These Avocado Brownies are an easy gluten-free dessert, using avocado instead of oil or butter. As a result, you’ll get an extra dose of fiber and nutrients in each bite. My Chocolate Avocado Pudding and Chocolate Avocado Smoothie are such a hit, I just know that you’ll love these brownies, too!
Benefits of Avocados
Why add avocado to a perfectly good dessert? Most recipes use plenty of butter or oil to give brownies a fudgy texture, but avocado can do the same thing while also adding extra fiber to the mix.
Here’s more to love about avocados:
- They have more potassium than bananas.
- They are a good source of monounsaturated fatty acids. (Specifically, they contain oleic acid, which has been linked to reducing inflammation.)
- They may help to lower total cholesterol levels. (source)
Adding avocado to your food may help to increase nutrient absorption, specifically with vitamins A, D, E, and K, which are fat soluble. (source)
If you don’t want to worry about having a ripe avocado on hand, try freezing it when you have one, so you can use it later. Frozen avocado thaws well for guacamole, is the perfect addition to smoothies (like my Kale Smoothie), and you can also use it thawed to make this brownie recipe.
How to Make Avocado Brownies
I always turn to Alton Brown for a classic take on recipes, so I started with his cocoa brownie recipe when wanting to make this one. His version calls for plenty of butter and sugar, but very little flour, which I think is key to make a rich and fudgy brownie.
In this case, I’ve swapped the sugar for low-glycemic coconut sugar, replaced the butter with a ripe avocado, and omitted the flour in favor of fiber-rich almond butter. The result is a flourless brownie that is ultra-rich and fudgy! (And naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, to boot.)
Can You Taste the Avocado?
Avocado has a relatively mild flavor that works well in baking, but if you are super-sensitive to the flavor (like I am) I think it does come through slightly on your first bite.
If you take a second bite, I find that the flavor goes almost unnoticed! (My husband says he can’t taste it at all in this recipe.)
I’ve tried to keep the sugar as low as possible in this recipe, but if you’d like to hide the avocado flavor even more, you can add 1/4 cup of maple syrup to this recipe for a sweeter-tasting result.
For a keto avocado brownie, I imagine you can use a granulated sugar substitute to replace the coconut sugar. I haven’t tested that myself, since my body doesn’t seem to agree with zero calorie sweeteners, but please leave a comment below if you give it a try so that other readers can benefit from your experience!
Avocado Brownies (Flourless & Fudgy!)
Ingredients
- 1 ripe avocado (about 6 ounces; 1/2 cup mashed)
- 1/2 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (use a dairy-free brand, if needed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. (Grease the pan first, so the parchment paper will stay in place.) In a food processor, combine the avocado (peel and pit removed), cacao powder, eggs, coconut sugar, almond butter, baking powder, vanilla, and salt. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, then pour the batter into the prepared pan. (Decorate the top with a few extra chocolate chips, if desired.)
- Bake at 325ºF for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center of the brownies looks cooked-through. (You don't want it to jiggle when you shake the pan.) Allow the brownies to cool completely. The avocado flavor is MUCH more pronounced if you try these warm, so please don't be tempted to taste them until they have come to room temperature. You can place them in the fridge if you want to speed up the cooling process, or you'll have to wait at least 2 hours for them to cool on the counter.
- Slice the brownies into small squares and serve. It's normal for this brownie to stick to the knife a bit with you cut them, since they are flourless and very fudgy. Leftovers can be stored on the counter for up to 48 hours, or in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
Video
Notes
Don't have a food processor? You can make these brownies in a single bowl, mashing the avocado with a fork until relatively smooth. I prefer using a food processor, but I've had good results with both methods.
- If you need a nut-free recipe, try replacing the almond butter with 1/4 cup of your favorite flour. (I'd try oat flour or a gluten-free mix, or you could use 1/2 cup of almond flour instead.)
- If you dislike the flavor of avocado, you can replace half of it with butter or oil instead to ease yourself into the idea. I'd try 3 to 4 tablespoons of coconut oil or butter to replace half of an avocado.
