Gluten Free Brownies
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.These gluten free brownies are fudgy, rich, and full of chocolate flavor! They are easy to make with just 10 minutes of prep time. You might be surprised by the secret ingredient, which gives these brownies the best texture ever. And the best part? These healthy flourless brownies can be made dairy-free or vegan!
Most healthy gluten free brownies I’ve tried in the past have been too dry, or too cakey, but not these guys! These delicious brownies prove that it’s possible to get a fantastic texture and taste without traditional flours. Plus, the beans are incredibly good for you.
So what exactly is the secret ingredient in these brownies?! Black beans! Not only does this add a nice dose of protein, it also creates the best base for the gf chocolate brownies. You’ll get all the benefits of beans without tasting them at all!
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The next time you have chocolate cravings, easily whip these up by throwing all the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together in a blender! Fold in the chocolate chips, pour into your pan, sprinkle with more chocolate and bake! It doesn’t get any easier, making this a recipe you’ll come back to again and again. They really are the best gluten-free brownies ever!
And if you’re looking for more gluten-free brownie recipes, you have to check out my gluten-free vegan chickpea blondies, which are chewy, sweet, and rich – just a twist on a regular blondie/brownie!
👩🏽🍳 Why You’ll Love Gluten Free Brownies
- Healthier Option: Most classic brownies will run you about 150-180 Calories, 8 grams of fat, and will have about 16 grams of sugar in them. These gluten free fudgy brownies have under 100 calories, only 3 grams of fat, and only 10 grams of sugar per serving!
- Fudgy Texture: These brownies result in the most amazing chewy edges and fudgy center that everyone will enjoy, especially chocolate lovers! They are basically flourless chocolate cakes! You might not get the same crackly top as you would with traditional brownies or box mix, this simple recipe is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.
- Kid-Friendly: Kids will gobble up these chewy gluten free brownies and won’t have a clue that they are actually eating a healthier brownie! They taste sweet and chocolate-y with the perfect texture.
- Rich In Antioxidants: Black beans, cocoa powder, and chocolate are all good sources for antioxidants, helping to reduce inflammation in your body.
- Minimal Equipment: Good news! This easy recipe really only requires a blender and large bowl! No cutting board, stand mixer, electric whisk (or electric mixer), or fine-mesh sieve is required and no fancy ingredients are needed either. Gluten free baking is made easy with this black bean brownies recipe.
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🥘 Ingredients
Use simple ingredients and a few special additions to create the most amazing homemade gluten free brownies! Find everything you need at any of your local grocery stores. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the nutritional values!
- Black Beans: The black beans replace flour in this recipe, but you won’t taste them at all. Instead you’ll just find they add moisture and richness to the batter!
- Eggs: You’ll use 2 whole eggs to help bind the ingredients and keep things from falling apart, while contributing to the chewy texture.
- Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder is all you need for the perfect amount of chocolate flavor!
- Coconut Sugar: Keep these brownies free of refined sugars by using coconut sugar. This is a great low-glycemic option.
- Oil & Milk: You will just need a splash of olive oil and milk in this gluten free chocolate brownie recipe for added liquid.
- Balsamic Vinegar: A unique ingredient for brownies, but you will love the discreet richness that it adds!
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These leavening agents help the gluten free fudge brownies rise and spread for a chewy, fudgy texture.
- Coffee: This is a fun hack to bring out an intense chocolate flavor from these brownies. You won’t taste the coffee!
- Chocolate Chips: You can use semisweet or dark chocolate chips, mixing some in the batter and sprinkling the rest on top.
🍲 Ingredient Substitutions
- Flours: While these are flourless brownies using black beans, you can play around with the recipe and try out bob’s red mill gluten-free flour blend, almond meal, brown rice flour, or almond flour.
- Eggs: You can use flax eggs, chia eggs, mashed ripe bananas, vegan egg replacer, or unsweetened applesauce in this recipe for gluten free brownies.
- Cacao Powder: Instead of cocoa powder, feel free to use cacao. The taste will be a bit more bitter but the sugar should mask this just fine!
