Date Published: Feb 16th, 2022 | Last Updated: Feb 16th, 2022
Author: Abby |Category: dessert, healthy, low-cal, Asian, easy
Serves: 6-8 | Prep time: 1hr | Cook time: 30 mins

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These guilt-free brownies are rich, dense, flourless, butter-free, and sugar-free. They’re naturally sweetened with dates and are a healthy alternative to regular brownies. Best of all, they’re so easy to make and there aren’t many ingredients involved. I will admit that I’d still choose a regular buttery brownie over this healthy alternative, however these are still pretty damn good and you can eat them guilt-free without getting a sugar crash. Toby liked them so much that he ate half a batch in one sitting 😅! The original recipe is from Hey Nutrition Lady which has a ton of nutrition information on this recipe – highly recommend checking it out.

What are Red Beans?

The term “red bean” can be synonymous with different types of beans that are red in colour. In Western culture, red bean commonly refers to ‘kidney beans‘ which have an earthy plain taste but absorbs flavours easily so they’re commonly used in stews or sauces. In Eastern Asian culture, red bean is the ‘adzuki bean‘ which is much smaller than the kidney bean and has a sweet flavour. This recipe uses adzuki beans. You’ll commonly see red/adzuki bean paste baked goods at Chinese bakeries. At OG Chinese restaurants they often serve red bean soup as dessert. Beans are starchy by nature which is the perfect substitute for flour in this recipe.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

• 1.5 cups adzuki beans
• 1.5 cups (200g) Medjool dates
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup (50g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 4 large eggs
• 180g milk or dark chocolate, chopped

Directions:

Prepare the beans: Soak the adzuki beans overnight (the longer the better to soften the beans). Once soaked, boil the beans in a pot of water for 1 hour, then drain and set aside. (Make sure the water is at least 2-3cm above the beans since they will expand and absorb water as they cook).

Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F). Line a brownie pan (8″x11″ or 20cm x 30cm) with baking paper.

Prepare the dates: soak the dates in boiling hot water for 10mins, then drain and set aside.

In a food processor, add in the cooked adzuki beans and the dates. Blend until you get a chunky thick paste (see photo). Next, add in the vanilla extract, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and eggs. Continue blending until you get a smooth paste.

Stir in half of the chocolate into the batter and pour the batter in the prepared brownie pan. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate over the top. Bake for 25-30mins until the edges are set and a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool for 10mins before slicing. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe: