Gooey, decadent brownie indulgence, without rebelling from your ‘eating clean’ regime. These healthy, oil-free, gluten-free, vegan sweet potato brownies are so downright delectable that you’ll feel as if you’re re-living that brownie experience you had at the grade 4 bake sale (that one packed with alllll the sugar and butter).
Well nope, this one is gluten-free (just use gluten-free oats), vegan (always), and free of refined oil.
It’s packed to the frosting with unrefined whole foods!
Dates for the sweetener, sweet potatoes for the nutrient-dense filler, and almond butter for the density.
These brownies aren’t too sweet, and they go AMAZINGLY with nana’ nice cream!
But, what’s a brownie without a topper? This Chocolate Date frosting is thick and creamy with only whole food ingredients. Date paste is the magic that creates a frosting that’s a sweet, spreadable answer to cure that sweet tooth craving.
Let’s talk protein for a sec.
First of all, these brownies are packed with protein.
Surprisingly:
1 cup of sweet potatoes = 6 grams of protein
1/2 cup of oats = 5 grams of protein
1/4 cup almond butter = 13 grams of protein
Each of these ingredients has a bit of all 9 essential amino acids, too (plug it in on cronometer).
Around 42g of protein per day is more than enough for the average person (about 0.8g/kg of body weight).
Too much protein, on the other hand, is very hard on the kidneys, plus it leads to weight gain, water retention and poor digestion.
So? You can stop worrying about whether or not you’re getting enough protein throughout the day. You will most likely be getting much more than 42g of protein, or around 10-15% of your entire diet coming from protein on the plant-based lifestyle, as long as your eating enough calories (not starving yourself). Plant protein is easier to digest, and we can get all the essential amino acids we need from plants.
Where do you think the muscular Gorillas, Elephants, Rhinos and Horses get their protein?
Rather than having the cow eat the plants to grow meat for humans to eat, let’s get straight to the plant source and stop using the animal as the middle man.
As for complete protein, you don’t need to worry about combining plants on your plate to ensure you’re getting a full spectrum of amino acids in one meal (the rice and bean theory). As long as your eating a variety of whole plant foods, and enough of them, your body will store excess amino acids in the amino acid pool, and release these amino acids to form complete proteins when ever it’s needed throughout your week!
One more thing to think about. Protein doesn’t come on it’s own…it comes as a package.
Which protein package sounds better to you?
We can stop worrying about protein and ask the new question: where do you get your fibre? (Most people are low in this SUPER important nutrient)
Whole plant foods are packed with this F-bomb. And these brownies are a good place to start!
Brownie benefits:
- Sweet potatoes are queen in my eyes. They’re packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and taste like heaven on earth. They’re incredibly sweet for a tater! Vitamin A for your eyes, B vitamins for your nervous system, manganese for your bones and fat metabolism, and potassium to lower your anxiety and stress levels.
- Dates are packed with fibre and minerals. They’re essential if you need to move things along, if you know what I mean. The mineral content in these babies is amazing for your bones, and they are the best whole food sweetener you can find.
- Tapioca flour is a flour made from the cassava root, so it’s naturally free of gluten. It’s amazing in baking because it gives anything a dense, chewy texture!
Sweet Potato Brownies | Oil-Free, GF, Vegan
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Sinful tasting brownies without the sins. Goo-ey, decadent, and chocolate-y. These are a go-to for a healthy snack, or a delicious dessert.
Author: Jules
Recipe type: dessert, snack, brownies
Serves: 9
Ingredients
- 12 medjool dates, soaked 5 minutes and strained (keep the liquid!)
- ½ cup smooth nut butter of choice (I used almond butter)
- 1 chia egg or flax egg (1 tbsp chia seeds or ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup raw cacao powder (standard cocoa powder works too)
- 1 tbsp tapioca flour (or tapioca starch)
- 1 cup oat flour (just blend 1 cup rolled gluten-free oats to a flour in your blender)
- 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, poked with a fork (will become about 1 cup mashed)
Frosting:- ¼ cup date paste (left over from brownie mix, see below)
- ½ cup nut butter
- 1 tbsp cacao powder
- 3 tbsp plant-milk (I used vanilla unsweetened almond)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven the 350°F, line a 7"x7" (approx.) cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cook sweet potatoes: Either bake for 45 minutes (or until soft), flipping once. Once cooled enough to handle, scoop out the meat and discard (or eat) the peel. (Another option is to steam the potatoes: Peel, then chop into ½" cubes, then place in steamer for 30 minutes).
- Meanwhile in your blender, make the date paste by blending all medjool dates with ½ cup of the left over date soaking liquid. Once smooth, remove ¼ cup of the date paste and set aside (for the frosting baby!)
- Add the nut butter, chia egg, salt, tapioca flour, oat flour, sweet potato and cacao powder to the date paste in the blender. Blend until smooth (use your tamper to help it along). Another option is to mix by hand in a big bowl.
- Pour the mixture into the parchment covered pan and bake for 30 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).
- Meanwhile, make the frosting: Blend the left over ¼ cup of date paste with nut butter, cacao powder and plant milk until smooth.
- Remove brownies from oven, let cool 10 minutes.
- Flip upside down onto a serving plate and spread frosting over the top. Sprinkle with walnuts.
- Place it in the fridge for 10 minutes to solidify the frosting. Then slice and enjoy!
- Can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for months.
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