- For a keto avocado brownie, try using a granulated sugar-free sweetener to replace the coconut sugar. (And let me know how it goes, please!)
- For a vegan avocado brownie, omit the eggs and replace them with 1/4 cup of all-purpose gluten-free flour, and increase the almond butter to a 1/2 cup total.
Nutrition
More Avocado Desserts
If you’re feeling inspired, try these popular recipes, too!
- Chocolate Avocado Smoothie
- Cherry Chocolate Avocado Pudding
- Avocado Ice Cream
- Dark Chocolate Avocado Truffles
- Avocado Fudgsicles
If you try these Avocado Brownies, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like them! And if you make a modification or substitution, please let me know how that works out for you, too. We can all benefit from hearing about your experience.
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Reader Feedback: Have you ever tried adding avocado to a dessert?
Can’t wait to try these! Thanks for the recipe.
Just put these in the oven and I can’t believe how quick and easy they are! Judging by how the batter tastes, I think they are going to be amazing. (And I couldn’t taste the avocado at all!)
Wow, these are so good! You can’t even tell there’s avocado in these brownies.
I can’t believe there’s avocado in here! You can’t taste it AT ALL.
These are so fabulous and fudgy! I have tried quite a few disappointing healthy brownie recipes since I went gluten, dairy, processed sugar, etc etc free last year, but these were exactly what I’ve been looking for! I will play with them in the future to try to reduce the amount of sugar, even if it’s coconut sugar… they were very sweet, so I think they can still be a special treat with less sugar.
I made them with half the amount of sugar (and I used coconut sugar) and they were perfectly sweet!
Can’t wait to try these out on my co-workers
Thanks for another delicious recipe !
I didn’t have almond butter on hand so substituted peanut butter!
Thankyou for this very easy recipe. I had to substitute some of the ingredients, I used peanut butter instead of nut butter and I didn’t have coconut sugar, so used a little raw sugar and some sweetener. Will definitely repeat it when Avos are cheap. I am in the very North off NZ. THANKYOU. EILEEN
Could you use honey or make let syrup instead of coconut sugar?
These are incredible! Amazing recipe, Megan!
These brownies are great! We did not taste the avocado. Can’t stop eating them!
HUGE hit! Even my picky family members loved them! My favorite part was after the entire batch was gone, telling them that they had avocado in them. No one believed me hahah. Thank you for another great recipe!
Ha, that’s amazing! I’m so glad these fooled them. 🙂
Used powdered peanut butter and 1/4 white sugar and Used Cacao instead of chocolate chips. Turned out not at thick as your picture, but so yummy. More like cake. Thanks for sharing . Will make again!
Decent flavor but even 40 minutes was WAY overdone. Will try again with 35 minutes.
I made these yesterday. They were delicious! The only thing is that I’m not the biggest fan of dark chocolate because of the bitterness. I am trying to start eating healthy, so is there any way I can adjust the recipe so that it doesn’t taste so much like dark chocolate but is still healthy?
Amazing. Took suggestions and Substituted the almond butter for the almond flour, light brown sugar for the coconut sugar. Oh and I didn’t have dark chocolate so I used for milk chocolate . Turned out amazing! My hubby loved them.
Can the almond butter be substitute with peanut butter
Yes!
Really good family loves I added 1 tbsp instant coffee thanks will make this again for sure
Easily the best brownies I’ve ever tasted/made! SUPER fudgy, not even a hint of an avocado taste, and rich without feeling sickly sweet. Cannot recommend these highly enough!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for coming back to let me know.
Wow!!
These are soooo good!
I used peanut butter instead of almond butter, since almond butter is expensive. Can’t taste the avocado at all.
My friends couldn’t believe they were healthy! They were sure they were full of flour, sugar and oil… They thought I was joking when I mentioned avocados.
My friend actually went as far as asking if she can take with her the brownies that I had stocked up in the freezer…
I just made another 3 batches, this time with almond flour instead of almond butter.
