Avocado Brownies
There’s no such thing as too many brownie recipes. As I continue to explore healthier versions of my favorite dessert recipes, I’ve landed on this brownie recipe with a surprising ingredient that makes them secretly healthy: avocados. Avocado Brownies are super fudgy and chocolatey, surprisingly healthy, and will still satisfy your sweet tooth.
Yes, you can absolutely use mashed avocado as a fat substitute in baking! It sounds pretty ridiculous, but it provides healthy fat and moisture (and even a little protein) without adding a ton of extra calories. Don’t worry, you don’t taste it. Avocado is pretty flavorless on its own, so it works well for brownies and doesn’t impart any weird flavors.
This was another recipe I tested and tweaked several times before I thought it was ready to be shared. I actually started experimenting with this idea a few years ago, but never got super excited about it. Then recently I had some avocados that were on their way out and didn’t want them to go to waste. So this recipe is perfect for using up your avocados that got a little too ripe!
Spoiler alert: these are, of course, not nearly as delicious as my favorite fudgy brownies recipe. But they’re not meant to be. Sure, they’re delicious, but they’re not the same. And they’re not trying to be the same. To me, these avocado brownies serve a different purpose. These are smarter, healthier treats, when I want something sweet but don’t want to indulge too much. Balance, right?
In addition to being lower in fat, this recipe is also grain-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar free. To make them dairy-free, just use dairy-free chocolate. You can also make them vegan pretty easily by using your preferred egg substitute. I actually used one egg and one flax “egg” in my test batches, and they turned out fine. Eggs are expensive these days, y’all.
Pro tip: as much as I love a warm brownie fresh out of the oven, I think brownies get better after being refrigerated for a day or two. It gives the deep chocolate flavors more time to develop and get really dense and fudgy.
How to make Avocado Brownies
To make them, you will need:
- Avocados
- Coconut sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Coconut flour
- Eggs (or your preferred egg substitute)
- Nut butter or tahini
- Melted chocolate
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 350ºF, and line an 8×8″ baking pan with parchment paper. Or you could lightly grease it with baking spray.
Mash roughly 2 large avocados until smooth and minimal lumps remain (you can do it in a food processor for an extra smooth mash). Add 1 cup mashed avocado to a large mixing bowl.
Add the sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, melted chocolate, vanilla extract, and nut butter/tahini, and whisk until combined.
Next, add the coconut flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix with a rubber spatula until combined. Fold in the additional chocolate chips if using. When fully combined, the batter will be thick.
Transfer the batter into the prepared baking pan. Use an offset spatula or rubber spatula to spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle some additional chocolate chips on top if you’d like.
Bake the avocado brownies for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out a little fudgy with a few crumbs sticking to it. If the skewer comes out completely clean, your brownies will be too dry!
Let the brownies cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove from the pan, slice, and enjoy! Store remaining brownies in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Did you enjoy this recipe? You might also like:
- Pumpkin Brownies
- Mini Apple Crisps for Two
- Pumpkin Mug Cakes for Two
- Edible Cookie Dough (Mostly Guiltless)
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Avocado Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed avocado (about 2 avocados)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs (or egg substitute)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips, melted and cooled
- 1/4 cup nut butter or tahini
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional but delicious)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare an 8x8" baking pan.
- Mash roughly 2 large avocados until smooth and minimal lumps remain. Add 1 cup mashed avocado to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, melted chocolate, vanilla extract, and nut butter/tahini, and whisk until combined.
- Add the coconut flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix with a rubber spatula until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips if using.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly across the pan. Sprinkle some additional chocolate chips on top if you'd like.
- Bake the avocado brownies for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out a little fudgy with a few crumbs sticking to it.
- Let the brownies cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove from the pan, slice, and enjoy!
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