Avocado Brownies
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Make my avocado brownies recipe and never toss a mushy avocado away again. They’re rich, soft, and crinkly-topped. Naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and low-carb!
Avocado brownies that taste like something from a bakery
I’ve been using avocados in baking for as long as I can remember. I didn’t invent it, per se, but let’s just say I’ve been doing it since before it became fashionable.
When folded into brownie batter, avocado adds a velvety texture and healthy fats, enhancing the rich, chocolate flavor. The two go hand in hand, making for delicious brownies that just happen to be better for you. Here’s why they’re a fabulous dessert:
- You won’t taste the avocado. I know many people can be very particular about their brownies, and I wouldn’t mislead you.
- Naturally gluten-free. Made with almond flour instead of AP flour, these brownies are perfect for anyone following a gluten-free diet.
- Ultra fudgy and rich. Avocado adds healthy fats that create an incredibly moist, gooey texture without making the brownies heavy.
- Simple to make. Just mix the ingredients, pour into the pan, and bake.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need, along with my kitchen notes. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Almond flour. I prefer blanched almond flour, not almond meal. The latter is too grainy and won’t make for a gooey brownie.
- Cocoa powder. 100% unsweetened and Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Be sure to sift the cocoa powder to ensure there are no clumps. I sometimes use dark cocoa powder for a richer chocolate flavor.
- Salt. Just a pinch to elevate the sweet flavors.
- Coconut oil. Melted and refined coconut oil, so there is no coconut flavor. Butter also works.
- Avocado. My not-so-secret ingredient! Use mashed and overripe avocados.
- Sugar. I used white sugar because it gives those gorgeous crisp edges. Brown sugar works, but will be more gooey in the middle.
- Vanilla extract. A must for any good brownie recipe.
- Eggs. I recommend using room temperature eggs, as they mix seamlessly into the brownie batter and don’t firm up the coconut oil.
- Dark chocolate chips. Because what brownie isn’t better with chocolate chips?
- Add mix-ins. Add your favorite brownie additions like chopped walnuts, chocolate chunks, or even white chocolate chips.
How to make avocado brownies
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease and line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
Step 2- Mix. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, add the avocado, oil, sugar, and vanilla and whisk. Add the eggs one at a time and mix. Gently fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Step 3- Bake. Transfer the brownie batter to the lined pan and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the edges thicken up and the tops are firm. Let them cool completely before slicing.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Use frozen avocado. I’ve tested this recipe with frozen avocado, and it bakes up just as fudgy. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then blend until smooth before adding it to the batter.
- Mash the avocado until completely smooth. Any chunks will remain in the baked brownies (and completely detract from the brownies). I like using a food processor or blender for the smoothest batter, but a fork works well too if your avocado is very ripe.
- Don’t overbake the brownies. The center should be slightly underdone when you remove them from the oven. They’ll continue to set as they cool, giving you that ultra-fudge texture.
- Let it cool before slicing. I know it’s tempting to dig in right away, but letting the brownies cool allows them to firm up, so you get clean slices instead of gooey edges.
More healthy brownie recipes
Avocado Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons almond flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup avocado mashed, approximately 1 small
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease and line an 8 x 8-inch square pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, add your almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt, and mix well. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, add your avocado, coconut oil, sugar, and vanilla extract, and whisk until smooth. Add the eggs in, one at a time, and mix well. Gently add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold through the chocolate chips.
- Transfer the brownie batter into the lined pan and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the edges thicken up and the tops are firm.
- Remove the brownies from the oven and let them cool in the pan completely, before slicing up.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published July 2022
the taste is great! my brownies in the middle are not quite set even though baking for 26 minutes. I think I should have kept them in the oven a little longer . will make these again. I used 1 1/3 c sugar to lessen the sugar a little.
Thanks for the feedback, Marcia- If you let them sit at room temperature, they’ll firm up nicely (or even in the fridge).
thanks ! these were the best brownies ever! Next going to try with Allulose like you suggested as I am a diabetic! Keep the recipes coming!!!
thanks again! firmed up nicely in fridge
Can you please provide the recipe in grams?
Thanks
Hi Selina- absolutely. I’ll have it updated today 🙂
Could I subsatute Munk fruit, truvia or something other than sugar?
