These healthy vegan Black Bean Chocolate Fudge Muffins with Vanilla Frosting have no flour, eggs or butter and are 100% plant based. The recipe is very simple and even if you’re not good at baking, like me, it’s hard to go wrong with making these.
If you are testing these black bean muffins on others don’t tell them the special ingredient until after they have tried them. No one in real life has guessed the secret ingredient and everyone was unaware that they are healthy muffins loaded with nutrients, vitamins, fibre, protein and heart-healthy fats.
Out of all the recipes I’ve posted on Nest and Glow this chocolate muffin is my favourite.
This chocolate muffin recipe I always reach for if I want to make someone an impressive delicious cake that tastes like it’s bad for you when actually it’s loaded with nutrition.
Suitable for people on a gluten-free, vegan, plant based and general healthy whole foods diet.
Black Bean Chocolate Fudge Muffin Video Recipe
These muffins may be high in calories, but one will satisfy a sweet tooth as they are made from whole foods.
To make a healthier version you can leave out the coconut oil and chocolate chips. They will still taste great, but won’t quite have the same fudgy texture.
I usually don’t eat cooked oil of any sort, but a tiny bit of coconut oil once in a while is fine.
The most common question I get about these healthy chocolate muffins is if they taste of beans, and the answer is no! They really don’t even if you are looking for the beany flavour the cocoa and sweetness makes the healthy ingredient undetectable.
For the chocolate chips I slice up a very dark bar of chocolate. The higher the cocoa the better – I aim for something 80-85% cocoa.
The bar I used for this healthy chocolate muffin recipe is 82%. Just make sure you use a vegan chocolate if you’re not eating dairy.
Black Bean Chocolate Muffins
These healthy Black Bean Chocolate Fudge Muffins with Vanilla Frosting have no flour, eggs or butter and are 100% plant based. The recipe is very simple and even if you're not good at baking, like me, it's hard to go wrong with making these.
Ingredients
BLACK BEAN MUFFINS
- 1 tin / 240g cooked Black beans
- 3 tbsp Cocoa powder
- ½ cup / 40 g ground Oats
- 2-4 tbsp Maple syrup / date syrup / or any sweetener
- 6-8 pitted Dates
- 2 tbsp melted Coconut oil or Coconut butter
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- ½ cup / 80g of Chocolate chips / chunks
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- pinch of Salt
CASHEW VANILLA FROSTING
- ¾ cup / 100g Cashew nuts
- 2 tbsp melted Coconut oil or Coconut butter, optional
- 2 tbsp Maple syrup / date syrup / or any sweetener
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbsp Water, just enough to blend smooth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C.
- Place everything for the bean muffins apart from the chocolate chips / chunks in a food processor and blend until smooth. You can use a blender if you don’t have a food processor but it will need to be blended in batches.
- Stir in the ½ cup / 80g of chocolate chips and then spread out in a lined muffin pan.
- Bake in the oven for 16-20 mins until a knife comes out clean.
- Blend all the cashew frosting ingredients together then place in the freezer for 5 mins. It should then be a consistency where it doesn’t pour but is still spreadable. If the frosting is too runny, stir in some more melted coconut oil and chill.
- Spread frosting on top of the black bean muffins. Garnish with some chocolate shavings.
- They are delicious while warm and gooey but still taste amazing cold and these healthy chocolate muffins will last a few days in the fridge.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 375Total Fat 22gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 0mgSodium 177mgCarbohydrates 60gFiber 7gSugar 17gProtein 8g
Black beans are also known as turtle beans due to their hard shell-like appearance, They are one of the best beans to strengthen your bones as they contain calcium, iron, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, manganese and zinc.
I made these but they didn’t rise very much & the mixture was quite stiff? Is this correct?
Hi Chris, the mixture is quite stiff for these and there is only a small rise once they have cooled down. However, as the recipes here are full of natural ingredients they can need a bit of tweaking as these can vary so much. Did it taste good?
Really lovley recipe, not as light as normal muffins but really fudgey and tasty! Thanks
Hi,
What’s considered a “tin” of blackbeans ? How do I figure out 240g of black beans ? Do I just weigh them out prior to soaking ?
Thanks, Kevin
Hi Kevin, 240g is about the right amount for a tin once drained and how much to use in this recipe. I would cook a larger batch then weigh them out afterwards rather than trying to guess the amount from dry. You can freeze the black beans after cooking, although in my house I find black beans so versatile that I don’t have any trouble using them up. Let me know how it goes
I made these using mini muffin cups so they were 2 bite size. Perfect for when you want something sweet. Good woth and without the cashew icing. Mind blowing good!
Great to hear! Glad you liked it
Are the cashews raw or roasted?
Hi there, I use raw for this – no need to heat the cashews for them to be yummy!
I love these!! I never got around to making the icing for them because they didn’t last long enough!!
Does the icing thicken? I’m going to make these for a cookie exchange and want to know if the icing will be runny or not 🙂
That’s so nice to hear! Yes the icing does thicken but does depend on how much water you add – just add a tiny bit of water and stop blending to push back to the blade so you don’t need to add much water at all. It goes pretty firm in the fridge.
Hi Bastien, Loving your recipes!
Would you be able to tell me the approx amount of calories in these without the icing…?
Thanks,
Aimée