These healthy 3 Ingredient flourless applesauce brownies contain no butter, flour, grains or sugar- Just easy, everyday ingredients! Rich, dark and super fudgy, these brownies are suitable for those following a paleo, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and sugar free lifestyle!
*My thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by the tragedies of September 11th.*
Lesson #1- Stop using my mum’s kitchen, even if her oven is superior to my own.
“Ewwwww. Since when have you started using baby food in your recipes?”
“It’s not baby food. It’s applesauce.”
* Takes a taste*
“Ewwwww. That’s baby food.”
“Niki, stop it. Just get out of the kitchen.”
“Whatever.”
I’d just finished up making these brownies. I had half a jar of applesauce left, so I kept it in my mum’s fridge. My intentions were to go back a couple of days later to use it in another recipe. That, however, was wishful thinking.
2 days later…
“Mum, where is the applesauce?”
“The baby food in a jar?”
“Mum. It’s not baby food. What is with you and Niki?”
“I saw it there yesterday. Is it not there anymore?”
“No. Maybe Niki knows. I’ll ask her to come downstairs.”
Niki waltzes downstairs, with a face covered in what I thought was tanned cement.
“Hi. I didn’t want to waste an avocado for my face mask. I used your baby food instead. You know what? It kind of smells like apple pie, but like, an ugly, rejected version!”
***
How is that for an intro into APPLE WEEK?
Yes, you read that correct, Apple Week. As mentioned in this post, Amanda and I have started themed foodie weeks each month! We’ve just finished up pumpkin week and now are back with Gweneth Paltrow’s child- Apple! Don’t forget to swing by the Spoon on Tuesday for the next recipe installment and get those apples bobbing. We’ll also be sharing our favorite healthy apple recipes at the end like we did Pumpkin style!
To kickstart apple week, it was a no-brainer- I was going to do ANOTHER twist on my original 3 Ingredient Flourless Brownies!
When I shared the pumpkin version of it, I was surprised with how many people really despised bananas! While I am not the biggest fan of them on their own, when used in recipes, they definitely get brownie points (ha, get it?!). The biggest complaint in that particular recipe was that the brownies were too ‘banana-y’.
Banana-y?
Okay, then.
To combat that, I shared the pumpkin twist. Since sharing it, it’s been made by many, but not without some constructive feedback. While it is no longer ‘banana-y’ (thank goodness, as it doesn’t contain bananas), it was now ‘not sweet enough and slightly bitter.’
Okay, then.
I get it. It’s also why I am a huge advocate of adding the optional (or not so optional) frosting- It gives it that sweetness, traditionally found IN the brownie.
So what could be something which-
a) A hint of sweetness
b) Not banana-y (geebuz, I love this word)
c) Not bitter
Baby Food Applesauce.
Wow, okay, just wow. I had my doubts with using applesauce. Compared to pumpkin and banana, it’s much more liquid-like, and as such, I thought I may need to add some coconut flour or arrowroot starch because brownie soup was not my intentions. I put this beauty in my mum’s oven and monitored it. Around 20 minutes, it was nicely baked on top and around the edges, but the center was still incredibly moist and gooey. Another 10 minutes, and it was slightly better, not perfect. After a further 5 minutes, I took it out of the oven and let it cool in the pan, praying that the brownies would firm up. Once cooled, I refrigerated it overnight. The next morning, I removed it from the pan and dug in with a knife, hoping it wouldn’t fall apart.
You guys.
GUYS.
BEST. FUDGIEST. BROWNIES.
Not only did they turn out ridiculously amazingly, they also didn’t taste the slightest bit ‘fruity’-Another fear I had! The last thing I wanted was for me or someone else to dig in, only to proclaim it was like a chocolate fruit basket.
Okay, enough rambling. Let’s jump into the recipe!
