Date Brownies are 100% fruit sweetened, but you’d never know just by tasting them. They are made without flour or oil, and have a rich & chewy texture you’ll love!
Why You’ll Love Them
They’re delicious. These healthy brownies have a rich chocolate flavor, and a texture similar to the two-bite brownie bites you’d find at the grocery store. My kids gobble them up! (And they are quite picky.)
They’re naturally sweet. Dates are the perfect sweetener for this recipe, with a caramel-like flavor that isn’t too detectable. (Unlike banana or applesauce, which would contribute almost too much flavor to a chocolate dessert.)
They’re nourishing. Dates contain important minerals, like iron and potassium, and when you pair them with nutrient-rich ingredients like almond butter and cacao powder, these brownies will help you get more fiber and antioxidants into your day.
They’re perfect for special diets. If you’re trying to avoid added sugar, or are following a Paleo, vegan, dairy-free, or gluten-free eating plan, this recipe is perfect for you! Be sure to check out the substitutions below, if you need to make a swap.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This recipe requires no added sugar– just pitted Medjool dates! You can add in a few mini chocolate chips, if you’d like a double-chocolate brownie, but that’s totally optional.
If you don’t have almond butter on hand, you can use any other nut butter you like, such as peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter, instead.
Note: This recipe works best if your dates are soft and squishy. They should be easy to split apart with your fingers to remove the pit. If your dates feel too hard or dry, try soaking them in a bowl of very hot water for 10 minutes to help them soften up.
How to Make Date Brownies
1. Process.
Add the dates and water to a food processor, and process briefly to help them break down, about 60 seconds.
Next, add in the almond butter, ground flax seed, cacao or cocoa powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, vinegar, and salt. (The vinegar is here to help react with the baking soda, but you won’t taste it in the final brownies.)
Process again, until the batter looks thick and sticky. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the machine, if needed.
2. Scoop.
Prepare a mini muffin pan by greasing it with coconut oil or olive oil. Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop, or a tablespoon, to scoop the mixture into each slot of the prepared pan. You might not fill all 24 spots; I usually get 18 to 20 brownie bites from this batch.
Get your fingers wet, and flatten the tops of the brownies. If you’d like to add a few chocolate chips on top, now is the time to do so.
3. Bake.
Place the pan in an oven preheated to 350ºF and bake until the tops look dry, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and let the brownies cool completely in the pan.
They will be quite fragile while they are warm, but will firm up with a chewy texture once they are cool.
Run a knife around the edges of each brownie, then use the knife to help you lift it out of the pan. Since these brownies are made without egg, they may sink slightly in the center, but the texture should still be amazing.
Store leftover date brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Using a mini muffin pan ensures that the brownies will cook correctly, with a perfectly chewy center. I don’t recommend trying this brownie recipe in square baking pan, unless you’re prepared for a potentially gooey center.
I haven’t tested it that way yet, but if you want to experiment with it, I would try using slightly more almond flour in that case. (I would start with a 1/4 cup more and see how the batter comes together.)
Yes, if you don’t need a vegan recipe, you can replace the ground flax seeds and water with a real egg, instead. In that case, you’ll blend the egg with the dates during the first step.
The vinegar will react with the baking soda, to help the brownies rise without using eggs. You can replace the baking soda and vinegar in this recipe with a teaspoon of baking powder, if you prefer.
Looking for more date-sweetened desserts? Try the Healthiest Cookies Ever, my Healthy Birthday Cake, or Peanut Butter Date Cookies for more ideas.
Healthy Date Brownies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Medjool dates , pitted (6 ounces)
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 5 tablespoons cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a mini muffin tin with spray oil, or your favorite oil, to help prevent sticking.
- In a food processor fitted with an “S” blade, combine the dates and water and process until the dates have broken down into a paste. (They may turn into a ball in the processor, which is also okay.)
- Add in the almond butter, ground flax, cacao powder, baking soda, vanilla, and vinegar and process again until a sticky, uniform dough is created. (If you need to add 1 more tablespoon of water to help it blend smoothly, that's okay.) The batter will be thick and sticky.
- Use a tablespoon or 1-ounce cookie scoop to help you scoop the dough into the greased mini muffin tin. Use your fingers to gently flatten each mound of dough. Because the dough is very sticky, it helps to get your fingers wet with water before pressing each mound down so your fingers won't stick to the dough.
