While attempting to create a more nutrient-rich brownie, we ended up creating our new favorite brownie recipe! It’s happening.
Introducing super fudgy, naturally-sweetened, whole grain, healthier brownies made with just 10 ingredients. Let’s bake!
First, we make sweet potato purée by baking a sweet potato, removing the skin, and mashing in a bowl or food processor.
The sweet potato purée is then mixed with maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla, and avocado oil.
Cocoa powder adds a rich, chocolatey flavor, oat flour keeps these whole grain and healthier than your average brownie, baking powder adds rise, and sea salt brings everything together.
Pecans and chocolate chips (optional) are added to the top for morsels of melty chocolate and a little toasty crunch with each bite. We highly recommend!
We hope you LOVE these brownies. They’re:
Fudgy
Rich
SUPER chocolatey
Naturally sweet
Healthier than your average brownie
& Incredibly delicious!
These brownies are delicious on their own but elevated with a scoop of vegan ice cream (vanilla, salted caramel, and coffee ice cream would all be incredible).
Love Brownies? Try Our:
- 4-Ingredient Easy Vegan Brownies
- Vegan Gluten-Free Brownies
- Easy Raw Vegan Brownies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
- Vegan Gluten-Free Black Bean Brownies
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies (V/GF)
Ingredients
BROWNIES
- 1 cup sweet potato purée (see instructions)
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup almond butter or peanut butter
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ Tbsp avocado oil (or sub melted vegan butter, melted coconut oil, or olive oil)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder or cacao powder (the higher quality the better // such as this one)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2/3 cup oat flour (we also tested almond and coconut flour, and while they did work, we preferred oat // GF all purpose should also work)
- 1/2 cup chopped raw pecans (or sub walnuts, but we liked pecans better)
- 1/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (optional)
FOR SERVING optional
- Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream (for store-bought, we prefer Luna and Larry's vanilla coconut ice cream)
- Salted Caramel Coconut Ice Cream
- Vegan Coffee Ice Cream
Instructions
- To make sweet potato purée, halve sweet potato and brush the cut sides with oil (optional). Add to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 F (190 C) for ~25-30 minutes or until tender to the touch. Move to one side of pan and wrap the parchment paper over top to steam. Let steam for 5 minutes. Then peel away skin and mash in a mixing bowl (or food processor). Set aside.
- Adjust oven temperature to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line an 8×8-inch baking pan (or similar-size pan) with parchment paper. Set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add sweet potato purée, maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla extract, and avocado oil and stir to combine.
- Add cacao powder, sea salt, and baking powder and stir to combine. Then add oat flour and stir until a thick, scoopable batter is achieved (see photo).
- Transfer batter to your parchment-lined baking dish and spread into an even layer using a spoon or rubber spatula. Then top with pecans and chocolate chips (optional).
- Bake on the center rack (at 350 F / 176 C) for 28-32 minutes. The brownie edges should appear slightly dry and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean (a few crumbs are okay, but it shouldn’t be overly gooey). Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes – 1 hour.
- Lift out of pan and slice. Enjoy warm or room temperature. Store leftovers covered at room temperature up to 3 days, in the refrigerator up to 5-7 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month. These brownies are delicious on their own but elevated with a scoop of dairy-free ice cream.
Video
Notes
*Photos show batch sliced into 9 brownies.
*Prep time includes preparing sweet potato purée.
Michelle Ilievski says
This was sooo good! Everyone home loved it and couldn’t tell it had sweet potato in it! I did changed a few things according to my pantry though: I reduced to 1/3 cup of date syrup, as I find it sweeter than maple syrup, and used coconut oil and peanut butter. I also reduced the cocoa powder a bit because the dutch one I use is very strong. 20 minutes of baking time was perfect because the pan I used was slightly bigger and the batter wasn’t that high. I wouldn’t skip the walnuts and dark chocolate on top 😉
We’re so glad everyone enjoyed the brownies! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Michelle! xo
Brit says
Hmm somewhat surprised by all the rave reviews. These are surprisingly flat on flavor. The batter smelled divine when I was making it, but the end result has no depth to the flavor. I tried to fix it by sprinkling sea salt on top and a powdered sugar dusting, but it still falls flat. The texture is also a bit more chewy than fudgey. I’m not sold. I made these for my friend who is about to give birth at any moment — at least they have fiber and some nutritional value.
