Description
Amazing moist, dense, and chocolatey sweet potato brownies that are vegan and gluten-free, with five grams of protein per square!
Ingredients
- 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 2.5 tablespoons of water)
- 2/3 cup smooth almond butter or peanut butter
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 3/4 cup sweet potato purée (see note)
- 1/3 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup pecan or walnut halves, chopped
- 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 8×8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper with enough overhang to allow you to easily lift the brownie out of the pan once it’s ready.
- Prepare the flax egg by stirring together the ground flax and water in a large bowl. Wait a couple of minutes for it to thicken. Next, add the nut butter, coconut sugar, maple syrup, sweet potato purée, non-dairy milk, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to incorporate. The batter will seem on the dry side initially, but will moisten as you mix… and keep in mind that a brownie batter is much drier than a cake batter.
- Reserve 2 tablespoons each walnuts or pecans and chocolate chips for sprinkling on top, and add the remaining nuts and chocolate chips to the brownie batter. Stir to combine.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. With wet hands, carefully press the batter down into an even layer that reaches all four corners of the pan. Sprinkle on the reserved nuts and chocolate chips, pressing down lightly into the brownie.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. I baked mine for 30, because I found that previous trials in which I baked for less time resulted in a brownie that was too gooey in the middle.
- Let the brownie cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before carefully lifting out and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. You can also pop it into the fridge after lifting out to expedite the cooling process!
- Once cool, slice into 9-12 squares and enjoy as is, or with a scoop of vegan ice cream. You can also warm up individual brownies on a baking sheet at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 7 minutes right before serving. Brownies served warm are the greatest!
- Store leftover brownies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for a few days.
Notes
Sweet potato instructions: You’ll need to bake one large or two small sweet potatoes to get 3/4 cup of purée. To do this, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pierce the sweet potato a few times with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the sweet potato. Once completely tender, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, slice in half and scoop out the flesh into a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade and process until smooth. Measure out 3/4 cup and, if you have any left over, refrigerate in an airtight container for another use.
I have only made these brownies with peanut butter and almond butter so far, but you can probably use tahini or sunflower seed butter (and omit the walnuts or pecans) for a nut-free version.
Prep time listed assumes that you have already baked and puréed your sweet potato! 🙂
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: North American
Keywords: vegan gluten-free sweet potato brownies