During my childhood, my mom let us enjoy a few extra sweet treats on Valentineâs Day, as compared to any other ordinary day of the week. After our class parties in elementary school, we usually came home with a shoebox full of little cards and candy, so she agreed we could nibble on a piece or two as part of our afternoon snack.
Once we finished dinner, we went back for a few more pieces of candy from our shoebox stash, or we picked out a store-bought baked treat from the pantry. Mom knew how much we loved festive sprinkle-covered sugar cookies and Little Debbieâs heart-shaped cupcakes!
As I grew up, I started skipping those cute colorful desserts and gravitated more towards the extra chocolaty treats. Chocolate cookies, chocolate cupcakes, dark chocolate truffles⌠Basically whatever Mom brought home for herself. She certainly passed along her chocoholism to me!
During my high school years, Mom discovered Trader Joeâs chocolate ganache torte: a round two-layer cake with chocolate mousse sandwiched between the layers and covered in a silky smooth chocolate ganache. After our first bite, we were both hooked⌠And snuck seconds every time we carved ourselves a slice. It rarely lasted more than two days!
Iâve already glimpsed lots of incredibly tempting chocolate treats on storesâ shelves⌠Including that Trader Joeâs cake! To avoid cramming every last one into my shopping cart, I resolved to bake a batch of these healthy chocolate chunk flourless brownie bites when I returned home instead. That completely did the trick!
Theyâre beautifully rich and decadent, just like many of those desserts I spotted while running errands, with an ultra smooth and fudge-like texture⌠Even with no butter or oil! Theyâre also super quick and easy to make. You need less than 30 minutes â and not a single mixing bowl!
A chocoholicâs dream come true, right??
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE HEALTHY FLOURLESS BROWNIE BITES
Let’s cover what youâll need to make these healthy chocolate chunk flourless brownie bites!
Unsweetened cocoa powder. To make this recipe super simple and much faster, youâll skip the melted chocolate and use unsweetened cocoa powder. Youâll add in a full ½ cup, so your flourless brownie bites taste really rich and decadent!
Hint: I donât recommend substituting Dutched or special dark cocoa powder. They have a different flavor and acidity level, which can affect both the taste and texture. Iâve found that these two end up tasting less rich with a noticeably more muted chocolate flavor, so I strongly suggest sticking with regular unsweetened cocoa powder for the best results!
Sweetener. Instead of refined sugar, youâll sweeten your healthy flourless brownie bites with pure maple syrup. Remember to buy the real kind that comes directly from maple trees! The only ingredient on the label should be âmaple syrup.â It generally comes in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs (like this!).
Milk. I opted for unsweetened cashew milk to make these flourless brownie bites dairy-free. Itâs really thick and creamy with just 25 calories per cup! (It also makes amazing lattes and homemade coffee creamer. Yum!) Almost any type of milk will work though, so feel free to use whatever you already have in your fridge.
Egg whites. These bind together the other ingredients. The egg whites also provide your flourless brownie bites with a protein boost!
No flour. Now things are about to get a little interesting⌠Rather than flour, youâll use black beans! I know â it sounds really strange. But I promise these brownies do NOT taste like beans! That earthy flavor completely bakes off while the brownie bites are in the oven, so your healthy flourless brownie bites simply taste super rich and chocolaty once theyâve cooled. (Just donât taste the raw batter!)
Bonus: The black beans help make these brownie bites extremely fudgy, just the way I like them. Truly â their texture is just like fudge! They also give your healthy flourless brownie bites another protein boost. I call that a win-win!
Vanilla. A very common baking ingredient! It adds richness and rounds out the decadent chocolate flavor.
Dark chocolate. I love chopping up bars of dark chocolate to make the chocolate chunks because they have such an amazing flavor, and they also turn melty and gooey in the oven. Ghirardelli and Lindt are two of my favorites!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY FLOURLESS BROWNIE BITES
Let’s quickly go over how to make the best healthy chocolate chunk flourless brownie bites! They’re one of the easiest desserts youâll ever make. It blows my mind how fast and delicious these are! And thatâs becauseâŚ
No mixer. Youâll use a blender or food processor to make the batter! Just add all of the ingredients to the bowl â except the dark chocolate â pop on the lid, and blitz until the batter is liquidy and smooth.
Prep the mini muffin cups. Before adding the batter to your mini muffin pan, slip a liner into each cavity. That makes these flourless brownie bites much easier to pop out! Remember to coat those liners with cooking spray too. Low fat batters (like this one!) tend to stick to liners like super glue, but spraying them first helps the liners peel away quite easily.
Sprinkle + swirl. Just before popping the pans in the oven, youâll sprinkle a little of the finely chopped dark chocolate into each cavityâs batter and swirl it in with a knife. This brownie batter is very thin and liquidy, unlike most of my traditional brownie recipes, so if you added the chocolate chunks to your food processor or blender, theyâd just sink to the bottom⌠Meaning the majority of your brownie bites would be missing those chocolate chunks. Not good! So wait until after youâve portioned out the batter, and youâll be all set.
