Recipe – Red Lentil Brownies

Prep Time

15 Minutes

Prep Notes

You can prepare the lentils ahead of time, even the day before.

Cooking Time

20 – 25 minutes (plus the cooking time of the lentils)

Yields

12-16 brownies

Ingredients

  • Coconut oil for greasing the pan
  • 1/2 cup dry red lentils
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce*
  • 1/3 (heaping) cup honey (or maple syrup)
  • 1/4 cup crunchy nut butter of your choice
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 egg (or flax egg)**
  • 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips***

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Rub coconut oil on an 8×8 inch baking dish
  3. Add dry lentils and water to a small saucepan.
    Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until lentils
    are tender and most of the water is gone,
    about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.(This can be done ahead)
  4. Add oats, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda
    and salt to your food processor. Pulse until a fine flour
    forms and the oats are completely smooth.
  5. Add cooked lentils (do not drain,) applesauce, honey,
    nut butter, vanilla and egg. Process until a smooth
    batter forms.
  6. Using a spoon, fold in the chocolate chips.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
  8. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until toothpick
    inserted comes out clean.
  9. Let cool completely before cutting.

Notes

This is more of a cake-y brownie compared to a fudg-y brownie.
I’ve made black bean brownies before and those used to be my go-to brownie. These are my new favorite.
I find them much more delicious, lighter and fluffier, and you really can’t taste the lentils at all.

  • If you don’t have applesauce, chop 1 medium apple
    you can leave the skin on) and cook it with about
    1/4 cup water until very soft. Mash it with a fork and
    use in place of applesauce.

** Flax egg – Stir together 1 tablespoon flax seed MEAL
and 2.5 tablespoons water. Let sit for 10 minutes and
use it in place of 1 egg.

*** I use Lily’s stevia sweetened chocolate chips – no sugar.
Trader Joe’s also has a chocolate bar that is sweetened
with erythritol. If your digestive system doesn’t get
bothered by erythritol you could chop that up and use
in place of chips. I’ve even used a blend of cocoa powder,
honey and coconut oil that has hardened (I had it left over
from something else I was making) and just chopped that up.

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