- Bake until the tops look dry, about 12 to 15 minutes. (The centers will still feel slightly soft to the touch.) Remove from the oven and let the brownies cool completely, at least 30 minutes, before attempting to remove them from the pan. They firm up as they cool, but are very fragile when warm. Run a knife around the edge of each brownie to help loosen them to be removed, then serve immediately or store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this date brownie recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!
This sounds perfect!! I’ve been loving the cashew butter cookies lately, but am 9 months pregnant so trying to incorporate dates daily. This is a perfect solution-can’t wait to try them out!! Have you tried freezing them? Just wondering if I can eat them out of the freezer like the cookies or if it would require more patience to let them thaw 🙂
I just found out I’m pregnant and trying to make some of my favorites before I feel too nauseous. Did you end up trying to freeze these? I made a double batch and curious about how best to eat them out of the freezer.
These brownies are so delicious! I made them exactly as written (added some mini Enjoy Life chips) and they were perfect. My husband loved them and didn’t even know they were made from dates. I froze most of the batch and they thawed beautifully on the counter.
We love your black bean brownie recipe! I wonder if I can sub dates for the sugar? What do you think?
I make banana bread and use chopped dates instead of sugar. It tastes fantastic and I avoid the pain of inflammation from the white refined sugar.
I’m allergic to gluten and dairy. I make my banana bread with garbanzo bean flour and coconut oil instead of wheat flour and butter. Then I sub in the dates for sugar. It’s tasty and no one says, ewww to it.
I would love your recipe for banan bread with garbanzo flour. I miss banana bread but can’t handle grain based flours anbd I love dates. My email is khokha80@aol.com. thanks
May I have your banana bread recipe too?
Would love to have your banana bread recipe. Have recently switched over to gluten-free, dairy-free, no refined sugars or flours, and it sounds like your banana bread is a winner!
I would love your banana bread recipe too..
If you find the time I would also love your banana bread recipe! Shonna.olendy@gmail.com
🙂
I would also like the banana bread recipe please. Have tried so many none have worked for me so far
Thanks lovely girl, I feel the same way – dates are the healthiest sweetener in my books … where else do you get caramel with fibre and minerals? I’m up for any more date sweetened recipes you want to send our way xxx
If I make my own homemade cashew butter should I use roasted or unroasted cashews?
Not my recipe but def use roasted cashews. It brings out the oils and makes it significantly easier to grind up. It also tastes a lot better. I buy raw and roast my own.
I love this recipe, and I just love using dates as a natural sweetener in many of my own recipes! I also love your idea about using macadamia nut butter–yum! I bet these brownies would be perfect with a side of cashew milk too! 🙂
Definitely would love more date sweetened recipes! I try to use date paste as a substitute in many baked goods especially those that call for maple syrup! Have used it in your raspberry muffins with great success! Definitely my sweetener of choice! Going to try these brownies tomorrow…thanks for the great recipe!
Do you substitute date paste to maple syrup with a 1:1 ratio? I am always hesitant to try this as date paste is thicker and less sweet.
I never knew about the peanut butter/almond butter being a carcinogen at high temps…I bake flourless muffins at 375…should I be concerned?
I have a son who cannot tolerate refined sugar or wheat. This is the perfect recipe for him. I use date paste as a sweetener in so many things that I make for him, and he and I are both happy to add this to the list. I would love more date recipes, especially made with date paste. I like to buy organic dates from Costco and make up a big batch of paste to use whenever I need it. It freezes well, and is an amazing spread for grain free pancakes. Heating and thinning with water makes it a bit syrupy and oh so good.
Looks delicious – I already have some homemade date paste made up (dates soaked in filtered water then puréed). How much dates paste does your make once it’s mixed? Thanks!!
Could you substitute apple cider vinegar for balsamic?
Ok, I made this with a slightly twist. I soaked and made my own seed butter from…get ready…Black sesame seeds…baked at 225F, I never bake over that temp…..I never use cashews due to their high inflammatory stress response, so I usually do sprouted seeds or macademia butter…made from scratch in my vitamix…amazing, I also added a whole vanilla bean to kick it up a bit…such a terrific combo! ThAnks for inspiration!
What???? Mind blown. I have beige sesame seeds. I wonder if they will also work.
