Try these super easy Fudgy Vegan Brownies, they are delicious and require only 5 ingredients!
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As my birthday is coming up this weekend (september 6th 🥳 ) I felt like publishing a new (gluten free) dessert recipe: fudgy vegan brownies!
⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
- Only 5 ingredients.
- Easy to make.
- These fudgy brownies are gluten free, coconut free, vegan, paleo and AIP compliant.
📖 Ingredient notes
- Sweet potato purée. To make this sweet potato purée you will need to use orange sweet potatoes (do NOT use white or purple sweet potatoes). See below for more explanations on how to make sweet potato puree.
- Oil of your choice. Personally, I like to use coconut oil which makes the brownies even more fudgy especially once they have been stored in the fridge. But you can also use extra virgin olive oil or any other kind.
- Maple syrup. Make sure to use pure maple syrup.
- Carob powder. It is an AIP compliant cacao powder alternative. It is made from dried, roasted carob tree pods. It has a lighter flavor than cacao powder. It tastes a little bit like caramel. If you are not on AIP, you can use cacao powder.
- Tigernut flour (or almond flour for those who are not on AIP nor nut free). If you don't know what tigernut flour is and want to learn all about it, you can read my post What is tigernut flour.
If you are on AIP and still in the elimination phase, you have to use tigernut flour (because almond flour is not AIP compliant). Those who are not on AIP nor allergic to nuts can use almond flour instead of tigernut flour.
For the complete list of ingredients and quantities for these fudgy vegan brownies, please see the recipe card below.
🥣 How to make sweet potato puree
To make sweet potato puree, you can either :
- use a steamer (my personal favorite) : peel and slice the sweet potatoes. Put them in your steamer and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until they are soft.
- use an oven : use a fork to pierce several holes into the sweet potatoes, then place them on a baking dish and cook in the oven for about 1 hour at 400°F (205°C) or until they are soft. Then slice them down the middle and scoop out the flesh, discarding the skin.
- use a microwave-oven : use the same process as with the oven, then place them on a microwave-oven safe dish and cook for about 10 minutes or until they are soft.
Whichever way you decide to cook your sweet potatoes, once they are cooked and cooled down, just add them to your blender with the other ingredients of this recipe.
👩🏻🍳 Top tip
To make this recipe easier, you can prepare a big batch of sweet potato puree that you will use for different recipes. You can make Mashed sweet potatoes (AIP, paleo, whole30) or Chicken muffins or Sweet potato breakfast bowl (AIP, paleo, vegan).
💬 Can I freeze these fudgy brownies?
With all the dessert recipes that I publish, you are probably thinking that I’m eating way too much desserts. But don’t worry, if no one is around me to share it with, the biggest part of what I’m baking ends up in the freezer so I can eat it later.
Best thing about this is, whenever someone comes visit me (well, obviously it hasn’t happened since the beginning of March due to the pandemic) I always have a little homemade treat ready to go with a nice cup of tea (or coffee if my guest prefers coffee). So convenient! So yes you can store these in the freezer.
🍪 Other treat recipes you might like
Did you like this recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 on the recipe card and leave a nice review below! Tag @gohealthywithbea on Instagram and hashtag #gohealthywithbea! Also, let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
📋 Recipe / Recette
Fudgy Vegan Brownies (gluten free, AIP, paleo)
Ingredients
- 75 grams (⅔ cup + 1 tsp) tigernut flour (if you are not on AIP nor nut intolerant, you can use almond flour instead of tigernut flour)
- 330 grams (1.5 cups) sweet potato puree (use orange sweet potatoes)
- 90 millilitres (¼ cup + 2 Tbsp) oil of your choice (see notes)
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 75 grams (¾ cup) carob powder (or cocoa powder if you are not following AIP)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 360° F (180° C)
- In a blender combine the maple syrup, sweet potato puree and oil. Blend until combined.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the tigernut flour and carob powder. Stir.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined.
- Line or lightly oil a 7x7 inches (18x18 cm) cake pan.
- Bake for about 10 minutes. And voilà! Serve when they are at room temperature. Store in the fridge if you have leftovers. They are even more fudgy straight out of the fridge.Bon appétit !
