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?
This was amazing! I just made them for the first time tonight. I used monkfruit sweetener instead of coconut sugar 1:1. And semi sweet chips since that’s all I had. Extra dark cocoa powder and a pinch of instant espresso powder. They are Soo fudgy and chocolatey and I don’t honestly think anyone would even know that these are “healthy brownies”!! This is a must try!!
SOOOOO good! I doubled recipe. Also used 1/2 cacao& 1/2 chocolate collagen protein powder to add in extra nutrition. These won’t last long in your household!
These are AMAZING can’t believe there is no flour. Trying to stop myself from eating more so the hubs and kiddos can taste. I love avocado and I don’t think you taste it at all. We’ll see what the avocado hater in the family says 😉
These are the best brownies ever. They are now my one and only brownie recipe and I sent it to a bunch of friends. Thank you so much.
I thought this tasted good, but mine didn’t raise at all. I’m at high altitude so I’m not sure if I should of added some baking soda?
My picky kids LOVE these brownies so much!
I make these all the time! I’ve made them following the recipe, I’ve made them keto style (with Swerve and Navitas Keto Cacao powder), I’ve made them adding walnuts and subbing almond butter for walnut butter, all have been delicious. This recipe is a gem.
This was amazing! I used regular cane sugar and no nut butters of any kind. My ? Is they rose high in the oven and then deflated. So why and how do I get the regular brownie height?
These were fantastic! I did not have chocolate chips on hand and they were still delicious. Other than the chocolate chips omission I followed the recipe exactly,I did add a bit of maple syrup as suggested. My friend laughed at me while I was making my “weird avocado brownies” and then promptly ate his words – and half the brownies- when they were done. The texture is definitely a dense, almost creamy brownie rather than chewy or cakey textured brownie. I used a 9×9 pan and the were about an inch high, is this the expected result? Any tips or suggestions for a “taller” brownie? Not sure if I did something wrong or if they were supposed to be so low profile. Either way I’m making these again they were absolutely delightful! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
These brownies were an absolute hit. When I tasted them I said ” I must have done something wrong because they taste so good”. My boys loved them ages 14 &10. They are so rich, fudgy and just filled will ooey gooey yumminess. Thank you so much. As a person who has diabetes, I’m grateful for any recipe that allows me to still eat my favorite foods but a healthier version. These will be a hit in my house
I enjoyed your Avocado recipe very much. I made a small tasty modification: added orange rind from 1 full orange. My wife, who doesn’t care much for chocolate prefers Ghirardelli boxed brownies to these avocado ones. I found them competitive in taste and beats the box version in texture. It also left me with better satiety longer. Also, I did not need to use a food blender, just a fork. Real easy, nutritious snack. Thank you for this recipe.
This recipe is amazing! Has anyone tried making it with honey instead of brown sugar?
We follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet as best as we can for my son’s dietary needs. These brownies tick all the boxes for us and are absolutely amazing! Thank you for bringing some joy to our mundane world!
This avocado, brownie recipe is by far my UPMOST FAVORITE!!!!
They are easy to make, I used Peanut butter instead of Almond butter..,I used a brown sugar/ Splenda blend sugar, that I found at the grocery store. Be careful to make sure you use only half of the required sugar asked in the recipe. Also 1TBS cinnamon then sprinkled walnuts in the batter and on top.
All my Family and Friends LOVED them! Everyone asked for the recipe.. Which I was very happy to share🤗
I have made these several times now, and they are loved by family and friends. Everyone wants the recipe!!!!
I love love love these!! Just FYI I was just looking back at this recipe to send over to a friend and realized the picture says “baking soda” but the instructions say “baking powder”! I used baking powder and they turned out amazing!
Okay, I am sorry for leaving a review that does not follow the exact recipe. I only had a small avocado, which weighed a little over 2 ounces, so I added black beans to achieve the 6 ounces. I used All-Purpose In the Raw in place of the sugar. I love sugar and use it freely, but have friends who also love their sweets and cannot have actual sugar. As such, I try to find recipes I can use to help them.
As an actual sugar person, I found this recipe with substitute sugar to be delicious, much to my surprise.
Delicious
I make this recipe all the time and people are always surprised when I tell them there’s avocado in it! I replace the butter with flour and use brown sugar. So good every time! My father-in law is super picky and ate these (not knowing of course what was in them hehe). Favorite recipe by far!
These are so fudgy, I love them. I added some espresso powder for fun!
We love this recipe! Can they be frozen?
Rated the batter, yummy! I can only imagine the taste, made a double batch. Can they be frozen?
Hi Megan – I’d like to make the vegan version of these avocado brownies. Do you think I could use 1/4 cup cassava flour in place of 1/4 cup gluten free flour? I may try it out to see if it works anyways, since I don’t have GF flour at this time. Fingers crossed!
I forgot to give a recipe rating! My apologies! I love all of your recipes – have used them for years. My son loves them, especially. He loves the egg-version of these brownies but I can’t eat eggs.
These are absolutely delicious! I made them for my mother and father-in-law because she has diabetes but likes an occasional sweet. She raves about them! This last time I made my household a pan as well and I LOVE them! For my batch I used light brown sugar instead of coconut sugar and peanut butter in place of the almond butter. I couldn’t taste the peanut butter at all.