Absolutely! Greeks use this paste quite a lot, it’s called Taxini (Tahini)
Hi Megan,
Everytime I make one of your recipes (black bean brownies, best banana bread, carrot cake), I always need to leave it longer in the oven than the time requested. Would you know why?
For this recipe, I also had to leave them longer and unfortunately, I burnt them all around as I wanted to leave them until the middle part wasn’t gooey anymore -even if I used the small muffin tin.
I really love your recipes and I am hoping that you would have a solution for my problem.
Thank you!!
Do you have an oven thermometer? You might want to test your oven to see how accurate the temperature is. I bought two for my oven when I was writing my cookbooks to make sure my temperatures were accurate, and I found that I have to set my oven to 365ºF to get an accurate temperature of 350ºF. Also, make sure you’re waiting long enough for the oven to totally preheat, because I’ve found that when my oven beeps that it’s reached the correct temperature, it can be up to 50 degrees cooler than the temperature I need. Waiting an extra 10 minutes usually corrects that, but it could mean that baked goods don’t bake at the proper temperature if you were to start baking them right away when the oven beeps. Hope that helps!
First time to post – Megan, love your stuff – fantastic !!
As my 4 y.o going through the ” I love chocolate ” phase and like to have him help and give him a daily dose without giving him sugar.
I did this with TAHINI – as I feel that was the rage nowadays lol – and need to get rid of some tahini I had stored away. Was very delicious and chocolatey and neutral nut flavor.
I’m glad to hear it worked with tahini! My almost-4 year old is in the same “I love chocolate” phase– hence why I created these! Glad yours enjoyed them, too. 🙂
Delicious! I used half tahini and half raw almond butter because that’s what I had on hand. Better than regular brownies. You have the best recipes:)
Aw, thanks!! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. That combination of tahini and almond butter sounds great!
These are so good!! Thank you!! I used peanut butter and apple cider vinegar. Wonderful and kid approved!!
YAY!! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
This recipe looks delicious! I love dates, especially from the middle east.
Hi! I love everything you make and can’t wait to make these. I’ve ran out of flax and have chia seeds, do you have any thoughts on adding the chia instead? Or could I just but no flax and no substitute?
Thank you
Ground chia seeds should work just fine! If you omit the flax or chia, the resulting brownies will remain gooey and under-baked, like they didn’t set. (Still taste good, just not the same texture!)
Yum!!! I used apple cider vinegar and they were fantastic!!!
These are so good! Exactly the texture and taste I was hoping for. I want to try to make them into “chips” by putting them in an icing bag and piping them onto a cookie sheet. They would be great for packing for a lunch because there is nothing in them to melt. So, so good!!
I will be honest, I thought they will not turn out anywhere near the usual choc brownies and was so glad that they turned out beautiful! Texture and taste is so good!
Sharing on my gluten free recipe FB group.
Thank you so much!
Is the recipe correct, where it calls for balsamic vinegar? Or is that supposed to be ACV to help them rise? What is the purpose of the balsamic vinegar? Thank you!
Yes, I love using balsamic vinegar in chocolate recipes because they flavors compliment each other very well. You can use apple cider vinegar if you prefer– the vinegar just adds an acid to react with the baking soda to help the brownies rise.
Thank you for this fabulous recipe! My entire family loved these brownies, and I will make them for a dinner party this weekend! Please keep the date sweetened dessert ideas coming!
These are delicious!! Good work!!
Today I made these and your fish tacos with citrus slaw from your first cookbook. Everyone LOVED the dinner and dessert.
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that everyone enjoyed the recipes!
Just made these and they turned out sensational!! Added 1/2 cup of chopped raisins and walnuts.. Thank you for a great recipe.
Fabulous! Even my picky 10-year-old loved them. These have got to be the healthiest brownie recipe. Please keep the date recipes coming!
Absolutely delicious! I used almond butter I already had on hand (your recipe!) and added in about 1/3 c. Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips. Just so good! Thank you for this recipe, Megan.
We just made these and they turned out delicious!. Very moist and a perfect taste with the combination of dates, cashew butter, and cacao. I was so impressed that this recipe contains no flour, eggs, and refined sugar!
This is a ingenious recipe! We will need to make them again tomorrow! Thank you again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownies, Ruby!
Wow!! Never expected this to taste like a brownie!! Great work!! Thanks for posting great recipes. I really enjoy your website. I don’t have a food processor so used my vitamix. Not bad to use. Just tough to get all of the batter out.
