

February 12, 2025

This recipe, from Jenny Chandler's brilliant cookbook Super Pulses, uses black beans to create fudgy, indulgent chocolate brownies. Beans are used in place of flour to add more nutrition and also make this recipe suitable for gluten-free bakers.

Our black "turtle" beans have glossy crow black skin, creamy inside and hold their shape when cooked with a delicate texture and nutty flavour. You won't find better than these black beans grown by Jérémy and Jonathan Desforges at the Ferme des 3 Rois in the Beauce region of central France.

Jenny Chandler's book Pulse - and its condensed sibling Super Pulses - has quickly established itself as classic collection of pulse dishes. So much so that it earned Jenny the position of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation Special Ambassador for the International Year of Pulses in 2016!

Buy Pulse or Super Pulses from our selection of books and we'll throw in a free £5 gift voucher.

Makes 12–16 brownies

Ingredients

200g Dark Chocolate, broken into pieces
140g Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
1 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
250g Cooked Black Beans
3 Eggs
85g Walnuts, Pecans, Pistachios or Almonds, roughly chopped
200g Caster Sugar
1 tsp Salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Butter a 24-cm/9½-in square baking tin or line with baking parchment.
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a large bowl placed over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave on low. Leave to cool a little, then add the cocoa and vanilla.
Meanwhile, blend the beans with the one of the eggs in a food processor or using a hand-held blender. The mixture should be as smooth as possible, otherwise the brownies will have a mealy texture. Gradually stir the bean mixture and the nuts into the chocolate.
Beat the remaining eggs with the sugar until light and creamy, and then fold into the brownie mixture.
Pour into the tin, sprinkle with salt and bake for about 25–30 minutes, until just set but still a little wobbly.
Place the tin on a wire rack and leave to cool completely before attempting to cut up into small squares. (If the brownies seem very gooey, placing them in the fridge for half an hour will make them easier to slice.) In the unlikely event of leftovers, you can keep the brownies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Extract credit: Pulse by Jenny Chandler (Pavilion Books). Image credit Clare Winfield.

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Spill the beans!

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