These 3 Ingredient flourless applesauce brownies are your quick healthy dessert or snack fix using easy, everyday ingredients! They are tender and slightly firm on the outside, but inside it’s another story- They are rich, incredibly moist and fudgy, it practically melts in your mouth! For such a decadent tasting brownie, you’d be surprised that it contains NO butter, flour, grains, sugar or oil! The combination of unsweetened applesauce, quality cocoa powder, and drippy almond butter. For those who don’t follow a paleo lifestyle or can handle peanuts well, it works fantastically with store bought and/or generic peanut butter. In fact, two of my friends demolished an entire pan between them which used this peanut butter. Because of the ingredients used, these flourless brownies are completely gluten free, vegan, paleo, sugar free, dairy free and grain free!
Hack! When making these brownies, go buy a pint of ice cream. Why? Well, you’ll be needing to wait a while before digging into these beauties. I’m going to sound like a broken record, but too bad- It’s imperative for this recipe. You NEED to let the brownies cool in the pan completely. Once cooled, refrigerate and DO NOT REMOVE or cut into bars until after a couple of hours MINIMUM. Trust me on this- The taste = Elevated.
You are also allowed to down a pint of ice cream while you wait, so there.
Make these healthy 3 Ingredient Flourless Applesauce Brownies and if applesauce is considered baby food, I’m all for it.
…facemask and all.
EDITED TO ADD- CLICK HERE FOR 3 FROSTING OPTIONS!
Healthy 3 Ingredient Flourless Applesauce Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup drippy almond butter can sub for peanut, cashew or nut-free spread, like soy nut butter
- 1/4- 2/3 cup cocoa powder more cocoa yields a richer taste
- Frosting of choice optional
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a small 4 x 6 or 6 x 6 loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside- A smaller pan yields thicker brownies.
-
In a large mixing bowl, add your applesauce and nut butter and mix well. If nut butter is too stiff, feel free to microwave until melted. Once mixed, add cocoa powder and mix until fully incorporated and a thick, silky batter remains.
-
Transfer brownie batter to loaf pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out just clean. Allow the brownies to cool in the pan completely. Once cooled, refrigerate for several hours (even better, if overnight). Remove, top with optional frosting and slice into bars.
Recipe Notes
Brownies need to be kept refrigerated, but are also freezer friendly. They taste delicious thawed slightly, directly from the freezer.
Cooking time can vary, depending on your oven.
Healthy 4 Ingredient Applesauce Cookies
Healthy 1 Minute Apple Cinnamon Cake
Healthy Flourless Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Cake
Have you ever done a DIY facemask before?
Are you a fan of applesauce or does it remind you of baby food?
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What frosting did you use in the photo? Looks nice and fudgy!
Hi Cheryl! I used my protein frosting 🙂
What is protein frosting and can i please have recipe?!!!!
Hi Darcy, it’s been updated to include it above the recipe card.
Hi ! I can’t see the frosting recipe…
Hi it is linked within the post 🙂
Found it ! 😛
Glad you mentioned Sept 11 – such a tough day to process each year! Also, I have more applesauce than know what to do with so I think I’m trying these today – the kids thank you in advance 🙂
Absolutely. It feels like yesterday!
Oh geebuz, please don’t haha! Your kids deserve your delicious goodness 🙂
These sound delicious, Arman! I love that Niki made good use of that leftover applesauce. Tell her if she ever runs short, we have plenty of mashed apples around here. And mashed peas. And mashed macaroni and cheese. (I swear it’s a real thing!)
Hahahahaha omg mashed macaroni and cheese.
You can tell how gooey/decadent these turn out just from the photos!! Brownies are all about that gooey factor, in my opinion. As a banana lover I’d never have the issue of too banana-y, but I’d imagine these would do the trick for those people. They look incredible!
Thanks! Appreciate it!
These brownies are good if you don’t mind the apple sauce taste. Otherwise, if you are a chocolate lover like me and do not mind adding dairy to the recipe, I suggest adding melted dark chocolate or add melted chocolate with some Greek yogurt until the chocolate taste is richer.Otherwise, it’s a good recipe
I love recipes that use applesauce! I always end up with too much on my hands. Bonus point is if it involves chocolate!
