My fudgy sweet potato brownies are secretly healthy and they taste just as decadent as proper brownies! This easy recipe contains no added sugar and is flourless, gluten free, grain free, paleo and dairy free.
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A brownie with no added sugar is a feat in itself. But healthy brownies that also feature a vegetable? A superfood vegetable that's a major source of vitamin C? Friends, I know. This is almost too good to be true. But here they are: Gooey, moist, chocolatey, superbly satisfying sugar-free sweet potato brownies.
Brownies with sweet potato have been making the rounds in the healthy eating space for a while, and I have tried a few of the recipes floating around. Then I started tweaking the ingredients.
Round after round of test version Sweet Potato Brownies were consumed in this household. Less coconut oil, more almond, another egg... Whatever we could not eat was sent home with visitors.
One day, these fine specimen emerged from the oven. And they were perfect. Wholesome, chocolatey, rich and so, so fudgy.
Below is an image of the original brownies I published in January 2016. I decided to revisit the post today (it is August 2024) and added more photos and infos to bring it up-to date. The recipe has not changed.
Also try my healthy pumpkin brownies and these cottage cheese brownies.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
- Sweet Potato - The sweet potato adds natural sweetness and bulk to the brownies. It makes them taste wonderfully moist and fudgy. My preferred method is to roast them.
- Dates - I used Medjool dates, which are the largest and softest dates with a rich caramel note. Together with the sweet potato, they deliver the perfect amount of sweetness. No need for table sugar!
- Almond Flour - I use ground almonds, which is the same as regular almond flour in the US. Almond flour is naturally gluten-free.
- Cocoa Powder - To put the chocolate flavor into our brownies. Any type works just fine - raw cacao powder, Dutch process or regular unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Eggs - Act as a binder and makes the brownies fluffier. Room temperature eggs are best.
- Coconut Oil - To add dairy-free richness. You can replace this with butter.
- Baking Powder - Brownies are not supposed to rise as much as cakes. We use just a little baking powder as a leavening agent.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
Let me show you how I make sugar free sweet potato brownies. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for more details including ingredient amounts, timings and nutrition information.
STEP 1
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes. Lightly brush them with oil.
STEP 2
Roast them in the preheated oven until they are soft. Let them cool for a few minutes.
STEP 3
Put the pitted dates and the roasted sweet potato into a food processor.
STEP 4
Blend until smooth!
STEP 5
Now, add all other ingredients. Blend again until a smooth batter forms.
STEP 6
Scoop the brownie batter into a baking pan that you have lined with parchment paper.
STEP 7
Bake in the oven until the top is browned, but the inside is still soft and fudgy.
Katrin's Top Tips
#1 Oven-roasting makes sweet potatoes taste more flavorful. They become golden on the edges and caramelize. But, if your preferred method is to cook sweet potatoes on the stovetop, feel free to do so.
#2 Don't over-bake! Take the brownies out of the oven when the inside is still a little soft. This way, they have that perfect fudginess on the inside, with a crisp top.
#3 Let them cool fully. The brownies are very soft straight out of the oven. They firm up as they cool. For razor-sharp edges, I recommend that you chill them in the fridge for 1 hour before cutting.
Variations
Flavor tweaks: Add ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract or a pinch of sea salt. Sometimes I also add a teaspoon of cinnamon or cardamom.
Add-ins: Sugar free chocolate chips or cocoa nibs deepen the chocolate experience. You could also stir a ¼ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter. Or, add a handful of raspberries!
Sweet potato cheesecake brownies: Make the cheesecake swirl from my keto cheesecake brownies.
Substitutions
No almond flour: For a nut free brownie, swap the almond flour with ½ cup of coconut flour.
No dates: To lower the net carbs in this recipe, omit the dates and use ⅓ cup of granulated sweetener instead. This lowers the net carbs to 7.4g per brownie. Suitable sugar substitutes for this recipe are erythritol, monk fruit or allulose.
Vegan sweet potato brownies: You can try to replace the eggs with flax eggs. However, I have not yet tried this myself.
Recipe FAQs
No, you cannot taste the sweet potato in the brownies. They taste chocolatey and sweet.
My sweet potato brownies contain more natural sugar and carbs than most other recipes on my website. However, they are still MUCH lower in carbs than regular brownies made with wheat flour and sugar. As a diabetic, you may want to consider swapping the dates with a sugar substitute as mentioned in the substitutions section. That said, dates have a low glycemic index and a smaller portion of this recipe may fit into your diet plan. Here is an article about dates and diabetes.
Absolutely. When I first created the recipe in 2016, my children were 9 and 11 years old and very picky about their food. They loved these brownies.
Cut the recipe into 12 large brownies or into 24 cute brownie squares. Normally, I just eat them as they are, but sometimes I warm them gently in the microwave and eat with a scoop of sugar free vanilla ice cream.
Storage
Sweet potato brownies stay fresh in an airtight container on the kitchen counter for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze them for up to 3 months! I pre-slice them into squares first. This way, I can take out one brownie at a time when I have that chocolate craving.
