These paleo sweet potato brownies are irresistibly fudgy and moist. They're made with cooked sweet potato and completely nut free and flourless. No one will ever guess that these healthy paleo brownies contain sweet potato!
Way back when I made my savory sweet potato bread, I mentioned including more sweet potatoes in my baking. Well, here's the proof!
What can I say? I absolutely love sweet potatoes. And guess what? They are an excellent paleo baking ingredient.
Sweet potatoes are a natural way to sweeten any baked good or dish. Plus, they add moisture and enhance the texture of desserts, breads, muffins... you get the idea 😉
Why You'll Love these Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies
This recipe for sweet potato brownies is amazing! You can't tell that they're flourless or gluten free and refined sugar free.
Here's why you'll love them:
- Paleo - no refined sugar, no vegetable oil, no gluten, no grains, no dairy
- nut free - made without nut butter
- dairy free - no butter or milk
- flourless - no flour is used to make these sweet potato brownies
- nutritious - pretty healthy for a brownie
- fudgy and delicious
These paleo sweet potato brownies fit the bill for a healthy, yet delicious, family friendly dessert.
Ingredients
Here's what you need to make this recipe for sweet potato brownies:
- mashed sweet potato (steamed then cooled)
- eggs
- coconut oil (room temperature)
- vanilla
- coconut sugar (or monk fruit sweetener)
- cocoa powder
- baking soda
- salt
- water
As mentioned previously, any variety of sweet potato will work. However, for best results I recommend using Japanese sweet potatoes. They are extra sweet and slightly drier than other varieties.
How to Make Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies
These brownies with sweet potato are best made in a food processor or high powered blender. However, they can be made in a mixing bowl if that's all you have. (The batter just won't be as smooth.)
Prior to making the brownies, you'll need to steam the sweet potato. To do this, simply cube a large sweet potato (no need to remove the skin) and then steam it in a steamer pot until tender. Then let the sweet potato cool to room temperature.
When the sweet potato is ready, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Then, add the cooled sweet potato, eggs coconut oil and vanilla to your food processor. Blend until mixture is smooth.
Add in the remaining ingredients. Once again, blend until smooth.
Next, place the batter in a lined, 8"x 8" glass baking pan. Smooth the batter out so that it touches the edges and has an even, level surface.
Lastly, place the sweet potato brownies in the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. The brownies should be firm on the edges and just slightly soft in the center.
Take the brownies out of the oven and cool in the pan to room temperature. Note: it is important to cool the brownies in the pan so that they fully set.
How to Make Paleo Frosting for Brownies
After cooling, you may frost the brownies. I frosted these with a coconut cream frosting. Here's what you need:
- ½ cup coconut cream
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Simply, mix the coconut cream, maple syrup and vanilla in a small bowl. Then spread over the cooled brownies. If the coconut cream is clumping, you may heat it in the microwave for 5 seconds (or just leave at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes).
Sprinkle the frosting with your choice of toppings. For instance, I used sprinkles, hemp seed and bee pollen. Then, place the brownies in the fridge for the frosting to set.
Cut the brownies after the frosting has set.
Storage
Because these brownies are so moist and don't contain any preservatives, they will not last at room temperature for more than a few hours. They must be stored in the fridge or freezer.
If you choose to freeze them, cut the brownies first. Then, thaw before eating.
Frequently Asked Questions
These sweet potato brownies are made with Japanese Sweet potatoes.
They have a red-ish/brown exterior and a white flesh. Personally, this is my favorite type of sweet potato. Japanese sweet potatoes are extra sweet (probably why I like them so much), have less moisture than other varieties and are perfect for creating flourless brownies.
All that being said, any variety of sweet potato will work in this recipe. Just note, the texture and taste will slightly vary depending on the type of sweet potato you choose.
Like all recipes, the list of ingredients is what makes a certain food healthy or not. My recipe for sweet potato brownies is healthy, but I would still consider it a dessert to enjoy on occasion, not daily.
Why are these healthy? Well, because they're flourless, therefore gluten free and grain free. Gluten and grains tend to be inflammatory and irritating to the gut.
Other factors that make these healthy sweet potato brownies include the fact that they're dairy free, free from vegetable oils, refined sugar free and free of additives and preservatives.
Yes, this is a nut free sweet potato brownie recipe. No nut butter and no almond flour is used in this recipe.
Wash the sweet potato and cut it into cubes. You can remove the skin if you want, but it isn't necessary. Place the potato cubes in a steamer pot and steam until tender.
More Paleo Brownie Recipes
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Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies (Nut Free, Flourless)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 33 minutes
- Total Time: 43 minutes
- Yield: 8" x 8" pan 1x
Description
These healthy brownies are made with sweet potato. They're nut free, dairy free, grain free, flourless and perfect for the whole family.