Oh, and for taking with me, I make some as cupcakes. That way it is clean with no crumbs. Bake for roughly 25-30 minutes that way.
Delicious!
Absolutely love these. Trying to get more veg into my husband. He loves these and HATES avocados. Oh that’s right, didn’t tell him about that. The second batch I made I chopped the chocolate chips with a mezzaluna then just mixed into batter.
Seriously the best!!!! Instead of almond butter I used peanut butter. I will do another batch TOMORROW!!!! Thank you!
I made it using Monk fruit sugar. The consistency was perfect, though I wish I’d have put in chopped nuts. It had a slightly strange taste like apple or something though I didn’t add anything. I’ll make it again.
So good! Fudgy and delicious! I was skeptical but I’m sold on this recipe. I used all natural peanut butter instead of almond butter bc that’s what I had on hand.
Mixed it all without using food processor.
Will be making again!
I’m so glad you liked them! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
These brownies are incredibly soft and fudgey and so good!
We enjoy eating the batter too 😋 just refrain if your uneasy with raw eggs
OMG so good! I put in less coconut sugar as a cup seemed a lot. Didn’t have choc chips so I chopped a handful of almonds instead. Used mixed nut butter with seeds (Costco) as my butter. Think they were my only mods. Tastes fabulous warm and cold. I will have to use some serious self restraint on these!!
Thank you for recipe.
I altered the recipe slightly by not putting as much coconut sugar in. Only ¾ cup and it worked fine.
I also used a different cacao. It has fennel, beetroot, ginger and cayenne pepper in it.
Wow, these brownies are special!
I also added walnuts to topping instead of cacao bits.
Next time I make it, i am going to add some LSA (¼ cup) and reduce the sugar a little more to ⅔ cup. I really want to get the sugar component as low as possible without comprising the texture.
This is such a great recipe, I actually forgot to add the almond butter to both of my batches. But they still came out so good!!! So if you have nut allergies, you can definitely omit the almond butter. I added walnuts to it, and it was just so delicious!! These will definitely be a staple in the meal plans!!
Ok so I’m sorry, I used a different recipe and got it confused with this one. Please disregard my comment.
Can you use a brownie pan with this recipe?
Cam you use peanut butter instead of almond butter?
I made these today and had all the ingredients, so followed it exactly. They are amazing! My husband even loves them, and he’s a bit of a dessert expert. Thanks so much!
I’m so glad to hear that, Erin! Glad the brownies were a hit!
I made these brownies alongside a dark chocolate Ghirardelli mix(which was always our favorite)for an evening with friends. Everyone preferred these brownies! They were all gone before the evening was over and I ended up throwing away some of the Ghirardelli brownies!
Oh my gosh, that’s amazing!! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed these.
Made these a couple of nights ago and they are AMAZING! Even when you heat them up, you can’t taste the avocado at all. The texture is so fudgy as well. Thanks for such a great paleo recipe! 😊
I tried the vegan version and they were a flop. I checked them at 35 minutes and they were overdone. Once cooled they were flat and hard. I’ve no doubt the original recipe is spectacular, as all of them are. Just giving a heads up that if you choose the vegan version keep an eye on them!
These are delicious
My husband is a traditional, midwestern, meat-and-potatoes guy so I had no expectation of him even sampling these. (Avocado in brownies? Come on.) But he ate half the batch in one weekend, so now you KNOW this recipe is special! I was wondering how much peppermint extract to add if I wanted to make a mint chocolate chip version of these?
My guess is that 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon would be plenty for peppermint extract. Let me know how it turns out!
After looking at the packaging closer, what I had on hand was actually peppermint “flavor” not extract… *sigh* I added ¼ teaspoon of it to the batter and it was barely detectable in the finished product. While I’m assuming peppermint would be more intense in extract form, I think one could safely add ½ teaspoon of “Peppermint Flavor” to this recipe for a nice Andes mint effect. Maybe stick with ¼ teaspoon if you’re using real peppermint EXTRACT. =)
Thank you for sharing!!
