Sweet potato brownies are soft and luscious, almost like fudge. Naturally sweetened, gluten free, dairy free and super easy to make.
I want to share a secret with you: I used to hate sweet potatoes. {Insert exploding head emoji}.
For whatever reason, I think it was sweet potato casserole that did me in. I never liked the mushy texture of the sweet potatoes topped with lightly toasted marshmallows.
My dad would always ask why I didn’t like sweet potatoes when I was a fan of all other sweet dishes.
I don’t know what ended up turning me around, but now I absolutely love sweet potatoes. Especially the roasted kind that have just the right amount of crunch and sea salted goodness.
But I will say, these sweet potato brownies might be making it to the top of the list here pretty soon. They’re so simple to make, and give you a rich fudge-like texture that everyone is sure to love.
How to make sweet potato brownies
The sweet potato batter
The process is pretty simple when it comes to these decadent chocolate {healthy} brownies.
Obviously we need to start with a sweet potato. Now, you could roast your sweet potato to bring out even more richness of flavor, but who’s got time for that? We just want to eat some brownies!
So instead, just pop that tuber into the microwave until it’s super soft.
While that baby is cooking, mix together all your dried ingredients, including loads of cocoa for that unbeatable chocolate flavor.
Once the sweet potato is cooked, it’s blended with tasty ingredients like rich molasses and pure maple syrup for natural sweetness.
Not to mention some applesauce for that fudge-like texture. Oh, and some avocado for that healthy fat.
Don’t be afraid to bake with avocado. Especially when it’s used in chocolate dishes. It creates the creamiest texture, and is an excellent replacement for butter.
The brownie baking
Now, you can go two routes with this baking process and healthy sweet potato brownies.
If you want to maintain that ooey-gooey texture of your brownies, stick to the lesser time frame. They’ll be cooked all the way through, but they will also have such a silky smooth texture that you’ll feel like you’re taking a bite of chocolate pie.
You can also bake on the longer side to get more of a dense, fudgy brownie.
No way is the wrong way when it comes to these knock-your-socks-off brownies.
The toppings
While these brownies are perfectly fine on their own, it’s also totally respectable to top them with the following options.
- Vanilla ice cream – I mean, who doesn’t love that melty cool ice cream all over a rich dark chocolate brownie?
- Chocolate chips – if you place them on top of the brownies right after they come out of the oven they’ll melt to create a silky smooth chocolate frosting.
- Chocolate frosting – speaking of frosting, you could always whip up this super simple chocolate frosting I used to cover these dark chocolate chunk healthy brownies.
However you plan to enjoy these sweet potato brownies is fine by me. But I’d love to know, are you more of a cakey/fudge brownie lover, or dense and chewy? Tell me in the comments below!
Looking for more healthy chocolate desserts? Check these out:
Baked Chocolate Protein Donuts
- 1 large sweet potato
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ cup 1:1 gluten free flour
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup Silk Chocolate Cashew milk
- 1 large avocado
- ¼ cup molasses
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. butter extract
- 1 egg
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Preheat oven to 350°F, and grease ann 8” x 8” pan with baking spray.
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Place the sweet potato on a microwave safe plate, and microwave for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.
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Remove and cut a slit in the potato to release some of the heat and cool.
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Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, baking powder, flour sugar and salt. Set aside.
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Once the sweet potato is cooled, scoop out the flesh {about 1 cup} and place in the bowl of a food processor.
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Add the applesauce, milk, avocado, molasses, maple syrup, vanilla, butter extract and egg.
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Blend on medium speed until smooth.
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Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir to combine.
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Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, and spread in an even layer.
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Bake for 45-55 minutes*, until brownies are set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Allow brownies to cool before slicing.
*Note: if you would like the brownies to be more fudge-like, bake for 45 minutes. Bake for 55 minutes for a firmer brownie.
