It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a chocoholic. If I could, I would live on wine coupled with desserts and pastries (don’t judge). Living a healthy lifestyle, especially during a stressful week, I sometimes find myself needing a chocolate fix. The only problem is that the next day I feel SO guilty about that Dove chocolate or snack size bag of M&Ms I ate that it’s almost not worth it. Sound familiar? Never you fear, I’ve got a solution for you – high protein, healthy chocolate “cake” bites made from black beans. There is no heavy cream, no butter, and no corn syrup in this recipe it’s not even cake – seriously.

I brought these into work this week and had three of my non-health nut colleagues try them out. None of them could believe that they were made primarily out of black beans, they thought they were traditional chocolate cake bites – and they all asked for more. Seriously, these little guys are delicious and will satisfy any chocolate craving you may encounter, guaranteed!

Ingredients

  • Wax Paper
  • 2 Baking Sheets
  • Food Processor or Blender
  • Saucepan
  • 1 1/3 cup Low Sodium Canned Black Beans
  • 5 tbsp Virgin Coconut Oil
  • 4 tbsp Cocoa Powder (get the good stuff – I like Ghiradelli)
  • 1 tbsp Pure Maple Syrup (the real stuff, not Mrs. Butterworth’s)
  • 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (try madagascar vanilla, it is amazing)
  • 3/4 tsp Pure Stevia (or 4 tbsp granulated sugar if you want)
  • 1/8 tsp Kosher Salt
  • Coating: One bag of Semi-Sweet or Dark Chocolate Chips PLUS additional 1 tsp Virgin Coconut Oil

Directions

  1. Layer two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Rinse the beans VERY WELL in cold water and drain them (seriously, this is critical).
  3. Combine the 1 1/3 cup Low Sodium Canned Black Beans, 5 tbsp Virgin Coconut Oil, 4 tbsp Cocoa Powder, 1 tbsp Maple Syrup, 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract, 3/4 tsp Pure Stevia (or 4 tbsp granulated sugar), and 1/8 tsp Kosher Salt, into the food processor or blender.
  4. Blend until completely smooth – it should look like brownie batter (are you hungry yet?).
  5. Pour the batter into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour so that the batter is firm enough to roll into balls.
  6. In the meantime, line two baking sheets with wax paper and make sure you have room in your fridge for the baking sheets. If you don’t, you can use plates lined with wax paper.
  7. Roll the batter into 1 inch balls and place on lined baking sheets.
  8. Return the baking sheets with the cake bites to the refrigerator.
  9. Combine the bag of chocolate chips and 1 tsp of Virgin Coconut Oil in a saucepan on low heat. Warning: Do not try to speed up this process by cranking up the heat – it will just burn your chocolate. Slow and steady peeps.
  10. Continuously stir the chocolate and coconut oil mixture until well melted.
  11. Turn off your stovetop!
  12. Take the chilled cake bites and roll them in the chocolate coating.
  13. Return the chocolate dipped cake bites to the fridge to harden (takes about 1 hour or 30 minutes if you are really impatient).
  14. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator for up to five days (you can also freeze these for later but be sure to thaw before eating!).