Vegan & Gluten-free Avocado Brownies

These avocado brownies are vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, flourless, refined sugar-free, extremely fudgy, gooey, and simply the most delicious brownies ever!

This recipe is quick and easy to make, the perfect weekend treat, birthday party snack or weeknight’s dessert. It's the gluten-free, adapted version of my already existing vegan avocado brownie recipe.

These vegan, gluten-free brownies are also low in allergens (see substitutes below for nut-free option) and suitable for a Keto and Paleo diet!

Ingredients

• ripe/soft avocado
• almond flour
• baking powder
• cacao powder
• salt
• coconut sugar
• water
• vegan chocolate chips or chunks (optional)

(see recipe card for quantities)

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, right? You can substitute some of the ingredients or change them to your liking. I’ll discuss these options below in a bit.

Instructions

How to make these vegan & gluten-free avocado brownies

1.) First, preheat your oven to 160°C / 320°F. Second, mash the avocado with a fork. This is why you really want to use an avocado that is soft and ripe enough.

If the avocado isn’t ripe enough just yet, or if you don’t feel like using a fork, you can use a small food processor or a stick blender to mash it with. Probably, you’ll need to add some water to make it smoother.

Don’t stress about the avocado mash not being 100% smooth and some tiny pieces are left. Mine never is perfectly smooth either, as you can see in the picture above, but it works anyway!

2.) In a large bowl, you now mix together all the dry ingredients which are almond flour, baking powder, salt, coconut sugar and cacao.

3.) Then, add the mashed avocado and water until a gooey batter is achieved (see picture below). You may need to add a bit more almond flour (if the batter appears to be a bit runnier than shown in the picture) or water (if too dry).

It depends a little bit on the size of the avocado, sometimes. But generally, you shouldn’t need to adjust.

4.) Optionally, add vegan chocolate chips (I like using my homemade dark chocolate) and mix them into the brownie batter.

5.) Scoop avocado brownie dough into a 20cm x 20cm (8-inch) square tin/pan, well-greased and floured or lined with parchment paper. Spread evenly.

6.) Bake the vegan, gluten-free avocado brownies for about 30 minutes. Just quickly touch the surface to see if it’s firm/cooked.

If it feels too soft, like as if you could easily poke your finger through, leave the brownies in for another 5 minutes.

7.) Allow the avocado brownies to cool down on the benchtop for at least 30 minutes, better an hour, before cutting them into squares. They’ll be very soft but do harden once cool.

Substitutions

• cacao – I prefer using cacao powder because it’s raw and untreated whereas cocoa has been processed. However, feel free to use cocoa powder instead.
• caffeine-free – there is a caffeine-free alternative to cacao called carob powder. I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but I’m sure it’d taste great! Generally, carob powder is a bit sweeter than cacao which means you’ll need less of it. Maybe just ⅓ cup / 35g (like in this recipe from Healthier Steps.)
• nut-free– just use a gluten-free flour mix instead of the almond flour.
• sugar – if you’re not fussed about refined sugar-free, you may substitute the coconut sugar with raw or brown sugar.
• water – the water in this recipe is simply to add some extra moisture. If you prefer, you can absolutely use vegan milk instead. It won’t matter what kind of milk because it’s only a little anyway.

Storage

You can store these vegan & gluten-free avocado brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for several days (3-5 days). When cold, they are a bit firmer but you can heat them in the microwave for a few seconds to soften before serving.

These brownies also freeze well. You can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months, just like any other baked good.

Top Tip

This recipe is great for those avocados that need using soon, very soon. Just make sure, the avocado still tastes alright and isn’t spoiled. Otherwise, it might ruin your yummy brownies.

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📖 Recipe