Notes
Nutrition facts per serving
This Fudgy brownies recipe has been selected as one of the featured recipes in the “reader favorite” category from Phoenix Helix Paleo AIP Recipe #335!! 🤩 Thank you!!!
Marissa
Hi! I know you said there wasn’t a good substitute for the Tigernut flour but do you think trying Cassava flour would be okay? Thanks!
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Marissa. Unfortunately no. Cassava flour has a very gummy texture, whereas tigernut flour is crumbly. I don't recommend swapping those 2. Although i haven't tried it, I think that maybe, in this particular recipe, you could substitute the tigernut flour with shredded coconut (NOT coconut flour, because they don't react the same.) It was on my to do list of trials to make but one thing lead to another, I forgot and got busy with other recipes. let me know if you do try it!
Angela
Hi from America Bea!
I am planning to make this lovely looking brownie and was curious about not having baking soda in it for that slight rise? Is there no need for it?
Blessings, Angela
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Angela. I'm thrilled to know that you're writing this message from America whereas I'm now answering you from France. How cool is that?!! I'm so grateful for the Internet!! (Sorry for being completely off topic lol). No there is no need for baking soda in this recipe because those brownies are fudgy (not fluffy). Let me know if you try this recipe. Warmly, Bea
Judy
Hi, would blending the ingredients in a Vitamix be ok, or maybe use the pulse feature on the Vitamix? Also, by orange sweet potato, would a yam be the same thing?
gohealthywithbea
Hello Judy. I only got my Vitamix a few weeks ago so I didn't have it yet the last time I made this recipe. But yes you can use your Vitamix to blend the wet ingredients together. And yes, using the pulse function might be a good idea to keep more control. I have never baked with yams (they are not very common here in France). So I honestly can't tell you if it would work.
Whitney
Okay I feel like I did something wrong. I’m so sad to report these don’t taste good 😬😬 I am in the US so I used your “cups” measuring in the recipe, and I’m 99% sure I followed your recipe to a T. They are grainy and mushy, like sweet potato purée, and they don’t taste good. Maybe my brain was expecting “brownie” so it was just shocking how much it didn’t taste like that. I want to know what I did wrong cause everyone else seems to love them 😭
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Whitney. First of all thank you for reporting your bad experience with this recipe in such a nice way (not with an angry or hurtful message)! I'm so sorry to hear that this recipe didn't work out for you. Without having been there, it's really hard to know where you went wrong that you didn't enjoy the same success as many others who have made and enjoyed this recipe. I wish I could help you out.
Marnie
Hi Bea! Thanks for your answer re: butternut squash - turns out my friend can eat sweet potatoes now after all, so yay! Next question - well, 2 questions. First, do you think it would work to use a food processor or an immersion blender, rather than a (regular) blender? And second, instead of adding wet ingredients to dry, do you think it would work to add the dry ingredients to the blender/processor and just pulse to combine? Thanks so much!
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Marnie. You're welcome. I wouldn't use a food processor for this recipe. I think an immersion blender would work best. The point is to have an homogeneous sweet potato purée. Depending on your immersion blender (if it's powerful enough) I think you can also use it to combine all the ingredients. Hope that helps!
Carrie
I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask...do you think I could sub the maple syrup for applesauce? My modified AIP has me avoiding syrup, honey, stevia...basically any and all subs for sugar in AIP dessert recipes. (Let's talk about the saddest waffles you've ever eaten. I've started calling them waffle bread so I'm not disappointed in the lack of sweetness in every bite...because it's literally just waffle shaped bread.) My best successes for sweetness in baking so far have been to use 1 overripe and 1 regular plantain in some plantain bread (and adding carob if I feel like it), and an apple muffin recipe where I used applesauce and apples as the sweeteners. That one was AMAZING. So with that said, I thought maybe the maple could be subbed for unsweetened applesauce, as long as I consider the fact that I may need to adjust the amount of flour if I do so. Not a big deal.
So what are your thoughts? I've made carob date balls before which were wonderful, but it wasn't so great to be left craving more and more sweets. This just looks like it would be perfect if I can make sure the consistency isn't too altered with applesauce.
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Carrie. Happy to hear from you again! Unfortunately, in this particular recipe, I wouldn't recommend subbing the maple syrup for applesauce. I think it will change the texture too much. I would recommend trying some of my other recipes. I remember that you liked my apple muffins that you made without maple syrup. So maybe you could try my banana blueberry muffins and sub the maple syrup for oil as explained in the recipe notes. Or if you're looking for somrthing with carob, you could try my carob zucchini bread and sub the maple syrup with apple sauce. Although I haven't tried it with apple sauce, I think it might work best than in these fudgy brownies. Hope you will find something you like. Let me know what you decide and give me your feedback!
Misty Whitehead
My brownies were still completely batter by the end of the 10 minutes; it was barely long enough to change the internal temperature of the batter. As there is no leavening in these, they don't rise or get fluffy at all. I used avacado oil. I was able to add an extra 10 minutes at a reduced temperature to get the batter to dry out a little. They taste great! Next time I will try adding baking soda for a more brownie like texture. Thanks!
Ann
I’ve been DYING for a good brownie while on AIP and was so happy to come across this recipe...even happier to now know it’s a two in one. The first time I made it, it came out like fudge. Followed the recipe exactly. A little went a long way and one batch lasted a week even with sharing. Well tonight I added a teaspoon of baking soda to original recipe and got that deep fluffy brownie!! So now I know if I want fudge-keep to the original, if I want a fluffy yet dense brownie-add some baking soda. Excellent recipe!
A
What is orange sweet potato purée in the recipe? I couldn’t find the recipe for that. Also could coconut flour work?
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour! The sweet potato purée recipe is in the introduction. Orange sweet potato purée means that you should use the orange kind of sweet potatoes (not white or purple). And no, unfortunately, coconut flour won't work for this recipe. There are no AIP compliant substitutions. Thank you for your feedback, I will update my notes on this post so other people won't get confused. Have a great day!
Andrea
Oooh! I’m sorry I should have thought before asking haha
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour. No worries. Your question made me realise that my explanations weren't very clear so I updated my notes. That's why feedback from the readers are very important. Have a good day!
Jennifer Jacey
Wow!!!! I was so skeptical when my friend said we were going to make brownies out of sweet potatoes for Xmas but oh my goddess these are INCREDIBLE! We were seriously blown away at how fudgy and brownie like they are. We could not stop eating them and kept saying "but it's a sweet potato so it's okay to eat the whole pan"
Thank you so much for creating this and sharing. You made our holiday..... we are already making batch #2!
gohealthywithbea
Oh wow, thank you, thank you, thank you!! Reading your comment this morning literally lit up my day. What an incredible way to start a day! Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me this. I’m happy that you enjoyed this recipe. ❤️❤️❤️
Blaze
I made this with canned pumpkin. It took about 8 minutes longer in the oven but turned out beautifully. I can't believe how moist and delicious this recipe is! Thank you for sharing this amazing treat.
Bea C.
Bonjour Blaze. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a nice comment!❤️ I'm glad you like these brownies.
Lee
Hi Bea,
We were just talking on Facebook. So is there a replacement you'd suggest for sweet potato? Or should I just skip this?
gohealthywithbea
Hello again Lee. Although I haven’t tried replacing the sweet potato purée, I think you could probably use pumpkin purée.
Debra
It is my birthday today and I was a bit sad that I couldn't have any treats. Brownies are a B-Day treat in our home and I am excited to make this. It will go great with the pumpkin ice cream I made last night. Thank you so much for the coconut free recipes. Your tigernut flour recipes have given me back a bit of normalcy in my diet.
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Debra! And happy birthday 🥳!! I wish you all the best. It’s funny because I published this recipe on my own birthday weekend at the beginning of September. 😃 Thank you so much for your kind words. This is exactly what motivates me! I know too well that if we don’t have some kind of normalcy in our special diet we will fall off the wagon. So the whole purpose of this blog is to help you guys with this and I’m so happy to hear that somehow I’m achieving my goal. ❤️❤️
Karen
I just discovered your website and can't thank you enough for these!!! They are amazing and I feel zero guilt indulging in these. I REALLY appreciate the coconut free recipes as I don't tolerate it well and it's extremely hard to find coconut free AIP recipes. Will be making these in batches and freezing to always have on hand! Thank you so much!!!
