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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 tonight, and success! They didn’t look too ugly and tasted delicious! Great for that sweet tooth, without the sugar! thanks so much!
Oh yay! You are so welcome. Jenn! 🙂
what is the nutritional value of brownies
Hi Lori! I’m not sure but if you add the ingredients into a calorie calculator it should provide it for you 🙂
Do these freeze well?
Hi Ash! You bet- I LOVE them thawed slightly- They are so fudgy!
Anyone know how many servings this makes? i kind of like to know these things to punch them into my food journal app.
Hi Denise! These are easy to customise any size you want, so try them out and then it can give you a better calculation based on how many pieces you slice them into!
These look amazing! I was just wondering if there is a secret to cutting them. I have had trouble in the past with very moist fudgy recipes sticking to the knife & making a terrible mess. I run a B&B & am always on the lookout for Gluten free recipes for my guests, plus I love dark chocolate fudgy brownies myself!!! Pinning it!
Hi Candee! Thank you! What I always do with brownies is that I let them cool completely then refrigerate completely- It then makes it so much easier to cut 🙂
So, a really sharp kitchen knife, or a serrated one… which would be best?
Really sharp. Serrated is for something harder to cut through. Chill the brownies before cutting and use a sharp, thin knife. 🙂
Thanks!
I know that this is an old question, but I do have a brownie cutting trick. Use a plastic knife! The brownie doesn’t stick to it as much as it does to a metal knife.
Thanks so much, Sarah!
Really good!!
YAY! Thanks so much, Jamie!
Confession. I get bummed out whenever there are no sad-looking brown bananas at the grocery store. They are the BEST! Love the idea of these healthy brownies, definitely trying them out on my little taste tester!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder….and I want to be holding those brownies. 😛
hahaha thanks so much Christine 🙂 Your dinners continue to make me drool!
Does the banana taste come through or does the cocoa and nut butter drown it out?
Hi Julia! It isn’t TOO dominant but you can tell it’s sort of there- I’d recommend using peanut butter which masks it SO much better AND the darker cocoa 🙂
I made your brownies yesterday and they turned out SO GOOD. They were delicious and so simple to make! Thank you for a great post!
Naw, thanks so much for letting me know, Johanna! 🙂
When you read a piece like this and just happen to have 3 bananas in the fruit bowl, it’s a sign. Made them tonight and can confirm; a) no sign of ugly when you blend the heck out of the mix (not that they were in the first place but just saying), b) peanut butter is a good sub, c) heavy on the cocoa is a great idea, d) they are ?. An excellent recipe. Thank you?
So happy to find this recipe- my granddaughter needs a dairy free and Gf recipes. this is perfect! Pinning
I made these last night with peanut butter. SO GOOD. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect, but they hold together beautifully and taste wonderful! I’m so stinkin’ excited!!!
😀 THIS makes me so happy, Kelly 😀 I’ve got a few twists on this to share- It’s so good straight out of the fridge texture wise 🙂
I have never left a comment on a recipe before but you actually had me cracking up when I read this, they definitely don’t look ugly though, they look delicious. All the other sugar and flourless brownie recipes I’ve seen are full of dates which is 93g sugar for a cup as opposed to the 28g in bananas. I am so excited to try this recipe! Thank you can’t wait to look at your other recipes.
hahahahaha you’re too kind, Shauna. My ugly brownies say thank you 🙂
Don’t get me started on dates. I’m not a fan of them…unless it involves another person 😀