Using vegetables in baked goods may sound strange but it’s really nothing new. Our grandparents already used grated carrots to make the most delicious carrot cake. Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without pumpkin or sweet potato pie. I’ve already shared the recipes for the most delicious carrot zucchini bread or this amazing beetroot cake. If you’re still a bit hesitant about adding vegetables to your baking, then let me assure you that you will not taste them in brownies, pies or muffins at all. Vegetables just have a high water content, which makes them the perfect moist ingredients for brownies. Since sweet potatoes are naturally sweet, they are just amazing in these brownies. They give it enough texture and sweetness while making these brownies incredibly moist at the same time. Sweet potatoes are also the healthiest kind of potatoes as they have the highest amount of vitamin A, an antioxidant powerhous linked to anti-aging benefits, cancer prevention and the maintenance of good eyesight. The real hero in these browies, however, is avocado though. Avocado is the perfect fat substitution as it has a naturally creamy texture, making these brownies even more moist and creamy. It is also a much healthier choice than vegetable oil or butter because it is high in omega 3 fats, the good kind of fat, which help lower cholesterol and improve heart health. The combination of all the ingredients is just mind-blowing and I cannot even put in words how amazing these Avocado Sweet Potato Brownies are. You have to try them yourselves and be amazed how awesome healthy brownies can taste. Trust me, you’ll never want to eat regular brownies anymore.
- ½ Avocado
- 1 large sweet potato (300g)
- 200g medjool-dates
- ¾ cup (120g) of ground almonds
- ½ cup (100g) of buckwheat flour
- ½ cup (150ml) of apple purree/sauce
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) of pure maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons of raw cocoa or 10 tablespoons of regular baking cacao
- a pinch of salt
- Start by peeling and chobbing the sweet potatoes in cubes. Steam them for about 20 minutes until they are heavenly moist. If you don’t know how to steam them. I use a large pot filled with water and an iron sieve. Just bring the water to a boil and place the sieve into the pot. Add the sweet potato cubes into the sieve, cover the pot with a lid and let it steam for 20 mintes.
- In the meantime, place the almonds into a food processor, and ground them for about a minute. Pit the dates and cut them into little cubes. You can even use your hand to squeeze the dates into a sweet sticky date dough if your blender is not strong enough to blend the dates smooth enough. Add the dates or date dough to your food processor and blend them to a smooth paste.
- Once the sweet potatoes are soft enough, let them cool for a couple of minutes, then add them to the food processor with all the remaining ingredients.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Pour the batter into a lined or greased baking dish and cook for about 20—25 minutes until you can pull out a knife out of it clean. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before removing them from the baking dish.
Enjoy!
What size baking dish should be used? And what temp do you cook these at?
Hi Erica,
I bake them at 180°C in a 27×18 cm baking dish. I don’t know the American inch system very well but I think it’s about 10 inches x 7 inches if that makes sense. Hope it works out.
All the best,
Lynn
Hi Lynn –
I am so glad to have come across your site. Thank you for posting this avocado sweet potato brownie recipe. It’s brilliant. I made a batch and, since there were too many for just me, I cut them into single servings, wrapped each in a plastic sandwhich baggy & put them in the freezer. Had one last night while it was still frozen. IT WAS AMAZING. Thank you again,
Noreen
Hi Noreen, wow, thank you so much for your sweet words. You really made my day! I’ve never frozen them before, but it seems like I really need to try it. Thanks for the new inspiration.
Happy Holidays, Noreen!
xx Lynn
I made these and even my kids loved them…thanks much!!!!!
Kim
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me. This really made me happy. So glad even your kids liked them!
xx Lynn
Where does the avocado come in?
The avocado gets added in Step 3 “with all the other ingredients”.
xx
Lynn
How sweet are these? I am thinking i may not need the maple syrup? How many aervings is this?
Sorry, but I don’t know the difference between raw cocoa and baking cocoa. Is the powedered Herseys Special Dark I have at home baking cocoa? 10 Tablespoons of THAT seems like WAY too much!!!
Hi Debbi,
the difference is that raw cocoa has not been heated to prevent nutrient loss. Yes, the Hersheys Dark Powder you have at home is baking cocoa. I have never used the Hershey’s brand, so maybe your’re right and you should not use that much. Maybe try 3 tablespoons and do the taste test (you can totally eat the dough raw). Then add more powder according to taste.
xx
Lynn
Hello! I’m excited to try these. How big would a large sweet potato be? I’ve seen some here in Canada that are really quite large! Perhaps the length of your hand and quite full/thick? Or perhaps you know the weight in grams?
Thanks!
Vittoria
Hi Vittoria,
I just went into my kitchen and weighed my sweet potato: it weighs about 500g. That’s about the size I used for this recipe.
Sorry for the confusion. Let me know how the recipe turned out 🙂
Best,
Lynn
Wonderful! Thank you for the quick response! I’ll make them tonight and report back!
I made them and they turned out great!! I noticed later that you wrote 500g in your reply, but 300g in the actual recipe. So I went with a little less than 500 g. I also realized that I only had 60 g worth of dates, so i added an extra squeeze of honey into the mix. Turned out great, but could have been a touch sweeter (they were really not sweet at all – but actually gave it more of a dark chocolate taste, which I still really love!). Would certainly make these again – and I’ll try the full amount of dates next time! I also only baked for 20 minutes and they were done on the top and delightfully fudgy inside. Thanks for the great recipe:)
Hi Vittoria,
I am so happy that they turned out great. I actually don’t have a sweet tooth, so there’s much more savory recipes on my blog, but those avocado brownies are my favorite by far. I didn’t realize I put an exact gramm amount in the recipe, so sorry about the confusion. When I read your comment, I just went into my kitchen and weighed the sweet potato I had at hand, and that I would have used to make these brownies.
Lots of healthy love to Canada!
xx
Lynn
Hi Vittoria,
yay! Let me know how they turned out!
xx
Lynn
Hi Lynn,
How many days can i keep these?
X.
Hi Carlina,
I’m not sure how long they last as they are almost always gone in one day in my house. But I’m guessing two days max?
xx
Lynn
We use carrots in carrot cake and that tastes amazing, so why not try sweet potatoes and avocados in brownies? The creamy avocado and sweet potato used in this recipe make for a decadent chewy texture and leave no weird vegetable aftertaste. This is seriously the perfect healthy dessert that your friends and family will flip over, and you will definitely make again! PS: I didn t tell my boys what I used in this recipe at first, and they devoured these chocolate bites of goodness without a second thought.