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Karen. Well I can't thank you enough for your comment which literally lit up my day!!! 🥰 Well, I do know that it's hard to find coconut free AIP recipes, that's why I've made it easier for you guys by creating a coconut free AIP category for my recipes. So do not hesitate to browse the category, hopefully, you will find something interesting for you besides these fudgy brownies. 😉 And do not hesitate to ask for a recipe because I'm struggling with finding new ideas.
Brittany
Hello! I am very excited to make these! Do you have to cook the sweet potatoes before you purée them for the recipe? Thank you!
Stacey
Girl, I just bought you a tea, because you deserve it. I have been in a pit of despair about lack of aip sweets that are coconut free!!
Im so happy! Banana bread is baking, although I subbed the syrup for some apple sauce and date syrup and added a tbsp of collagen.
Thank you soooooo much!!!
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Stacey. Thank you so much for your tea and your very nice comment! ❤️ ❤️ Hope your substitutions worked fine. I have many other coconut free AIP desserts recipe. You can easily browse the coconut free AIP category to find them. xx from Paris with love.
Marnie
Hi Bea, this looks like a yummy recipe! I’m fine with sweet potatoes, but my friend who is also on AIP can’t eat them. Do you think butternut squash purée would work instead of sweet potato purée?
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Marnie. Well, I haven't tried this recipe with butternut squash purée but I think it might work. Though I would make sure to use coconut oil with butternut squash purée and maybe store in the fridge for 1 or 2 hours so it can solidify a bit. Let me know if you try that!
Leanne
Hey Bea! I made these and they were great. I used coconut oil but think I’ll try olive oil next time to see if they stay more brownie like than fudge when refrigerated. What oil do you prefer? I also added vanilla and a pinch of salt!
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Leanne! Thank you. So nice to hear that you liked my recipe. My personal favorite for this particular recipe is coconut oil. But I also use olive oil a lot in my baking recipes. You’re right, the texture will be a little different (less fudgy when refrigerated) with olive oil compared to coconut oil. Adding vanilla and a pinch of salt is a great idea. Thanks!
Shanna
Not sure if I did something wrong, but my brownies did not turn out like this picture. I followed your recipe and they are still mushie. I can’t cut them to get them out instead I have to spoon them out. Any idea what I might have done wrong? Really disappointed. My daughter who is on the AIP diet was really looking forward to them.
Bea C.
Bonjour Shanna. I'm so sorry to hear that this recipe didn't work out for you. Without having been there, it's really hard to know where you went wrong that you didn't enjoy the same success as many others who have made and enjoyed this recipe. I wish I could help you out.
harpogirl
Which type of sweet potatoes should I use in your recipe? The orange or the pale (white) kind? Looking forward to trying these!!
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour harpogirl. Thank you for stopping by. Sorry I didn’t think about saying this because in France we hardly have any white sweet potatoes. I still haven’t been able to find any yet. So when we say sweet potato there is only one kind. So yes the orange kind. Thank you for asking, I will update this in the recipe. Have a good day!
princi
Hi there! First time trying one of your recipes 🙂 I was really excited to try these brownies, but mine turned out really weird! I used canned pumpkin instead of making the sweet potato thing, but don't think that's it. I've never used tigernut flour before, but does it give things the consistency of sand? And I would never be able to cut out a brownie like in the picture you posted - I will only be able to eat them from the pan with a spoon (even after being refrigerated), but I don't think I can eat them 🙁 What do you think may have gone wrong?
gohealthywithbea
Bonjour Princi. I’m sorry to hear it has gone wrong for you. First of all, yes, tigernut flour has kind of a sandy texture. The grittiness varies from one brand to another and can be made better by sifting the flour. Then, it’s really hard to know from a distance what could have gone wrong with the recipe. I’ve never cooked with canned pumpkin purée (I only use fresh homemade purée) because it doesn’t exist in France. Anyway it seems that the problem for you was that your batter was too moist.