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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.
Looking for more date-sweetened desserts? Try the Healthiest Cookies Ever, my Healthy Birthday Cake, or Peanut Butter Date Cookies for more ideas.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Medjool dates , pitted (6 ounces)
- ⅓ 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.
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Notes
Nutrition
If you try this date brownie recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!
These came out so good!
Delicious!!!
Just made this! I spread the batter over a bakingsheet in the shape of a brownie pan, and it turned out fabulous!! 15 minutes of baking, not more. ( the sides are even a bit too dark so it could do with less time).
And ate it right out of the oven while it’s still hot and gooey. Added some dark chocolate chips through the batter as well as on top of it before baking. How delicious is this!!!!
Wow, these healthy brownies were delicious. I buy dates in large amounts and use for baking. Tried this recipe yesterday and they were so incredibly good and very easy. Thank you!!!!!
These were delicious! I will be make at least a double batch next time!
Thanks for the yummy recipe!! Perfect texture, and not too sweet. I used the 1/4 cup of water, although I used an egg instead of flax. Not sure if that was intent, as you noted to not use water…..but turned out nicely!
Hello, what is the preferred measurement for this recipe – cups or grams?
Hey! Haven’t tried this just yet- curious if you can give guidance on using a regular size muffin tin . How many minutes should I add to the bake time if they’re about twice the size? Thanks!
I believe I tried using the larger muffin pan years ago and didn’t love the texture as much. If you don’t have the mini size, maybe try dropping them on a lined baking sheet, almost like you’re making cookies? They’d probably only need to bake for about 8 minutes or so in that case.
I use a small cookie scoop and drop them onto a sheet pan with parchment for 12-14 minutes. They come out like brownie cookies and look so nice like those cookies with the crackle on top.
Also I’ve used cashew butter, almond butter, peanut butter and tahini. They all turn out great
Healthy but they still taste like regular brownies! Thanks for sharing!
Can I not add flaxseed?
These tasted absolutely incredible. I was really expecting them to be dry and flavourless but ong was I wrong. I will definitely be making these again. I also added one square or Lindt dark chocolate on top of them to melt and it was delicious!