These healthy pumpkin brownies are not only decadently chocolatey, they are gluten-free, dairy-free and low carb as well. Guilt free pleasure and ready in just 30 minutes!
With the leaves turning red and the chill in the air, I'm all about pumpkin right now. I love this sugar free pumpkin pie and I have just finished my last slice of this delicious keto pumpkin bread.
Do you know what made me smile today? These healthy pumpkin brownies.
This is a recipe I have been making for many years every autumn and it always goes down a treat with everyone.
I served the latest batch to my daughter and her sugar-loving friends and let me tell you, there were no leftovers. Lucky me that I anticipated it and kept 2 slices back for myself 😉
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Simple. This is a really easy recipe that requires only 5 minutes of prep time and is ready in just 30 minutes. Even better, you don't even need a blender. We are stirring the ingredients together with a fork. It's minimal washing up.
Fabulous flavor and texture. Pumpkin in brownies is an absolute dream team. The pumpkin adds moisture and makes the brownies super fudgy. This recipe has the same texture as sweet potato brownies, only without the carb load.
Nutritious. Pumpkin brownies come with serious healthy credentials. Pumpkin is highly nutritious and packed with vitamin A. Also, there is no need for masses of butter in the recipe thanks to the pumpkin. This means that the fat content is low and one square contains just 166 calories. In addition to this, the recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, low carb and keto friendly.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make the recipe:
- Pumpkin puree - I used Libby's
- Almond flour - Super fine almond flour and ground almonds work equally well, I tested both versions
- Eggs - make sure they are room temperature
- Granulated sweetener - I used a golden eryhritol blend (Sukrin).
- Cacao powder or cocoa powder
- Coconut oil - or use butter
- Baking powder
- Pumpkin pie spice mix
- Sugar free chocolate - or dark chocolate, minimum 85% cocoa solids, for the drizzle
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Step 1: Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Option to also add a pinch of sea salt.
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients.
Step 3: Stir until a smooth batter forms.
Step 4: Line a baking dish with parchment paper and add the brownie batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Step 5: Drizzle with sugar free chocolate!
Expert Tips
My essential tips so your healthy brownies with pumpkin turn out perfectly every time.
Use room temperature ingredients. This way, the brownies will rise better. If you use cold ingredients, the oven time will increase as well.
Check the sweetness. Always taste the batter! I don't like my bakes too sweet, feel free to add more sugar substitute to taste.
Don't over-bake. The brownies will be very soft when hot, but they firm up once cool.
Recipe Variations
Below are suggestions how you can change the recipe to suit your dietary needs or simply tweak the taste.
Add-ins: You can fold sugar free chocolate chips or crushed nuts such as pecans, cashews or walnuts into the batter. Option to also add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
No pumpkin spice blend? Sub with cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg and allspice for more flavor.
Cake-like texture: If you prefer your pumpkin brownies a little less fudgy, add an extra 25 grams or ¼ cup of almond flour or 1.5 tablespoons of coconut flour.
Nut free: Use a 50 / 50 blend of sesame seed flour and sunflower seed flour.
Recipe FAQs
Canned pumpkin puree is readily available in the US and during pumpkin season (autumn-winter) in supermarkets such as Waitrose and Tesco. If you can't get it where you are, make your own homemade pumpkin puree.
Of course. However, if you bake these pumpkin brownies in a smaller pan, the oven time will increase. If you use a larger pan and make them flatter, the baking time will decrease. My baking pan measured 15 x 20 centimetres.
I used a granulated erythritol stevia blend. But any 1:1 sugar substitute will work. You can use monk fruit sweetener, allulose, xylitol or even Swerve. For paleo pumpkin brownies, use coconut sugar. Maple syrup is too liquid for this recipe.
No, this recipe needs to be baked. For a microwave version, check out this easy chocolatey Keto Pumpkin Mug Cake.
I have not tested this recipe with oat flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour yet. You would have to experiment with the quantities.
Storage
These brownies are best stored in the fridge. If you store them in an airtight container they will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
It is also possible to freeze them for up to 3 months. I pre-slice them and freeze the squares on a baking sheet. Then, I transfer them into a freezer bag. This way, the brownies do not stick together.
Thaw them overnight in the fridge or on the kitchen counter.