🙂 Thanks, Kate! Hope you’ve been well!
I can see how gooey these brownies turned out. I like recipes that use applesauce, and have subbed it for half the amount of oil when baking cupcakes.
YES!!! Such a good substitution idea! 🙂
Hi there. I’m French (although to be exact, I hailed from South Korea but I was adopted when I was almost 6 years old) and here in France, we love applesauce! And I’ve been following a healthy lifestyle with a low-carb diet for 2 months and a half now. So hail to your lovely recipe that looks amazing! 🙂 This is the first recipe I’m gonna make from your wonderful website. Gonna tell you how it went, I promise! I love applesauce (in French, it’s called “compote de pommes”). Long live the “baby food”! 😉 Thanks for sharing!
It was a hit! Very yummy and so super easy to make! Thanks for sharing!
😀 you are so welcome!
Bonjour, mon ami! 🙂
Merci for your kind words! I look forward to you trying more recipes!
These look almost too good to be true! And definitely too good not to pin. I HAVE to try this recipe ASAP!
Please do, Karly! Enjoy!
Hehe your adventures with your mom and Niki are pretty hilarious! And these look so good; apples are right up there with pumpkin for me! And 3 ingredients? YES! Do you make your own nut butter or buy it? What’s your favorite brand?
I make my own often, but sometimes buy store bought!
So fudgy oh em geeeee. In undergrad I’d eat those squeeze packs of applesauce all the time and Ray made fun of me for essentially eating baby food.
Hahahaha oh geebuz. They totally are baby food!
There’s no such thing as something being too banana-y. That’s just blasphemy. And applesauce is my jam. Back in the day when I used to make my own, I probably at around 6 apples worth of applesauce a day 😆
urgh. Unrelated but the mini brownies effed up. They stuck to the patty pans.
That was a funny story. I think once in college i made banana brownies and they were such a disaster, no one ate them. But yeah, I’ll try applesauce. I think with using healthier ingredients, you really have to cut out the flour to avoid dryness.. you’re right. WIll try this
Please do, I think you’ll really enjoy these!
There is nothing worse than baking a cake that requires setting overnight! I definitely need a pint of ice cream in the meantime.
Haha, it’s so worth it in the end for a healthy chocolate fix!
I scanned the recipe pics/titles looking for the protein chocolate frosting recipe… Link please? We’re on Whole30, but it’s my 2yo’s birthday today. Making these for his “cake”… We’ll do it without frosting today, but I’d love to have it for later. 🙂
Hi Elizabeth- All the frosting options are here- https://thebigmansworld.com/2016/03/23/healthy-flourless-fudge-brownies/
Do you think this could work with coconut manna?
Hi Alexandre! I’ve never tried it with that, sorry!
Looks so good! I have to try these!
Enjoy, Bharat!
I know you said to cool them off first, but I couldn’t wait, and they were phenomenal!!! I can’t wait to see how they taste after some time in the fridge. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
😀 That’s what I like to hear- Thanks so much, Susan!
Looks like I missed out on apple week BIG time… :'( but hopefully I can make these brownies soon!
I just made your apple blondies this week and I cannot wait to make this chocolate version next week 🙂 My partner and my friends are always surprised when they taste the recipes I make from your website and I tell them the ingredients! It`s great to be able to eat desserts which satisfy my sweet tooth but are really healthy and won`t make me feel guilty lol Keep going!
😀 Oh I can totally relate, Diana- I was shocked the other week when I realised my favorite brownie had the same caloric content as THE ENTIRE PAN!!!!!
Thanks so much for your kind words 🙂
Thinking these could be made AIP by using coconut manna/butter and carob…hmmm.
Please let me know how it works out, Karin 🙂
I tried these, they were delish. i liked them even better before they were baked!
Hahaha I love that- Thanks so much, Anu!
What if your almond butter isn’t drippy?
