Moist, satisfying and finger-licking chocolatey. A healthy brownie recipe without the sugar rush. Hello, Sweet Potato Brownies!
A brownie with no added sugar is a feat in itself. But healthy brownies that also features 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 Sweet Potato Brownies.
Sweet Potato Brownies 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. I have to say, this became somewhat of an obsession.
Round after round of test version Sweet Potato Brownies were consumed in this household. More oatmeal, no oatmeal, less coconut oil, more almond, another egg... Whatever we could not eat was sent home with visitors.
The builders got some, the neighbours got some, and the piano teacher went home with a doggy bag at least four weeks in a row.
Then, one day, these babies emerged from the oven. And they were perfect. Finger-licking perfect!
Sweet Potato Brownies take their sweetness not only from the sweet potatoes, but also from dates. Now, there are a lot of sugar free advocates who demonise dried fruit such as dates because of their high fructose content. Some recommend to completely cut them out of your diet. The question needs to be asked: To date or not to date?
Let's have a look at the facts.
Dates contain about six times more sugar and calories than most fruit. Five small apples have the same amount of sugar as circa four Medjool dates (the softest and tastiest date around).
But here is the big difference: Unlike sugar, dates are also full of fibre, which slows down the sugar absorption to your liver. And this in turn lets you have a much more regulated and calmer insulin response. Dates actually have a low glycemic index (around 43-53).
The fibre has the added benefit of making you feel fuller faster; and last but not least dates are packed with nutrients and minerals, while sugar is void of any nutrition.
- You cannot see them
- You can only taste their moistness, not their potatoey-ness
- Knowing they are making their way into little people's bellies with a soundtrack of "AAHs" and "OOOHs" is just awesome.
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Recipe
Sweet Potato 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
- 2 medium to large sweet potatoes peeled and chopped (400g)
- 200 g Medjool dates ca 10
- 150 g / 1 ½ cup almond flour or ground almonds
- 75 ml coconut oil or substitute with butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 5 tablespoon cocoa
- optional: cacao nibs to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C and line a small (10x7 inch) baking tin with baking paper
- Peel your sweet potatoes, cut them into pieces, toss in a little oil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until they are very tender.
- Throw them in your food processor with the pitted dates and blend until you have a wonderfully gooey mixture.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well-combined
- Pour mixture into the tin a and bake for 25-30 minutes or until you can pierce it with a knife bringing it out almost dry.
- Let it cool a little before cutting!
Notes
Nutrition
Nanna
The best sugar free cake I have ever tasted!!!
used 50 g of coconut flour instead of almond flour, purple sweet potatoes and a little bit of vanilla. Mixed it ll up in a blender. So moist and delicious
it's addictive - thank you for the recipe
Kate
I’ve only just stumbled across your recipes and have just tried these brownies— my sweet tooth initially thought they were lacking but by the end of the mouthful I was tasting the sweetness from the dates! I used coconut flour instead of almond flour which I couldn’t find, and guessed the quantity (3tbsp) which turned out to be plenty, but I think it’ll depend on how large your eggs are. I was wondering if you could use bananas as a sub for some of the dates or if that would make the sugar content too high? All in all, these are great though, so a big thanks from me and I’ll be trying more of your recopes!
Katrin
Hi Kate, I think you could definitely swap out some of the dates for banana, but you might be able to taste it as well - it's such a strong taste. I don't think banana is higher in sugar than dates. Great you made it work with the coconut flour!
Emma
Hello- I want to make these but don’t have a food processor. I have a blender so could whizz up the dates and oil and eggs and sweet potato then mix in the flour - would this work as I don’t want to waste the ingredients...?!
Katrin
I think virtually anything can be made with a regular blender. I didn't have one until I started the blog. From my experience I'd say choose a tall jug that's not too wide so you have minimal splashing and you should be fine. Also, try to source dates that are soft. Medjool tend to be a good choice.
Kristen e Procter
This is the best sweet potato brownie recipe that i've come across so far....and one of the simplest! Thank you for this winner; it will be included in the rotation from now on!
I did make one tweak which was the addition of some nut butter- about 3/4c was added actually quite by accident as I was following another recipe and found yours after I had begun and had already pureed the potatoes and nut butter together. Nonetheless, it turned out absolutely delicious. Thank you <3
@theallenappetite
Honestly amazed by this recipe, the best sweet potato brownie recipe I've tried. Even a fussy 8 year old ADORED them. Added crushed hazelnuts and a splash of vanilla extract which worked nicely. Thanks so much for this!
Kate
Hello Katrin
Thanks for this recipe. I don’t like to use artificial sweeteners. I made it as a round cake and I think that works well. People have quite narrow expectations of brownies, whereas the taste of dates is fine in a chocolate cake.
Katrin
Hi Kate, I'm glad you like the recipe - it's one of the first ones I posted when I started this blog. I like the taste of dates too, but I haven't used them in sweet recipes for a while now as I've been looking at ways to lower the carb count. I've been using natural (not artificial) sweeteners like erythritol and stevia and find that when you mix them and only use a little, you cannot actually taste their individual aftertaste. I've actually been wanting to update this recipe with an option of how to make it without the dates. I'll let you know when I do!
Marwa
May i substitute the almond flour with white wheat flour?
How many grams should i use in this case please?
Thank you..
Katrin
I am sure you can, though I am not sure if it would be exactly the same amount. It's probably a similar amount, so I'd try using a bit less, and see if the dough looks a good consistency, adding more if needed.
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. I've just introduced sweet potato brownies at my son's school canteen and they were a hit, I was however a bit perturbed about the sugar content.
I knew if ii did a butt of investigating I'd found a sugar free alternative, I found yours.
I'll try them out at home this weekend and will certainly be making them for school next week.
I will be using 3 to 5 Tbsp of coconut Flour instead of Almonds as suggested in one of your reviews and will let you know how it goes.
I'll rate the recipe once made but am sure it'll be great.