Thick, fudgy, naturally sweet Sweet Potato Brownies made in the food processor with nut butter, roasted sweet potatoes and naturally sweetened with dates. An amazing healthy dessert with 5g protein and 4g fiber. Kids adore these and they freeze great. I love them best right out of the fridge with a big glass of almond milk!
Wowza. That's all I gotta say about these gorgeous chocolate love boats.
I set out to make a healthy brownie recipe naturally sweetened with dates for when it's 3pm and I want a decadent brownie but also don't want to crash. Ya dig? Plus antioxidants! Fiber! And protein!
Just like my fudgy black bean brownies sweetened with dates, they totally check all the brownie boxes and you'd never in a zillion years guess what's in 'em.
Notes from recipe testing
- Sweet Potato: It was clear in testing that sweet, moist roasted sweet potato adds the ideal sweetness and moisture without the need for a bunch of butter or oil.
- Medjool dates: In these brownies, juicy dates provide caramel-like sweetness sans added sugar and plenty of fiber. You'll want to remove the pit and make sure they're soft. When I tested these with harder dates, I had to soak them in hot water to soften up. Be sure to squeeze the water out before using them.
- Nut butter: I developed this recipe with a base of almond or peanut butter for ultimate fudgy factor. And they don't have a strong peanut butter taste! Just be sure to use a natural, drippy one.
- Cacao: I love the benefits of raw cacao and all the chocolatey goodness they bring to the brownies. Regular unsweetened baking cocoa powder works great, too.
- Eggs: Since eggs help these get so tall, they're a must! Egg free: I haven't tested these without eggs, but readers have commented they made them with flax eggs and they were delish and fudgy, just less tall.
- Flour: I tested this recipe with both 3 tbsp all purpose flour and ¼ cup almond flour and both worked super well, so use whichever works for you!
- Chocolate chips: Chocolate chips are my secret weapon for textural intrigue. For more chocolate flavor and nice texture. You can use semi sweet or Hu Kitchen date-sweetened chocolate chips if you want to keep it 100% naturally sweetened.
But do they taste like regular brownies?
Given they're sweetened with dates versus sugar and have veggies instead of oil...no. (Make my best healthy brownies ever with almond flour if you're looking for that!)
While they definitely taste "healthier" compared to a boxed mix, to me they still taste amazing and have a super satisfying texture. They're deliciously thick, too!
The addition of chocolate chips helps amp up the yum factor for sure. My husband and kiddos love these!
Storage tips
These babies can be stored at room temperature in an air tight container for up to three days or refrigerated if you like them colder.
They taste fudgier out of the fridge! To freeze: I like to freeze them on a parchment paper lined plate or baking sheet with space between so they don't stick together.
Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies with Almond Butter (no added sugar!)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 12-16 brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Thick and fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies made in the food processor with peanut butter, roasted sweet potatoes and naturally sweetened with dates, they're an amazing dessert with 5g protein and 4g fiber. Kids love these and they freeze great. Gluten free!
Ingredients
- 1 cup soft pitted Medjool dates, packed
- 1 cup roasted and mashed sweet potato*
- ¾ cup almond butter or natural peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup cacao or cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour (sub ¼ cup almond flour to make GF)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- heaping ¼ tsp fine sea salt (omit if nut butter is salted)
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- optional: ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 inch baking dish wish parchment paper and set aside.
- Place dates, sweet potato, peanut butter, eggs and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor. Blend for a couple minutes, or until dates are broken down and mixture is totally smooth, scraping the sides as needed.
- Add cacao, flour, baking powder and salt. Process just until you don't see flour anymore (5-10 seconds). Add chocolate chips and gently fold in with rubber spatula.
- Spoon batter into prepared baking dish. It will be thick! Use a wet spatula to spread the batter to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with walnuts if using, flaky salt and extra chocolate chips if desired (highly recommend!).
- Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until brownies are set (closer to 30 for almond flour version). Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing. I like these best refrigerated!
