Beans, Beans, a magical.... oil replacement!

Did you know that you can replace oil and shortening in your baked goods with a bean puree? Not only does it significantly lower the fat content, it does not change the flavor at all! It adds fiber, nutrition, and keeps you fuller longer! Yay! I have been experimenting with this ever since I tasted brownies made with black beans. YUMMY. In the past I have used applesauce to replace the oil. I still like to use that on occasion as well. However, applesauce does tend to flavor your recipe like apples, and can contain a lot of extra sugar.

To make a bean puree you can either use home cooked beans, or canned beans. For home cooked beans: add cooked beans to a blender with enough liquid they were cooked in to make a puree. Blend until very smooth. For canned beans: add entire contents of can into blender and blend until very smooth. You don't want any chunks in your food! Substitute for oil in brownies, cakes and other baked goods. If you don't use all of the puree that you blended, it will last for several days in your fridge, or it freezes beautifully.

If you are making something with chocolate (brownies, cakes, muffins, etc) use black beans. If you are making something lighter in color, use any type of white beans.

You can substitute 100% bean puree in recipes calling for oil. If the recipe calls for shortening, I have been substituting 50% bean puree, and still adding 50% of the shortening. You can substitute 100% bean puree for shortening if you make your puree thicker (like a paste). Substituting beans will give the final product a more cake-like texture.

Give it a try! What a great way to use those inexpensive beans in your food storage!

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