Yes, to replace granulated sugar, any of those should work well. If you want to keep the crackly tops, i recommend allulose, which dissolves like sugar does.
Is there a sugar substitute that works best for this recipe. Really want to make it!
Hi Mara, granulated allulose or an erythritol blend would be perfectly fine!
Hello, I’d like to know: is it 11 cups of almond flour + 2 tablespoons or one 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons? Thank you in advance!
Hi Laura, it’s 1 and 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons. Hope this helps 🙂
This is life-changing!! Everybody stop what you’re doing and make this recipe. It does not taste “healthy” at all. Not a sacrifice to swap these for regular brownies. Plus, they freeze like a dream!
PS I had a fun time learning how to properly make blanched almond flour. Thanks for those instructions!
Why can you not convert the cups in grams to make it a useable recipe outside of the US. I’ve just wasted a ton of ingredients that I’ll now need to bin because I was switching back and forth on my phone between this and a conversion table which I’ve quite clearly got wrong. I’ve wasted all of my flour, coconut oil, eggs and a half bag of cocoa which wasn’t cheap. I’m pretty livid to be honest. What the hell even are cups!!!! Just use grams for Christ sake.
Hi Rachael- this recipe has actually always had metric measurements. If you click the toggle that says ‘metric’ it converts it all for you.
My god, these are amazing! Even better on day two (they will not make it to day three ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
*Cooked a little longer than instructed
Thank you! So glad you liked this one, and I don’t think fresh brownie batches would ever make it to day 3 in our house either. Thanks for the feedback!
Super fudge brownies.. love this recipe… will definitely be making again..😋
Thank you Jan! The avocado makes all the difference in this recipe 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Can I use less sugar? Seems like 1 1/2 cups is alot for an 8 x 8 pan.
Hi Rochelle, this recipe is fairly forgiving when it comes to sugar. I wouldn’t drop below 50% of the original quantity though, unless you want to sacrifice those crinkly tops and some of it’s structure. Let us know how you go!
I just made these and can confirm that you don’t taste the avocado or the coconut oil – they taste amazing! This will be my go-to brownie recipe from now on. I highly recommend them. The best brownies I’ve ever made, even when compared to traditional soft fudgey brownie recipes! I’m always on the look out for great dairy-free grain-free recipes. To make it Paleo I will try using a vanilla bean pod instead of vanilla extract and maple sugar instead of white sugar. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sonya, thanks so much for taking the time to share this feedback! I’m so glad you loved the recipe, the fudginess from the avocado is truly next level.
So chocolatey and delicious.
Next time I’d go a little easier on the sugar and chocolate chips…
So glad you liked them! They are very rich, and yes, I definitely encourage everyone to adapt the sweetness level to their own liking 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment.
Just wondering how this ended up in the KETO section?? Sugar isn’t Keto.. Are their substitutes for it we can use? I checked the notes and didn’t see anything.
Thanks for spotting this Aj, should be all fixed now 🙂
Is it possible to use flax flour with this
I haven’t tried it with flax flour, Ellen. You can substitute it with sunflower seed or cashew flour without affecting the texture.
I baked for the full 25 minutes and they were barely cooked. I checked that I got the ingredients right and the temperature right. I’d say more like 40-45 minutes. It did seem like a short amount of time to bake brownies.
Hi Louanne- I’m wondering if your oven bakes a little differently? Most of my brownie recipes fall in the 22-30 minute range- that’s taking into account the extra fudgy texture or cakey brownies.
Have you tried adding malt powder (the same as used to make beer) to your mixture?
Hi Charles, I actually haven’t but that’s a really interesting idea. Malt used to make beer is a little different to the malt used for baking though. I’d stick with the baking malt. I imagine it will work well to enhance caramel flavors in the brownie. Just be careful not to use too much as it might make them too dense. Let us know how you go!
Can you use regular flour ?
Hi Stephanie, you definitely can! You may just need a little more moisture, as wheat flour is a bit more absorbent than almond flour.
So I followed everything I was supposed to and this was mushy after 25 min. It took closer to 45 minutes before they hardened but even then they were slimy and oily and smelled weird. This definitely needs some tweaks.
