Avocado Brownies are an easy gluten-free dessert using avocado instead of oil or butter. You’ll enjoy an extra dose of fiber and nutrients in each delicious bite!
If you’ve ever tried Chocolate Avocado Pudding or a Chocolate Avocado Smoothie, you know that avocado can be added to a dessert without being detected. Chocolate is an excellent way to mask the flavor!
If you’ve ever wondered if avocado can be used in baking, this avocado brownie recipe uses avocado as a substitute for oil or butter. While the flavor isn’t too noticeable, I do recommend that you are an avocado fan if you plan on trying this.
Otherwise, try Almond Butter Brownies, Coconut Flour Brownies, or Almond Flour Brownies for more nourishing ideas.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This brownie recipe calls for granulated sugar to create an authentic texture and uses and combination of almond butter and avocado for the healthy fat. No butter or oil is required!
If you need to make vegan brownies, try swapping the sweet potato in my Sweet Potato Brownie recipe for one small mashed avocado instead. Typically egg-free baking does better with the addition of flour or oats. (Like in the case of my vegan black bean brownies.)
Since these Paleo brownies call for no flour, they are also gluten-free and dairy-free!
How to Make Avocado Brownies
Preheat the oven to 325ºF and lightly grease an 8-inch baking pan. Press a piece of parchment paper into the bottom of the pan to help remove the brownies easily later.
In the bowl of a 12-cup food processor, add the ripe avocado, eggs, coconut sugar, almond butter, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Secure the lid and start processing until the batter looks smooth.
Scrape down the sides of the machine with a spatula to make sure everything is well-mixed.
Then add the chocolate chips and blend briefly to mix them in.
Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared baking dish and spread it out with a spatula. Bake at 325ºF for 40 minutes, or until the center doesn’t jiggle when you shake the pan.
Let the brownies cool for at least an hour in the pan before slicing. These brownies have a fudgy texture, so they will stick to the knife when sliced. Place the pan in the fridge on a trivet to speed up the cooling process.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are super-sensitive to the flavor of avocados (like I am) I do think you can taste it on your first bite. It’s less noticeable when the brownies are cool. If you take a second bite, the flavor goes almost unnoticed. (My husband says he can’t taste it at all in this recipe.) To hide the avocado flavor even more, you can add 1/4 cup of maple syrup to this recipe for a sweeter-tasting result.
White or brown sugar can be used instead of coconut sugar. For a keto avocado brownie, I imagine you can use a 1:1 granulated sugar substitute to replace the coconut sugar. (My body doesn’t tolerate zero-calorie swaps, so I can’t test this myself.)
Yes, you can swap the almond butter for sunflower seed butter. Be sure to review the notes in the recipe below for more ideas.
Looking for more avocado recipes? Try my Guacamole recipe, Avocado Ice Cream, or Avocado Fudgsicles for more ideas.
Avocado Brownies (Flourless & Fudgy!)
Ingredients
- 1 small ripe avocado (~ ½ cup mashed)
- ½ cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- ¼ cup almond butter
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips (dairy-free, 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 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 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
Baking Note: Brownies baked in a square metal pan will cook faster and more evenly than those cooked in a glass or ceramic baking dish. You may need to add 5 more minutes of cooking time when using a glass or ceramic option. 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. Use a 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil or butter to replace half of an avocado.
- 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
If you try this avocado brownie recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like them.
Hello, can we replace the butter with virgin coconut oil?
I have been on a diet and been craving something sweet, but trying to keep it on healthier side without overdoing added sugar. Can’t believe how good this is! It has a very fudgy but light texture to it. I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup stevia and it was plenty sweet. I will actually reduce brown sugar more next time. I used 45g Ghirardelli 72% cacao chips. I tried warm, and cooled brownies and both were good. My avocado was 4oz after peeled and pitted, and I could not taste avocado at all. Love this and recommend this recipe, but will reduce sweetness even more next time! Kids and husband loved them too.
These are so delicious and easy to make! We love them but I wanted to ask if you can freezer some of them or not? Thanks so much.