More Healthy Brownie Recipes
I love baking healthy brownies! Here are a few of my favourite recipes:
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
★ STAY IN TOUCH on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM for more great food and join my NEWSLETTER for the latest updates.★
Recipe
Healthy Pumpkin Brownies
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 cup pumpkin puree 250g, room temperature
- 1 cup almond flour 100g
- 2 eggs larger, room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sweetener 65g, or more to taste
- ½ cup cacao powder, unsweetened 45g
- ¼ cup coconut oil or melted butter 55g
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice optional
Chocolate Drizzle (optional)
- 2 tablespoon sugar free chocolate chips or 2 squares of dark chocolate
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil or butter
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180 Celsius/350 Fahrenheit (electric) or 160C / 320F (fan).
- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Add all wet ingredients. You can mix with a blender or even with a fork.
- Check the sweetness and add more sweetener if required.
- Line a baking tin with parchment paper (mine was 15x20 cm) and fill with the mixture.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. The brownies will be very soft in the beginning, but they firm up once cool.
- If desired, melt the sugar free or dark chocolate plus 1 teaspoon of butter/coconut oil and drizzle over the fully cooled brownies.
Juanita Quintana
Hi!! I will love to try these brownies!! Just one question is there anything I can replace the eggs with? My partner is allergic to them! Maybe Gelatin? Thank you!!
Katrin
Hi Juanita, yes, gelatin could work! Let me know how you get on
Janet Huyton
Hi - made these at the weekend for my darling diabetic husband. He ABSOLUTELY LOVED them. Thanks so much for taking the time to post recipes - people like you are a Godsend to me as he is diet controlled and it is SOOOOO hard. (he's worth it!!)
I used rapeseed oil instead of melted butter by the way. They are disappearing from the box very quickly indeed. 🙂
Katrin
Wonderful!! And good to know that the rapeseed oil works in place of the butter 🙂
Janet Huyton
🙂 🙂
Bonnie A. Caldwell
I used granular stevia and it worked fine. I wish I could have found your sweetener, but it is not available here in kuwait. Pumpkin was also hard to find. (canned). I used whole wheat pastry flour (1/2 cup) and coconut flour (1/8 cup) and the texture was fine. I used a bit less stevia and I would use the full amount next time. I also will cut back on the cocoa like you suggested next time. I love dark chocolate, but it was a bit too!
I'm serving them to guests tonight so we will see!
Thanks for the recipe!
Katrin
You are welcome! Thank you for detailing your tweaks
Steve
These pumpkin brownies are delicious. My second batch this week is in the oven now. Thanks for making so many, so delicious sugarfree recipes available.
Bryan
i always love coming across great pumpkin and chocolate recipes! you get the best of both worlds. great recipe!
Brenda
These brownies are amazing! We all loved them - so fudgy!!
Katrin
Great news! I'm glad you liked them 🙂
Jenna B
Just made a batch of these and just had to write. They are so good! Thank you for this recipe and all the great work you do.
Katrin
Thank you Jenna! Hearing feedback means the world to me. I'm so happy you're enjoying my blog and the recipes
Dawn
This looks amazing. I was wondering if they
freeze well?
Katrin
They do! I freeze nearly all of my sweets because it's SO TEMPTING to have it all lying around 🙂
Debs
Have you taken the sweet potato brownie recipe away? I can’t find it and was all set to make some today ☹️ Please can you send it to me or can I have a link to it please please please? My two year old loves them and I don’t have the ingredients for the new recipe.
Chris
I just made these, they tasted nice, but they were not "fudgy" it was more cake like, which was disappointing, I followed the recipe to the letter so not sure what went wrong.
Katrin
Hello Chris, I am sorry to hear your brownies did not turn out like you wanted (and happy for you they still tasted nice). It's always good to either use kitchen scales or the US measuring cups when baking to get the ratios right - I measure my recipes multiple times both ways to make life easy for my readers both sides of the Atlantic.
Marilyn
I had the same problem. I will try again and reduce the baking time. I am in Denver so it's drier here. I also need to research any tweaks for high altitude baking.
Katrin
Hi Marilyn, I've heard the high altitude can have an impact on baked goods. You could also slightly decrease the oven temperature and/or bake on the lowest shelf.