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Fudgy, rich, and perfectly sweetened, it doesn’t get better than sweet potato brownies! Made with no added sugar or flour, I can’t over how decadent they are!
Looking for more dessert recipes using sweet potato? Try my sweet potato blondies, sweet potato muffins, and sweet potato cake next.
I’ve made my friends and family eat some pretty wild things, but out of every oddball flavor combination I’ve tried, none has been more successful than this sweet potato brownie recipe.
Naturally sweetened with–you guessed it, sweet potatoes–these brownies have the perfect texture and just the right amount of sweetness.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- 4 ingredients. Aside from the sweet potatoes, everything else is simple baking staples.
- A healthy treat. Without even trying, these brownies are dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, and sugar-free. Plus, sweet potatoes add tons of antioxidants and fiber.
- One blender and one baking dish. That’s all you need to get these brownies on the table.
- Baked in 20 minutes. That’s half the time of traditional brownies!
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Made these as directed (minus chocolate chips) and they were perfect for a late-night sugar craving. Next batch, I’ll try with vanilla extract and maybe a few walnuts.” – Joanna
Ingredients needed
- Sweet Potato. Mashed with a fork until smooth, then cooled completely. This will give the brownies a starchy base and replace the eggs. You can use either my microwave sweet potato or air fryer baked sweet potatoes to cook them up quickly!
- Maple Syrup. My favorite sticky sweetener, especially for pairing with sweet potatoes. I used 100% pure maple syrup.
- Almond Butter. Drippy and smooth almond butter adds healthy fats! Be sure to use one that has no added sugar or salt.
- Cocoa Powder. For the chocolate flavor, of course! I used unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Avoid using cacao powder, which is much stronger and bitter in comparison.
- Chocolate chips. Optional, but there’s no such thing as too much chocolate in brownies, right?
- Frosting. Optional, but I love a generous lathering of either my 2 ingredient dairy free frosting or healthy frosting.
How to make sweet potato brownies
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and grease a baking pan.
Step 2—Combine all the ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until a smooth batter remains.
Step 3- Bake. Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Use an electric mixer instead. If I don’t feel like breaking out the blender, I’ll mash the sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl and stir everything together with an electric hand mixer.
- Save time. Use store-bought sweet potato puree instead (I like the Del Monte canned variety- it only has sweet potato).
- If I don’t have enough sweet potato puree for the recipe, I’ll fold in a little pumpkin puree. It’s not cheating if it works!
- Swap the almond butter. Any type of nut butter will work, like peanut butter or cashew butter. For nut-free brownies, use tahini or sunflower seed butter instead.
- Adjust the consistency. When I tested this recipe, sometimes I noticed the brownie batter turned out quite thin and liquid. If you notice this, add a tablespoon or two of coconut flour or oat flour to thicken it back up. It should be the consistency of traditional brownies.
- Add flavor. Fold in 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, or top the brownies with sea salt for an extra boost of flavor.
Storage instructions
To store. Place cooled brownies in a sealed container and keep them in the fridge. Brownies refrigerated will keep fresh for up to 1 week.
To freeze. Wrap brownies individually in parchment paper and place them in a ziplock bag. Brownies kept in the freezer will keep fresh for up to 6 months.
More brownies to try
- Cherry brownies
- Flourless brownies
- Eggless brownies
- Strawberry brownies
- Or any of these brownie recipes
Sweet Potato Brownies
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked sweet potato mashed
- 1/2 cup almond butter can sub for any nut or seed butter of choice
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips Optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and grease a loaf pan and set aside.
- In a high-speed blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients and blend well until a smooth brownie batter remains.
- Pour the mixture into the greased pan and bake for around 20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. If desired, add frosting, then slice.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published 2015, updated November 2019, republished April 2024.
How long do these take to cool before edible? Can’t wait!
Hi Nadia! You can eat them soon after, but for the best texture, it’s best to let them sit for until completely cool- Even better once refrigerated.
Hi,
First of all, thanks for the recipe. I have three questions.
1. Do I steam, boil or oven the sweet potatoes?
2. Do i keep the skin on?
3. Do I cook them completely or enough to mix with the cacao powder?
Thanks,
Qing
Hi Qing! You can definitely cook them any way you prefer, but remove the skin once cooked. Enjoy!
I just tried these and they are amazing! I did have to leave them in for longer than 20 min though, but maybe it’s just my oven. They are also better once they are cooled down because they firm up. Thanks for recipe! 🙂
You are so welcome, Erika! 🙂
Could I sub xylitol for the maple? And maybe add an egg?
Hi Stephanie! I haven’t tried it with those substitutions but please let me know how it goes 🙂
About how many sweet potatoes does it take to make a cup of mashed? Obviously depends on the size, but how many medium or large would you estimate it takes?
Hi Elise- I reckon around 2 medium/large ones 🙂
Do you cook the potato first?
Hi Layla! Yes, you’d need to use a pre-cooked sweet potato 🙂
Can you provide the nutritional information per brownie from this recipe? Calories, protein, carbs, etc. It would be much appreciated!!
Hi Kelsey! For sure- If you go to myfitnesspal or caloriecount.com, it will provide it for you, depending on how many pieces you make 🙂 Enjoy!
This may be a silly question but how do you know these are cooked through? I’m unsure if ive’ve left in long enough to cook? Tasty though just quite mushy is this right?
Hi Trish! They firm up once cooled and refrigerated- Saying that, they are still incredibly fudgy!
I’d like to try this! Curious what kind of sweet potato you use? The common orange flesh type us Americans use for thanksgiving?
Hi Emily! The orange ones would be great- I use those ones, others have tried it from a can with success 🙂
I just popped these into the oven. First time making them. I chose not to add choc chips. The batter was good as I licked it off the mixers. 🙂
😀 Oh fantastic- That’s why I love this recipe- The batter has no eggs so totally acceptable to eat 🙂
Hi! I really really want to try this recipe but Nut allergy alert. What can I sub nut butter with? Thanks !
Hi Jev! You can sub it for sunflower seed butter or soy nut butter 🙂
May I know how much will this yield? If I wanna make this for my 1 year old baby during his birthday celebration, around 30 people, how will the amount of ingredients changed? Kindly advise ><
Hi Candy! I made around 6-8 generous portions, if you need to make it for 30, I’d make 5-6 batches 🙂 Enjoy!
Are the sweet potatoes supposed to be cooked first before mashing them?
Hi Robert- Definitely cook them prior 🙂 A quick hack is to poke holes in it and microwave, covered, for 7-8 minutes 🙂
I made these today because I was going to make some sweet potato brownies and realised I didn’t have any dates (which I normally use) so was frantically googling to find a recipe that didn’t have dates in and came across this. The brownies have turned out absolutely amazingly! They’re fairly gooey so I think I probably should have baked them for a little longer but oh well! I subbed the nut butter for vegan chocolate spread, which was a very good idea on my part because oh my they are beautifully chocolatey!
😀 Lottie! Thank you SO much for your feedback- Absolutely appreciate it!
If you refrigerate it, it will firm up more and be even better tasting 🙂