Black bean stout brownies sound like a prank until you take a bite. They bake up dark, fudgy, and deeply chocolatey, and nobody will guess there’s a can of beans hiding in the pan.
If you love a brownie with a twist, these sit right at home next to my Fudgy Chocolate Cherry Brownies and Whole Wheat Zucchini Brownies. Sneaky ingredients, zero compromise on flavor.
In This Post
Why this Works
Black beans bring structure and moisture without a drop of oil or a single egg. Blend them completely smooth and they vanish into the batter, acting like a fudge-builder that keeps every square dense and soft instead of cakey.
Stout beer and instant coffee are the flavor amplifiers. Stout carries roasted malt notes that echo dark cocoa, and coffee makes chocolate taste more like itself. Whole wheat flour adds a quiet nutty backbone that keeps the whole thing grounded.
Heather’s Recipe Notes
Drawing from 20 years of recipe development and my time co-founding a spice company, here’s what makes this recipe worth making exactly as written.
- Blend the beans until completely smooth. This is the difference between fudgy brownies and bean-speckled regret.
- Use the darkest cocoa powder you can find. As a co-founder of Spiceology, I learned fast that quality powders and spices do the heavy lifting, and cocoa is no exception.
- Add the instant coffee even if you hate coffee. You will not taste it, but the chocolate will thank you.
- Choose a stout with roasted notes, like a dry or oatmeal stout. Skip sour or fruit-forward styles.
- Rotate the pan halfway through baking for even edges and a consistent crumb.
The Maillard Reaction
Yes, it shows up here, mostly on the top and edges. As the brownies bake, heat triggers browning where proteins and sugars concentrate near the surface, especially around the rim of the pan. That browning creates toasted, caramel-like notes that balance the dark cocoa.
You also get Maillard support from the stout’s roasted malt character, which already contains browned flavors from the brewing process. In other words, the beer brings “baked” depth before the pan even hits the oven. Together, the baked crust plus stout gives these brownies a grown-up, bakery-style finish.
Ingredients in Black Bean Brownies
- Black beans – canned or home-cooked
- Flour – whole wheat or all-purpose flour
- Stout beer – or you can substitute water
- Sugar – raw or granulated sugar
- Instant coffee – adding coffee to chocolate desserts enhances the chocolate flavor
- Baking powder – to help the brownies rise a little and creates a cakey brownie
- Vanilla – extract or vanilla bean paste
- Kosher salt – or table salt, just use 1/2 the amount
- Nuts or chocolate chips – optional
Subs & Variations
- No stout? Use a porter for similar roast, or swap in strong brewed coffee for a mocha-leaning brownie.
- Swap whole wheat flour for all-purpose (same bake time) or a 1:1 gluten-free blend for a slightly more fragile crumb.
- Brown sugar instead of raw sugar gives a deeper molasses note and a softer square.
- Stir in chocolate chips for gooey pockets or toasted walnuts for crunch and bitter balance.
- Add cinnamon and a tiny pinch of cayenne for a Mexican chocolate vibe, plus flaky salt on top before baking.
Tips for Storing
- Cool completely before cutting or storing. Warm brownies steam the container and turn gummy.
- Store airtight at room temperature up to 4 days. The beans keep them soft longer than a classic brownie.
- Refrigerate up to a week if your kitchen runs warm. Bring to room temp before serving for the best texture.
- Freeze individual squares wrapped in plastic and tucked in a freezer bag up to 3 months.
- Thaw frozen brownies at room temperature about an hour, or zap 15 seconds for a warm, just-baked feel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not if you blend the beans smooth and use dark cocoa plus coffee. The flavor reads chocolate-forward, with a faint nutty depth.
Yes. Rinse and drain well to remove excess starch and canned flavor. This keeps the batter cleaner and the chocolate brighter.
A dry stout or oatmeal stout with roasted notes, like Guinness. Avoid pastry stouts heavy on vanilla or maple unless you want those flavors front and center.
Most of it, yes. After 25 to 30 minutes in the oven, only trace amounts remain, but use strong brewed coffee if you prefer to skip beer entirely.
Absolutely. Skip the nuts and use chocolate chips, leave mix-ins out entirely, or try toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch.