Hi Kristy! It might be a little more coarse, but it will still work 🙂
I cannot thank you enough for this recipe and the sweet potato/pumpkin variations. As someone who unfortunately developed a banana allergy in her 20s (yea, it really sucks), it is so hard to find recipes without bananas/frozen bananas etc. I miss their flavour and versatility so much. so to sum up, thank you!!!
You are so welcome, Amanda! I’m so glad you are able to enjoy this 🙂
Help! I made these and had to throw them away as they were extremely bitter. I used Hershey’s CoCo Powder. This was the second brownie recipe I tried that called for CoCo powder and both were too bitter to eat. Any thoughts?
Hi there! You should add the optional sweetener- They are supposed to be dark and rich tasting 🙂
The recipe only mentions the frosting (which I did create with melted choc chips), are you suggesting a sweetener in the brownies? If so, what? I don’t want to use anything like Stevia or sugar substitute.
I had the same issue, but I was also using the dark chocolate cocoa instead of regular. I made a second batch with a bit of maple syrup (like 2 tablespoons worth). Worked perfect!
Thanks for the feedback, Bailie!
Hi
This ask for almond butter. Here where I live don’t sell almond butter. I don’t like nut version of butter. Here do sell coconut butter. Will that be okay work with this recipe (also banana version too….I love banana)?
I haven’t tried it with that, I’m sorry- This will be- Here is one for you – https://thebigmansworld.com/2015/10/05/healthy-3-ingredient-flourless-brownies/ you can try using sunflower seed butter?
Very bitter results. I haven’t added frosting but the basic brownie is so bitter I think it’s beyond rescue.
Where did I go wrong?
Julie, with all due respect, the recipe states that it will be dark and rich toasting. If it’s too bitter, it may be due to your cocoa powder you used. I also mentioned in the post that if you want a sweet brownie, add sweetener to it.
aH, I didn’t see the bit about sweetener, just thought the applesauce would be enough! Silly me.
I have made this a couple of times now (without frosting). The first few bites I found to be a bit bitter for my taste, but the more I ate it (and the longer I go without consuming refined sugars) the more I enjoyed the dark chocolate taste. I have been adding some ground chipotle pepper to the mix to give it a nice little kick. Great recipe!
🙂 Thanks, Lauren- They definitely aren’t sweet but a gem for dark cocoa lovers 🙂
May I ask how much sweetener you added? Glad you are enjoying yours. When I made some without sweetener I found the result completely inedible but the site owner says he did recommend some sweetener. I didn’t see that bit!
Hey there! I am at work today and plan on making these tomorrow when I get home!! Yay! They look incredible.
Here is my question I hope you can help me out with. I don’t have any of the smaller pans you mentioned 🙁 I have only a standard loaf pan or square 8×8 or 9×9 , or a big cake pan. Do you know how I could best convert this awesome recipe for one of my pans?
thank you so much
Hi Jenn! I think making it in either of those pans is fine, just keep an eye on the baking time 🙂
What is the nutrional facts for these brownies?
Hi Lilly! If you go to myfitnesspal, it will break it down for you! 🙂 Enjoy!
These look fantastic….I see they must be refrigerated….what solution would you offer me if I told you my husband requires warm-able brownies because he prefers his cold ice cream to compliment his ooey-gooey warm brownies (without risking a bowl full of chocolate-y/nut buttery goo)?? 😉
Thanks, Natalie! Hmmm I guess warm them up 🙂
My husband and I are on day 1 of detoxing from holiday indulging…and this was a great way to ease into it! I used about 1/3 cup of cocoa powder and we skipped the icing. The first bite was a bit bitter like others have mentioned, but I love dark chocolate and really enjoyed the overall taste and texture! Definitely a great healthy option when you want something super chocolatey!
🙂 Love it!!
THis recipe was super easy and super yummy! I cooked mine in a square cake pan 8×8 and used the protein PowerReviews frosting. Very impressed with the turnout 😋
LOVE IT! 🙂
**protein powder