When I want a brownie, I want thick, rich, fudgy, dense, and decadent.
I don’t want healthy. Unless it’s accidentally healthy, and I’d never know it from the taste.
And that’s exactly what these are. They don’t taste healthy, and they don’t taste like avocado.
You truly cannot tell there’s avocado in them and you cannot taste it.
And in person, they don’t come off as blue as they’re translating on the screen. They’re just incredibly dark.
I think avocado is quite flavor-neutral and takes on the flavors of what it’s seasoned or mixed with.
In the brownies, it serves to add moisture, density, and richness, without imparting flavor.
They’re healthier than most brownies because they’re nearly butter-free. I replaced all but 1/4 cup butter with avocado.
Two tablespoons of butter has 200 calories, 23 grams of total fat, with 15 grams of saturated fat.
Compared to 2 tablespoons of avocado which has 50 calories, 4.5 grams of total fat, and only .5 gram of saturated fat.
Talk about a fat and calorie savings, which translates into having 2 or 3 of these brownies compared to 1 traditional.
If you’re a stats person, I entered the significant ingredients here using the closest comparable ingredients the site lists as options.
The brownies are gluten-free. I replaced all but 1/4 cup flour with dark cocoa powder, which is full of iron and fiber and ounce for ounce, has less than half the calories of flour. You can use regular unsweetened natural cocoa powder, but I like using the Hershey’s Special Dark for the ultra-dark color and taste.
For the small amount of flour, to keep them gluten-free use your favorite gluten-free blend, or regular all-purpose if gluten isn’t a concern.
There’s a splash of coffee and some espresso granules included; both are optional and don’t make the brownies taste like coffee, but enhance the chocolate intensity.
Making brownies healthier so that I can have seconds – and thirds – is only a good idea if the taste is amazing. I’d rather have nothing than have something that tastes like health food masquerading as a dessert.
And these deliver. If you want to be a sneaky chef and trick people, or trick yourself, you definitely can with this recipe. Just make sure to mash the avocado very, very well so no stray little green blobs give you away.
The batter comes together in one bowl with a whisk, no mixer needed. They’re as easy as boxed brownies, but taste so much more amazing.
They’ll likely be some of the fudgiest, gooeyest, moistest brownies you’ve ever had. No cakeiness whatsoever. All fudge.
Even transferring the batter from the mixing bowl to the baking pan, is a dense, fudgy, spatula-clinging experience.
They’re sweet enough, but not too sweet. They’re the type of brownie you’ll need to wash down with a glass of milk. Or with a Creamy Boozy Iced Coffee or some Homemade Baileys Irish Cream.
I served them to my family without saying a word about the ingredients to see if they noticed anything usual. Nope.
When I say you cannot taste the avocado and it only serves to make the brownies moister, denser, and fudgier, I mean it.
It makes me wonder why I haven’t always been making brownies this way.
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Healthy Dark Fudgy Avocado Brownies
Ingredients
- flesh from 1 average-sized ripe to very ripe Hass avocado, very well mashed
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, half of one stick, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons coffee or water, coffee leftover from the morning brew is fine
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder or unsweetened natural cocoa powder or (I used Hershey’s Special Dark
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso granules, make sure it’s instant so it dissolves, optional but recommended
- ¼ cup gluten-free flour or all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil leaving overhang, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the avocado and mash very well with a fork. Really break it up and the riper the avocado is, the easier it’ll be to smooth it out.
- Add the melted butter, egg, sugars, coffee, vanilla, and whisk to combine. Continue to whisk out any green streaks or lumps.
- Add the cocoa powder, instant espresso, and whisk until incorporated and free from lumps; it could take a few minutes if your cocoa powder is lumpy.
- Add the flour and stir until it’s just incorporated; don’t overmix.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until top has just set, isn’t jiggly in the center, and the edges have firmed up and are set. A toothpick inserted in the center will not come out clean and there will be very moist and fudgy crumbs clinging to it, but no wet batter. They’re meant to be gooey and fudgy; don’t overbake. Allow brownies to cool completely in pan on top of wire rack.
- After brownies have cooled for at least 1 hour, lift out with foil overhang and slice. Brownie crumbs will cling heavily to your knife; wipe it with a paper towel in between slices. However, I prefer the brownies chilled and refrigerate them for at least 2 hours, or overnight, before slicing. Brownies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or for up to 6 months in the freezer. I highly recommend storing them in the refrigerator because having a slight chill to brownies this rich and fudgy is almost imperative, and it will make slicing easier.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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What’s your favorite way to use avocado? Favorite brownie recipe?
I also have lots of avocado recipes, including savory options, linked in this post.
Brownies with avocado sounds good to me. I can’t wait to try these.
Wow. Avocado + Chocolate = Love. “Accidentally healthy” is my absolute favourite kind of healthy! ;)
Mine too!
Well guess what I’m making this afternoon…
Ok please LMK how they go!!
These look so unique…and sound so delicious. My hubby would love them!
I can’t believe how dark they are — they really do look blue :) But sooooo delicious.
They’re just so dark – my camera can’t tell the difference :)
I love that these are decadent AND healthy!
a reflection from foil or a blue color cast maybe pre or post production?
I LOVE baking with avocados! They keep things so moist, much more so than bitter or oil in my opinion, and you can’t ever taste them. Which is actually kind of a shame. :D
Although, an avocado-flavored brownie would be weird.
is it just me… or are these blue? ;) other than that, they look amazing
Wow, these look amazing! I have yet to try avocados in baked goods buy I think you just convinced me…
Thanks, Tammela!
I’ve done this before and loved the results! The recipe I had used two avocados and a little more avo flavor (like people would notice when you told them :) and this version looks amazing. They sure are dark, but I bet they are majorly fudgy. Avocados are the best!
They’re supremely fudgy! And that’s awesome you’ve baked brownies with them too – and used 2 avos! You go girl!
I love using avocados in recipes! But I’ve never baked brownies with them! I am so intrigued. These look beyond fudgy Averie! I love dark chocolate goodies. And knowing that they are slightly better for me than regular brownies puts them over the top. I’ve been dying to taste your vanilla avocado banana ice cream too. Right up my alley!
Tomorrow night, Kevin and I are going out for margaritas and guacamole with some friends. I can’t wait!!! Love avocados!
Have fun on your night out with margs & guac! I wish I was going :) And these brownies are probably the fudgiest brownies I’ve ever had – even fudgier than the recipe we’ve both made, and that recipe is fudgy for sure. The fudgier, the better!
Fudgy, soft and chewy deliciousness! These are begging to be in my belly!
They look super blue in pictures :O How come?
But other than the colour, they really look like they’re really fudgy and amazing. I think avocado adds a nice depth to a lot of baked goods :D
I’m gonna give this a try!
Great idea Averie. I agree with you that a dessert has to taste like a dessert. It’s like when they first came out with those fat free cookies back in the 90’s, people were eating them up because they were “fat free” but they tasted like cardboard. These brownies looks super rich, fudgey (which you know is my favorite type of brownies) and chocolately. I can’t believe they’re made with an avocado ;) You’re always impressing me with your recipe inventions girl! xoxo, Jackie
I remember the FF craze of the 90s. Snackwells. But they were still full of sugar – so you’d need to eat just as many, if not more, to feel even remotely satisfied and end up being worse off, from a stats perspective. And your Roberts brownies are always on my one-day to make list :)
The texture on these brownies look amazing! I love making treats like this w/o letting the kids (or Justin) know what’s in them!
sometimes it’s okay to be the sneaky chef :)