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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Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse (GF) – Made with avocado and so rich, decadent, and fudgy
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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.
What appeals to me most about these is just how dark they are – I love that they’re so dark they look almost blue on the screen!
And they are SO dark in person. Almost impossible to photograph without looking like a big puddle of darkness but they taste sinfully good :) And thanks for stopping by and saying hi!!!
These look dark and delectable, what a fun idea x
Ooo dark and fudgy brownies are my favorite kind, the richer the better and what a great bonus to be getting some avocado in there too!
I agree accidentally healthy is the best snack there is! I can’t wait to make your gluten-free version Averie!
Please LMK how they come out for you!
I love it! What a great brownie! Simply beautiful! I am loving cooking and baking with avocado! Such a versatile fruit!!
I know you have an avo/blueberry/zucchini bread that I’ve always wanted to make. I made another sneaky chef recipe with avo that I’m posting next week. I wish I could post more but I dunno if everyone is as into them as we are :)
What a unique way to use avocado! I’ve used them for mousse or smoothies but never actually IN a baked good like this. I can only imagine how amazing this is!
Thanks Jen – they are the fudgiest brownies ever! We loved them!
These look so scrumptious – hard to believe they are healthy! I adore the the deep, dark color, you can definitely tell how wonderfully moist and fudgy they are!
Thanks, Tracy!
I’ve been wanting to make brownies with avocado for months now, and this was just the push I needed! Pinning and making soon!
LMK if you try them! And thanks for pinning!
Your peanut butter cheesecake brownies were the first thing I saw this morning when I open my yahoo home page. I knew they were yours before reading the article. Everyone at work was like did you see those cheesecake brownies…
These are the darkest brownies I’ve ever seen, and they certainly look the fudgiest! You might have convinced me to try the avocado idea ;).
So dark, Laura! For better or worse for the photography, they were the darkest brownies I’ve ever had – but they were so good!
I’ve always been a bit suspicious about how avocado brownies would turn out (texture- and taste-wise) but yours look so wonderful that I might be convinced to try them!
Thanks, Nora!
Yum! I’ve been wanting to experiment in the kitchen with avocado brownies. Yours looks delicious!
Thanks, Kirbie! All your treats always look so good!
avocado and chocolate are such an awesome combination. Love the nutritional info. Looking forward to feeding these to my kids:)
Yay! LMK how it goes!
I just made the brownies, they came out perfect!!!, they a re very soft and they have a strong color and taste. I din’t know the trick of using avocato instead of butter, but now that i know Im goin to try it’in more recipes!!!
Glad to hear that you already made these and with success! Thanks for trying them and LMK! And next week I have another avocado recipe that replaces butter…stay tuned :)
I love when things are accidentally healthy!!
I love how fudgy these look. now you have me craving brownies!!
Thanks, Cassie :) Hope things with your new job and settling into a routine are going well for you. Been thinking about you! :)