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.
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.
I added a half cup of chopped walnuts. These are the best brownie I have ever eaten!
I can’t eat regular or coconut sugar at the moment so I decided to try this recipe subbing maple syrup in. Since I wasn’t sure about ratio of wet to dry, I halved the maple syrup compared to the coconut sugar (i.e. I used half a cup of maple syrup). The texture of these brownies is spot on! It’s amazing. Mine were more bittersweet than I would have liked, but given I halved the sugar that’s not surprising. I was watching them carefully as they baked and they were perfectly done after 16 minutes at 325. I’ll make these again but might try playing around with the ratio of cocoa/maple syrup/almond butter.
I just put a batch in the oven. I substituted the Coconut sugar with monkfruit sweetener mixed with 2 tsp of molasses to make a reduced (brown) sugar version. Smells great! Can’t wait to taste it!
I decided to try these after all the positive reviews. I followed the recipe to a T (I noticed the recipe says baking powder but the image with all the ingredients labeled says baking soda – which is it?) and they came out awful. I was so disappointed. The batter tasted fine but the brownies tasted like burnt old avocados. I’ll stick to bean brownies from now on.
I thought these brownies turned out great. I used my over ripe avocados and they were just as described – no taste of avocado! My kids who knew what was in them wouldn’t eat them but everyone else who didn;t know what was in them loved them!
There are no measurements. How is this supposed to work?
Hi Bianca! There’s a printable recipe towards the bottom of this page. You can click the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page if you’d like to be taken straight to the measurements. Enjoy!
These were so much better than I anticipated! I substituted natural peanut butter for almond butter, semisweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate and I baked for 35 mins in a glass 8×8. These turned out so gooey and fudgy, I even ate one warm and couldn’t taste the avocado at all
Super fudgy and decadent! Couldn’t taste any avocado. I added two tablespoons of pure maple syrup. So delicious!
Great fudgy brownies! Used half brown sugar and half Stevia, dark cocoa, milk chocolate bits and chopped walnuts. Couldn’t taste avocado. I appreciate the ingredient replacement ideas! Will definitely make again!
Thank you for sharing your recipe! I add oats, use stevia for sweetener, and put a non-wheat flour in just to firm them up. My organic stevia-sweetened chocolate chips also help to make these brownies a healthy treat.
I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to butter or oil for my cookies.