Hi Brit, We’re so sorry the brownies didn’t turn out well! It sounds like something went wrong because these brownies should definitely be fudgy, not chewy. Which flour did you use? Did you make any modifications?
Jennifer B. says
These are INCREDIBLE!! Thank you so much for this 5 star recipe! I omitted the chocolate chips & used unrefined coconut oil. 29 minutes of baking time was perfect & I’m so impressed with how delectable these turned out. I like them cold so I keep them in the fridge. One day I’ll make some homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream & have it on the side to complete this masterpiece of a treat!
Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoy the brownies. Thank you for the lovely 5-star review, Jennifer! xoxo
Lena says
Followed all measurements. I substituted the maple syrup for the same amount of honey and substituted oat flour for the same amount of almond meal. They were nice and moist on the inside but set on the outside. Everyone loved them and at no point questioned them being a vegan alternative. Have made a few batches following the recipe and never failed.
Yay! We’re so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipe, Lena. Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! xo
Jen says
This is an amazing recipe! I used just sugar instead of maple syrup and I used pb powder and oil as I ran out of peanut butter (tree nut allergy) and it worked divinely. I microwaved the sweet potato to cook it. And no issues at all with texture. You could make it with a lighter oil instead of nut butter if there’s an allergy. My pb was not very thick. And i used pumpkin seeds in place of nuts. This recipe made it into my recipe box. And I love how the texture is amazing out of the fridge too (it’s hotter than hades here in the summer, we can’t leave food out). Than your for your dedication to great recipes. With a whole bunch of allergies in our house. Easy ones like this make everyone happy 😊
Thank you for your kind words and lovely review, Jen! We’re so glad you enjoyed the brownies! xo
Jayme Catalano says
Can I substitute anything for the maple syrup? I don’t have any on hand.
Hi Jayme! Brown sugar might work, but we haven’t tried it. Let us know how it goes!
Lena says
I substituted it with the same amount of honey and it worked great.
Michelle says
I used 1/3 cup of date syrup and it was perfect!
Eve says
Even the batter for this tastes good. I reduced to 1/3 cup of maple syrup and used coconut oil and dessicated coconut.
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Eve! Thank you for sharing! xo
Karen Press says
These are delicious! I didn’t have a sweet potato but I did have baby sweet potato puree (2nd foods/single ingredient – just sweet potato). I ground up my own oat flour using a Vitamix and whole oats and that also worked well. Thank you for a great recipe. I’ve made them twice!
We’re so glad you enjoy the brownies, Karen! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! xo
Madeline Janning says
Hi! If making nut free, could you use tahini?
Thanks!
Hi Madeline, that could work. Tahini may add a little bitterness, but it pairs well with maple syrup and sweet potatoes so it could be really lovely! Let us know if you try it! xo
Heidi says
I’ve used sunbutter and it worked great
Amy says
Going to try this recipe with frozen and then basked sweet potato! Do you think you could replace the apple sauce with coconut/soy yogurt?
That could work. Let us know how it goes!
Lindzy says
Have you tried this as cupcakes? If so, are there any adjustments you would recommend? Thank you!
Hi Lindzy, we haven’t tried it in a cupcake tin. If you to try it out, we’d suggest baking for less time so the brownies stay fudgy. Hope that helps!
Aimee says
So delicious! I needed to use up some baked sweet potatoes and this did the trick. My son licked the spatula before putting them in the oven and he said we didn’t even need to cook them, he’d happily eat the batter all up. Thanks for this great recipe!
Yay! Love it :) Thank you for sharing, Aimee! xo
Mika says
This is the BEST fudgy brownie recipe…ever! I’ve tried this recipe a few times—once with oat flour and another time with almond flour, and each time I made it, it was delicious! This recipe is so great, because it can be so versatile–you can substitute and try different things. Can Minimalist Baker please come out with a desert cookbook?! 🥹
Aw, thank you for amazing review and suggestion, Mika! We’re so glad you love this recipe. We don’t have plans for a cookbook at this time, but you might like this round-up of healthier dessert recipes :)