Vegan Avocado Brownies

Prep 5

Cooking 20

Total 25

Makes 9 squares

1 ripe, medium-sized avocado see notes
140g / 1 cup plain, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
50g/ ½ cup raw cacao powder see notes
110g / ½ cup brown sugar (add ¼ cup / 50g more for sweeter) see notes for unrefined sugar options
125ml/ ½ cup plant-based milk see notes
80g/ ½ cup vegan chocolate chips optional, see notes
a handful walnuts optional

Start by mashing the avocado with a fork or a stick blender/food processor. Don’t worry if the avocado mash isn’t a 100% smooth and some tiny pieces are left. That's fine.
In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients which are flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cacao powder.
Add the mashed avocado and plant milk until a gooey dough is achieved. Depending a little bit on the size of the avocado, you may need to add more milk (if too dry) or a bit more flour (if runny, pancake-batter-like).
Add vegan chocolate chips and/or walnuts, if you like, and stir them in.
Scoop brownie dough into a 20cm x 20cm (8-inch) square tin/pan, well-greased and floured or lined with parchment paper. Spread evenly.
Bake your avocado brownies at 180°C/ 350°F for about 15-20 minutes. I usually just check after 15 minutes and touch the top quickly to see if it is firm.
If it feels too soft (like as if you could easily poke your finger through), leave it in for another 5 minutes. Unless, of course, you love your brownies undercooked, in which case you might want to check after 10 minutes.
Let brownies sit on the benchtop and allow them to cool for at least half an hour before cutting them into squares. They might fall apart because we don’t use eggs in this recipe, of course.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days or freeze them for up to 3 months.

avocado – you really want to make sure that your avocado is soft or ripe enough in order to mash it. If your avocado is still a bit hard or if you don’t want to use a fork, you can use a small food processor or stick blender instead. You may need to add a bit of water to help it if the avocado is not quite ripe.
cacao – feel free to use cocoa or carob (for caffeine-free) powder instead
unrefined sugar – my favourite combination in this recipe is using ¼ cup coconut sugar and ¼ cup maple syrup. Adding maple syrup, definitely makes these brownies softer, thus fudgier, in my opinion.
milk – these brownies will work with just water too. The milk is simply used to add some moisture to the dough
chocolate – instead of using chocolate chips, you can also chop a vegan chocolate bar into smaller pieces. I love using my homemade dark chocolate!