Healthy Sweet Potato Brownies - Deliciously gooey and low in sugar to boot, these brownies make a great treat!
Sweet potato brownies
These are 'sweet potato' brownies in the truest sense.
The added cocoa powder is but a smidgen, allowing the orange tuber to shine in all its glory. Please keep in mind, if you don't like sweet potatoes, these probably aren't for you!
If you are a lover of sweet potatoes and low sugar treats, then keep reading!
These soft and gooey treats make a great pre-workout snack. I often make and consume half the batch prior to a late afternoon routine, and the combination of ingredients makes for an awesome, energetic session!
Something about those sweet potatoes, let me tell you.
Low sugar and oat-based
My main goals for this recipe were to use oat flour and keep the added sweetener to a minimum.
I already have a Buckwheat Brownie recipe, as well as a sweeter oat-based recipe from my early days of blogging, if these don't interest you.
I got a big thumbs up from the family for these, so I hope you all enjoy them as well!
For reference, here's a fast way to bake a sweet potato!
Healthy Sweet Potato Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup + 2 Tbsp oat flour
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- 200 grams sweet potato flesh (about one cup) peeled and cooked
- 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp milk of your choice (see Notes)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- It's important to begin with room temperature ingredients, as the coconut oil will seize and form clumps in the batter if it becomes cold.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mash the sweet potato and stir in the oil, maple, milk, and vanilla.
- Pour the sweet potato mixture in with the dry mix and stir until well combined.
- Oil a 7 x 5 inch baking dish and spread the batter evenly into the dish.
- Top with chopped chocolate or chocolate chips, if desired.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes (I like mine right at 20, even if they are a bit underdone).
- Cool 5-10 minutes before cutting to ensure best structure.
Notes
Nutrition
Notes:
I like to use these glass Pyrex dishes for baking smaller brownie batches like this one.
I use this food scale to measure the sweet potato.
For a little extra sweetness, top these with some chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. I will sometimes add a little extra 'oomph' with this:
Brownie Drizzle:
1 T. coconut oil, melted
2 t. cocoa powder
1 t. brown rice or maple syrup
Mix and drizzle on top!
Recipe Steps:
Measuring the sweet potato...
Mixing the dry ingredients...
Add in the sweet potato mixture...
Mix the batter...
Spreading the batter...
Post-bake...
Ta-da!
Shared with: Full Plate Thursday, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop, Grace at Home
Maeve McKeown
Hi I am from Northern Ireland. Baked these delicious brownies and they turned out so well, thank you for sharing the recipe
Lynne Stephens
Your recipes are so helpful for treating myself while still staying on track for fighting candida! Thank you for this one! I'd also love to see you develop a brownie recipe with teff flour! 🙂
Lauren
Thanks, Lynne! I do have one with teff flour (though it is mixed with a couple of others): https://www.oatmealwithafork.com/chewy-coconut-brownies/
Ashley
Hi Lauren, I just made these. My batter was extremely dry so I kept adding more milk until it looked like the consistency of yours. Has this ever happened to you? I think it might be because my microwaved sweet potato was quite dry..how do you usually cook it?
With all the extra milk, the brownies were quite cake-y but delicious none the less 🙂
Thank you for creating recipes with such healthy ingredients, I love your website!
Lauren
Hi Ashley,
Did you use an orange sweet potato? I've noticed others, like purple, can have less moisture, so that may be the culprit. Another thing could be how packed your flour was. You want to spoon in the flour and level it off with the flat edge of a knife. Sometimes, baked goods can end up dry depending on how someone measures their flour. Here is a good post for reference: https://natashaskitchen.com/how-to-measure-ingredients-video/
I'm happy the extra liquid ended in a decent enough treat for you. Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Lani
I’ve tried a couple of sweet potato brownie receipts and this is by far THE BEST! I swapped the coconut oil for rape seed as didn’t have coconut in the house and topped with some crush frozen raspberries before baking. Super delicious, just like a proper brownie 😋
Lauren
Thanks, Lani! So happy you enjoyed these. 🙂
Lisa
Hi, can I change the cocoa powder for cacao and the baking soda for baking powder instead? What can I substitute the coconut oil for? 350 degrees is it in Fahrenheit?
Lauren
Cacao should work the same, though cacao is more bitter than cocoa. Try olive oil or butter for the coconut.
Holly
Fantabulously delicious. My new staple dessert, seriously. I loved loved, loved these delicious amazing fantastic wonderful brownies. Saw them on Pinterest and left my full comments there.
You’re my hero.
Lauren
Thanks, Holly! I'm so happy you liked them so much!
Asha
This recipe is phenomenal! I substituted chocolate protein powder for the maple syrup and it was the perfect amount of sweet for a pre-workout breakfast. It tastes like a chocolate pudding cake. I cannot believe brownies made with such healthy ingredients are so unbelievably delicious. Thank you!
Alice.
Hello Lauren, I tried this recipe yesterday. I had leftover sweet potato and figured it'd be good to use it up in brownies. I had tried sweet potato brownies before, with coconut flour though, and the couple recipes I tried sort of discouraged me from trying more. But your recipe uses oat flour, besides your recipes are always a hit, so I went for it and am happy I did 🙂 They came out really yummy, slightly pudding-y inside, but I liked that. I used honey (had no maple syrup on hand) and increased it to 2Tbsps, as I've had a sweeter tooth recently, but the sweetness came out just right: not too sweet, not too bitter. I actually ate half of the batch, then forced myself to leave the rest for the next day 😉 Today afternoon I had some craving, so I had two brownies and this is where I understood what you meant by that pre-workout energy boost. They filled me up well and satisfied the craving. I will surely be making them again! Thank you a lot, Lauren! 🙂
Lauren
Thanks Alice, I'm so happy you liked them! I have some leftover sweet potato to use up with this recipe as well, hopefully on Saturday! 🙂
Tracy
Wow ! Another delicious healthy treat ! So grateful I came across your blog - you are awesome ! Thanks again
Lauren
Thanks so much Tracy! 🙂
Barbara
I can't wait to try these, Lauren. I love that they are a healthy version of brownies that are gluten-free for me and vegan for my daughter. A win-win!
Lauren
Thanks Barbara, let me know how you like them if you do try them!
Josie
Wowie! I can't wait to eat this incredibly yummy looking treat!