I made those brownies tonight, the only thing I changed was using a nut butter over the just almond, it was 3 different kinds of nuts. These are absolutely the best!
These are amazing!!! I added half the brown sugar, the 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, and my confetti cake pop almond butter (from American Dream Nut Butter) because that’s what I had. I checked it 35 minutes in and it was done! So so good, I can’t taste the avocados AND my husband loves them which is also a plus!
I’ve made these several times and my entire house really enjoys them!
Unbelievably tasty and fudgy brownies. I used peanut butter instead of almond butter and added some crushed walnuts too. Hardly any taste of avocado. Thank you for this wonderful recipe
They’re just in the oven, but the batter looks great and TASTES great too!
I added lots of chopped dates (softened in warm water) as I didn’t have much good avocado, I swapped tahiini for the nut butter (that’s what I had!) and used flax eggs.
Thanks for the recipe!!
I haven’t made these yet. I will. But I would just like to add that avocados are great for regulating sugars as well so this is great to put in a desert recipe.
I made these yesterday and WOW!! Amazing! No one could tell there was avocado in them!
These are such a hit! My husband loves them. they even taste better the second or third day after being in the fridge. 😀
thank you!
I substituted the sugar with 4/5 dates and it’s just amazing !
I used peanut butter instead of of almond butter and with brown sugar. used my mini cupcake tin (24 cupcakes and they were done in 20 minutes) Delicious!!
So good! Kid approved!!
I’ve made them as is and another time but added less sugar and they still tasted great! I used the food processor. So easy.
I freeze them and have something sweet ready for those cravings!
We have several food allergies in my house so this recipe was perfect. I did make the substitution for the eggs and was worried if they would no longer be fudgy because of the flour but they were perfectly fudgy!
WERE OU GOING TO GIVE US ANOTHER BROWNIE RECIPE THAT YOU LIKED BETTER??
You can find all of my brownie recipes here: https://detoxinista.com/?s=brownie
So good and fudgy! I’ve made these several times and turned out great every time. I do reduce the sugar down to 3/4 c and it’s still plenty sweet. I also tried this as a microwaveable mug brownie and turned out great too (only took 45 seconds for mine to cook).
These were amazing!! I only baked for 35 minutes as a commenter said. Any more time and they would be hard/dry. Also, as someone suggested, I only used 2/3 cup regular sugar instead of a cup and it was perfect! You can’t taste the avocado at all and they were so fudgey!
These are good, not the best brownies I’ve ever baked, but good. My super picky texture toddler asked for seconds. You do taste the avocado a bit. I used swerve in place of the sugar and they still came out just fine.
These brownies are SO good! Made them in my air fryer on the bake setting for 25 minutes and they came out perfect! Really glad i found this healthy version that taste great.
Just tried these out of the oven and I can’t taste the avocado at all! Rich, fudgy and chocolatey. I’m a believer! So easy to throw together. I made this in an 8×8 and they came out great.
I almost never review recipes but these were amazing!!! They were some of the best brownies I’ve ever made, as well as being incredibly easy. The avocado taste is there only if you look for it; if you didn’t tell someone that the brownies contained avocado, they’d never know. I used peanut butter instead of almond butter and it worked very well. I also took them out after around 40 minutes which was perfect, so be sure to check them early.
Have made these multiple times! They’re very good. I cut the sugar down to a 1/2 cup and they’re perfectly sweet.
Just took them out of the oven and they smell heavenly!!! Tasted the batter and couldn’t taste the avocado at all, so that’s a huge win! Thank you again for another wonderful recipe!! Love all of them.
I’ve made these twice now and I will never go back to regular brownies! They are so delicious and a big hit for whoever I make them for. 😊
Best brownies ever! I even made them in my multipurpose steamer from epicure in the microwave since I was in a hurry and they turned out fantastic. Only took 5.5 minutes to boot! Thank you for a great recipe!!
Can these be made with flax eggs instead of regular eggs?