Just made these for my family who cannot have dairy and who are keto friendly. These were amazing, and a great hit! They taste exactly like normal fudge brownies but with a hidden ingredient; avocados! I’m such a huge fan of these. 100% would recommend to a friend!
Yay! I’m go glad they were a hit! Thanks for the feedback. 🙂
Made these brownies, I must say the texture did not turn out great. Not dense. The flavour did not turn out well.
Greatest brownies I ever made and people who tried it loved them as well!
7 oz. and 1/2 cup of avocado are very different – which is it?
Not sure what I did wrong. I checked the brownies after 15 minutes, and they were already overcooked, beginning to burn. Used the correct temperature and all of the ingredients. Would love to give these another try because I suspect they would be awesome with some kind of tweak.
I regularly make and love your desserts.
Sorry to hear that! Is it possible you have a convection oven, or maybe used a metal pan? Those two things could make the brownies cook faster. I only have glass & ceramic square pans, so the timing is based on my use of those. And a convection oven would circulate the heat faster, so that could cause them to cook faster, too. Hope you’re able to figure out how to make them work better in your oven next time. (And hopefully the centers still taste good!)
I’m new to this blog so tried not to set myself expectations for the recipe but it seems I didn’t need to fear – the brownies are great! (Even when still warm). After reading the comments I also reduced sugar to 2/3cup, swapped almond for peanut butter and used flax eggs instead of the original. Will definitely make again!
I suggest cutting the sugar in half, at least… I used about 3/4 of what was recommended and was overwhelmed.. I try to keep a healthy diet with hardly any sugar, so maybe that’s why this one hit me pretty hard! Otherwise, yummy avocado brownies!! Thank you!
Made a double batch and the mix tasted fabulous. They came out perfectly but when trying them, although they initially tasted divine, have a very unpleasant bitter after taste. It doesn’t taste like avo, so I am wondering if it’s the choc chips I used. Will have to throw them out unfortunately.
We made these with the kids (5and 2). Easy to make and over the top hit here. We used stevia and peanut butter, since we didn’t have almond butter.
Super great!
How much stevia did you use?
After reading all the overwhelmingly positive reviews I decided to try this recipe out. Followed the recipe completely. These brownies taste and smell OVERWHELMINGLY of avocado. i eat avocado daily, but it did not work in this desert. Apparently my entire family just has stronger taste buds than everyone in these comments or a lot of these are fake.. Had to slather peanut butter on them to even make them slightly edible. I would rather eat a whole plain avocado than one of these brownies. And no, I did not use a large avocado and no, my family is not used to processed overly sweet deserts. Unless you want to waste perfectly good ingredients, do not make this recipe.
There is no need to be rude when your experience is so different than others.
Exactly! Completely unnecessary … I Love these Brownies and even altered the recipe a little. I used 1/2 cup of coconut sugar and 1/4 cup of cacao … The avocado taste is minimal and All my non GF & DF friends & family have truly enjoyed them…
Just because you like something doesn’t mean that everybody else has to like it, that is her opinion and every bodies opinion is what they believe.
After adding some maple syrup (as suggested), these brownies were to die for!! Guilt free and truly delicious.
Awesome tasting! I wasn’t expecting the flavor. No hint of avocado or almond butter. Just scrumptious!
These brownies are absolutely amazing- I will use this recipe from now on!!
Delicious, thank you for the recipe
Omg delicious followed recipe and added organic flakes coconut flakes from Trader Joe’s ❤️
I LOVE YOUR SITE and your recipes are flawless! I go here daily.btw, if i dont have any sugar, coconut or otherwise,, would honey work?
Aw, thank you so much! I think honey would work, but you’ll probably want to use half of what you would compared to coconut sugar. They might turn out a little more gooey in texture, but they should be tasty. Please report back here if you try it!
Super delicious recipe. I weighed my avo to 7oz which was 1.5 sm-medium. I subbed in peanut butter for almond butter. I subbed sucanat sweetener for the organic sugar. Then instead of blending the chips in I sprinkled on top before baking. My food processor is very small. They turned out amazingly!! Will make these delights again. 💗