These vegan pinto bean brownies are moist, chewy and choked full of protein. They're also super rich and chocolatey without being overwhelmingly sweet.
Ingredients
2 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp water
2 cups cooked pinto beans (1 15oz can)
1½ tbsp coconut oil, melted
3 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp apple sauce
2 tbsp agave nectar
⅓ cup cocoa powder
⅓ - ½ cups coconut sugar (depending on how sweet you want yours to be. I went with ⅓ cup)
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Optional Mixins*:
2 tbsp oat flour covered dates
¼ cup chopped peanuts or walnuts + more for topping
⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F, grease a standard sized muffin tin and set aside
Mix together the ground flax and water in the bowl of a food processor and set aside for a few minutes. If using canned beans, drain and rinse them at this point
If your peanut butter is smooth and runny, you can skip this step: Mix together the melted coconut oil and peanut butter until smooth and creamy
Add all ingredients, except the mixins, to the food processor and process until smooth, remembering to scrape down the sides. Add a couple tablespoons of oil or water if batter is too thick and won't blend
Fold in mixins until just incorporated
Transfer batter to prepared muffin tin, using about 2 tbsp per slot and sprinkle with chopped peanuts or walnuts
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the edges start to crisp up and pull away from the sides. These are meant to be super moist and fudgy so don't worry if they fail the toothpick test
Allow to cool for 15 - 20 minutes before removing the brownies from the muffin tin
Notes
*You can add up to ¾ cup of mixins of your choice. These are the ones I used but anything (other than fresh fruit) should be okay
Recipe by Diary of an ExSloth at https://exsloth.com/vegan-pinto-bean-brownies/