Avocado Brownies (Vegan + Gluten-Free) - Rhian's Recipes (2024)

3.28 from 51 votes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: avocado brownies, gluten-free brownies, vegan brownies

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Author: Rhian Williams

For the brownies:

• ▢ 350 g (2 cups) pitted dates soaked overnight in cold water or for 10 minutes in boiling water
• ▢ 2 small ripe avocados , peeled, pitted and diced
• ▢ 60 g (¼ cup) smooth almond butter (or sub any other nut or seed butter)
• ▢ 120 ml (½ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or sub any other plant-based milk)
• ▢ 360 g (3 cups) ground almonds (almond meal)
• ▢ 75 g (¾ cup) cocoa powder
• ▢ Pinch salt to taste
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)

For the frosting (optional):

• ▢ 50 g (1.8 oz) dark chocolate * (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or sub any other plant-based milk)

For the brownies:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

• Drain the dates and place in a food processor or blender with the avocados, almond butter and almond milk.

• Blend until completely smooth, mixing it around a couple of times if necessary.

• Transfer into a large mixing bowl along with the ground almonds, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.

• Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.

• Transfer the mixture into a square or rectangular baking tin lined with greased baking paper –I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin.

• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. They should be slightly cracked at the top and slightly firm inside but still quite gooey – be careful not to overcook!

For the frosting (optional):

• Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl with the almond milk.

• Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and stir regularly until melted – make sure not to overheat it as the chocolate will ‘split’ if you heat it too much.

• If the chocolate does split, you can easily fix this by adding boiling hot water to it 1 teaspoon at a time and stirring well until the mixture goes back to normal.

• Carefully pour the frosting over the brownies.

• Use a spatula, knife or spoon to evenly spread the chocolate across the surface.

• Leave to cool completely (and ensure the frosting has firmed up) before cutting into squares.

• Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

*For a refined sugar free version, use a refined sugar free chocolate.

• You can use any type of nut or seed butter - almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, tahini etc.
• You can replace the ground almonds with ground hazelnuts, ground walnuts or ground sunflower seeds.
• You can make them nut-free by using ground sunflower seeds instead of ground almonds, sunflower seed butter or tahini instead of almond butter and nut-free plant-based milk.
• You can add chocolate chips!

Tips for baking with avocados

• Make sure your avocados are soft and ripe - the softer the texture of your avocados, the better the texture of the brownies.
• Make sure to blend up the avocados until they're completely smooth - nobody wants chunks of avocado in their brownies!
• Be careful when peeling and pitting the avocados - don't remove the stone with a knife, it's dangerous!

Nutrition Facts

Avocado Brownies (Vegan + Gluten-Free)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 264Calories from Fat 162

% Daily Value*

Fat 18g28%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Sodium 14mg1%

Potassium 415mg12%

Carbohydrates 27g9%

Fiber 8g32%

Sugar 15g17%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 37IU1%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 108mg11%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.