Notes
*3 tbsp all purpose flour can be substituted for the ¼ cup almond flour. Bake for 28 minutes.
Chocolate chips do contain added sugar, so use date-sweetened ones if you want no added sugar.
Alex says
Made it with hazelnut butter instead of almond butter and it tastes weird. Really wanted to like it.
Trinity says
College student and my roommate and I have made them 3 weekends in a row now! We just made a double batch because they’re so good. I like them more than regular brownies. Super addictive! We use almond butter for the but butter, cocoa powder, and Lily’s sugar-free chocolate chips. 10/10 would recommend
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Wow thank you so much for letting me know, Trinity! Yay!
Seema Persad says
Hands down one of the best sweet potato brownies recipe I have tried. No added sugar and they taste sweet enough! I used coconut flour instead of almond flour, 3/8 cup of peanut butter with 3/8 cup of tahini, and 1/4 cup of protein powder with 1/4 cup dark chocolate powder. It was amazing. Oh, and make sure you double up on the recipe. With all the dishes and cleaning of the food processor, I decided to freeze these bad boys as I am not a fan of doing the dishes. 🙂
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
This is so great to hear, Seema! And I'm thrilled it still worked with coconut flour since it's so dry compared to almond. Such a versatile recipe!
Alexis D says
This has been my go to recipe for brownies lately and they are Delish !!! I use almond flour and dark chocolate on top instead of chocolate chips and they are so yummy!! Thank you !
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Yay I love it, thanks Alexis!!
Sowmya Amin says
Excellent!! I only had cashews so I made cashew butter and it was a great substitute.
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
So glad you loved them!!
Jessica says
I made these vegan today, my son is allergic to eggs so I sued egg replacer. Delicious! Not as high as the ones pictured here, but still very tasty and fudgey in texture. I agree with the line the author wrote that it’s not exactly like a full sugar and flour brownie, but I make a lot of healthier desserts so I didn’t mind that at all. Will add it to my rotation! Thank you for the recipe!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Wonderful to hear, thank you Jessica!
Jessie says
Hi Alexis! If I were to use sugar instead of dates, do you know how much I should use? If not it's ok!
Alexis Joseph says
Hey Jessie! Ahhh I'm not sure because I haven't tried it but I would guess 1/2 cup maple syrup would work considering the pumpkin brownie recipe...I will try that soon and report back. Or were you thinking regular sugar? If so, my brownie recipes all have liquid sweetener so I'd need to test!
Jessie says
Oh syrup is perfect, thank you! And I’ll look at that other recipe too. Thanks! 🤍
Kori Daniel says
So rich, fudge-y, & incredible! I folded the walnuts in, & because apparently I struggle on the slicing department, I made ours into 16 servings. I love them!
Alexis Joseph says
Best comment ever! I noticed the almond flour version is fudgier and harder to slice 🙂
Alexis Joseph says
Yay, me too!
Brittany Jones says
Making these with my kiddos today and already drooling thinking of how good they’ll be! Thanks for your awesome recipes and having such (delicious) real, raw, and inspiring content whether it be food, your life, or your beautiful family!
Alexis Joseph says
Awww thank you so much, Brittany! I can't wait to hear what you think!
Val says
These are so so good!!! Insane combination you came up with girl! Love them with the PB and SO SO FUDGY...! Amazing room temp/warmed or straight outta the fridge, too when the choco chips harden - delish choc crunch! Have made with almond flour and also WW pastry flour - both were good but prefer almond flour! Either way, let's just say we went through 2 pans wayyy too quickly lol. Def making again! : )
Alexis Joseph says
Hahaha amazing ALL THE WAYS! Thanks for being a fabulous tester 🙂 XO
Dylan says
Yummm these are the perfect sweet treat! I have made with both almond and AP flour. Both are fab, but I do prefer the almond flour version!
Alexis Joseph says
Same same!!