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My 3 ingredient brownies are a healthy and easy chocolate dessert recipe that bakes in just 20 minutes! There is no flour or eggs needed.
Love healthy chocolate desserts? Try my healthy chocolate cake, healthy mug cake, and healthy chocolate muffins next.
My 3 ingredient flourless brownies were developed by a complete accident. I was in the midst of making a smoothie and had put some banana, cocoa powder, and peanut butter into a blender. It was only then I realized that I had run out of milk.
Instead of throwing out the contents of my blender, I gave them a quick blend and was left with something that resembled batter. I decided to take a chance and transfer them to a baking pan and baked them as though they were brownies.
What resulted from this experiment was a fudgy, rich brownie-like treat, perfect to satisfy any chocolate fix or sweet tooth.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- No flour or grains. Tese don’t have any of the basics.
- Healthy. Bananas and peanut butter are two of the healthiest foods ever, and unsweetened cocoa powder is just perfection.
- Ready in 20 minutes. From prep to plate, my brownies bake in less than 20 minutes.
Ingredients needed
- Bananas. Ripe bananas add sweetness to the brownies and keep them super fudgy. Opt for riper bananas as are naturally sweeter.
- Peanut butter. Smooth and creamy peanut butter with no added sugar. If you love the sweet and salty combination, use salted peanut butter.
- Cocoa powder. 100% unsweetened and Dutch processed cocoa. I like to use dark or black cocoa powder for extra richness.
Ways to sweeten brownies
If you taste-test the batter and find it to be not sweet enough to your liking, you can add one of the sweetener options below-
- Liquid Stevia. Add 1 serving to your batter (5 drops) and give it a taste test. If it still isn’t sweet enough, add a few more drops.
- Maple Syrup. For a refined sugar-free brownie, add 1/4 cup pure maple syrup and an extra 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. The brownies using maple syrup will be extra gooey.
- Agave nectar. Like maple syrup, add 1/4 cup and increase cocoa powder by 2 tablespoons.
- Coconut sugar. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut palm sugar to the batter. You won’t need to amend any of the other ingredients if you use this.
How to make 3 ingredient 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: Mash. Add your bananas into a large mixing bowl and mash them completely.
Step 2: Combine. Add your peanut butter/almond butter and cocoa powder.
Step 3: Mix your ingredients until fully incorporated. If desired, add chocolate chips to it and fold them through.
Step 4: Bake. Transfer your brownie batter to the lined pan and bake dor 17-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out just clean.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Do not over-bake the brownies. These will continue cooking as they cool down.
- Under-bake them. As there are no eggs or flour in them, you can undercook the brownies a little and still enjoy them as is.
- Use a blender! While you can make the batter by hand, I recommend using a blender or food processor. This ensures the banana is as smooth as it can be and there are no chunks throughout.
- Use a smaller pan. I recommend choosing a baking dish or pan that is typically smaller than what you’d use for traditional brownies. This way, you’ll be left with thicker and richer brownies that are just that much more satisfying to eat.
Variations
This brownie recipe is actually pretty easy to adapt to a plethora of diets or food preferences out there. Here is what we’ve personally tried (and can vouch for!).
- Add frosting. I love to add a thick layer of my 2 ingredient dairy free frosting or healthy frosting.
- Swap out the banana. If you aren’t a fan of bananas, you can use unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin puree. Be wary though, the brownies won’t be as sweet. To compensate, add 1/4 cup of sugar or a liquid sweetener, like maple syrup.
- Use another nut butter. Almond or cashew butter will work well.
- Make these nut free. Tahini or sunflower seed butter instead of the peanut butter.
Storage instructions
To store: Place cooled brownies in a sealable container and keep them in the fridge at all times. They will keep for at least 5 days.
To freeze: Wrap the cooled brownies in parchment paper and place them in individual ziplock bags. Frozen brownies will keep for 6 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight or at room temperature.
More easy brownies to try
- Flourless brownies
- 2 ingredient brownies
- Zucchini brownies
- Almond flour brownies
- Or any of my brownie recipes
3 Ingredient Brownies
Video
Ingredients
- 3 large bananas
- 1/2 cup almond butter can substitute for peanut butter or another nut/seed butter
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven the 180C/350F. Line a square pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your bananas and mash well. Alternatively, you can blend them. Add the rest of your ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the mixture into the lined pan and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until set on top.
- Allow brownies to cool in the pan completely, before slicing up.
I made these in an 8 by * pan and they were pretty thin (definitely thinner than the picture) might try in one of those pans for bread loaves. BUT there were still really really really good! I ate half the pan oops…..
meant to say 8 by 8
Hahaha you and me both! The pan can actually be any size, depending on the thickness 🙂
I’m making them right now. It took a lot of will power not to eat it raw!! I’m living this recipe!
WHAT? These look unreal! I love all of those ingredients but never thought they’d work when baked up as a brownie. Will definitely try this!
I just made two batches of these and they were awesome! I changed the recipe a bit on batch #2 by using 3 bananas, 1/2 cup sugar free peanut butter powder, 1/4 cup desiccated coconut, and a 1/4 cup coco powder. Totally yummy and perfect consistency.
Yum! That sounds delicious, Karen! 🙂
Did you use the half cup powdered PB with water added or dry?
I added it dry so that it would soak up some of the moisture from the other ingredients and firm up the brownie. Worked perfectly!
Whoa those look fabulous!
Thanks so much Serena 🙂
You know how I feel about bananas. I say bring it on, especially if this is what you call ugly. They look good.
Also, I am ridiculously pleased you drank a mountain dew as opposed to a diet mountain dew. It’s the little things.
I’m making you a banana ball gown 🙂
To be fair, I don’t think these look ugly at all, but I totally get the frustration that comes with wanting to show people how freaking amazing something is through the screen and it not always turning out. Apple needs to start working on a way to translate flavour and smell through the screen….
OH yesss! Apples are notorious!
Can I sub broccoli for the bananas and PB2 for the nut butter and protein powder for the cocoa powder? Trying to stay away from banana, fat and anything real.
Hope you enjoyed these- Saw your snap!
made it on a whim. so fast and way better than i thought! i chested and added a tablespoon of hazelnut instant coffee because it’s just what i do with brownies. i love how easy these all are!
YESS! That sounds delicious, Christine!
I’m all about the banana chunks… nothing better than that blob of banana goo in a baked good!
In terms of ugly food – aubergine has to be a winner. It hardly ever looks good when you make anything with it but in terms of taste… well it is a food of the gods!
Oh it’s so good as a dip!
I love a rich chocolate taste, and these brownies look so delicious!
You and me, both. I go through dark cocoa like a BOSS!
These certainly look delicious, so I dunno what this visually terrifying thing is all about… 😉
Hahaha naw, thanks Mermaid!
These are far from ugly! I WISH I could grab that stack straight through this monitor!
Thanks heaps, Kate! I should have saved the edge pieces to shoot.
Mmm I love rich chocolatey brownies, Arman! Even better when they’re healthier brownies!
🙂 Right? Thanks so much, Julie!
I enjoyed these thoroughly but I would have liked them even better if you subbed chickpeas for nut butter. Bai.
I’m subbing them for the juice of chickpeas.