Bake + cool. To ensure these black bean brownie bites end up with an ultra smooth and fudge-like texture, youâll do two things. First, remove them from the oven when the edges look set but the centers still look glossy. The residual heat from the pan will continue to cook those centers all the way through while you let the bites cool in the pan, without drying them out or resulting in a cakey texture.
Second, wait at least 3 hours after theyâve reached room temperature before eating any. These brownie bites turn fudgier the longer they rest. If you try nibbling on them sooner, theyâll taste more cake-like. I know itâs really hard, but if you can wait longer, like 8 hours or more, thatâs even better!
Time for dessert! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees Iâll see your picture! đ ) Iâd love to see your healthy chocolate chunk flourless brownie bites!
Healthy Chocolate Chunk Flourless Brownie Bites
Ingredients
- 1 (15oz) can reduced sodium black beans, drained and thoroughly rinsed
- 3 large egg whites (room temperature)
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- Âź cup (60mL) unsweetened cashew milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp (28g) finely chopped dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners, and coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add all of the ingredients except the finely chopped dark chocolate to a blender or food processor in the order that theyâre listed. Blend until completely smooth and no large pieces of beans remain.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Evenly sprinkle the dark chocolate between the muffin cups, and use the tip of a butter knife to swirl them into the batter. Bake at 300°F for 14-18 minutes, or until they no longer jiggle when lightly shaken. (The centers should still look glossy and slightly underdone!) Cool completely to room temperature in the pan; then let them sit for an additional 3 hours for the fudgiest texture.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipesâŚ
⥠Flourless Brownie Bites
⥠Flourless Peppermint Mocha Brownie Bites
⥠Practically Flourless Extra Fudgy Brownies
⥠Brownie Batter Energy Bites
⥠Dark Chocolate Frosted Fudge Brownies
⥠Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Swirled Fudge Brownies
⥠Slow Cooker Fudge Brownies
⥠âŚand the rest of Amy’s healthy brownie recipes!
Trader Joe’s chocolate ANYTHING has my heart! Especially those chocolate bars in the checkout line that they sneak in because they know I’ll probably buy one. đ But these look like the perfect dessert for me to make in my NEW mini muffin tin!! đ
Exactly!! Especially those little three-packs up by the register. My favorites! đ I can’t wait to hear what you think of these if you try them Marina!
Hi
Thanks for the recipe. Is the dark chocolate really necessary (other than taste, I mean) or can it be left out?
Keep well..!
You can omit the 2 tablespoons of diced dark chocolate if you prefer! đ I can’t wait to hear what you think of the brownie bites Fuz!
Am a huge fan of Trader Joe’s as well. Who isn’t? Love the idea of black beans in a brownie, I certainly feel no-guilt in passing these brownies to my kids.
Thanks Maria! I’d love to hear what your kids think if you try them! đ
How chocolate gooey fudge do these look!!! I love that TJs chocolate torte too, it’s so decadent! I was wondering if black beans might be the secret ingredient in these. I love that you offer flour-less recipes, Amy!
Thank you so much Andrenna!! That means a lot to me! đ With how much people seem to love flourless options, I just may have to create more recipes like these this year! đ
These sure are a dream come true! They look heavenly – perfect to replace those tempting refined-sugar-filled chocolates in supermarkets, yet they look just as delicious! I love how various celebrations over the year give us an excuse to eat chocolate (Valentine’s, Easter, Birthdays, Halloween, Christmas). It’s brilliant for us chocoholics!?
Thanks so much Katie! I completely agree — the more chocolate-friendly holidays we have, the better! đ
My boys and I made these today and they turned out great! Thanks Amy
I’m so glad you and your boys enjoyed the brownie bites Erin! đ
Amy, just made these and they are absolutely delicious!!!! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownie bites Nancy! That means a lot to me! đ
These look amazing. Is there anything I could use to replace the beans to make them paleo? All the other ingredients work except the beans.
This recipe was specifically designed to be made with black beans, so I can’t guarantee that other substitutes will work. You may try almond flour, but I honestly don’t know how much you’ll need. The batter should be very thin and runny. I’d love to hear what you try and how they turn out Megha! đ
Hi Amy, I don’t have mini muffin tin, can I make these regular muffin size, 12 muffins? How would the oven temp and/or time to bake change?
Yes, you can use a regular muffin tin! The baking temperature will remain the same, and the baking time will most likely increase. The centers should still look glossy and slightly underdone when you pull them from the oven. đ I can’t wait to hear what you think of these Chrissy!
You do such nice work, Amy. I may have to acquire a mini muffin tin!
You’re so sweet Susan — thank you! đ I use my mini muffin pans ALL the time! Probably even more than regular muffin tins… đ I’d love to hear what you think if you try these!