Brad decided on Friday that we should have people over on Saturday night. We used to randomly call up friends all the time and invite them over. Whoever could make it would show. Sometimes it would end up being a small group. Other times, it seemed our condo was filled with people. We always had such a good time. Somewhere between wedding planning and house renovating, we got out of the habit of throwing impromptu parties.
But last night, we brought it back…
I had no time to prep any food. Sometimes even “cooks” have to know their limits. As much as I love making complicated appetizers for friends to enjoy, I knew that wouldn’t be an option yesterday because of other things I had to get done. So, here are some of my go-to no cooking required party foods.
First up – cheese and crackers. Brad and I are big cheese lovers and we believe in sharing what we love. I picked up a box of assorted crackers from TJ’s and sliced up some cheese.
We had goat cheddar, which is my absolute favorite cheese ever.
We also had sheep Gouda. Double yum!
I bought pre-cut veggies.
I also bought pre-made hummus. I really like making my own hummus, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.
There were also multi-grain tortilla chips and some really good salsa. The best salsa is found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, not the chip aisle.
For dessert, I sliced the rest of the black bean brownies into smaller pieces and stuck a tooth pick in them for easy munching.
Black Bean Brownies
adapted from this recipe
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 1/4 cups natural cane sugar
1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 can organic black beans
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups almond milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and cocoa powder. Place entire content of black beans (including liquid) into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and no bean remnants remain. Add beans to flour mixture and stir. Add extract and almond milk, mixing well.
Pour into a greased 9×13 inch baking dish and cook for 30 minutes or until the center is firm. Once fully cooked, allow them to cool and slice into 24 pieces.
The result: incredibly fudgy brownies with no taste of beans whatsoever. Your friends won’t believe there are beans in these brownies.
A lot of people ask me, “So are these healthier?”. Well, it depends on what you mean by that. The calorie difference isn’t significant. However, these are vegan, which is preferable to some. Also, the brownies have more fiber and more protein than typical brownies, which make them more filling. I prefer this type of brownie because of the better balance between sugar, protein, and fiber which mean I don’t experience a sugar crash like I do when I eat most sugary baked goods.
Try them. You’ll like them. 
Ooh, I want to make those brownies for my coworkers and not tell them about the beans!
to clarify:
they make fun of me for my healthy eats and say what I eat is gross.
I did that once, but then chickened out telling one person about it because she was such a picky eater. I was afraid she would be mad. So I just kept it to myself.
I’ll have to try these brownies next time I’m home — they look awesome!! Unfortunately, canned black beans just don’t exist in Denmark. It blows my mind!
Can you get them dried? Cooking beans is really not so hard if you have a crock pot and a whole day to wait on them.
I can find some dried beans here, but not black beans for some reason! I bring bags of dried beans back here with me every time I go home to NC – the only trick to using cooked dried beans would be adding the right amount of liquid to the batter to make up for the liquid that would be in the can of beans. How much do you think? And should I add extra almond milk or extra water?
I would just add more almond milk, but water probably would be okay too. I would start out by adding 1/2 a cup to the beans when you blend them. Then when you add the beans to the flour mixture, if it’s too thick, just add a little bit more at a time until it’s a little bit thicker than cake batter. I don’t think you would need more than 1 cup extra of liquid. You’ll need to add salt too to make up for the lack of sodium in your dried beans. Try 1 tsp. and taste it and see if it needs more. I really want to make these again and sub peppermint extract for the almond extract.
Thanks, Kelly!!
Yum, Kelly, those look amazing! I’m saving the recipe. I’m so sorry we missed your get together
You did an awesome job of throwing everything together at the last minute! I’ve been craving brownies lately, so I’ll have to try these!
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I just made your brownies…literally right after reading this post! They are now in the oven baking. Can’t wait to eat one! Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! I hope they turn out great for you!
Hopefully I’ll make it to your next one! I was having BBQ with some co-workers and thier kiddos
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Whoa. Those blackbean brownies sound sooo good! Do you *have* to have the almond extract?! I have all the other ingredients and I really want to make these!
Oh yum, I had completely forgotten about your black bean brownies! I can’t wait to make them the next time I have to bring a dessert to a function.
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