I made this recipe today and it is a winner! I used only half the sugar ( I used monkfruit) and it was sweet enough. I didn’t have almond butter so I subbed natural peanut butter. I liked the texture and deep chocolate flavor!
These brownies are perfection!! I think the key is to measure out the avocado so you have exactly 6oz. I will be making these again and again, thank you!!
How did you guys get this recipe to blend? It was SO thick. It was impossible to blend and stuck to everything. I think only two thirds of the recipe actually ended up in the pan…
Hi! I would love to know if the recipe can use the fake egg recipe with chia seeds instead of eggs! thanks!!
hi, thanks for your recipe.
It’s a very nice and tasty brownie.
I use brown sugar and reduce further 20% and it’s still fantastic cake.
These are wonderful! I made them the original way and also subbed pb and swerve brown sugar when I ran out of the other ingredients. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to “regular” brownies again!
So yummy! It definitely tasted like avocado when it came out warm, but it’s so delicious cooler now and even the batter was delicious – like pudding! Tastes so moist, more like a moist brownie in flavor and a gooey brownie in texture. I subbed the 1/4 almond butter for 1/4 all purpose flour and used normal salt. Can’t wait to make again!
Amazing!
I never follow recipes exactly, but this was great inspiration.
I made the following changes, and it turned out superb:
-dates for sweetener, in place of most of the sugar
-tahini in place of the almond butter
-carob instead of the cocoa powder
I baked it a shorter amount of time to keep them a bit gooey. They were fantastic warm, can’t wait to try them cold after they’ve cooled in the fridge.
Thank you!
I made with maple syrup, takes more baking time, turned out great
These are so good!! Used light brown sugar as suggested instead of coconut sugar. I was a little concerned about the almond butter flavor but it was very light before cooking and undetectable after cooking. We couldn’t taste the avocado after cooking either, even when they were still warm! Texture is so fudgey and creamy, we will definitely make these again.
Easy to make with a few simple ingredients. Excellent brownies both in texture and taste.
Love these! Imake them on a regular. Could we substitute chocolate protein powder in place of the cacao powder?
Great recipe! Even better the next day. I’ve already made them twice this week!
Amazing brownies! Came out delicious!
They are so tasty! I added just about 2 tablespoons to lessen the avocado flavor. These, taste decadent! Will make again.
I need to make this with a sugar alternative like monkfruit or Swerve. Has anyone tried that and does it work? These look so good but i can’t have sugar!!
These were awesome! I made a few of the recommended substitutions due to what i had on hand. I substituted flour for the almond butter, brown sugar for the coconut suger, and used vegan chocolate chips. You absolutely could not taste the avacado. I brought them to work and everyone was stunned when I told them they were avacado brownies. A double batch gone within an hour lol guess I’m making another batch tonight.
I love these! I love brownies but needed a healthier option. I used monk fruit, cut the chocolate chips to 1/4 cup. And used course sea salt. I sprinkled course sea salt on top also. A-maz-ing!! My husband was in shock they were not my regular sugar laden brownies. Thanks
Not to be dramatic, but you just saved my bikini contest prep ready body and im five days out from a show. I eat one of these every night to satisfy my cravings!!
These are so delicious and you can’t even taste the avocado. Thank you for this awesome recipe.😍
Can I substitute almond butter for peanut butter?
Sure, I think that would be fine! Peanut butter sometimes makes baked goods slightly more dry, but I think the flavor will help hide the avocado taste even more.
I just tried this recipe and these brownies are delicious. They remind me of the brownies that my Mom made when I was a kid. I’m not sure if I baked them too long, but they have a slightly crispy top – which her brownies had, and they are soft in the middle. Adding this to my favorites. I will never let an avocado go bad again 😉
I have mad these before and love them! I started a batch today and realized I didn’t have all the ingredients. I do use swerve instead of brown sugar. I used peanut butter because I didn’t have almond butter. I also half the sugar and add maple syrup. I also sprinkle in some cinnamon and nutmeg. They are still delicious!