The Best Healthy Brownie Recipe (No Refined Sugar)

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Looking for a healthy brownie recipe? You’ve found a great one. These healthy brownies are SO good. There’s a lot of great brownie recipes out there. But not all of them are gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and refined sugar free. These brownies are even Paleo approved!

In fact very few of them are all these things. But these are! These brownies have a rich chocolate flavor and are soft, moist, and fudgy. What more could you ask for?

Most people would say I’m a responsible person. I thrive when given responsibility and I’m usually pretty disciplined to get things checked off my to-do list. For example, my responsibility kicked in when I got some requests for this brownie recipe.

But the “responsible eating” part got lost somewhere in the mix. Because when you put a plate of these brownies in front of me, I cannot stop eating them. Seriously. No self control.

“Just One More”

Something happens in our bodies when our stomach is getting full. Our stomach sends a message to our brain that says, “you can probably stop eating soon…we’re filling up down here”.

But with these brownies,

My stomach says: “I don’t need any food, you already gave me four brownies today.”

But my brain hears: “Look, there’s a brownie sitting on the counter. And it’s healthy! One more can’t hurt.”

Developing this recipe was super fun. I got to eat a LOT of brownies and experiment to find an awesome healthy brownie recipe. I was looking for a moist, rich brownie that’s gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and refined-sugar free. Success!

Gluten Free Brownie Recipe

This recipe is gluten free (thanks to the almond flour). And it’s packed with protein (thanks to the almond butter and almond flour).

What’s In…

• almond butter (gives a big protein punch and holds it all together. Make your own or buy one that has ONLY almonds in it.)
• coconut oil
• honey
• cacao powder (can sub cocoa powder)
• almond flour (I used Kirkland brand for these brownies)

What’s Out…

• gluten – No gluten in these brownies!
• dairy – If you’re a dairy loving person, try this recipe with butter instead of the coconut oil.
• eggs – Sometimes I want to make brownies and don’t want to use up all my eggs!
• refined sugar – This recipe uses honey instead. If you want to make this into a vegan brownie, just use maple syrup instead of honey.

How to Make These Brownies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 (F)
2. Mix the wet ingredients
3. Mix the dry ingredients
4. Put it all together
5. Bake in the oven at 350 in a 8″ x 8″ baking dish for about 10 minutes
6. Serve and enjoy!

tools to make healthy and deliciously dark brownies

Steps With Pictures

Preheat the oven to 350 (F).

Grease the bottom of your 8″ x 8″ baking dish. If you’d rather, you can use parchment paper between the brownie batter and the pan. This makes it super easy to lift the whole pan of brownies out when they’re done baking.

Mix the wet ingredients. This includes the almond butter, coconut oil, honey, vanilla, and applesauce.

Then, mix the dry ingredients. This includes the cocoa powder, almond flour, salt, and baking powder.

Mix it all together. The batter will be thick. Flatten it into the baking dish with a rubber spatula or your hands.

Tips

• If you want to make substitutions, go ahead! I can’t guarantee success, but I’d love to hear what you try and how it goes. I am a big fan of experimenting and learning from it. UPDATE: I tried making these brownies without the 1/2 cup applesauce and used 1/4 cup coconut milk instead. The results were great! Use this substitution if you don’t have applesauce.
• Wait until the brownies are cooled before you dig in. I know I’m asking you to do the impossible here. But they’ll be super crumbly if you don’t let them cool. More crumbs on the floor = less brownies for you to eat. Think about it.
• These are super rich. They’d be superb with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (dairy free if needed).

If you’re worried about eating the whole pan (like me). Try this recipe for a personal sized brownie (guilt-free). And if you’re feeling extremely decadent, top these brownies with this avocado pudding (it’s called a pudding, but can easily be used as frosting).

P.S. if you (like me) LOVE simple recipes that are jam-packed with flavor, grab your copy of my E-book below.

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