These simple black bean brownie bites are giving all the brownie bite vibes you’d grab from the store but a bit more nourishing! They're made with wholesome ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. Sweet enough to feel like a treat, yet packed with iron, fiber, protein, and even an optional veggie boost from shredded zucchini. Perfect for tossing in a lunchbox, keeping in the fridge for after-school snacks, or enjoying warmed up with yogurt or ice cream when that chocolate craving hits.
Why You & Your Toddler Will Love These Black Bean Brownie Bites
- lunchbox + snack win – ideal for school, daycare, or after-nap munchies
- they taste like dessert – rich, fudgy, chocolatey bites that feel like a treat but are secretly nourishing
- packed with nutrients – protein, fiber, iron, and optional veggie power from zucchini
- lightly sweetened – just a gentle sweetness from maple syrup or soaked dates (for a no added sugar option)
- perfectly portioned – mini size makes them easy for toddlers to grab and chew (and easy for you to pop in your mouth, too)
- freezer-friendly – make a batch once and have snacks ready for weeks
These were inspired by my peanut butter banana chickpea muffins that you can make school-friendly by using sunflower seed butter instead!
Jump to:
- Why You & Your Toddler Will Love These Black Bean Brownie Bites
- Ingredients
- How To Make These Black Bean Brownie Bites
- Hint
- Substitutions
- Variations
- How To Serve Brownie Bites To Your Toddler
- Equipment
- Storing Your Black Bean Brownie Bites
- Tiff's Dietitian Tip
- FAQ
- Related
- Pairing
- Simple Black Bean Brownie Bites (low sugar & toddler-friendly)
Ingredients
All you need to make these simple black bean brownie bites is:
- black beans – the secret to that fudgy brownie texture while sneaking in protein, fiber, and iron
- shredded zucchini (optional) – adds moisture and a veggie boost without changing the flavor
- eggs – hold the brownies together and give them structure
- olive/avocado oil, melted butter, or nut butter – keeps them rich, soft, and moist
- vanilla extract – balances flavors and makes the chocolate taste even better
- pinch of salt – a pinch brings out the sweetness and deepens the chocolate flavor
- cocoa powder – your main source of that deep, chocolatey goodness
- maple syrup or soaked dates – lightly sweetens and removes the bitterness (ideally using the dates for littles under 2yo)
- baking powder – gives them a little lift so they’re not too dense
- oat flour or oats – adds structure, some lift, and bonus fiber (can omit if desired)
- mini chocolate chips (optional) – for extra chocolatey pockets in every bite
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make These Black Bean Brownie Bites
- Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease a mini muffin tin or line with silicone cups. Blend the beans, zucchini (if using), eggs, oil or butter, vanilla, salt, cocoa powder, date/maple syrup or soaked dates, baking powder, and oat flour until smooth.
- Step 2: Pour or scoop the batter evenly divided into the muffin wells.
- Step 3: Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips on top or stir them into the muffin wells.
- Step 4: Bake 12-16 minutes, until centers are just set (a toothpick should come out mostly clean with a few fudgy crumbs).
Hint
Try to get all the liquid out when draining the beans! Too much moisture can make the brownie bites sink some and a little too fudgy.
Substitutions
These are already gluten-free, and can easily be made dairy-free by using dairy-free chocolate chips! I haven't tested using flax eggs, but that's the swap I'd use for egg-free. Here are some other options:
- black beans → you can likely use pinto beans but ideally stick to black beans
- zucchini → totally optional, but you can swap for shredded carrot or skip altogether
- maple syrup → use date syrup, or even soaked dates or mashed banana for a no added sugar option
- avocado oil → sub melted butter or coconut oil or even nut/seed butter
- eggs → you can replace each with a flax egg (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoon water), they just won't rise the same since egg is what helps with that (making them more like fudgy brownie bites)
- oat flour → can sub almond flour or whole wheat flour (texture may change slightly and I'd recommend increasing almond flour to ½ cup), I've even omitted it before but they don't rise as much (again, more on the fudgy brownie side)
- mini chocolate chips → swap for dairy-free chocolate chips or cacao nibs or omit
- cocoa powder → use cacao powder for a richer, slightly more bitter flavor (or skip and just use the vanilla extract for flavor without the cocoa powder for babies)
If you want an egg-free bean muffin, check out my peanut butter chickpea muffins or simply sub out the egg in these! You'd also love my simple banana chickpea muffins too!
