Incredibly Fudgy Avocado Brownies – Easy Egg Substitute for Brownies
Just because you’ve decided to make a commitment to healthier eating doesn’t mean you should have to give up your favorite sweets. After all, a life lived without brownies is really no life at all. That’s exactly why I’m actually so thrilled today to share this recipe for making incredibly fudgy avocado brownies.
Perfecting Your Brownie Batter
Most brownie recipes usually include eggs (like this one by Foodie Baker), but if you can’t eat eggs for whatever reason, there are some fabulous egg-free recipes out there.
- Egg-Free Brownie Recipe – Our Everyday Life
- Vegan Brownies – Bigger Bolder Baking
- Made from Scratch Brownies (Eggless) – Little House Living
Use Avocado Instead of Eggs
You’ll be happy to know that avocado makes for a great egg substitute. In addition to the avocado used, these brownies are also packing quite a few other great healthy ingredient choices.
Use Dark Chocolate
The most obvious one is the fact that this recipe uses four ounces of dark chocolate. While some people may find the taste of dark chocolate to be a bit bitter, there’s no denying that it’s a far healthier option than traditional picks like milk chocolate.
This is because dark chocolate is a rich source of monounsaturated fats, the type of beneficial fatty acid that does wonders for your heart health. On top of that, it’s also a great source of disease-fighting antioxidants, with research finding that the cocoa polyphenols in dark chocolate provide a wide range of health promoting properties. (1)
While we’re on the topic of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, avocado is also a great source of these quality fats. One particular study found that avocado consumption was able to raise levels of HDL cholesterol in the bloodstream; this is noteworthy because HDL is considered to be the ‘good’ kind of cholesterol that helps to keep heart disease at bay. (2)
Along with its high healthy fat content, avocado also contains a solid amount of dietary fiber and a solid amount of antioxidants as well. When you mix it with the dark chocolate, our brownie recipe is off to a great start indeed. We’re not quite done yet though – there are still quite a few other healthy goodies that need to be added in.
Sweeten with Coconut Sugar
Instead of using any kind of refined sugars to sweeten up the brownies, you’ll instead be using a bit of coconut sugar. The reason we use coconut sugar is because it has a lower glycemic index than regular sugar, thanks to the fact that it contains a type of fiber known as inulin, which slows glucose absorption. (3)
Use Almond Flour
Another great healthy ingredient alternative used for this particular recipe is using ½ cup of almond flour instead of regular wheat flour. Both whole and refined grains have been found to be linked to chronic inflammation in humans. (3) That’s exactly why I do everything I can to avoid all types of refined wheat flour – chronic inflammation has been found to be directly linked with the development of numerous types of disease. (4)
Almond flour is an amazing healthy substitute to use because it’s another great source of heart-healthy fats, it contains a modest amount of both protein and dietary fiber, and it also contains trace amounts of essential vitamins and minerals. Better yet, it adds a delightfully nutty flavor to your brownies as well.
Add Your Choice of Milk
In addition to the almond flour, this brownie recipe also calls for five tablespoons of whatever type of milk you prefer – I personally always go with almond milk when I’m making my healthy substitute recipes. To be more specific, I like to go with an unsweetened vanilla flavored almond milk, although you can feel free to go with chocolate flavored for this recipe if you’d prefer even more chocolatey goodness.
Boost Your Batter with Flaxseed Meal
The trend of heart-healthy ingredients continues with the addition of two tablespoons of flaxseed meal as well. Flaxseed is absolutely loaded with nutrients, and it’s a fantastic source of both dietary fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Adding flaxseed into your diet is a great way to further lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, as it’s one of the highest plant sources of omega-3 fats available. (5)
Don’t Forget the Coconut Oil
The only other things you’ll need for your brownie batter are three tablespoons of melted coconut oil and just a pinch of salt. Coconut oil provides even more quality fat calories into the mix – of the saturated variety. While some people still mistakenly steer clear of saturated fats at all costs, the type of saturated fat found in coconuts are actually medium chain triglycerides (MCT) fatty acids.
MCT fats are phenomenal for anybody on the keto diet, as they’re easily able to assist your body with entering a ketosis state. (6) Luckily for us, MCT fats are also a great source of fuel for anyone who just wants to enjoy a tasty brownie treat without feeling guilty as well.
