Chocolate beetroot brownies

These delicious chocolate beetroot brownies were a huge hit with the Sneaky Veg kids. They’re naturally sweetened, made with wholemeal flour and contain a healthy portion of veggies. Suitable for vegans.

Next week I’ll be working with a local charity, Incredible Edible LEAP, to offer a healthy snacks workshop to some local parents and carers of kids under four. We’ve done four of these sessions already and gradually we’ve been adopting a theme for each session. The theme for this month’s session is using seasonal vegetables.

I’m trying to focus on savoury dishes as much as possible. We’ll be making baked cauliflower falafel and pesto and cheese twists. But sweet things are always popular so for dessert we’ll be having these chocolate beetroot brownies. I’ve made sweet potato brownies lots of times, but I really wanted this recipe to use a vegetable that grows commonly in the UK and is easy to get at this time of year. So a new recipe had to be written. And boy am I glad that it did because these are delicious!

Are these chocolate beetroot brownies good for kids?

My two older kids – including the picky eater – loved these. Just to be awkward the little one, who loves beetroot, wasn’t keen on these. No, I can’t explain it either. Sometimes I think my kids conspire against me to make it impossible to find something they all like.

I made a version of these with walnuts to have at home and then made another version with pumpkin seeds so they could go into school in lunchboxes. Both versions were great. You can leave the chunks of nuts or seeds quite big for some extra texture. Alternatively you can grind them right down to a powder. This is a good idea if you’re worried about choking or if your kids don’t like “bits” in their brownies.

How to decorate chocolate beetroot brownies

These brownies are delicious when served without icing. However, if you do want to decorate them you can make a simple glacé icing, coloured with a little of the juice from a beetroot packet. However, I wanted to keep these as sugar free as possible so I mixed a couple of tablespoons of tahini with a few drops of the juice from the beetroot. Then I simply drizzled it over the brownies.

More chocolate beetroot recipes

We’re big fans of the chocolate beetroot combination here at Sneaky Veg. Here are some of our other favourites:

Chocolate beetroot cake

Easy chocolate beetroot black bean cookies

Chocolate beetroot pancakes

Mini chocolate beetroot cupcakes

Chocolate and beetroot macarons

Beetroot and chocolate granola

How to make chocolate beetroot brownies

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Chocolate beetroot brownies

These delicious chocolate beetroot brownies were a huge hit with the Sneaky Veg kids. They're naturally sweetened, made with wholemeal flour and contain a healthy portion of veggies. Suitable for vegans.

Course Cake

Cuisine British

Keyword chocolate beetroot brownies

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 12

Author Mandy Mazliah

Ingredients

• 50 g walnuts or pumpkin seeds chopped
• 500 g cooked beetroot not in vinegar
• 100 g medjool dates* or raisins chopped
• 130 g plain wholemeal flour - or some and ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp maple syrup optional

To decorate, optional

• 2 tbsp tahini
• few drops beetroot juice from the packet

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6.
2. Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.
3. Roughly chop the nuts or seeds. Use a food processor if you have one.

4. Add the dates or raisins and the beetroot to the processor.

5. Whizz to a paste.

6. Scrape out into a bowl and add the flour, the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and maple syrup. Mix well.

7. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean.

8. Allow to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before carefully removing and cooling on a wire rack.

To decorate, optional

1. Beat the tahini with a fork, gradually adding the drops of beetroot juice until it is pink in colour. Take care not to make it too watery.

2. Drizzle over the brownies and leave to set for a few moments.

Recipe Notes

*Medjool dates are much stickier than other varieties. If you are using a different type of date and it seems dry you might need to soak them in hot water for 20 minutes before proceeding with this recipe.

Looking for savoury beetroot ideas? You might like my sweet potato and beetroot curry.

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