- Sugar: You can use granulated sugar or maple syrup, or your choice of sugar-free sweeteners. For a more intense flavor, try brown sugar.
- Oil: Any oil will work fine for this easy gluten free brownie recipe, like coconut oil or avocado oil. Alternatively, use melted vegan butter.
- Milk: You can use whatever milk you prefer, whether that be whole milk, almond milk, or coconut milk.
🔪 How To Make Gluten Free Brownies
This is the easiest flourless brownies recipe ever, using a blender to combine all the ingredients! Here is how to make gf brownies from scratch:
Preheat Oven & Prep Pan: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a nonstick 8×8 or 9×9-inch square pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
Combine Ingredients: Blend the black beans, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil, milk, balsamic, baking soda, baking powder and coffee in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Add Chocolate Chips: Pour the brownie batter into a large mixing bowl. Fold in half of the chocolate chips (about ⅓ cup of chocolate chips) with a wooden spoon or spatula until combined.
Add To Baking Dish: Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan.
Top: Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the top of the brownies.
Bake & Cool: Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 to 32 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing them into squares. No wire rack is needed.
💭 Expert Tips
- Blender Is A Must: It’s essential to use a blender or food processor for the batter. If you try to make them by hand the beans won’t get mixed as well, and you may end up with chunks.
- Do Not Over Bake: For best results, don’t over bake the gluten free chocolate brownies. They won’t be as fudgy if you bake them too long. Take them out when they’re just barely set. As soon as a toothpick comes out clean, they are done.
- Measure Precisely: Be sure to measure all the ingredients properly. When it comes to baking it needs to be more exact, versus cooking recipes.
- Use Glass Pan: If you can, use a glass baking pan instead of a metal pan. The heat distribution will be more even in a glass pan.
- Richer Flavor: Add in melted chocolate with a dash of vanilla extract to the batter. Melt in a large microwave-safe bowl or in a pan over low heat. You can also use dark cocoa powder. Combine the chocolate mixture after blending the other ingredients.
📖 Variations
- Nuts: Adding nuts gives you a fantastic crunch but also adds some flavor too. Any nuts will do too. Pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts all make for a good brownie!
- Almond Extract: If you want a super rich brownie that has a little extra pizzazz, add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. It’s so fun and tasty. You can even try 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to switch things up! If you’re adding almond extract you can add a small amount of chopped dried cherries for even more flavor.
- Cayenne Pepper Or Cinnamon: If you haven’t tried brownies with a dash of cayenne or cinnamon, now is the time. It’s a great way to bring out even more sweetness in the brownies, and the spice is nice too.
- Add Protein: Mix in your favorite protein powder for a boost of protein content in this wheat free brownie recipe. You will need to add a couple tablespoons of milk to keep these moist.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Enjoy these gluten free healthy brownies on their own or enhance them with some extra mix-ins or toppings! Here are a few of my favorite ideas:
- With Toppings: Add chopped nuts, coarse sea salt, caramel drizzle, strawberry simple syrup, peanut butter, almond butter, melted chocolate, vegan Nutella, or a scoop of ice cream. You can also mix the brownie pieces into this chocolate tofu ice cream for your own homemade brownie ice cream!
- With Milk: Milk and cookies are a classic combination, so why not milk and brownies? Use almond milk or your favorite plant based milk for a dairy-free option. These brownies would also make a great treat served with this protein hot chocolate, or this honey latte!
🙌 Dietary Adaptations
This delicious gluten free brownies recipe is very adaptable! To make dairy-free brownies, substitute almond milk for the 1% milk. Make them vegan gluten free brownies by also swapping flax eggs for the regular eggs. Make sure you are using dairy free chocolate chips! You’ll end up with brownies that are both gluten-free and vegan!
🫙 Storage Directions
- Refrigerating: Allow brownies to cool to room temperature and then place in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for 5-6 days.
- Freezing: Freeze these gf brownies for up to 1 month. The next time you want to enjoy these fudgy brownies, allow them to fully thaw in the fridge.
- Reheating: If you want to enjoy these fudgy gluten free brownies warm, heat in the microwave or toaster oven.
❓Recipe FAQs
ARE BROWNIES GLUTEN FREE?
