How to make black beans brownies from scratch

By Swisscultured

 


I’ll be honest with you, I hardly make black bean recipes at home. The main reason is because they’re hard to come by. If I need to buy some, I need to travel to a store that isn’t close by. So when I finally get my hands on some and we use them to make delicious things at home, it’s quite a celebration!

 

The beans I can easily find are the ones in cans. I eat these from time to time. But now that I’ve read about all the benefits of black beans again and how easy they are to make, my family and I are going to be enjoying this delicacy much more often!

 

So,  last week I had a craving for plantains, fried in coconut oil. I love to accompany those with beans. So I took the opportunity to buy some bananas and beans at an Indian store.

 

I haven’t made them in a long time, so I decided to call my mom and ask her for the recipe, just to make sure I don’t burn them! Below is the main recipe for how to cook black beans. It only takes 30 minutes if you have a pressure cooker. I make them in my instant pot, but you can use any pressure cooker.

 

Half a kilo of dried black beans was enough for these three different dishes:

    1. Black beans in a pressure cooker, only 30 minutes!
    2. Black bean brownies, full of fiber and low in the glycemic index!
    3. Refried beans, much better than canned!

 

I love it when I can get 3 different dishes from one ingredient, and with so much fiber. Did you know that black beans are a superfood? Below are some of the nutritional benefits that they include:

 

  • Black beans are rich in complex carbohydrates, they are an excellent source of energy.
  • Black beans have a low glycemic index, they are slowly absorbed into the blood. This helps keep blood sugar levels stable, and prevents cravings for sugary foods, and thus, mood changes.
  • Black beans are high in fiber, which not only helps increase the feeling of satiety but also aids in intestinal regulation.
  • Black beans are an excellent source of protein and low in fat.
  • Black beans are high in magnesium, and a good source of potassium and iron, and are rich in vitamins, especially in the B group.
  • Black beans have detoxifying properties, providing a large amount of molybdenum which is a necessary trace elements to form and activate several important enzymes in the detoxification of the human body.
  • Black beans have great antioxidant power, protecting cells against free radicals, harmful substances that can cause damage to the cells of the body.
  • Black beans contain anthocyanin and other flavonoids that help prevent the signs of premature aging.

 

Black Bean Broth

 

It’s actually very easy to cook black beans. All you have to do to get started is to let them soak in cold water overnight (many say it isn’t necessary). It’s also a good idea to check that there are no pebbles or anything weird in them.

 

Rinse the beans the next morning, put them in the pot, and cover them with cold water. Yeah, you read that right, just beans, and cold water. No salt. I cooked them for 25 minutes at high pressure. In the end, I separated the beans into 3 parts, calculating what 5 people would eat in one meal.

 

The first part I used for the broth. First I sautéed onion and garlic, added the beans with the broth (only the part for that day, the rest I saved). At this point, you can add salt and other spices you like. I eat very simply, and only added salt. I like to accompany these beans with bacon, sausage, chorizo, or any other meat. But you can eat them just like that because as you read above, they already contain a lot of protein. The next morning we enjoyed the little bit we had left of this first broth batch and mixed them with scrambled eggs (no broth) for breakfast.

 

Black Bean Brownies

 

The next recipe is for brownies. If you’ve already read some of my other recipes, you’ll know that I like to experiment and find alternative recipes to the ones one normally uses. In fact, I like to find delicious recipes that avoid wheat. I try to avoid it whenever possible, for many reasons. Or at least I try to include less of it in our meals.

 

When I make brownies or cakes, my youngest daughter likes to help. But this time I made them without telling anybody. I didn’t want them to see the main ingredient. I just showed them the end result. When they tasted the brownies, they couldn’t stop eating them. And after they ate a few, I confessed and told them what the main ingredient was: black beans. They couldn’t believe it. Even my husband who doesn’t like things with weird ingredients (this would be one of them) liked it and asked for more!

 




290 g cooked beans (without salt)

black beans brownies 

30g cocoa
120g sugar
60g chocolate chips
45g coconut oil (or any other fat)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 baking powder
1/2 salt
3 eggs

Bake at 180° for 25 minutes


Refried beans

 

The last recipe I made with this batch of black beans, was refried beans. Yeah, like the ones you buy in the can. They’re so easy to make! You can eat them with tacos, with scrambled eggs, with cheese, with plantains, there are countless possibilities! I decided to make myself some enfrijoladas. If you haven’t had this Mexican delicacy, I’ll explain what it is. They are folded corn tortillas with something inside like melted cheese, cooked vegetables, or meat and covered with beans.

 

So after we ate the broth on day one, the brownies on day two. On day 3 I took the rest of the beans, strained them and sautéed some onion and garlic in a little oil, added the strained beans, and mixed all that in a food processor. You can also use a blender.

 

Then I made quesadillas, and simply added the refried beans over the quesadillas and that was it!

 

That’s how we ate that half a kilo of beans, which lasted less than a week during the quarantine. I hope you like these recipes and start adding more fiber to your diet.

 

I’d like to know if you cook beans often, and what recipes you make with them.

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