Double Chocolate Black Bean Muffins
It’s become a running joke when I bring desserts over to my parent’s house:
“Katie, now there aren’t any BEANS in these, are there?”
Usually the answer is “No!” laugh laugh “…of course not! Just regular cookies/brownies/cake,” because ever since I brought those fateful red lentil peanut butter cups, which I’ve mentioned a lot lately because they were NOT GOOD, everyone seems to trust me a tad less over there. Because of that, I’ve taken care to not bring my bean-infused baked goods to that house, even if I’m abso-freaking-lutely certain they’re worthy. More for me and less for the haters, you know?
Before baking the recipe I’m sharing with you today, I hadn’t thought up any new bean desserts in a while. There’s a black bean brownie recipe in my cookbook which I ADORE and make on the regular, but I haven’t felt super innovative with the bean sweets lately. I’d been in a bean sweet slump, if you will.
And then, earlier this week when I wanted to make some healthier muffins and realized I had no pumpkin or banana, I thought, I wonder if beans can add moisture to muffins like they do to brownies.
Hey guys. THEY CAN.
These muffins are double-the-chocolate-trouble with cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips. The soft texture comes from a little coconut oil, those secretive little beans, and almond milk. Since I wanted these to be healthier than most muffins, I used white whole wheat flour, which gives you 100% whole grain goodness, with less of the heavy texture and wheaty flavor.
In addition to being super chocolatey, moist, and relatively healthy, these muffins are also ridiculously easy: one bowl (well, one food processor), 30 minutes, hot outta the oven and into your mouth.
I’ve eaten these muffins as breakfast (slathered with peanut butter), dessert, and even for some necessary hormonal coping (you KNOW). Do yourself a solid and bake some bean muffins, and don’t even worry about sharing them with your family.
Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Black Bean Muffins
Chocolate muffins made with 100% whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and black beans for some added moisture. Soft, fluffy, and studded with mini chocolate chips!
Yield: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 3/4 cup black beans (rinse and drain well, if from a can)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ cup cane sugar
- 1 cup almond milk, room temp
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup high-quality cocoa
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (vegan friendly, if needed)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine the chia seeds, water, black beans, coconut oil, maple syrup, cane sugar, almond milk and vanilla in a blender or food processor, and process until mostly smooth.
- Add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt to the processor, and pulse until just incorporated. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the chocolate chips, and stir the remaining chips into the batter.
- Divide batter among 12 well-greased muffin liners, and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Eat as-is, or slather with peanut butter (my fave)!
Nutrition Information: Serving Size: 1 Muffin, Calories: 181, Sugar: 16.3g, Sodium: 67mg, Fat: 5.9g, Saturated Fat: 3.8g, Carbs: 31.9g, Fiber: 3.7g, Protein: 3.5g
Love the sound of these!
Thanks, Tieghan! :)
Whoa, these look insanely beautiful. They look just like the massive double-chocolate Mrs. Fields muffins I used to get in high school when I was.. less than healthy? I thought that just because I was thin & a dancer I could eat *n’importe quoi*, hence the massive muffins :D Unfortunately the metabolism hasn’t translated to being nearly thirty but I’m a massive fan of healthy treats now at least! I hate to say I’ve never used black beans in any sweets BUT have like four cans in my pantry for that exact intention. Can’t wait to try these!
hahaha, I used to eat huge, buttery blueberry streusel muffins for breakfast in high school, and I remember thinking they were healthy because there were blueberries…obviously! Let me know what you think if you try these!
Ha! My family jokes about the same thing! But I actually love recipes like this. Definitely need to give these a try!
Beautiful photos! My dad always does the same thing to me when I have him try one of my “new recipes”. There’s no need to hate, they’re always delicious!
Thank you!…and I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets suspicious looks from family members!
Beans in muffins. Haven’t tried it, but you’ve convinced me I need to. I’m all for making healthy muffins, and then slathering them with peanut butter!
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This is great. My girls love chocolate and this is a very simple recipe for me to do thanks.
Has anyone tried making these with coconut flour??
What rack on the oven do you bake them on?
Middle rack.
Thank you!!
Just made these & they’re delicious!! I’ve made enough baked goods with vegetables & legumes in them in the past that my friends don’t even bother to ask anymore lol! But even if they did, you totally can’t tell that they have beans in them! I baked them in mini muffin tins so that there’s more chocolate muffin love to go around :)
Woohoo! Glad you liked these, and love the idea of using a mini muffin tin…that means you can eat more, right?! :)
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Hi sounds grt & sounds like black beans need to be cooked before if dried not canned? & TY for posting nutrition info as am a Type 1 diabetic so have to know but how much everything listed is. But would need = less sugar would be ok if took out maple syrup & 1/2 the amount of sugar? As rather have lower well guess on half a muffin as each muffin = just over 2 bread carb exchanges (15 grams = 1) & bummer fiber is not over 4 grams or could of minused it.
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Your recipes are making me cry … vegan in the dorms with a mandatory meal plan here :(
Would it ruin the recipe to leave out the Chia seeds? I have a big dislike towards them. I know they make a gel substance, is it for thickening?
They work as a binder, so you could replace with flaxseeds, or if you’re not vegan, just use a regular chicken egg and omit the water. Hope that helps!
These were absolutely phenomenal! Honestly one of the tastiest muffins i’ve ever had! (And I’ve had plenty of muffins!) I can’t wait to make them again! :)
Hooray! Thank you for the comment!
Just made this and it is perfect! Chocolaty, moist, fluffy!
I did make some minor modifications:
-Used the entire can of black beans drained (which added about a 1/2 cup more)
-Used Erythritol instead of sugar (70% of sweetnes of sugar)
-Added one more tablespoon of maple syrup to “sweeten the added beans”
-Added 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
-Topped with walnuts
The kids loved it and could not tell it was whole wheat and bean loaded.
Great, happy to hear it!!!
As I was making these, my 8 year old son walked in. I told him I was making chocolate muffins. He asked, “Are there bananas in them? Pumpkin?” “No,” I answered innocently, hoping he wouldn’t see the can of beans on the counter. After he and my 5 year old daughter ate their first beautiful muffins and asked for seconds I “spilled the beans” about the secret ingredient.
My favorite thing about vegan baking is that we can eat the batter and undercook the recipe without worry. I cooked these beauties for only 12 minutes.
Thank you so much for the comment, and I’m so glad you and your kiddos like these!
BEST. MUFFINS. EVER!
Woo hoo! Thanks for the comment!
Do you really need the maple syrup? I want them to be a little ore macro friendly and if I only used sugar or truvia would I really need the maple syrup?
I can’t say for sure, since I haven’t tried these without the maple syrup. It would probably be fine, but if there is a liquid sweetener you can use, I would recommend using it for those 2 tablespoons.
Hello Katie!
I just found this recipe through google desperately looking for a good muffin recipe to bake my black beans in. Thank you so much for this recipe; it looks absolutely delicious! I am so excited to give this a try!
Thanks,
Hannah Hogg
I’ve made the recipe twice and they’re really really good but the bottom part always end up beeing hard but not burned at all. It’s like a thin part that hardens up and I cooked them middle rack :(