Most typical brownies will not be gluten free and tend to be made using all purpose flour. However, most recipes can be adapted into a gluten free version! These gluten free dark chocolate brownies are safe to eat for anyone with a gluten intolerance, as they are made with black beans as the base.
HOW DO YOU KEEP GLUTEN FREE BROWNIES FROM FALLING APART OR BECOMING DRY?
The gluten in flour provides baked goods with their structure and helps hold everything together. Without the gluten, it is more common for brownies to become dry and crumbly.
When using gf flours like coconut flour, you need extra moisture to counteract the dryness. However, this can easily be remedied by adding in a binding ingredient.
This recipe uses 2 large eggs to serve as the binder. Additionally, the black beans contain moisture which will help! If you happen to find you are still experiencing issues, you can add in some xanthan gum, corn starch, or tapioca starch as an additional thickener.
HOW DO I ENSURE MY FLOURLESS BROWNIES HAVE A FUDGY TEXTURE RATHER THAN CAKEY?
Cakey brownies are a result of using more flour in a recipe, with less fat. In regular brownies, you would want to use more fat and less flour for a dense, fudge-like texture. These flourless brownies will naturally have a fudgy texture thanks to the black beans, but they also have fat from olive oil. It is also important to not overbake your brownies, as this will dry them out.
🍪 More Gluten Free Desserts!
- Gluten-Free Apple Tea Cake
- Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
- Lemon Popsicles
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Pie Crust Recipe
- Tofu Chocolate Mousse
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📋 Recipe Card
🎥 Watch How to Make It
Gluten Free Brownies
These gluten free brownies are fudgy, rich, and full of chocolate flavor! They are easy to make with just 10 minutes of prep time. You might be surprised by the secret ingredient, which gives these brownies the best texture ever. And the best part? These healthy flourless brownies can be made dairy-free or vegan!
Servings: 20 brownies
Calories: 91kcal
Ingredients
- 15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained 1 can
- 2 large eggs Note: To make these vegan, you can use flax eggs instead
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp 1% milk
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp of freshly ground coffee or instant coffee
- ¾ cup mini semisweet or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a nonstick 8×8 or 9×9-inch square baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
- Blend the black beans, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil, milk, balsamic, baking soda, baking powder and coffee in a food processor or blender until smooth and pour into a bowl. Fold in half of the chocolate chips until combined.
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the top of the brownies.
- Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 to 32 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing them into squares.
Notes
Gluten Free Brownies Variations
- Nuts: Adding nuts gives you a fantastic crunch but also adds some flavor too. Any nuts will do too. Pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts are my favorites.
- Almond Extract: If you want a super rich brownie that has a little extra pizzazz, add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. It’s so fun and tasty. You can even try 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to switch things up!
- Cayenne Pepper or Cinnamon: I know it might sound a little crazy, but if you haven’t tried brownies with a dash of cayenne or cinnamon, now is the time. It’s a great way to bring out even more sweetness in the brownies, and the spice is nice too.
- Make Them Vegan: Substitute flax eggs for the regular eggs and almond milk for the 1% milk and you’ll end up with brownies that are both gluten free and vegan!
- It’s essential to use a blender or food processor for the batter. If you try to make them by hand the beans won’t get mixed as well, and you may end up with chunks. Because you are trying to hide the beans, getting them blended in all the way is a must.
- Don’t overbake the brownies. They won’t be as fudgy if you bake them too long. Take them out when they’re just barely set – as soon as a toothpick comes out clean, they are done.
- Be sure to measure all the ingredients properly. While with other recipes you can guestimate how much you add, when it comes to baking it needs to be more exact.
- If you can, use a glass baking pan instead of a metal one – the heat distribution will be more even in a glass pan.
Nutrition
Serving: 1brownie | Calories: 91kcal | Carbohydrates: 14.7g | Protein: 2.2g | Fat: 3.4g | Saturated Fat: 1.9g | Sodium: 7.7mg | Fiber: 1.8g | Sugar: 10g
These brownies look so fudgey and delicious. I can’t wait to try them.
Thanks Dannii!! Enjoy!!
