Today’s recipe is sponsored by Silk. They make the thick and creamy Unsweetened Cashewmilk that’s in these irresistible brownies!
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may recall that I’m a huge baseball fan. I listen to games on the radio while baking and photographing in the afternoons, I watch more baseball games on TV than I do shows on the Food Network, and my dad and I are in the process of visiting all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums together (we’ve checked off 22 so far!).
However, when my guy and I first met, he barely cared about baseball and only watched the World Series in October, if he remembered about it at all. Instead, he paid attention to hockey and football, and he obsessed over those sports the way I did baseball.
Thank goodness those three sports’ seasons only slightly overlap… Otherwise we could’ve had quite a few fights over the remote!
So during the winter once the World Series ended, the TV played football game after football game on Sundays, as well as the featured matchups on Monday nights, so my guy could keep an eye on his Fantasy Football team in the bracket he participated in with his college friends. Over time, I slowly learned to appreciate the game and even started reminding him to make his fantasy picks on Saturdays so he wouldn’t forget.
But the thing that helped me slowly start to like football the most was…
The food.
Things like chili, cornbread, shredded BBQ chicken, baked fries, loaded nachos, potato skins… Although my guy loved the original kinds, I usually made slightly healthier versions of those cozy comfort foods for me.
And then the sweets. Partway through the season, I had the epiphany that the actual football was brown… And chocolate was brown… So chocolate desserts could easily be turned into super cute football-themed treats!
It’s the perfect excuse for eating extra brownies, right?
And now, I created a fun twist on regular brownie bites to enjoy this season: these Flourless Football Brownie Bites! They’re extremely fudgy and decadent, and nobody could tell that they contain no butter, dairy, flour, or refined sugar. I’d definitely call that a touchdown!
Besides, they’re just so cute…
Can you keep a secret?
Instead of flour or melted chocolate, these brownie bites are held together with a special ingredient… Black beans! I know, I know. It sounds crazy to put beans in dessert. But trust me on this! Their flavor completely disappears after baking and letting the brownies cool, and they contribute to the extremely fugdy texture.
Plus the black beans add a big protein boost. That’s a win-win in my book!
Now, just a word of caution… Do NOT taste the brownie batter! The black beans’ flavor is very prominent in the raw batter, so avoid the temptation to lick the bowl. I promise you can’t taste them after baking!
As for the rest of the ingredients, they’re a little more predictable. To keep the brownie bites lighter and lower in calories, you’ll use cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate, extra egg whites instead of butter, and Silk Unsweetened Cashewmilk instead of heavy cream. I absolutely love how the Silk Unsweetened Cashewmilk is thick and creamy, and it adds a similar texture as heavy cream for just a fraction of the calories—only 25 calories per cup! For this reason, I actually buy more cashewmilk than nonfat milk. It’s truly a staple in my fridge!
The best part of this recipe is that you only need one bowl—and that’s your food processor! Simply add all of the ingredients to that, and pulse until the mixture is extremely smooth. You want to minimize the pieces of black beans to keep the texture fudgy and the taste as chocolaty as possible!
For the best flavor and texture, it’s very important to let the brownie bites cool completely to room temperature and let them rest for at least 3 hours before eating. This helps eliminate any lingering black bean taste and ensures the texture stays extremely fudgy.
Then decorate with a little icing and enjoy your Meatless Monday Night football games!
For more fun and easy dairy-free recipes that sideline meat—and for your chance to win an exclusive giveaway!—visit Silk’s website!
| Flourless Brownie Bites | | Print |
- for the brownies
- 1 (15oz) can reduced sodium black beans, thoroughly rinsed and drained
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup (60mL) Silk Unsweetened Cashewmilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- for the icing
- 5 tsp confectioners style stevia
- 1 tsp Silk Unsweetened Cashewmilk
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with cupcake liners, and lightly coat with cooking spray.
- To prepare the brownies, add all of the ingredients in the order listed to a large food processor or blender. Purée until completely smooth. Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 300°F for 14-18 minutes or until the tops look slightly glossy in the center and done around the edges. Cool completely to room temperature in the muffin cups before removing. Let the brownies rest for at least an additional 2 hours for the fudgiest texture.
- To prepare the icing, whisk together the ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer the icing to a zip-topped bag, cut off a small corner, and pipe on top of the cooled brownie bites.
For a vegan version, substitute 1 ½ tablespoons of this egg replacer plus 6 tablespoons of water instead of the egg whites.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the Silk Unsweetened Cashewmilk.
It’s important to line the mini muffin cups with cupcake liners to make it easier to pop the brownie bites out of the tin.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.