My husband enjoyed them rap since we are trying to be healthy. 😊
These are so good, taste just like real brownies just a little less sweet. Nice to have a healthy alternative that still tastes like the original. Thanks!
This recipe yields a brownie that’s fudgey, sweet, and just chocolatey enough for my taste. Didn’t expect it to be THAT good, really. A keeper.
These are fantastic! made twice now, and we are big peanut butter fans but definitely think they are better with cashew or almond butter. Low on dates so added some raisins to get the right amount and turned out just as good. Love the date sweetened recipes and would be delighted to see some more. Maybe some easy muffins for healthy on the go breakfast.
These are ridiculously good. My boyfriend used your recipe to make me these brownies with the addition of some roughly chopped dark chocolate chunks from a bar. The end product was fudgy and decadent while still being guilt-free! I’m going to make them again tonight. Thank you for “healthifying” nostalgic comfort foods without compromising on flavor! 🙂
Hi Megan,
I love your Date Sweetened Flourless Brownie recipe.
I would love to feature it in our website GreenThickies. I will not be posting the actual recipes, but I will only use one image from the post, title, a small quote and link directly back to your post.
Will that be all right?
Thanks 🙂
Katherine,
Greenthickies
Yes, it’s fine to share an image without the recipe and a link back. 🙂
OMG! I finished making these about an hour ago. Amazing! I used crunchy almond butter and blitzed up chia seeds rather than the flax because that’s what I had. So good. And that’s from someone who’s not vegan and only just stepping into the healthy desserts world. Love the crunchy top and gooey bottom
I made these brownies last night and they are amazing! My husband absolutely loved them and I am having a hard time just having one per day! Easy to make but just make sure you have the time you need to put them into the mini muffin tins. That took about 15 minutes in my case but it was definitely worth the time. I am sure the second time I will be faster and they will certainly be top of my list for a healthy alternative to the typical brownie recipe!
So delicious! The best vegan brownie recipe I’ve ever tried!
My original idea was to make this for everyone, but as it turns out they’re so tasty I’m just going to eat the entire batch myself haha!
Love your recipies, I look forward to trying more!
I made these brownies today, omg, they are so tasty!!! This recipe will be my go-to for sure. I love the fact that they only contain healthy ingredients. Wow!
A note about making them double chocolate: Lily’s brand makes chocolate chips that are stevia sweetened. So you can still do the double chocolate thing without adding any refined sugar! Can’t wait to try out your recipe!
Thanks! These taste really good!
Plove dates and nuts ,interested in any combo. I eat paleo and looking for ideas since I’m new at this way of eating
Blending the dates works a lot better if the water is boiling. Just an fyi. Love this recipe!
I made these this afternoon and they are PERFETION! Seriously!!!
Love all your new date sweetened recipes! The taste and texture of these bite sized brownies are amazing! And loaded with nutrients💪
Thanks for the recipe! We are patiently waiting for them to cool. The batter is kid approved. Lol We decided to melt a little chocolate and coconut oil to drizzle on top! Yum!
Oh my these are sooooooo good.
Thanks for this recipe it’s a keeper.
Has anyone substituted chia seeds for flax?
These are amazing! I have cut most sweeteners out so this is a lifesaver!I doubled the recipe and used one egg instead of the flax. I think this resulted in a bit more cake like texture, but was still super moist and chocolatey. I added chopped walnut and coconut flakes on top. What a great recipe, thank you!
Greets from Madrid (Spain)
I lovethis récipe. I am trying to do healthy sweets and using dates instead of refined sugar sounds great.
Do you think sunflower oil would work in this recipe?Also, I have thought to mix dates with 1/4 cup of warm orange juice. Would they still be paleo brownies?
Thank you
I’ve never tested it with another oil, but it’s worth a shot! You’re always welcome to test your own modifications, I just can’t predict how they will turn out since I can’t try every change myself.
OMG!!! These are so good! I found my go to brownie, no more looking!
THESE AER PERFECT!!!
I used peanut butter and apple cider vinegar
Thank you!!!
Curious is you have to use flax seed? Can I use chia seed instead or no seed at all?
Chia seeds work, too, you just need something to work as a binder. If you can have eggs, that also works. 1 tablespoon of flax seed + 3 T water = 1 egg.
I have subbed ground chia for the flas and it worked great. My hubby couldn’t believe how good this are.