Thanks. Your recipe is amazing. This is so healthy and I love the combination of healthy ingredients. Cant wait to check this out.
Thank you so much Veena! You will love it!
Wow – the texture on these is terrific! And, I love the added nutritional ooomph of black beans added into them. Gosh – I could do some serious damage to a batch of these!
Haha I know right?? They are super addicting!! Enjoy!
I can just sit looking at these brownies and dream of happily flying in the paradise and when I finally take a bite I will probably explode in ecstasy.
Now seriously, I will have to make these and I’m sure my experience will be very close to what I wrote above. Not to mention the added benefit of the brownies being gluten free, which unfortunately is becoming an epidemic in recent years. I’m pretty sure the reason for this is the crops are being heavily modified genetically and chemically. This in addition to few other factors explains why gluten intolerance is on the rise. And they are not even hiding this GMO altering of our food anymore. You can easily find information about that online and in other places, where they mention this fact like it’s something completely normal. Just a few decades ago there was almost no gluten intolerance in the US and even less so worldwide.
If one is concerned about being healthy and happy, should always search and consume food that is as natural and closest to nature as possible.
Thank you so much Anjali, for showing us what exceptionally healthy and delicious food can be prepared with natural products.
Best wishes and happy holidays!
Thank you so much Jenny! I’m sure you will love these brownies when you make them! Hope you have a great holiday season as well!
I made this last night for a 9 and a 4 year old, both very picky eaters, they gobbled them up! Love love this recipe. I’ve already shared it with a few friends. Thanks for sharing!!
Woohooo!! So so happy to hear that Meredith! 🙂 🙂
Is there something that could be subbed for milk or could it be omitted?
Hi Violet! If you’re trying to go dairy free then you can use almond milk and it should work just fine in this recipe! Hope that helps!
Hi Anjali your recipes are wonderful and creative. Keep up the good work
Thanks Hadi! I’m sure you will love these brownies if you try them!
Hi Anjali , it’s looks so yummy thanks you for sharing this . I have a question can we use red kidney beans in the place of black beans . Thanks
Hi! Thanks so much! To your question — I wouldn’t recommend replacing the black beans with red kidney beans — they have a different flavor and a slightly different texture than black beans, so I can’t guarantee that they would bake the same (or taste the same) in these brownies! Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!
Will the brownies have a coffee taste?? I tend to not like coffee flavor in chocolate recipes. Could it be left out?
Thanks!
Hi Brittany! The brownies actually have zero coffee taste — the instant coffee just brings out the flavor of the chocolate even more without having to add too much sugar!! Hope that helps, I’d definitely recommend keeping the coffee in the recipe if you can!
Wow what a unique recipe! I will definitely try this!
You’ll love these brownies Mayuri!
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe with us. Thank god it is gluten free. I have been surfing the net extensively in search of gluten free recipes. I’m lucky I bumped into your blog. I can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend. It will be the perfect dessert for saturday night dinner.
Hi Eshika! Aw I’m so glad you came across my blog too!! This recipe is the perfect gluten free dessert – because it isn’t grainy or dense at all – this recipe makes the perfect cakey fudgey brownies and they taste amazing. I’m sure you will love it when you try it!
This recipe looks absolutely delicious! Thank you for all the inspiration.
Of course!! I’m sure you will love these brownies Kirsten! They are perfectly moist and chocolatey – one of my favs 🙂
Every time I look at this blog, I am so pleased. The layout is beautiful, the ads are subtle and unobtrusive. Everything is so tastefully done. And the recipes are wonderful and creative. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your kind words Laura!! I’m so happy to hear you’ve been enjoying my recipe and my blog! 🙂
Yumm! Love how unique this recipe is – looks so good.
Thanks Gautam! Enjoy!
Awesome! looks delicious..i will try it out
I’m sure you will love these brownies Elsie!
the brownie looks awesome, gonna try this today! I found your site from the “Top 68 Food Blogs You Need To Follow Right Now” post published in “chew the world” and I’m glad I did. Will definitely try this.
Yay!! I know you’ll absolutely love these brownies when you make them – enjoy! 🙂