Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies

Vegan sweet potato brownies! This fudgy, chocolatey and rich treat makes a perfect healthy dessert or snack that is also perfect for special occasions, and is made with just a handful of ingredients.  Gluten-free and oil-free. 

At least 20% of my diet at the moment is desserts (and I think many people can relate to this whenever Christmas is almost here). As I’ve mentioned, I had no time to bake while at university so I’ve been using the vacation period to go all out and test a large amount of sweet recipes. Thankfully, both my mum and I love sweet treats, and there’s no better time to bake than around the festive season!

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I love using ‘secret’ ingredients in sweet treats. For example, I’ve already shared a chickpea cake, black bean cookie sandwiches and a tofu smoothie bowl. I find it fascinating how you can turn a vegetable or a bean into a sweet treat, and this inspired me to make vegan sweet potato brownies.

About these vegan sweet potato brownies

I think that a brownie isn’t a proper brownie unless it’s fudgy, soft and VERY chocolatey. These sweet potato brownies meet all of those criteria. If you’re afraid that you’ll be able to taste the sweet potato, I promise you can’t. It does, however, add sweetness and that wonderful texture we all love. Sweet potatoes function well as an egg alternative in vegan baking, but the added bonus of them is the way in which they enhance the texture.

The rest of the ingredients are pretty simple: dark chocolate, maple syrup, peanut butter, coconut flour and a pinch of salt! The end result is so good that whenever I make them, they disappear in minutes. No one can ever tell that they contain sweet potato! They’re even great as a breakfast option.

You’ll love these sweet potato brownies because they are:

• Fudgy and moist.
• Incredibly chocolatey.
• Perfect for special occasions and sharing.
• Undetectably vegan.
• Gluten-free.
• Oil-free.
• Very easy.
• Delicious with a scoop of vegan ice cream!

If you have any parties and get togethers coming up, I would definitely recommend making a batch of these and impressing all your friends and family.

How to make vegan sweet potato brownies.

It really is super simple! Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 F. Meanwhile, add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until well-combined. Alternatively,  you can mash the potato really well and combine the ingredients in a large mixing bowl – just make sure that no sweet potato chunks remain.

Pour the batter into a brownie tin and bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, but make sure not to leave them in there for too long. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean from the centre.

Allow the vegan sweet potato brownies to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Tips and modifications

• You can use almond flour instead of coconut flour.
• The recipe as written is pretty simple, but you can bring in add-ins such as nuts, seeds, chocolate chips and vegan marshmallows.
• This recipe will also work with any liquid sweetener of your choice.
• You can keep these sweet potato brownies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. I’d recommend warming them up in the microwave before serving.

Other recipes you might like

• If you’re looking for holiday inspiration, a vegan gingerbread cake is another delicious idea!
• Serve these as dessert after chickpea Shepherd’s pie.
• Or how about polenta cake for an easy and yummy treat?

Let me know in the comments: have you ever baked with sweet potatoes? If you give these vegan sweet potato brownies a go, be sure to tag me on Instagram (@earthofmariaa) so I can see your creations!