Sorry to hear that, M. The slimy and oily texture usually points to the avocado. If it was underripe or had any off flavors, that will come through in the bake and affect the texture. Make sure to use very ripe, fresh avocado that smells neutral and mash it completely smooth with no lumps before mixing. The recipe has worked well for many readers so hopefully that is the fix.
Flour/sugar ratio is off. Way too sweet.
The ratios are correct – these are designed to be rich and indulgent. That said, sweetness is personal and you can safely reduce the sugar by half without affecting the structure too much. You will lose some of those crinkly tops though.
Wow. All healthy fats.
Tasty.
Chocolate flavour.
I will do it!
Great, moist and delicious brownies. You are awesome!
I tried avocado just once in my life and didnt like it very much. As I know its very healthy, I will “mask” it in this brownie haha!
In my country avocados are pretty expensive. But I could buy 1-2 to try this one.
Can I use regular flour in place of almond flour?
I tried this and found the brownies to be a little stodgy.
Made these today as written. They are amazing. Only addition was walnuts. Definitely will make again.
Yum!! Love that!
I tried the recipe as is the first time and thought it was good. However, the second time around I cut the sugar in half to just 3/4 cup, and baked 29 minutes. I enjoyed the rich and filling flavor so much more and had less mom guilt sharing this treat with my kids. With less sugar the brownie felt more fudgy, but overall more satisfying.
Hi, I’m from Spain and I don’t quite understand the measurements of the cups, do you know the measurements in grams? thankssss
No indication of sugar in nutrition
Can I substitute white sugar for keto sugar?
Hi Trina- allulose would work well for this, as it is an equal sub for sugar.
I stopped making keto brownies because they were always too dry to enjoy. But I happened to luck into some nice avocados and thought why not try once more. I used a round silicone container that fit in my air fryer and baked for only 20 minutes. FABULOUS, just as you promised.
Can you substitute allulose for maple syrup or honey? Would it still be 1 1/2 cups if those are good substitutes?
I haven’t tried- Feel free to experiment and see
These were delicious! My only swaps were that I used half organic white sugar and half coconut sugar, and ghee instead of coconut oil. My family had no idea there was an avocado in these yummy brownies!
I’ve done this with half white sugar and half maple syrup, and another time half white sugar and half coconut sugar. Both worked great!
It is worth mentioning that, after looking around for similar recipes to this one, one of the times I switched out white sugar for more glycemic-index-friendly sugars also I halved the salt and added a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Because of that I also raised the total amount of sugar to account for the bitterness (and almost saltiness?) of the baking soda. That time around had ~1 cup maple syrup and 3/4 cup white sugar, and that created an even better texture without the baking soda changing the flavor and still turned out delicious!!
So if you’re thinking of substituting out the sugar for similar reasons, I highly recommend the other modifications to go with it. 🙂
These were amazing even my picky eater ate them and loved them
While completely delicious they never cooked through, even after 32 minutes. I don’t know if they would cook better in a metal pan because I only had a glass 8×8. I will definitely make these again.
ARMAN!!! Hello! G’day!! I live Iowa, USA; just wanted to tell you again that I love your recipes, your photos, your 3:45 AM emails, and your insight and tips! Thank you, so much, for every one of them, and all of your hard work!!🙏🏻I appreciate you!!!!
You Are The Best!!😃🙏🏻😊👍🏻
Thank you, Shelly x
These turned out so good. Gooey and fudgy, tasted just like a regular brownie. I used mix of mostly coconut sugar and eyrithrotyl for the sweetener. Also I only had to use half of an avocado to get 1/4 cup mashed. Will definitely be making again!
No many good recipes for keto baking out there, but this is FAB!
Highly reommended!
Super YUM. I did reduce the sweetener because I like brownies more dark chocolatey and because I was afraid with that much sweetener there would be too much aftertaste. So good my kids ate them without even knowing they’re keto brownies.
With white sugar these are not keto so I’m not sure why everyone keeps on saying that they are!
I would love to try a true keto version of this!
Hi Brenda, you’re absolutely right. If you would like to make these keto though, you could swap the sugar for allulose and make sure you’re also using sugar-free chocolate chips. Hope this helps!