Yes. The batter is already egg free and dairy free, so just choose a vegan stout that skips isinglass in the brewing process.
Other Recipes to Try
- Easy Stout Shepherd’s Pie
- Chocolate Cherry Brownies
- Grilled Cod Tacos
- Roasted Celery Soup
- Easy Mushroom Quiche
Black Bean Stout Brownies Recipe
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Ingredients
- 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and filled with new water
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour, or all purpose
- 2 ¼ cups raw sugar
- 1 ¼ cup dark cocoa powder
- 4 tsp instant coffee powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup stout beer, such as Guinness (or water)
- 1 cup nuts, or chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F degrees.
- Drain a can of black beans and rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear. Return the black beans back to the can and fill with water. Puree the beans and water. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, coffee power, salt and baking powder. Add the black bean puree, vanilla and stout to the dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated. Don’t over mix.
- Pour batter into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan around halfway through. They should be almost firm in the center.
- Let brownies cool completely then cut into 24 squares.
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Notes
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Hi! I’m Heather
I’m Heather, a recipe developer and content creator based in Vancouver, Washington. I started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006 because I believed weeknight dinners shouldn’t be boring and gourmet shouldn’t mean complicated. I’m also the co-founder of Spiceology, so safe to say I think about food for a living. Stick around for recipes that actually make it into your regular rotation.
I really love this recipe and hope you will too!
Made these 5/7/15 10:30am. Amazing! Don’t be scared, so delish!! Used an Alaskan Pumpkin porter, and (4tsp)fresh coffee ground to espresso grind, giradeli unsweetened cocoa. Can hardly wait for the hubs to get home and have one!!!
Sorry. You lost me with the coffee. Upsets my stomach badly.
This is a great recipe! I just discovered a Coffee Oatmeal Stout by The Good People Brewing Company that I would like to use in this recipe. Not sure if it’s vegan or not though.
There are plenty of vegan-friendly beer out there. Barnivore.com has an extensive list, including the ever delicious Samuel Smith Organic Chocolate Stout.
You can also try Boatswain Chocolate Stout which is vegan-friendly:
I’ve seen Boatswain Chocolate Stout at Trader Joe’s. I’ve also used Young’s Double Chocolate Stout as well with great results though I’m not sure if Young’s is vegan-friendly
Brooklyn brand dry irish stout is vegan-friendly, they don’t use isinglass as a fining agent and instead they use a product called Biofine Clear as a fining agent. Only problem is that it seems to be available only seasonally.
The taste of these are amazing. However, the texture is like a rubbery sponge.
I just made them for a potluck and mine came out like rich, gooey, and oh so delicious candy shop fudge….in fact they were so rich I could only eat 2 of them before getting almost full LOL
Love these! Have made them 2x and shared recipe w/many choc lovers. I cut the sugar to less than 2 c, but have frosted, with chocolate to get a good chocolate flavor. One of the batches I broke up a bar of Ikea dk choc (surprisingly not bad for the price), spaced them out on ‘fresh from the oven’ brownies, then spread–tooooo ez!
I just made your brownies and I love them. I didn’t have instant coffee, so I substituted a cup of coffee leftover from this morning for the stout. I do want to warn those who might be thinking of making these brownies as a substitute for “regular” brownies: my husband was so excited for brownies the entire time they were in the oven and couldn’t wait for them to be done, then eagerly cut a piece out as soon as they came out, popped it into his mouth, made a disappointed face, and said, “Oh…they’re different….sugar free or something.” Like I said, I love them and they totally satisfy my chocolate craving, but people who aren’t into eating healthy food might not think as highly of them.
You are a genius! These were so good – thank you! I posted about them on my blog 🙂
MMM this recipe gave me chills! I love the fudgy consistency of black-bean based brownies and the bittersweet taste of Guinness. I am definetely pinning this!
Hi Heather,
Just stopping by to let you know I’ve included your brownies in my 100 chocolate recipes round-up.
That’s awesome!! Thank you so much! I have been meaning to make those brownies lately. 🙂 I’m off to check out your roundup!! Thanks again. xo ~Heather