Silky Smooth Bean Fudge

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Yes, you read it right. “Bean Fudge.” This Black Bean Fudge is so super rich and flavorful that no one will expect that it's made from beans. Get ready to be amazed.

bean fudge with knife on white parchment paper



Yes, it's true. This healthy fudge is a HUGE hit with everyone who tries it! It's a dairy-free fudge that even doubles as a healthy frosting and is loaded with nourishing ingredients. You can eat this fudge anytime–guilt-free.

Fudge is one of those comfort foods that make you “not too comfortable” after you've eaten it.  And fudge isn't good for you anyway right?– evaporated milk and tons of sugar. But then, you knew that.

Well, you can now change your thinking about fudge, because I have a healthy fudge recipe for you that you can feel good about eating and serving to your kids.  Plus, it's a dairy-free fudge.

I've been known to offer it to my kids for breakfast and snacks without batting an eye — and while having a piece or two myself :-).

bean fudge cut up into pieces next to knife

Anyway, this healthy fudge recipe is so good that there is no reason to be “secretive” about what the main ingredient is. Beans! Even some non-real-foodie folks have even asked for the recipe!

Why This Bean Fudge Is Great

  • It contains lots of coconut oil 
  • It is easily adaptable to special diets (sugar free, nut free).  Actually, all of my recipes are.
  • It is a simple sweet treat for your family.  No need to bake, easy preparation, and the pan is simple to clean.  Just combine all of the ingredients, smoosh them into a pan and presto! You have a wonderful, healthy fudge treat for your family. You could even make it simpler by just free-forming the fudge on a plate and letting it firm up just like that in the fridge.
  • Besides being adaptable to special diets, it is also easy to change ingredients around to make different varieties.Even changing the beans around makes a difference.  The above photo is black bean fudge, but we've also made Adzuki Bean Fudge and Pinto Bean Fudge. Really any kind of bean should work!
Healthy Bean Fudge - gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free, veganPin

One final reason this healthy fudge is great….it makes a great edible face paint :)!  (They couldn't resist!)

Face paint with healthy fudge, dairy free fudge | Whole New Mom

Most recently, I revised this recipe and found that doubling the cocoa / carob tastes much closer to the real thing. 

Carob has an inherent sweetness so you will probably need more sweetener if you use cocoa.  And if you choose to double the cocoa, don't eat it too close to bedtime :-).

Whatever adjustments you make. you will be getting lots of coconut oil goodness into your family while giving them a treat!

Special Thanks to Affairs of Living for the inspiration for this recipe.

pieces of healthy fudge stacked up next to knifePin

More Healthy Treats

Sugar-free Peppermint Fudge (keto & vegan)
Almond Joy Bars
Almond Butter Cups
Homemade Chocolate / Carob Chips
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Homemade “Jello” 
“Phat Fudge” Copycat

Recipe Notes and Substitutions

  • Cocoa and Carob: Feel free to adjust the amount of carob or cocoa that you use to your taste. Using the full amount gives a really rich taste, while half of it provides a nice mellow flavor. If you really want to “go for the gusto,” double it. You can use organic carob powder instead of cocoa if you like.
  • Beans: I typically use organic black beans for this, but technically you could use any bean you like. I have friends who have used organic pintos, and organic kidneys would work as well. Really, there isn't any reason any type of bean that would not work. Please try to de-gas your beans.
  • Coconut Oil Information: Use coconut oil w/o either coconut flavor or taste – i.e. expeller pressed – to avoid excessive coconut flavor.
  • Sweetener Options: You can substitute any granulated or liquid sweetener for the “low carb sweetener” mentioned in the recipe card.  This recipe is very forgiving. You can really use whatever sweetener you like–liquid ones might make the resulting fudge a little soft, however.
    If using stevia, 3/16 stevia is the equivalent of 3/4 cup sugar, so you can substitute for that as well if you'd like. See How to Use Stevia or this post on Substituting Sweeteners for more ideas.
  • Trim Healthy Mama: If you are on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this is a crossover.
  • Make sure to De-Gas Your Beans– this will make everyone who eats this yummy fudge happier ;).
  • Handy Measuring Spoon Tips: If using stevia, stevia extract is 32 times as strong as sugar, so getting something like these stainless steel mini measuring spoons is super helpful.  The 2nd smallest is 1/32 of a teaspoon so you can easily measure stevia extract powder (or monk powder).

These are the spoons I love and recommend for measuring stevia extract powder and other tads and dashes of things:

Healthy Bean Fudge - gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free, vegan

Silky Smooth Bean Fudge

This Bean Fudge is a HUGE favorite in our home. It's a dairy free fudge that doubles as a healthy frosting and is loaded with nourishing ingredients.
4.67 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
chilling: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 25 servings
Calories: 92kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups cooked black beans (the equivalent of 2 cans. See Recipe Notes for alternatives)
  • 3/4 cup coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup low carb sweetener (or to taste–see Recipe Notes for alternatives)
  • 3/16 teaspoons stevia extract (see Recipe Notes for alternative)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Put all ingredients in high-powered blender (like a Vitamix) or food processor and process until totally smooth. Adjust sweetener to taste at this point.
  • Spread the mixture in an 8×8 pan, pressing down firmly.
  • Place in refrigerator(if you do not eat it all :-)), for at least one hour or until firm. Slice into squares and serve.
  • Store in the refrigerator or in the freezer for longer storage or for a frozen fudgey treat. It will defrost nicely on the counter or in the refrigerator. Do not use the microwave (you're backing off using that anyway, aren't you?) or you will have fudge sauce. Well, then, maybe you want fudge sauce :-).