More Sugar Free Brownie Recipes
- Sugar Free Brownies (Keto)30 Minutes
- Keto Coconut Flour Brownies40 Minutes
- Keto Peanut Butter Brownies35 Minutes
- Keto Avocado Brownies Recipe55 Minutes
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Recipe
Sweet Potato Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 medium to large sweet potatoes peeled and chopped (400g / 14oz)
- 10 Medjool dates pitted (200g / 7oz)
- 1.5 cup almond flour 150g
- ⅓ cup coconut oil 75g, melted and cooled.
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 5 tablespoon cocoa powder 27g, unsweetened
- optional: cacao nibs to decorate
Instructions
Prepare Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.
- Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into pieces, toss in a little oil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until they are very tender. Let them cool.
Brownies
- Blend the sweet potato and the pitted dates in a food processor until smooth.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well-combined.
- Pour the brownie batter into a small (10x7 inch) baking tin lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top has set and the inside is still gooey and moist.
- Let the brownies cool before cutting to allow them to firm up.
Barbara
Everyone loved these! When fresh baked they tasted like dry healthy muffins. I stored them in a glass container and the next morning they were moist and delicious!
I didn't have medjoo dates so I soaked my dried dates in hot water while roasting the sweet potatoes and used those instead. I reserved the date water and ended up adding some to the batter. Also, I substituted 1 1/2 tablespoons of black cocoa powder for the 1 1/2 tablespoons of the regular cocoa (both unsweetened) to punch up the chocolate flavor.
I will be making these again, and we are making your buttermilk pancakes this weekend!
Barbara
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Mary
Just made these wee sweet potato brownies and they are the best! Really impressed !!
Kirsty
Hi Katrin
Thanks for your awesome recipe.
Claudia Klaassen
Really easy and really yummy. I boiled the sweet potatoes instead of oven roasting them and the brownie was lovely and moist. A friend made them with butter instead but I prefer the taste of the coconut oil.
Judy
I made these today and they are amazing ! I will definitely be making them again . My children love them and they would never eat a sweet potato . I gave up sugar in the new year and it's nice to find a cake I can eat. I'll be experimenting with dates - I hadn't realised they were low GI
Judy
personally I prefer weights . It's easy to weigh ingredients but how are you supposed to measure butter in ml? As for cups, I've never understood them. I have espresso cups and a giant sports direct mug, and just about every size in between. How am I supposed to know what kind of cup to use ?
Katrin
Hello Judy, in the US they weigh ingredients in cups, which are standardised. A lot of my readers are based in the US, that's why I have chosen to add cups. You can buy them on Amazon. 1 US cup fits 237 ml of liquid. As for the butter, just use grams instead. Hope you'll enjoy the brownies!
Ann Wright
This recipe is one I'm going to try with t he exact ingredients listed. But, for my grandsons who are allergic to nuts of any kind I'd also like to try the recipe again--this time without the almonds. I'll need to think of a substitute, but if you or anyone else has some ideas, would love to hear them. Thanks for sharing this very healthful recipe!!!! I'm on board!
Katrin
Hello Ann,
you could try to make it with coconut flour instead, though you'd have to adjust the quantity as coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid. I would start with 1/3 of the amount and see if the batter has a good consistency. Because of the chocolate in the recipe you will not taste the coconut at all.
Let me know what you decided on and how it worked out! Thanks for stopping by.
Ann Wright
Many thanks for replying, Katrin. Will give your suggestion a whirl as soon as I can find some coconut flour on my next shopping day in this tiny town of mine. Must confess I've never even heard of coconut flour--goes to show just how little baking I do. But, for sure I'll be trying your original recipe before the week is out. So glad I found your site. Cheers. Ann
Katrin
Ann, you can always order it on amazon - just in case it is difficult to find in the shops where you are. Coconut flour is great, and even though it might look expensive, one pack lasts forever because you need to use so little of it. Just make sure you start with 1/3 of the amount of almonds, wait a couple of minutes to let it absorb the liquids and then work your way towards a nice doughy consistency. I'll be very interested in finding out how it went!
Ann Wright
The sweet potatoes are roasting now; will complete the recipe, bake and cool following which I will give you a full report. Just know they are going to be delicious. The fact that there is no ADDED sugar and all the ingredients are nutritious is what is so utterly appealing.
Ann Wright
OMG, Katrin, the results are phenomenal -- Yours is a gem of a recipe. I will be making these sw.pot. brownies many times more. Probably could eat the entire batch (am seriously addicted to sugar). Funnily enough, though,two, two-inch squares of these brownies more than satisfied me AND as undeniably delicious as they are, I am NOT finding myself drawn to eat more. I will, tomorrow--well, of course!!..
I cannot say the same for recipes using cane sugar or worse sugar made from corn. This is a breakthrough for me. The natural occurring Medjool date sugar doesn't affect one's insulin levels (particularly when partnered with the almonds and the eggs).
Anyway, I'm thrilled. Thanks again. I look forward to exploring your site further looking for recipes with great ingredients and no ersatz "sugars" which I stay clear of.
Cheers. Do, please, keep up the good work which is a real service.
Antonia
So delicious and easy to make. My children love them
Carolin
Wonderful ! Very tasty and easy to prepare!
Maki
I made them!! They are very yummy alternative to the real sugary thing. I didnt put in as many dates as was in the list of ingredients. You should. Always follow the recipe....
Debra
Can't believe how delicious these sweet potato brownies are!