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato (230g)*
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil (room temperature)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder (33g)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a food processor, combine mashed sweet potato, eggs, coconut oil and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
- Add in remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Scoop batter into a lined 8" x 8" glass pan. Using a spatula, spread the batter to the sides making an even, level surface.
- Place the brownies in the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. The edges should be firm and the middle should be slightly soft.
- Remove the brownies from the oven and cool to room temperature in the pan.
- Top with choice of frosting once fully cooled.
- Best stored in fridge up to one week.
Notes
*I recommend Japanese sweet potatoes. They tend to be slightly drier and sweeter than other varieties, but any feel free to swap with any other type of sweet potato. For the mashed sweet potato: first wash and chop sweet potato. Then steam in a steamer pot until tender. Let the potato cool to room temperature, then make the batter.
Keywords: brownies, chocolate, dessert, nut free, Paleo, sweet potato
Paulette says
These look amazing...but have you ever tried the recipe egg free??
Katie says
Hi! I have not tried this recipe without eggs. But, if you do then I'd love to know the results 🙂
Grace says
Not quite egg free but I made a double recipe, hence requiring four eggs, but it turned out I only had three. So I replaced one egg with 1 tablespoon of agar-agar powder dissolved in 1/4 cup water. I separated the whites of the three eggs from the yolks and beat the whites thoroughly, then added the agar-agar solution, and then the yolks. It turned out well.
Heather says
I used an egg replacer that is made with egg whites, but I did toy with the idea of using applesauce instead (I think it would be roughly a half cup).
I haven't even tried one yet (trying to be good and wait for them to cool completely), but I love the recipe, and can't wait to try them out!
Eric says
Great nut-free recipe
★★★★★
Carolina says
Can we sub the coconut oil for ghee or butter? What about the coconut cream for the frosting?
Thanks!
Katie says
Hi! Butter or ghee will work in place of the coconut oil. The frosting is optional. However, if you are looking for a frosting recipe without coconut then I would do a quick search online.
Anita says
Hi, thanks for sharing a nut free healthy recipe. I was just wondering if the baking time differs if making 2 or 3 times the quantities or do you just use 3 separate tins? Do I put all tins in the oven together, if so does that affect the baking time?
Thanks
Katie says
I have not tried doubling or tripling this recipe. But if you double the recipe and bake the brownies in two separate dishes then the baking time should remain the same.
Cathy says
Just made these brownies today and they're soooo good! Can't wait to try out more of your recipes 🙂
★★★★★
Katie says
I'm so happy to hear that! This recipe is a one of my family's favorites 🙂 Hope you find more you enjoy!
Chanel osborne says
Made these twice already. Once for myself & then the second time for my husband's coworkers! No one could tell it was made with sweet potato. Super fudgy & AMAZING
★★★★★
Katie says
Wonderful! My family felt the same way - cannot taste the sweet potato! Thank you for the review 🙂
Andy says
Hi, if I can't have eggs, what can I still use? Applesauce or banana? Im on AIP
Katie says
I haven't tested this recipe without eggs so I don't know if a substitution will work well.
Grace says
Thank you so much for publishing this delicious recipe! I was looking for a decadent but guilt free recipe for my mother's birthday cake recently, so this has been of great help. I made double this recipe and did some tweaks that worked well. I use Japanese purple taro.
As mentioned above, I only had three eggs instead of four, so I substituted one egg with 1 tablespoon agar-agar dissolved in 1/4 cup water, and added this to the whipped egg whites before adding the yolks.
Instead of 1 cup of sugar I used 2/3 cup honey and omitted the water. However, at the last minute I decided to add a dash of almond milk for consistency. I guess that makes my version slightly not nut free, so if someone wants to copy me while sticking to nut free, they can use other plant based milks that are not made of nuts, or cow's milk if it doesn't have to be dairy free.
I served topped mine with a ricotta, greek yoghurt and white chocolate frosting which I experimented by myself. I don't do frosting recipes because the ones I find online usually somehow don't work for me.
★★★★★
Katie says
Thank you for sharing your substitutions and leaving a review! 🙂
Raphaella says
What are the calories?
Amy says
These are really good and extremely moist! I topped ours with enjoy life chocolate chips and they will be gone quickly for sure!
★★★★★
Katie says
Yay! I'm so glad you like them! Thank you for leaving a review 🙂
Heather says
I've made sweet potato brownies before, though the recipe I use calls for a cup of peanut butter, and I'm out. I also had it in my head to make brownies with cinnamon instead of cocoa powder.
I looked for a couple of days for a brownie recipe that would convert easily, and this one stood out! It's the only one I found not calling for over a cup of cocoa powder (which would be...difficult to do with cinnamon).
The pan of brownies looks wonderful. The egg replacer I used instead of regular eggs might have led to a higher rise, but they baked up beautifully. Can't wait to try them out!
★★★★★
Katie says
I'm so happy to hear that! I'm interested to know how the texture turns out with an egg replacer. Thank you for leaving a review 🙂