Healthy Sweet Potato Brownies made grain-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free and flourless! This moist and rich fudge brownie recipe is made with wholesome ingredients for everyday eating and special events alike!
You’re looking at magical Disappearing Brownies!
Disappearing because these luscious lumps last approximately 15.32 seconds in any household.
Which is about the exact amount of time it takes to consume a batch of brownies without looking like you’re in a food competition.
Well…I suppose that’s debatable.
Truly, my husband and I consume treats like this with much gusto. We’re both wholeheartedly obsessed with both chocolate and sweet potatoes.
And let me just tell you. These sweet potato brownies are simply sensational.
We both had to pry ourselves away from the brownie pan. And even still, our resistance was futile because neither of us couldn’t stop at one.
Apparently you all feel the same way! Just check out the reviews below!
I enjoy these more than regular brownies made with gluten free all purpose flour!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
Entirely flourless, grain-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free, paleo and so easy to make, these fudgy brownies are an absolute win all the way around.
This is one of those recipes you can safely serve at any gathering and feel assured there won’t be someone raising their hand to ask if it fits their laundry list of dietary restrictions.
The simple ingredients are wholesome, easy to find at any grocery store, and have folks with food allergies in mind.
I jest, but I’m typically that inquiring party who wants to know the ingredient details.
The main ingredient in this sweet potato brownie recipe is mashed sweet potato, which means they’re made with a vegetable, so basically we’re talking about health food here.
In all seriousness, the health benefits of sweet potatoes spread far and wide.
Sweet potatoes contain more potassium than bananas (fun fact!), They are also a great source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Manganese, and more!
Not to mention, sweet potatoes are remarkably satiating. When pairing the sweet potatoes and almond butter in these brownies, you’re left with a remarkably filling dessert or treat.
Let’s do a deep dive into the ingredients for healthy sweet potato brownies!
Ingredients for Sweet Potato Brownies:
Sweet Potatoes: The star of these brownies! Sweet potato puree adds moisture and bulk to a brownie, which helps take the place of oil (or butter) and also flour. Cook your sweet potato up to 5 days ahead of time.
Almond Butter: Used as the healthy fat source in the brownies, unsweetened almond butter plays a crucial role in bringing richness and gooey texture to these dairy-free brownies. You can replace it with any nut or seed butter you like.
For nut-free sweet potato brownies, make my Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies, which are made with coconut oil and coconut flour.
Pure Maple Syrup: Keeping these healthy brownies refined sugar-free, we use pure maple syrup as the sweetener.
Eggs: A couple large room temperature eggs help fluff up the brownies and ensure they hold together when sliced. I haven’t tested a vegan sweet potato brownies recipe yet, but one reader reported back that flax eggs resulted in gooey brownies that never baked through all the way. In this sense, I recommend sticking with eggs.
Vanilla Extract: Adding warmth and subtle nuance to the brownies, a little vanilla extract provides a beautiful flavor. Skip it if you don’t have it on hand.
Cocoa Powder: The rich dark chocolate portion of this recipe comes from cocoa powder. I use raw cacao powder, which has a creamier (less bitter) flavor than regular cocoa powder, but stick with whatever powder you like. Dutch process cocoa powder works great too.
Baking Soda: A tiny amount of baking soda acts as the leavening agent for these brownies. We don’t use too much to avoid a cake-like texture. Just enough to give a little crispy edge to the brownie.
Ground Cinnamon (optional): Do you love cinnamon and chocolate together? I do! If you’re like me and enjoy a dash of cinnamon in a baked treat, toss some in. If not, skip it!
Sea Salt: Salt is that supporting ingredient that lifts up every other ingredient where it belongs. Essentially, it brings powerful flavor to the brownies. Don’t skip it for the best results!
Chocolate Chips: Adding even more chocolatey goodness and also fudgy texture to the brownies, one cup chocolate chips provide amazing pockets of joy. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips but you can also use dark chocolate chips, sugar-free chocolate chips, paleo friendly chocolate chunks, you name it.
Now that we’re experts on this healthy brownie recipe, let’s bake it!
How to Make Sweet Potato Brownies:
Cook the sweet potato according to your preferred method. I chop mine into large chunks and boil it in water for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chunks of potato are very tender. Allow the potato to cool. I transfer it to a sealable container and refrigerate it. Once cool, remove and discard the peel.
Note: you can cook the potato and refrigerate it up to 5 days in advance.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
Mash the sweet potato into a bowl or measuring cup and measure out 1 cup of mashed potato.
Add the mashed sweet potato to a large mixing bowl along with the almond butter, eggs, pure maple syrup and vanilla extract and stir well until everything is well-combined (wet ingredients).
Note: you can use a food processor to make this brownie batter if you prefer doing so over a mixing bowl!
Stir in the cocoa powder, baking soda, sea salt, and ground cinnamon until a thick creamy batter forms (no need for a separate bowl here).
Add in the chocolate chips and stir until they are well-incorporated into the batter.
Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it into an even layer.
If desired, sprinkle with extra chocolate chips.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 23 to 28 minutes, or until the brownies reach desired level of doneness. For fudgy, gooey brownies, bake for 23 minutes.
Allow the brownies to cool completely (at least one hour) before slicing and serving. You can slice the brownies before they have finished cooling if you’d like, but the slices won’t hold together quite as well. If you’re fine with that, proceed!
Serve with a scoop of ice cream for an even more decadent dessert.
Store any leftover brownies in an airtight container (or a zip lock bag) in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. These brownies also freeze very well! Freeze them in a zip lock bag for up to 3 months.