You mention applesauce as an ingredient but I don’t see it in the recipe. I have made a similar black bean brownie and I add 2-3 tsp of instant coffee to bring out the chocolate flavor.
Oops, thanks for catching that Karyn! The recipe itself is correct, and I’ve updated the text of the blog post. 🙂
Regarding flour less brownie bites……I am allergic to peanuts. What can I use to replace the Silk cashew milk?
Any other milk (dairy, soy, rice) will work just fine.
As I already stated in the Notes section beneath the recipe, any milk will work. I hope you enjoy the brownie bites!
These are SO cute, I don’t even like football but I can appreciate the decorating. I also love the black bean addition.
Thanks Brittany! 🙂
I made some brownie energy bites using black beans the other day. I had some of my friends try them to see if they could figure out the main ingredient. They could not! It is such a great idea and you’re right… these are very cute!
Thanks Melissa! I’m sure your energy bites tasted amazing!
Amy, I don’t have a food processor. Would the recipe work if I use my mixer and mix until the batter is smooth? Would I have to pick out small pieces of the beans?
I wouldn’t recommend using a mixer because it doesn’t have the sharp blades necessary to break up the black beans, and if you have to pick out too many pieces of beans, the brownies won’t have the proper texture or hold together very well. If you have a blender, that would work perfectly fine instead of a food processor. I hope you enjoy the brownie bites if you try them Linda!
Do you think I could just bake the batter in one pan instead of cupcakes?
Yes, that should work just fine Heidi! Use an 8″-square pan, and check the brownies after about 15 minutes. They’ll be done when the edges look like they’ve baked all the way through but the center of the pan still looks glossy. (It’ll continue to cook through as the pan cools!) I hope you enjoy them!
I’m soo sad because I just wasted my time and ingredients on this recipe. I was soooo excited for these, but they tasted disgusting so much so, that I had to throw them all out. I appreciate the effort you put into posting this recipe, but I’m sorry to say it was terrible. I still loooove your blog though!!!
I’m sorry the brownie bites didn’t turn out for you Heidi; that must have been disappointing. Could you explain a little further what happened? I’d like to work together to solve the issues so it doesn’t happen again for you or other readers. 🙂
I would say that they looked okay and it was honestly just taste, they seemed a little more dry than the ones in you picture, like they could have been less fudgy. I honestly don’t know how to describe the taste except for so bad I had to spit it out. It was extremely bitter and chalky in my mouth. I hope that helps, I’m so sorry to be negative!!
No need to apologize Heidi — you’re just giving me the facts of what happened! 🙂 If the brownie bites were dry, bitter, and chalky, it could be one of two things. The most likely reason was the way the cocoa powder was measured. It’s meant to be measured with the spoon and level method, like flour. If it was scooped directly from the container with the measuring cup or packed into the measuring cup, that would result in about 1.5 times as much cocoa powder as was meant to be in the batter. That much extra cocoa powder would definitely result in dry, bitter, and chalky brownies! It could also be that there wasn’t enough sweetener in them. Did you add a full ½ cup of maple syrup? Hopefully one of these two things is the culprit!
Oh my gosh! I may as well call you Sherlock! It was definitely the cocoa powder because I scooped it from the contained and jammed it in by smooshing the measuring cup against the side, packing it in, and I didn’t level it off so that must have been it! Thank Amy!
My pleasure Heidi! I’m so glad it was an easy fix! 🙂
I’m trying to avoid sugars at all. Could I substitute liquid stevia for the maple syrup? Would the texture change?
It depends on the type of liquid stevia that you’re using Anna! If your liquid stevia is very concentrated, similar to the vanilla creme stevia that I use in many of my recipes, then you’ll need to add an addition 6-8 tablespoons of milk to compensate for the missing liquid. I can’t guarantee whether the texture would be exactly the same with that substitution, but it should be fairly close. I hope you enjoy the brownie bites!
Amy! Just made these today and OMG SO FUDGY!! I couldn’t believe how tasty they were and the texture was just divine! They weren’t very clean, as my maple syrup was just about gone, so I had to use good ole aunt jemima pancake syrup but I just had to comment on how good they were. Even my 6 and 4 year old daughters loved them!
YAY!! I’m so glad you and your daughters enjoyed these brownie bites Chrissy! That means so much to me — thank you for sharing that!! 🙂
I just popped these in the oven now and can’t wait to try them. I had no maple syrup so substituted half honey and half agave nectar. I have been trying to eat healthier but have a love obsession with muffins and any sweet really. Your blog has been a life saver!
You’re so sweet Hailey — that means SO much to me that you’re enjoying my blog! I’m truly honored! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these brownie bites!