It’s time for another chocolate brownie recipe! Previously, we showed you how to make them using black beans. This time, our delicious vegan brownies recipe uses sweet potato! That’s right – we’re all about hiding veggies in everything – and this sweet treat is no exception. These brownies are so dense, chocolatey and fudgy, you won’t believe they’re 100% plant-based!
Traditionally brownies use butter, oil, refined sugar, and eggs to bind everything together. Whoah! That’s a lot of unhealthy stuff. In our vegan sweet potato brownies, we replace almost all of these with healthier alternatives. Sweet potato stands in for the eggs and some of the sugar. Also, we ditch the dairy and oil with the help of some almond butter. Overall that means no cholesterol and much less saturated fat. Furthermore, we get fiber and vitamins that a brownie recipe usually wouldn’t have! Yes, we admit there is still some added sugar, but this is a dessert after all!
Sweet Potato + Almond Butter
You would never guess that there are sweet potatoes in this brownies recipe. The flavor is ALL chocolate, with a dense, fudgy center. This is all due to the fantastic texture of pureed sweet potatoes. They act as a binder, sweetener, and source of moisture all at once!
Food science fact: sweet potatoes get sweeter when cooked because an enzyme breaks down all the chalky starch into tasty sugars.
We also added almond butter to the mix, which is the perfect substitute for dairy butter. It’s also mild in flavor, so it doesn’t overpower the chocolate.
As you can see, sweet potatoes and nut butter are great ingredients for sneaking healthy foods into brownies. Here are some of the nutrients we add instead of the “nutritionally empty” (oil), or downright unhealthy ingredients we mentioned above (oil, dairy butter, eggs):
- Sweet potatoes
- Vitamin A
- Fiber
- Vitamins B5 and B6
- And many more
- Almond butter
- Minerals (including iron and calcium)
- Vitamins (especially riboflavin and a big dose of vitamin E)
Finally, we added some ground flaxseed. Why? Well, it adds a little more “binding power” to the sweet potato, and is loaded with B-vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids.
How to Make Sweet Potato Brownies
The first trick to this recipe is to cook the sweet potatoes gently until they are sweet and silky-smooth. We find the easiest way to do this is by using a microwave. Just put the sweet potatoes in a container with a little water and cover. As a result, they’ll actually be steamed, leaving lots of moisture for the brownie mix.
Next, the sweet potato is pureed until very smooth. You don’t want big chunks of it showing up in your brownies! This puree is then mixed with all of the other ingredients: flour, ground flaxseed, almond butter, and some rich and chocolatey fair trade cocoa or cacao powder (just make sure the product you choose is vegan).
To finish up, the brownie batter is spread out on parchment paper placed in a baking tray. Aim for a layer about 1/2 an inch thick. Now just bake this until a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the brownies (a few clinging crumbs are OK).
We hope you enjoyed these fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies! If only we could see your happy look when you take your first bite. If you do try them, please let us know how they turned out with a comment and rating. Every bit of feedback helps make the blog even better.
Sweet Potato Brownies | Fudgy Deliciousness!
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 16 squares 1x
Description
There’s a secret to this recipe for delicious vegan brownies – it’s sweet potatoes! This versatile veggie makes our brownies sweet, fudgy … YUMMY!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 6 tablespoons plant milk (e.g. oat or almond milk)
- 1 1/4 cup sweet potato puree (freshly cooked [see note] or from a can)
- 1/3 cup almond butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 cup raw pecan pieces
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1–2 tablespoons whole pecans (or pieces)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F/190C and line a 8 inch/20cm square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Prepare flax eggs by mixing together ground flax seeds with 6 tablespoons of water. Set aside to thicken for five minutes.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add prepared flax eggs, sweet potato puree, almond butter and vanilla. Whisk well to combine.
- Stir in brown sugar, cacao powder, pecan pieces, all-purpose flour, baking powder and pinch for salt. Then scoop sweet potato brownie batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the brownies comes out clean.
- Once the sweet potato brownies have cooled, cut into 16 squares and enjoy! Store brownie squares in an airtight container for 3 days.
Notes
- If cooking your own sweet potato, add 15 minutes to preparation time.
- To prepare the sweet potato puree, peel the sweet potato and cut into slices. Place sweet potato slices in a bowl, add a little water and cover. Cook in the microwave for 8 to 10 minutes until sweet potato slices are tender. As a result, they’ll actually be steamed, leaving lots of moisture for the brownie mix. Allow the the sweet potato to cool, and then place into a for processor and puree. Alternatively, mash the sweet potato with a fork or push through a metal sieve. You don’t want big chunks of it showing up in your brownies, so make sure the sweet potato is very smooth!
- Store brownie squares in an airtight container for 3 days.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Keywords: sweet potato brownies, sweet potato brownies vegan, sweet potato brownies recipe
If you’re looking for more baked treats, you might also like our Easy Banana Bread, Carrot Cake Muffins and Apple Cinnamon Bread.