Variations
Feel free to amp up the flavor and make your own kinda twist to these!
- extra chocolatey - stir in mini chocolate chips or drizzle with melted chocolate after baking
- nut butter swirl - add a swirl of peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter to the batter before baking
- berry boost - fold in chopped strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries for a fruity twist
See this lemon blueberry chickpea muffin variation you should totally try too!
Turn them into cosmic brownie bites for added fun!
Pair with my chocolate avocado "frosting" and top with dye free sprinkles or mini dye free candy-coated chocolates (to give the ultimate cosmic brownie feel) to turn into black bean cosmic brownie bites!
How To Serve Brownie Bites To Your Toddler
- cut into bite-sized pieces for younger toddlers and serve with fresh berries
- pack in a lunchbox with string cheese and apple slices or pack for snack time
- crumble over unsweetened yogurt with a sprinkle of hemp seeds
- top with a tahini yogurt "icing" for a cupcake feel
Equipment
All you need to make these simple fudgy black bean brownie bites is a blender, measuring cups, and a mini muffin pan! Love using my silicone mini muffin pan for an easy pop out.
Storing Your Black Bean Brownie Bites
Keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days, chilled bites get extra fudgy and are perfect for snack boxes! Freeze in a single layer on parchment, then transfer to a bag or container to store in the freezer for 2-3 months. Thaw or pop in the microwave/toaster oven for a quick snack, treat, or even breakfast!
Tiff's Dietitian Tip
Serve these black bean brownie bites alongside a source of protein. Like a cheese stick, yogurt cup, or nut/seed butter for a more balanced snack that keeps littles full longer! Pairing carbs (even nutrient-packed ones) with protein helps keep energy steady and tummies satisfied. Plus it makes them less like a "treat" and more part of a balanced plate!
FAQ
Nope! The cocoa powder and chocolate completely hide any bean flavor, they just taste like fudgy brownies but obviously less sweet than the ones from the store.
For sure! They hold up well with an ice pack and a nice little sweet treat addition with a balance of a main protein, fruit, and veggie.
You can totally modify! To make baby-friendly brownie bites, skip the cocoa powder, sweetener, and chocolate chips. Then add a pinch of cinnamon for flavor, and use mashed ripe banana for sweetness.
Yes! The zucchini is optional, but it adds extra moisture (helping with the "fudgey" texture) and a veggie boost without changing the flavor.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with these black bean brownie bites:
Simple Black Bean Brownie Bites (low sugar & toddler-friendly)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can black beans drained, rinsed, and patted dry
- 1 cup shredded zucchini optional, juice squeezed
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup avocado/olive oil can sub coconut oil or nut/seed butter if you want!
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cocoa powder or ⅓ cup for richer chocolate flavor
- ¼ cup maple or date syrup or 6-8 soaked dates for no added sugar (use 2 tablespoon maple syrup for less sweet or ⅓ cup syrup for more sweet)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup oat flour or rolled oats blended into flour (use less for more fudgy)
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a mini muffin tin or line with silicone cups.
- Blend black beans, zucchini (if using), eggs, oil (or nut butter), vanilla, salt, cocoa powder, maple syrup, baking powder, and oat flour until smooth.
- Stir in (or sprinkle on top) mini chocolate chips if using, then scoop batter into mini muffin wells, filling almost to the top.
- Bake 12–16 minutes, until centers are set, then let cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a rack.
Colten says
These were so good with the chocolate chips added in!
toddlerdietitiantiff says
so glad you loved them!! chocolate chips are a must in my opinion!
