Healthier Brownies With Avocado
on Nov 01, 2020, Updated Aug 02, 2024
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Who can resist a good fudgy double chocolate brownie? But they aren’t always the healthiest snack, right? The ‘miracle’ of these double chocolate brownies with avocado is that they’re healthier than you’d expect. There’s no refined sugar, oil or butter… and TWO secret, fruit-and-veggie ingredients. One is avocado, of course. Read on to find out what the other is!

Finding healthier baking recipes that don’t really TASTE healthier has become one of my favourite things.
I surprised myself (and many others, it seems!) when this 30-minute healthy chocolate cake turned out yummier than I could have imagined. It’s great for any occasion, and can even be made into a birthday cake for any age.
But what about when you don’t really want a cake? You just want brownies. But you still kind of like the idea of them not being loaded with sugar and fat.
I got you covered. You’re going to score big avocado brownie points with these! 😉
Why this is the best healthy brownies recipe
- They’re made with maple syrup, not refined sugar or artificial sweetener.
- I’ve successfully replaced the oil or butter you usually find in brownies with healthy avocado and banana! Yep, you read that right. Do they taste of avocado or banana? Nope. You might be able to detect slight notes of banana, but it’s pretty subtle.
- They’re double chocolate brownies. Which means they have melted chocolate in them, and melted chocolate on them. So they aren’t saintly brownies. But remember if you use super dark chocolate (70% works well) you’re getting your daily dose of antioxidants 😉
- Brownies with avocado? Hmmm. But try to trust me when I say no one will guess these are a healthier brownie. On the contrary, they taste quite decadent. They’re big, gooey mouthfuls of fudgy, chocolaty deliciousness. Shhhh.
- They’re very quick and easy to make. Just blend the banana and avocado together. Add the wet ingredients, add the dry, and bake.
Ingredients and how to make them
You start with the ‘secret’ fruit and veg:
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 ripe banana
Then you add the other ‘wet’ ingredients:
- maple syrup: just 1/2 cup as there’s more sweetness from the banana and melted chocolate
- eggs: 2 large
- melted chocolate: drizzled in for extra richness, sweetness, and gooey chocolaty flavour. Yum.
Then fold in:
- flour mixed with a teaspoon of baking soda and a little salt
- cocoa powder
Top Tip
This recipe is great for using up really ripe bananas and avocados that are even too ripe for guacamole! Gross fact: I tested this recipe with an avocado that had started to go black and the brownies still turned out well 😉
How to make them step-by-step
It takes about 5 minutes to measure or weigh out the wet and dry ingredients.
It takes another 5 minutes to blend together the avocado and banana using the mini food processor that came with my stick blender. You can throw the chocolate in the microwave to melt at this time too.
If you don’t have a mini food processor, just mash the avocado and banana together with a fork instead. Just make sure they’re nice and ripe. I don’t like to dirty my big food processor unless I really have to!
It’ll be 5 minutes more to mix everything together, drizzle in the melted chocolate and smooth the batter out in the pan.
Then throw the pan in the oven for around 17 minutes.
And that’s it. In just over 30 minutes you have a pan of the very best fudgy brownies that you can scoff all by yourself. Oops, I mean that you can share with your family and friends.
Top Tip
Take the brownies out of the oven when a skewer poked into the middle come out still a bit sticky. It’s easy to overcook these brownies in just a minute or two. They’ll still taste fudgy, but more like a moist and not-too-sweet muffin. I prefer them when they’re on the gooey-er and fudgy-er side!
How to serve them
I missed an important part in the above description of how to make these avocado chocolate brownies.
I like to drizzle some more melted dark chocolate over the top once they’ve cooled a little. Otherwise they wouldn’t be double chocolate brownies 😉
I sometimes add a half teaspoon of oil to the chocolate so that it doesn’t set rock hard. If you prefer, you can skip the chocolate on the top and just add a quarter cup of chocolate chips to the batter.
The brownies are absolutely delicious served just as they are. OR… since they are quite richly chocolaty and gooey, you can get away with serving them as an easy chocolate dessert with ice cream or cream!
You might like to warm them very slightly in the microwave before adding the ice cream or cream. Yum yum yum.
More things to know (FAQs)
I usually bake these brownies for anywhere between 17 and 19 minutes. After 17 minutes, poke a skewer into the centre. You want it to come out still a bit sticky (but not with runny raw batter on).
It’s better to undercook slightly than to overcook these. A couple of times I’ve left mine in the oven a minute or two too long and the brownies have been slightly dryer around the edges. But they still taste moist and fudgy, especially with the chocolate on top!
I’ve kept these healthier brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. They never seem to last any longer than that before getting eaten, but I think they’d still taste good for at least a couple more days.
They keep well both in the fridge or out of the fridge (in an airtight container). If you eat them straight out of the fridge they taste just like a rich chocolate fudge. But not too sweet.
You have to try them all the ways: fresh out of the oven, with chocolate drizzled over the top and still wet, and cold out of the fridge 😉
Yep. Just wrap them tightly and place in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Then freeze really well for up to 4 months.