Notes

  • Cocoa and Carob: Feel free to adjust the amount of carob or cocoa that you use to your taste. Using the full amount gives a really rich taste, while half of it provides a nice mellow flavor. If you really want to “go for the gusto,” double it. You can use organic carob powder instead of cocoa if you like.
  • Beans: I typically use organic black beans for this, but technically you could use any bean you like. I have friends who have used organic pintos, and organic kidneys would work as well. Really, there isn't any reason any type of bean that would not work. Please try to de-gas your beans.
  • Coconut Oil Information: Use coconut oil w/o either coconut flavor or taste – i.e. expeller pressed – to avoid excessive coconut flavor.
  • Sweetener Options: You can substitute any granulated or liquid sweetener for the “low carb sweetener” mentioned in the recipe card.  This recipe is very forgiving. You can really use whatever sweetener you like–liquid ones might make the resulting fudge a little soft, however.
    If using stevia, 3/16 stevia is the equivalent of 3/4 cup sugar, so you can substitute for that as well if you'd like. See How to Use Stevia or this post on Substituting Sweeteners for more ideas.
  • Trim Healthy Mama: If you are on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this is a crossover.
  • Make sure to De-Gas Your Beans– this will make everyone who eats this yummy fudge happier ;).
  • Handy Measuring Spoon Tips: If using stevia, stevia extract is 32 times as strong as sugar, so getting something like these stainless steel mini measuring spoons is super helpful.  The 2nd smallest is 1/32 of a teaspoon so you can easily measure stevia extract powder (or monk powder).

Nutrition

Calories: 92kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 115mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg | Net Carbs: 4g

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.

Would you…Could You…Eat. Bean. Fudge?
Of course you will :)!

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277 Comments

  1. Thanks for recipe. I have adjusted the ingredients and amounts to be in sync with current Food Plan prescribed by my D.O./Holistic physician. Will let you know the results. Thanks Again,, Trish

  2. Hello! You mention at the beginning that you revised the recipe to double the cocoa. Is the 3/4 cup the doubled amount that tastes more like real fudge? I’m a little confused because you mention at the bottom of the recipe the option of doubling it. Thanks!

  3. This looks like a great recipe! I was looking for something sweet to make my partner for Xmas that was nut free and lowish carb ( beans are ok ). I’m thinking of messing with the flavours and trying some peppermint oil and some mandarin oil ( separately! ) . I’ll be sweetening with pure stevia as that is the only sweetener my partner can tolerate ( we’re hoping that one stays or that’s it ??? ) .

    Love what I’ve seen on your blog so far!

    1. SOUNDS soooo good!!!!! Wish I could try some with you! Have you tried lo han guo? How about allergy treatments? Thanks for the kind words!

  4. I have just recently made soft black bean biscuits, and sweet and savoury muffins using black beans and navy beans thanks to inspiration from ‘gluten free on a shoestring’ black bean brownie. A great discovery and all worked really well. So I am excited to try this all well. Thank you.

  5. This recipe looks wonderful! However, I’m confused by what you mean about the beans. Do you mean to take dry beans cook them? Or two cans of beans and cook them? Or do you not need to cook them if you use canned?

      1. Just made them and they were a big hit! So nice to be able to indulge in delicious fudge! Thank you for the recipe!!

  6. 5 stars
    Just tried it and it was surprisingly easy and tasty. My husband wanted to know what was in it before I told him, but I didn’t and told him to eat it first. After all his “mmmmm”s and “oooh”s I told him it’s primarily black beans, and is vegan. “NEVER,” he said.
    Success! Thank you!

    1. If something has been added to the beans you wouldn’t want to do that. If they are just mushed up beans that will be fine – but you will have to adjust the volume. Enjoy!

  7. First there was black bean brownies ~ I was in heaven. Now we have black bean fudge? Too good to be true. Can’t wait to try it. I was originally led to this blog when searching for DIY chocolate/carob chips. So far I have 6 recipes from this site waiting to be tested. So many recipes, so little time. (sigh)

    1. I so hope you like it (them :)!) and I hear you about the time issue! If you end up liking them, make double or triple batches in the future :). I was snacking on the green bean chips and coconut delights today.

  8. I an so looking forward to trying this Bean Fudge. I’m thinking of adding chopped dried cranberries and perhaps chia seeds to draw out a bit of the moisture (hmm, or maybe not enough chia seeds to make it a pudding, lol).