Sarah Rost says
Love EVERY single recipe of yours!!!
toddlerdietitiantiff says
THANK YOU!! so glad you and your boys love them!!!
Melanie Ugoletti says
Not only delicious, but so quick to make and with a fast clean up. I added dye free sprinkles and dye free candies to some of them. SO GOOD. Watch out, Costco! ❤️❤️
toddlerdietitiantiff says
LOVE the sprinkle topping!! so glad y'all loved them!
kiera bridges says
made 24 this morning and we are already half way done.. so good so easy! we used coconut oil instead and they worked perfectly! add a little sprinkle for cosmic brownie vibes 😉 you won’t regret it.
toddlerdietitiantiff says
gotta love it when you can't stop going back for more!! loving the cosmic brownie vibe!
Hannah O says
Made these Saturday not realizing I was out of eggs so used flax replacement (never worked with that before). They fell flat but the flavor was there. I tried again tonight with eggs and they came out so good. Used olive oil as that’s what we had on hand. I did a dollop of peanut butter inside some of them and topped a few with crushed walnuts. So good! Can’t wait for my toddler to try it tomorrow .
Brittney says
Super good baby boy loves it!
toddlerdietitiantiff says
yayyy so glad he loved them!!
Sofia says
Mine don’t seem to fully cook/set even with more time in the oven. Do you have any recommendations or something I should do differently?
toddlerdietitiantiff says
try squeezing the zucchini more if using and make sure the black beans are drained completely, that way there isn't extra liquid! also make sure to let them cool in the pan (because they'll continue cooking some in during cool down) for about 10-15 min before removing - how'd they end up being once they were cooled off?!
Katie K says
Made a batch of these this week - I wasn't sure what to expect, but I loved them (as did toddler!)!! I want to try the next batch with dates & maybe a little cinnamon instead of the maple syrup to see which one we like best (used maple syrup to save time for this first batch). Thanks for so many nourishing recipes that I can always feel confident about giving to my kiddo!!
toddlerdietitiantiff says
it's like okay do i just trust the process... LOL! so glad y'all loved them! cinnamon would be yum too! yes with the dates, you can blend those first to make your date paste then add everything else (besides chocolate chips) in and blend together. they also make date syrup if you can find some at your grocery store which works great too! let me know if there are any recipes you'd love to see next!!
Carmen says
I don't know if I missed some measurements, the recipe says one can. Where I live you get different sized cans of black beans. Could you please specify how many oz or cups of black beans will I need?
toddlerdietitiantiff says
My apologies!! 15 oz can or about 1 1/2 cups
Hannah O says
Think I accidentally commented my review as a reply to someone else’s so redoing. Made these Saturday not realizing I was out of eggs so used flax replacement (never worked with that before). They fell flat but the flavor was there. I tried again tonight with eggs and they came out so good. Used olive oil as that’s what we had on hand. I did a dollop of peanut butter inside some of them and topped a few with crushed walnuts. So good! Can’t wait for my toddler to try it tomorrow .
toddlerdietitiantiff says
I HATE when I start making something and realize I'm out of eggs!!! Good to know about the flax eggs, glad they turned out the next time! Also love the peanut butter & walnut mix-ins! How'd your little one like them?!
Tawnie says
Second time making them! I love all your recipes and appreciate you sharing them with us mamas who get stuck in a rut!
toddlerdietitiantiff says
YAY! Love you so much for this! What I'm here for and so glad that I can help y'all in the kitchen! Let me know if there's ever anything you'd like to see!
Tawnie says
So delicious! Second time making them! My toddler and my husband love them! They had no clue there were beans and zucchini in them!
toddlerdietitiantiff says
Woohooo!!! We gotta love a toddler AND husband approved recipe!!
Emily says
12/10- my 16 month old LOVES these, could not get enough. I tried them and they are SO GOOD. I used agave instead of maple syrup and coconut flour instead of oat flour. Turned out great!
toddlerdietitiantiff says
WOOHOO!!!! So happy he's obsessed with them! Love the coconut flour swap and glad to know they still turn out good!!