Gluten Free Double Chocolate Brownies with Sea Salt

Confession time—I’ve whipped up four batches of these sent-from-the-good-Lord-himself brownies in the past week.

Yes, you read that correctly. Four.

Fortunately, three of the pans were shipped off to good and loving homes where I did not have access to them. (Read: scarfing down 3 or 4 pieces every time I strolled past the kitchen). Whenever I try new recipes that turn into such mouth-watering successes like this one, I’m torn when handing them out to friends and fam to taste test—and not because I think they won’t like them. In fact, I’m 99% percent certain they’ll love my plant based sweets and probably even ask for the recipe!

Sidenote: The other 1% of brownie haters are irrelevant. If you’ve ever spoken the words “yeah, I just don’t really ever crave sweets” …I do not identify with you. Pass the chocolate this way.

Back to why I’m torn when sharing my yummy brownies, other than the fact that sharing means I don’t get them all to myself. One of the major reasons I started this blog was to push others to become more curious when it comes to food. The endless possible combinations to be able to create such satisfying dishes is so intriguing to me. PLUS knowing that I’m incorporating more plants into my diet while simultaneously enjoying a brownie?? Sold. A lot of folks that I know would immediately change their minds when hearing that a dessert I’ve made is plant-based, most likely assuming that adding in veggies to a “sweet” dish would corrupt the taste.

There’s a SWEET POTATO in there? Nevermind, I think I’ll actually pass on trying one. Thanks though!

Then follows the inevitable look that says “why can’t this girl just bake up some boxed Tollhouse for the office and get on with her life??”

Team Plant Based Brownies

Well, I could. But that’s not being curious! Although this particular batch of brownies still has a decent amount of added sugar (mostly from the chocolate chips), they’re still healthier than your average box of mix-and-bake brownies and taste just as good—if not better. Same goes with this bomb recipe of black bean brownies from iFOODreal. Check it out. Similar to the sweet potato, the black beans act as a coagulator to hold together all of the other ingredients, and because there’s no flour, (hi gluten free friends!!) the batch tastes super fudgy and a little underbaked, aka my fav type of any dessert.

When comparing the two types of brownies (sweet potato based vs. black beans based), I’d venture to say the black bean brownies taste a little sweeter, but more earthy than the former. The iFOODreal recipe calls for applesauce and dates to sweeten the batch, whereas this sweet potato mix only needs a little maple syrup to get the right taste and consistency. Although I’d definitely advocate for both, if you’re new to trying out plant-based sweets I would go for this sweet potato version first.

So what are you waiting for?? Pull out your blender and dump all of the ingredients in, because that’s all the prep required for this super easy recipe. You can roast your sweet potato in the oven up to 3 days in advance (400 degrees for 50-60 minutes) and throw the chopped potato into your blender with the rest of the ingredients. Mix with chocolate chips, top the pan with more chocolate chips, and sprinkle a little sea salt if that’s your thang. My favorite is Himalayan Pink Salt. Aghhh.

Final Thoughts

Last step: convince all of the doubters in your life that these brownies are, in fact, super delicious and ~gasp~ even better than those boxed brands.

Alternate option: convince all of the doubters in your life that these brownies are super gross veggie lumps and they should avoid trying them at all costs, and later eat the entire batch yourself. I won’t tell.

The Recipe: