Sugar-Free Sweet Potato Brownies
Sugar-free sweet potato brownies are dense, moist and everything you’d expect from a fudgy chocolate brownie! Even better is the fact that these vegan sweet potato brownies with dates are loaded with healthy plant-based ingredients that’ll not only fuel your body with nutritional goodness but also provide you with a guilt-free sweet treat or dessert!
The sweet potato provides a natural sweetness and moisture to these vegan brownies without you even tasting the sweet potato! Combined with the other delicious ingredients, these brownies are loaded with vitamins and minerals, rich chocolate flavor and a crisp chewy outer crust.
Serve them plain or with a helping of whipped coconut cream or dairy-free ice cream for a decadent vegan dessert!
Are these Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Chocolate Brownies Healthy?
Absolutely! Using natural, raw ingredients in cooking and baking is always a healthy option. Here’s a quick overview of the health benefits you will get from the best sweet potato brownies:
- Sweet potato – naturally sweetens food without tasting the sweet potato and is therefore a great way to eliminate added processed sugar. Sweet potato is also a great source of vitamin C.
- Dates – dates provide a boost of caramel-like sweetness to these brownies while also being high in fibre (which slows down the body’s insulin response). Dates also contain several minerals such as: potassium, calcium and magnesium.
- Raw cacao powder – reduces inflammation in the body, lowers blood pressure and improves blood sugar levels!
- Tapioca flour – extracted from the roots of the Brazilian cassava plant, this plant-based starch is a natural thickener that helps to create crisp and chewy exteriors in gluten-free baked goods such as these vegan gluten-free sweet potato brownies.
- Almond milk/flour – a low calorie, dairy-free and gluten-free option that’s high in Vitamin E and a great source of calcium too!
- Coconut oil – a good source of healthy acids that can aid weight loss and improve the immune system.
Vegan Sweet Potato Brownie Recipe
- Yields: 15 squares | Serves: 5-6 people
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 40 minutes (plus time to make the sweet potato puree if you don’t have it on hand).
Healthy Sweet Potato Brownie Ingredients
- 1 cup sweet potato puree, at room temperature (1 small sweet potato)
- 1 cup medjool dates
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- ¼ cup almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup almond flour
- 3 tbsp tapioca flour
- ⅓ cup raw cacao powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Zest of ½ orange
How to Make Sweet Potato Puree
It’s best to bake your sweet potato in aluminum foil, as this will reduce the amount of liquid in the puree.
Baking a whole sweet potato may take up to 40 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 Celsius), but you can reduce this to around 20 minutes by peeling the sweet potato and chopping it up first.
Once the sweet potato is tender, let it cool to room temperature before mashing or blending it into a puree.
How to Make This Sweet Potato Brownies Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350F / 175C and prepare an 11’’ x 7’’ baking tray with baking paper (or use a silicone baking liner).
In the meantime, soften the Medjool dates in boiled water for five minutes, then drain.
Add softened dates, sweet potato puree, almond milk, coconut oil and vanilla extract into a food processor. Blend until smooth.
Mix almond flour, cacao powder and tapioca flour, salt, baking powder and orange zest in a large bowl.
Add the sweet potato and date batter into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir to combine.
Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking tray.
Bake the brownies for 25-30 minutes. The batter won’t be completely cooked through, but that’s ok. Once the brownies are cool they will harden.
Let the brownies cool completely before removing them from the tray. Drizzle dark chocolate and sprinkle a little extra orange zest on top (optional).
Divide the piece into 12 or 15 small pieces and enjoy!
How Should I Serve These Brownies Made With Sweet Potato?
This sweet potato brownies recipe is super delicious as is, and it can be enjoyed as a healthy and naturally sweet snack or dessert.
You can also serve it with a dollop of whipped coconut cream, dairy-free ice cream, or some freshly sliced fruit!
How to Store Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies
Once your brownies are completely cool, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
You also have the option of freezing these sugar-free sweet potato brownies for up to 3 months! Store your brownies in an airtight container or wrap them individually in wax paper or parchment paper and then transfer them to a Ziploc bag for freezing.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and serve them at room temperature.
Variations to these Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies with Dates
- The orange zest is such a delicious combination with the chocolate in these brownies. If you don’t enjoy orange with chocolate then you can simply omit the zest from this recipe.
- Vegan chocolate chips and chopped nuts (such as pecans or walnuts) would be tasty crunchy additions to these brownies, offering great texture and extra decadence. You can add them into the brownie batter as well as on top of the batter just before popping your brownies into the oven.
- Drizzle some melted chocolate (dark vegan chocolate would be great) over these brownies once they have fully cooled and sprinkle a little more organge zest on top if you feel like getting fancy!
Tips for making sweet potato brownies without nut butter
- You can serve your brownies chilled or at room temperature. In fact, some swear by them being even more delicious when eaten cold.
- Salt is often overlooked in baking yet it helps to elevate various flavors in baked goods such as the chocolate. Try sea salt if you don’t want to use table salt.
- Feel free to use cocoa powder OR cacao powder. Whichever you use, make sure that it’s high quality as this will impact on the overall taste of your brownies.
- I’ve used almond flour but you could use gluten-free all-purpose flour instead.
- Lining the baking tray with parchment paper can make removing the baked brownies that much easier.
Other Healthy Sweet Treats to Try:
Sugar-Free Sweet Potato Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweet potato puree 1 cooked sweet potato
- 1 cup medjool dates
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups almond flour
- 3 tbsp tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup raw cacao powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Zest of 1/2 an orange
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F / 175C and prepare an 11’’ x 7’’ baking tray with baking paper (or use a silicone baking liner).
- In the meantime, soften the Medjool dates in boiled water for five minutes, then drain them.
- Add softened dates, sweet potato puree, almond milk, coconut oil and vanilla extract into a food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Mix almond flour, cacao powder and tapioca starch, salt, baking powder and orange zest in a large bowl.
- Add sweet potato and dates batter into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking tray.
- Bake the brownies for 25-30 minutes. The batter won’t be completely cooked through, but that’s ok. Once the brownies are cool they will harden.
- Let the brownies cool completely before removing them from the tray. Drizzle dark chocolate and sprinkle a little extra orange zest on top (optional!)
- Divide the piece into 12 or 15 small pieces and enjoy!
