Delicious and healthy sweet potato chocolate brownies make a brilliant snack or dessert for kids. They're free from eggs and dairy, so suitable for vegans and I include a nut free option as well so they can be sent to school in lunchboxes.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links are marked with *.
I first made these sweet potato chocolate brownies when I needed a gluten free treat to take into work. A friend suggested sweet potato brownies and I knew immediately that this was a recipe I just had to make for Sneaky Veg.
The recipe below isn't gluten free but it can be if you need it to be - simply use gluten free plain flour.
Sweet potato in a brownie?
If you think it sounds weird think again. Sweet potato chocolate brownies are utterly delicious.
You probably wouldn't be here if you weren't willing to give it a go but if you need a little convincing here goes.
Vegetables often work really well in baked goods and sweet treats. Think about carrot cake for example. That's always good right?
And what about chocolate beetroot cake or courgette (zucchini) cake? Hey, I've even made a swede cake before.
The sweet potatoes in these chocolate brownies helps to bind them together - there's no eggs in this recipe as it's suitable for vegans. Using sweet potato also means that there's a portion of vegetables - and a ton of nutrients - in this recipe.
Health benefits of sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes contain plenty of fibre, vitamins and minerals. These include iron, calcium and selenium but also vitamin C, some B vitamins and vitamin A. (Source: BBC Good Food)
Plus they count towards your five a day - unlike white potatoes.
Do the Sneaky Veg kid approve of these brownies?
They certainly do. The first time I made them was right in the middle of R's picky phase and it took him a little while to get used to the texture.
Nowadays these sweet potato chocolate brownies are a definitely family favourite here.
What ingredients do you need to make sweet potato brownies?
You will need the following ingredients:
- 700g sweet potatoes
- 100g dates
- 50g ground almonds
- 80g plain flour (gluten free if needed)
- 3 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
Full recipe and instructions at the bottom of the page - including details of possible substitutions.
Can these be made nut free?
Absolutely. In fact I often make them without nuts so that I can send them in to school in my children's lunchboxes.
Simply replace the ground almonds with ground oats.
Do you need any special equipment to make these brownies?
You will need a blender* or food processor* to make this recipe.
If you only have a hand held blender* you can give this a try but your brownies won't be as smooth.
In addition you will need:
- weighing scale* - I prefer to use digital
- mixing bowl*
- 20cm square cake tin*
- baking paper*
- wooden spoon*
- rubber spatula (not essential but useful)
- wire cooling rack
How to store these brownies
Once cooked allow to cool for at least 15 minutes in the tin. This will help them to stick together.
Transfer to a wire rack and once completely cool cut into squares.
These will keep in an airtight container for around three days.
If you'd like to freeze your sweet potato brownies place them on a tray and freeze for an hour (this will stop them sticking together). Then transfer them to a freezer box or bag - don't forget to add a label with the date and recipe name.
More recipes that you might like
If you like this you might like:
Pin sweet potato chocolate brownies for later
How to make sweet potato chocolate brownies:
If you have made this recipe I would love it if you’d leave a comment and rating below. Thank you!
Sweet potato chocolate brownies
Ingredients
- 700 g sweet potato
- 100 g dates* (ideally medjool) chopped
- 50 g ground almonds or ground oats if allergic to nuts
- 80 g plain flour GF if needed
- 3 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Soak 100g dates in hot water if needed (see note below).*
- Peel and chop 700g sweet potato, then steam for 15-20 minutes until soft. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6. Grease a 20cm square baking tin and line with non-stick baking paper .
- Place 100g dates in a blender or food processor and whizz into a paste. If you don't have a blender you can mash them using a pestle and mortar.
- Add the cooked sweet potato and blend or mash together with the dates.
- Put 50g ground almonds, 80g plain flour, 3 tablespoon cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and mix well. Add 3 tablespoon maple syrup and the sweet potato/date mixture and stir together.
- Transfer to your prepared baking tin and level the surface with a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon.
- Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until you can insert a skewer in the centre and it comes out clean.
- Leave in the tin for 15 minutes (this helps it to stick together) then remove and cut into squares. Cool completely on a wire rack then store in an airtight container for a few days.
Notes
- If your dates are dry then you may need to soak them in hot water for 20 minutes before blending. If using medjool dates you won't need to soak them.
Nutrition
You might also like these avocado brownies.
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?
If you loved this recipe why not let me know by leaving a rating and comment below? Alternatively you can let me know on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
KEEP IN TOUCH
Subscribe to get recipes and news straight to your inbox. Read more about Sneaky Veg
*Disclaimer: this is an affiliate link meaning that if you buy something after clicking on it I’ll receive a small commission, which I will probably spend on buying more ingredients for Sneaky Veg recipes! The price to you remains the same. Thanks for supporting Sneaky Veg. Read my full disclosure.
Marilyn
Hi, looking at sweet potato and also the beetroot chocolate brownies i'm wondering if I could use coconut flour +more liquid instead of a grain flour or even chick pea as i'm keto ?
I think your recipes are amazing and I really crave some treats!
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Marilyn, glad you like the recipes! I wouldn't be confident to say you could definitely make these with coconut or chickpea flour as I haven't tested it. However you could certainly give it a go and I'd be very interested to hear how they turn out.
Lou | Crumbs and Corkscrews
I've never thought of using sweet potato in sweet baking before; but these look great and really dark and chocolatey! I'll have to give these a try 🙂
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks so much Lou - hope you love them!
bavariansojourn
I love sweet potatoes and would happily eat them with most meals... My 6 year old however does not and it's one of the few things he refuses to eat. I am going to try this and see if it will trick him! They sound great! 🙂
Sneaky Veg
They didn't fool my three year old unfortunately but the little one gobbled up most of the batch!
Anne @ Inhabited Kitchen
Now, this gives me ideas...
We're adults, and eat our vegetables happily... LOL but I sometimes look for ways to make sugarfree desserts. The trick with anything chocolate is that you have to balance out the bitterness in the cocoa... And I think the sweet potato might help with that.
I'm going to have to play with that.
Sneaky Veg
Ha ha! The texture is a bit weird but they're really tasty. Let me know how you get on.