More healthy dessert recipes
- We’ve made these Greek yogurt blueberry muffins again and again, and every time they turn out beautifully. The best part? It’s a low sugar, high protein recipe!
- I call these banana bread waffles ‘life changing’ because they taste as good as regular waffles. But they’re made with just 3 super healthy main ingredients – oats, bananas and eggs. If you have lots of ripe bananas, consider making a batch of these banana carrot muffins, too.
- If you have a food processor or high speed blender, there’s just no excuse for not trying this 5-minute chocolate banana ice cream!
- This 2-minute peanut butter mug cake or this gluten free mug cake with banana is perfect for dessert ’emergencies’.
- This 6-ingredient self-saucing chocolate pudding isn’t exactly ‘healthy’, but it’s lower in sugar than average. I’ll take it.
Want more healthy cake recipes? Check out this list of low sugar cakes recipes – make a different one each time! Fan of healthier snacking? Check out this 50+ healthy sweet snacks that don’t taste boring.
Healthier Brownies With Avocado
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 avocado, ripe, medium to large
- 1 banana, ripe, medium (about 1/2 cup)
- ½ cup maple syrup, (I've also used half maple syrup and half honey and that worked well too)
- 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
- ½ cup plain flour, + 2 tablespoons (this is around 80 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda, (UK = bicarbonate of soda)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 7 ounces dark chocolate , I like 70% cocoa
- ½ teaspoon oil
Instructions
- Line a 8×8 inch (or equivalent) baking tin/pan with baking paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 345F/175C.
- Blend the avocado and banana together in a small food processor. Or mash well with a fork.1 avocado, 1 banana
- Melt half of the chocolate (3.5 oz/100 gr) in the microwave in 30-second bursts. Let cool slightly.7 ounces dark chocolate
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs into the avocado and banana mixture with a whisk or fork. Then whisk in the maple syrup and cocoa.½ cup maple syrup, 2 large eggs, ¼ cup cocoa powder
- Slowly pour and whisk in the melted chocolate. Then stir in the flour, baking soda and salt with a spatula until just combined.½ cup plain flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Smooth the batter out into the prepared pan. Bake for 17 minutes or a little longer (a minute at a time) until the top of the brownies are just set and a skewer poked into the centre comes out a bit sticky (but not with runny raw batter on).
- Let the cake cool for a while on a wire rack. Then melt the rest of the chocolate with about ½ teaspoon oil. Pour over the brownies. Leave to set for a while, then slice into 16 brownies.½ teaspoon oil
Hi can you use extra avocado in place of the banana? (I can’t eat bananas unfortunately). Or anything else if so what measurements would be used
Hello Vicki! Although I haven’t tried the recipe with a substitute for the banana, I think that because it’s only 1 ripe banana in the recipe, you could in fact substitute with something else. Try apple puree (applesauce), mashed sweet potato or even mashed white beans! Greek yogurt or coconut yogurt would also work. Or yes, just try more avocado, although that can get expensive. As for the amount, 1 ripe banana is about half a cup, so just replace 1:1 with half a cup of whatever you decide to replace with. I’d love to know how you get on if you try it, Vicki!
Hi Helen,
I have made these brownies 6 or 7 times now & loving them, I wonder if I could use whole wheat flour or would that not work ( I am trying to eat as healthy as possible,
Regards ian
Hello Ian! I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying these so much! You should be absolutely fine using whole wheat flour, especially as you won’t ‘see’ the colour of the flour and there isn’t that much in the recipe. Go for it! I hope you enjoy them as much!
Hi,can I substitute coconut oil for maple syrup ? I need to lower my cholesterol thanks ian (uk)
Hi Ian! There isn’t any cholesterol in maple syrup, so all good! There’s no oil in these either – you have avocado and banana instead. Enjoy!
Thank you Helen, yes I did make with maple syrup,brownies tasted a nice but had a slight fishy taste, ? Any idea how I can improve, thank you ian
Hi Ian, I’m glad they turned out pretty well! I’m not sure about the weird taste – it could be the banana taste coming through if it was particularly ripe? Just a guess. Also make sure you use a really nice good quality cocoa and dark chocolate. Perhaps try using a different kind next time and see if that fixes the issue?
What is the yield of these
Hi Clara! I usually cut them into about 16 squares, but you can go a bit larger or smaller if you like! Hope you enjoy them! 🙂
What does ½ cup plain flour + 2 tablespoons mean? Is it 2 tablespoons on top of the 1/2 cup?
Thanks so much.
Hi Zoe! Yes, that’s exactly what it means. It’s because I originally developed the recipe in grams so when I converted it to cups I felt like it needed just a tiny bit more flour to work best. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Can you use apple sauce insteadof banana?
Hello Claire! I’ve never tried it with apple sauce as it isn’t something that’s commonly used in cakes here in Australia, but I have a feeling it would work. Try 1/3 cup? I’d love to hear how you get on 🙂