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Lentil Nut-Butter Brownies

Looks like a brownie, tastes like a brownie, feels better than eating a brownie.

As with this farro salad, this recipe was inspired by a trip to the fabulous Camas Country Mill. 
We went for sandwiches, bought bread and a scone for a treat, and then I was lured by a cute little jar of lentil brownie bites, so we got one of those too. It was delicious, and so I came home to do some googling. The result was this recipe from Vegan Richa, which doesn't taste exactly like the one I had at the mill, but it's nearly as delicious and perfectly easy to make.

If I didn't have an Instant Pot, I don't think I would have bothered. I've never been successful cooking lentils on the stove top without it bubbling over and making a mess at some point in the cooking process, and also I wasn't excited about having to dirty two pots and a food processor. But lentils are so easy in the instant pot, and after 2 minutes of cooking, they were easy enough to mash that I didn't have to bother with the food processor at all. I then added the other ingredients directly to the Instant Pot pot, so the only dishes I used were that and a small saucepan for the maple syrup mixture.

These taste great, and I love that they have a slightly more substantial texture than a typical brownie. They're almost fudgy. The level of sweetness is perfect, too. And yes, they still have sugar and chocolate, but I don't feel bad after I eat them. The protein boost is great.

Usually I prefer center-cut brownies, not edges, but with this recipe I really like the crispy edges. I'm not sure why that is. So, I might experiment with cooking them a bit longer. The original recipe also recommends using sunflower seed butter and using a bit more to get the brownies more crispy, so I'll try that sometime.


The Recipe: (from Vegan Richa, modified to use Instant Pot)
1/2 c red lentils
3 tb canola oil
3 tb maple syrup
1/2 chocolate chips (vegan if desired), plus more for topping
4 tb sugar
1/3 c cashew butter or other nut butter
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1/4c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tb cocoa powder

  • Cook lentils in Instant Pot: Rinse lentils, add to instant pot with 1.2 c water, and pressure cook on high for 2 minutes. Natural release.
  • With a fork, stir and mash the lentils until they are broken down into a fairly uniform paste.
  • Heat maple syrup and oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and immediately stir in sugar and chocolate chips.
  • Add maple syrup mixture to the pot with the lentils. Add remaining ingredients and stir.
  • Pour into a 9 x 9 baking pan and top with extra chocolate chips, slightly pressing them down into the batter.
  • Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes. 
  • Cool before serving. These taste even better the next day.

The Verdict:
Overall grade: A
Overall reason: Good brownies that aren't terrible for you! And they're easy.
Time to prepare: 1 hour, including baking time
5-year-old quote: "Can we make brownies? Those kind of brownies that you make that no one else makes?"
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