You’ll never use boxed mix again after trying these chocolaty, low-sugar brownies

Low-sugar chocolate brownies without any sketchy ingredients? Show me how! 

Ooey, gooey, fudgy brownies can make any day better. When you have a taste for them, it’s so tempting to want to grab a box of mix on the way home. But, with this fiber-packed, low-sugar recipe chefs Jenny Dorsey and Mia Rigden whip up on our newest episode of Alt-Baking Bootcamp, you’ll want to make your brownies from scratch. (I promise, it’s still delicious.)

Dorsey and Rigden decided to revamp the classic brownie recipe without using butter, refined sugar, flour, AND eggs. Their secret ingredient: black beans. (Don’t give me that look, I swear it’s good!)

This won’t just taste like a chocolate-filled burrito; the chefs explain that the beans’ naturally creamy texture will help make the brownies super fudgy, while also adding in protein and fiber. To get rid of the, ahem, beany taste, Dorsey soaks the beans overnight in coconut milk. “Chefs will use milk to pull the flavor out of undesirable things like gamey meat,” Dorsey says. “So I thought I would apply the same principal here.”

In lieu of refined sugar, Rigden and Dorsey use coconut sugar, which Rigden says is a prebiotic full of vitamins and minerals. Dorsey adds that it’s a little less sweet than regular sugar. “It tastes a little bit more similar to brown sugar, so we’re going to have more of those caramel, toasty notes.” Dorsey says.  “Which is also good for a recipe like this where we’re using chocolate.”

To learn how to make the recipe in full, be sure to watch the full video above. (And while you’re at it, subscribe to our YouTube channel.)

To learn how to make more alternative goodies, watch our past episodes on lemon bars and blueberry pie.