Optional: Chopped Almonds
The only other thing you’ll need for making this recipe is actually entirely optional – but I definitely recommend adding it. Of course I’m referring to adding in ¼ cup of chopped almonds as a topping for the brownies. Not only do they add a nice and crunchy texture to the brownies, but they provide all of the same great health benefits as the almond butter does (heart-healthy fats, fiber, etc.) It’s definitely well worth it to sprinkle them on!
As you can see, this recipe really goes out of the way when it comes to making a batch of brownies that are both ridiculously healthy and tasty. The real secret ingredient to be found here is definitely the avocado…but I’m also fully aware that not everyone out there loves avocado as much as I do.
If you’re looking for a healthy way to make brownies that without the avocado, I’ve still got a few solid recipe recommendations for you from around the web:
- Super Fudge Healthy Brownies (The Loopy Whisk)
- Black Bean Brownies (Chocolate Covered Katie)
- Healthy Zucchini Brownies (iFoodReal)
- Healthy Flourless Brownies (The Big Man’s World)
- Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Brownies (Nest & Glow)
As with all of our recipes, before we wrap things up, I just wanted to take a few moments in order to go more in depth with a couple of things related to this recipe that I think are important to keep in mind:
Are These Brownies Keto-Friendly?
Since I know that quite a few of our readers are doing the keto diet (or a similar low carb style diet plan), it’s only natural for some people to wonder if this particular dessert recipe is in fact keto-friendly.
Well I’m happy to report that yes, this brownie recipe is 100% keto-friendly thanks to all of the smart ingredient swaps that are used. Using things like dark chocolate, avocado, flaxseed meal, and almond flour help to keep the carb content to the bare minimum while loading the recipe up with quality fats, protein, and dietary fiber.
The only thing worth mentioning that could make the recipe less than ideal for anyone on the keto diet is to pay attention to the type of milk you use. While I personally use unsweetened almond milk, if you go with regular dairy milk, that will up the carb content a fair amount. Whether it’s enough to knock you out of ketosis is something you’ll have to weigh up against the rest of your daily caloric intake however.
Other Healthy Substitutes to Use When Making Brownies
While avocado works perfectly as a great alternative to using eggs when making homemade brownies, it’s far from the only viable healthy option you have. If you’re not totally sold on making avocado brownies, I can also recommend trying your hand at making brownies with the following tasty egg substitutes:
- Sweet potato
- Black beans
- Pureed fruit (bananas, prunces, apple sauce, etc.)
- Aquafaba
- Chia seeds
- Non-dairy yogurt
- Protein powder mixed with water (this is a really good one!)
Each one of the ingredients on that list will work just as well as eggs do in a pinch. I would actually even go as far as recommending everyone try out all of them – you never know what sort of healthy substitute recipe you could fall in love with next!
More Healthy Avocado Recipe Substitutes:
Easy Avocado Ice Cream Recipe (No Eggs, Dairy or Added Sugar)
Dairy-Free Chocolate Avocado Ice Cream
Cucumber Tomato Salad with 3-Ingredient Avocado Salad Dressing
Homemade Mayo Recipe Using Fresh Avocado, Instead of Eggs
Heart-Healthy Homemade Avocado Oil Mayo
4-Ingredient Avocado Toast Recipe
Incredibly Fudgy Avocado Brownies – Easy Egg Substitute for Brownies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
4 oz dark chocolate
1 ripe medium avocado, halved, pitted and peeled
3/4 cup coconut sugar
2 tbsp flax seed meal
½ cup cacao powder on unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup almond flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp milk of your choice
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
pinch of salt
For decoration (optional):
¼ cup chopped almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Melt 2 ounces dark chocolate.
- Chop the remaining chocolate and set aside.
- Place the avocado flesh, milk, coconut oil, coconut sugar, melted chocolate and vanilla extract in a food processor and process until smooth.
- Add the almond flour, cacao powder, flax seed meal and pinch of salt and pulse to combine.
- Fold in the chopped chocolate.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth with spatula.
- Sprinkle with chopped almonds (if using).
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-35 minutes or until the brownies are just set.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Slice and serve.
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