Healthy Vegan Avocado Brownies Recipe
A vegan avocado brownies recipe made with just 10 simple ingredients and without eggs, dairy or oil.
Avocado brownies make a healthy alternative to traditional brownies while still being decadent and delicious.
About the Recipe
These fudgy brownies make a yummy way to include nutritious avocado in your diet. They’re so delicious, no one will guess the secret ingredient or that they’re vegan, oil-free and gluten-free!
The creamy avocado and almond butter add healthy fats while helping achieve the texture of traditional brownies without the need for oil or butter.
Enjoy these decadent brownies any time of day for all the chocolate flavor you love without loads of butter, oil or white sugar.
For more vegan brownies, check out these healthy vegan zucchini brownies, vegan black bean brownies and vegan sweet potato brownies.
What You’ll Need
- Avocado: You’ll need 1 ripe avocado or about 2/3 cups mashed.
- Almond Butter: You can substitute any other nut or seed butter for the almond butter. For a nut-free brownie, use sunflower seed butter or tahini.
- Almond Milk: Use unsweetened almond milk or substitute any other plant milk.
- Oat Flour: You can use homemade or store-bought oat flour. If you’re using homemade oat flour just make sure it’s finely blended. This recipe has not been tested with coconut flour or almond flour. If you have extra oat flour, you can use it in these Vegan Oat Flour Brownies, Easy Oatmeal Cookie Bars or Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.
- Sugar: The recipe calls for brown sugar. You may substitute coconut sugar for a refined sugar-free recipe.
- Maple Syrup: Any pure maple syrup works or you can substitute agave syrup.
- Cocoa Powder: Use natural unsweetened cocoa powder (regular, most common kind).
- Chocolate Chips: Any dairy-free mini or regular semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks such as Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips. You can also use chopped dark chocolate.
This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.
Additions
- Add up to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts for chocolate walnut brownies. Pecans also work well.
- If you’d like to frost brownies, let them cool completely then top with the ganache from this Raw Hemp Seed Brownies or Cashew Cookie Dough Bars.
- Other add-ins that work are: chopped pistachios, hazelnuts, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, chopped dates or white chocolate chips. Add up to 1/2 cup total.
Step-by-Step Instructions
If you don’t have oat flour on hand, you can make some by blending rolled oats, large flake oats or quick oats into a fine flour consistency.
Step 1: Prepare for Baking
When you’re ready to start, gather your ingredients, preheat the oven to 350˚F (177˚C) and coat an 8×8 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
If you use parchment paper, the brownies will be easier to remove.
Step 2: Mix Wet Ingredients & Sugar
Add the avocado, almond butter, almond milk, maple syrup and vanilla to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender and mix until smooth and fully combined.
Using a food processor or blender is suggested to make sure the avocado is completely smooth and blended in though.
Step 3: Add Dry Ingredients
Add the oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and blend again until fully combined.
You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is mixed in.
Add the chocolate chips and fold them in with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Save a few extra for topping if you like!
Step 4: Bake the Brownies
Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared pan, smooth into an even layer and sprinkle a few more chocolate chips over top.
Bake them for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the centre. Let them cool in the pan for at least 1 hour so they can firm up, preferably until completely cool.
The longer they sit and cool, the firmer and fudgier they get. I would recommend chilling them in the fridge for a couple hours before slicing.
Recipe FAQs
That’s ok. You can make this recipe without a food processor or blender. To do this, add the avocado to a mixing bowl and mash into a paste using a fork or immersion blender.
Once the avocado is mashed, add the sugar and remaining wet ingredients, mix, then proceed with the remaining steps in the recipe.
Not all all. The taste of avocado is hidden by the cocoa powder, sugar and other ingredients. The brownies taste sweet and chocolatey with hints of caramel.
The recipe is gluten-free as written as long as you use gluten-free certified oats to make your own oat flour.
Make sure the brownies are completely cool before storing. You can store them in the pan, covered with plastic wrap, or transfer them to an airtight container. They can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. Avocado brownies can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Expert Tips
- Don’t skip cooling. If you slice the brownies before they’ve cooled, they’ll be a gooey mess. They’ll still taste good but they won’t be firm. I suggest cooling in the fridge for a firm, fudgy texture!
- Measure accurately. It’s important the ingredients are measured accurately for recipe success. The best way to do this is to use a kitchen scale to follow the listed amounts.
- Add ins. Feel free to mix in up to 1/2 cup walnuts, pecans or chopped almond.
More Delicious Recipes
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Vegan Avocado Brownies
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 16
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Fudgy avocado brownies that are vegan, gluten-free and made without oil but still have all the classic brownie flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 ripe avocado (about ⅔ cup mashed, 120 g)
- ⅓ cup almond butter (90 g)
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk (59 mL)
- ½ cup oat flour (55 g)
- ½ cup brown sugar (90 g)
- ¼ cup maple syrup (60 mL)
- ½ cup cocoa powder (35 g)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips + more for sprinkling on top (80 g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (177˚C) and coat an 8×8 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: Add the avocado, almond butter, almond milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to a food processor or high-speed blender and mix until well combined. If you’re not using a food processor, mash the avocado well with a fork then add the rest of the ingredients to the mashed avocado.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Add the oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix again until smooth.
- Add Chocolate Chips: Stir in the chocolate chips using a spatula or spoon.
- Transfer to Pan: Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared 8×8-inch pan. Add a few extra chocolate chips on top if desired.
- Bake: Bake at 350˚F (177˚F) for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool & Slice: Let cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving. I recommend putting them in the fridge for at least 1 hour to help them firm up. The longer you let them cool, the better the brownies will stay together. Once cooled, slice into 16 squares and enjoy!
Notes
It’s important to measure the ingredients accurately for success. I recommend using a kitchen scale and following the listed measurements.
Substitutions: A different nut or seed butter, such as peanut butter or tahini, may be used instead of almond butter. Any plant-based milk could replace the almond milk. Coconut sugar or even granulated sugar could be used in place of the brown sugar.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 136
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 158 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 3 g
Deryn, these are the best! The mixture was so thick I had to press it into the tin with my fingers then, oh my goodness, had to clean my fingers with my mouth! Tempted to eat the mixture raw😆
Excellent. I did add some flax but otherwise made them as written. Very good! Thanks!
These came out moist and chocolatey. I used peanut butter in place of almond butter and they were tasty. I put a serving in a bowl with a dollop of plant based ice cream and topped it with cut up fresh strawberries to make a delicious dessert. Next time I think I will add pecans to the mix. Thank you for the recipe.
I made these vegan brownies and they are honestly the best brownies I had ever eaten. I told my husband that they were made with avocado and he looked at me side-eyed because I make avocado chocolate pudding and he doesn’t care for it and he’s a chocolate lover. But he loves these brownies and so do I. My only disappointment is that we had to wait an hour to cool but it was well worth the wait!!! 🙂 Like Deryn said, don’t skip this part!
Would I be able to sub whole wheat flour in the same measurement?
I think it should work but I haven’t tested anything other than oat flour so I can’t guarantee the result. Let me know if you try.