And so here we are with a decadent treat that’s suitable for any occasion. School lunches, daily dessert for your sweet tooth, a lovely sharable treat at holiday gatherings…breakfast (wink wink) and more.
So the next time you find yourself deep in a chocolate craving, whip up a batch of these flourless sweet potato brownies!
If you love brownies, check out these delicious gems from the brownie archives! They are all tried and true reader favorites, each with its own list of fabulous characteristics.
More Healthy Brownie Recipes:
- 4-Ingredient Flourless Healthy Brownies
- Almond Flour Brownies
- Gluten-Free Rolled Oat Pumpkin Brownies
- Coconut Flour Brownies
- Grain-Free Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies
- Espresso Keto Brownies
- Flourless Avocado Brownies
Enjoy this ooey gooey sweet potato fudge brownie experience!
Healthy Sweet Potato Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato
- 1 cup unsweetened almond butter
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon optional
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cook the sweet potato according to your preferred method. I chop mine into large chunks and boil it in water for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chunks of potato are very tender. Allow the potato to cool (I transfer it to a sealable container and refrigerate it). Once cool, remove and discard the peel. Note: you can cook the potato and refrigerate it up to 5 days in advance.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Mash the sweet potato into a bowl or measuring cup and measure out 1 cup of mashed potato.
- Add the mashed sweet potato to a large mixing bowl along with the almond butter, eggs, pure maple syrup and vanilla extract and stir well until everything is well-combined (wet ingredients).
- Stir in the cocoa powder, baking soda, sea salt, and ground cinnamon until a thick creamy batter forms (no need for a separate bowl here).
- Add in the chocolate chips and stir until they are well-incorporated into the batter.
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it into an even layer. If desired, sprinkle with extra chocolate chips.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 23 to 28 minutes, or until the brownies reach desired level of doneness. For fudgy, gooey brownies, bake for 23 minutes. Brownies are best when baked to an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the brownies and wait until the numbers stop moving to get an accurate read on their temperature.
- Allow the brownies to cool completely (at least one hour) before slicing and serving. You can slice the brownies before they have finished cooling if you’d like, but the slices won’t hold together quite as well. If you’re fine with that, proceed!
- Serve with a scoop of ice cream for an even more decadent dessert.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This is my new favorite brownie recipe!! I can’t believe how moist they are. I try to avoild refined flour and sugar if possible, so this recipe is perfect for me. Thank you!!!
I made this for my 4-year old grandson because he has to be on a restricted diet and I was so impressed with how good it tasted. But, I did struggle with getting it to fully bake. I followed your instructions, including the use of a thermometer, but it was still very jiggly and wet when I pulled it out at an internal temp of 197. Since I’ve never baked with sweet potatoes, I thought perhaps it would set as it cooled, but it did not; rather it collapsed a little (except for the outer edge). In trying to salvage it, I put it back in the oven at 250 for what ended up being an hour to let it slowly cook without burning the top. It seems to have done the trick and they are still surprisingly moist. I used Trader Joe’s creamy almond butter and 2 flax eggs (my grandson can’t have eggs right now). Aside from that, I followed the recipe exactly as written. Any ideas on what went wrong? Thanks.
Hi Olivia! Thanks so much for sharing your experience! The flax eggs were the culprit 🙂 I’ve mentioned this in other grain-free recipes, but when you replace eggs with flax eggs in recipes that don’t contain a lot of starch or leavening agents, the center turns out with a “raw” like consistency that is gooey. I briefly mention in the post that flax eggs can be used if you’re alright with very gooey brownies, though it seems as though I should update it to recommend sticking with chicken eggs. Flax eggs often do work in gluten-free baking when a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend is used because these blends have a lot of starch and emulsifiers. In grain-free recipes without a lot of starch/leavening, flax can be hit or miss. I hope this makes sense! Let me know if you have any other questions!
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it. And the brownies and all of their delicious gooiness were definitely enjoyed by my grandson yesterday.
I also used peanut butter powder instead of peanut butter. Super moist and ended up at 285 calories per 1/9th.
That’s remarkable! Forgive me, as I don’t have much experience with peanut butter powder – do you add water to it? Where does the moisture come from?
I’m so glad you mentioned this, Alyssa. I had peanut powder to use. I started slow with the water and gradually added more.
Julia, thank you for the recipe! First time incorporating sweet potato into a dessert.
I’m happy it worked out for you using peanut butter powder mixed with water – this is very helpful to others who want to try the same thing 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
I subbed maple syrup for date paste and these turned out really well! My husband who hates my ‘healthy desserts’ likes them.
I’ll have to try them with date paste! I’ve heard great things about it in baked goods…sounds divine! I’m happy your husband enjoyed the brownies too 🙂
These were amazing! Desserts are so hard to find where I can actually pronounce all the ingredients 😂 so I typically have to whip something up myself. These are amazing every time I make them. They don’t even taste “healthy” ! You’re a gem Julia!
Wahooo!! Great success! I’m happy you enjoyed the brownies and that the straightforward ingredients made the process easier. Thanks for sharing, Heather!
These brownies are INCREDIBLE! I’ve been trying to find a truly delicious but healthier brownie recipe, and I definitely found it! One caution—the sweet potato provides a fair bit of fiber, so it could make for a bad day if one ate too many! I highly recommend this recipe!!!
LOL, I love the word of caution – someone’s gotta say it, right?! Thanks for the sweet note, Cyndii – I’m happy you enjoy the brownies!
Can i use a baked sweet potato instead of boiled? or will the moisture content be too different?
Hi there! There may be a slight difference in the texture, but the method of prep won’t make or break the recipe 🙂 Hope you enjoy the brownies!