Box Mix Black Bean Brownies

Apparently the second week of this challenge is the week where I figure out how lazy I can be and still somehow incorporate beans and rice into our diet. In my defense, my sister-in-law gave me this divine idea for quick and easy Black Bean brownies. I have seen a lot of black bean brownie recipes and I was eager to try one, but I also wanted to ensure that the first try was a success. You know, so that the kids didn't always declare that they "hate black bean brownies" regardless of how good they are.


We are a picky brownie family. My currently 9 year old even won first place in the county fair for her brownies a few years ago. My sister-in-law has great taste so I was pretty sure her recipe would be a winner.

I totally forgot to takes pictures of the first step. You open a 15 ounce can of black beans, drain them and rinse well. Put the beans in a food processor with 1/4 cup of water. The 9 year old insisted that a blender would work just as well. She's a pretty smart cook but she was wrong about this one. The whole thing gummed up in the blender and we ended up transferring it to the food processor attachment anyway. Once we were using the right tool, the black beans pureed quickly into a smooth paste.

Pour the brownie mix into a mixing bowl and add the pureed black beans.  It will take a little while to incorporate the mix into the puree.

Spread the mix into a greased baking pan.  My sister-in-law said to use a 9X13 pan, but our brownie mix said to use a 9X9 and it didn't look like enough to fill a 9X13 pan.  I think maybe I purchased a different type of brownie mix than she did.

Bake for the time directed on the box.  Ours took about 5 minutes less than the directions but my oven tends to run hot.

The brownies didn't really level themselves as much as a typical brownie recipe might.

Once cut, the brownies were chewy and moist.  Sorry for the blurry picture - I'm not sure what happened.

The Verdict

These were a huge hit with the kids, despite their initial assertion that they were going to be awful.  They each had two and asked when we could make them again.  We discussed all the ways we could try to make this recipe from scratch, now that we know what the black beans replace (egg and oil.)  The dreamy husband said they were moist and tasty.

Box Mix Black Bean Brownies, serves 6ish

one box of brownie mix
one can of black beans
one quarter cup water

Drain and rinse the black beans.  Puree in a food processor with the water.

Mix the bean puree with the brownie mix.  Pour into greased pan and bake per box directions.

Yum.