Simple to make and a real crowd pleaser, regardless of how young or old the crowd is! These Vegan Date Brownies go down a storm in our house every time that I make them. If you make them without the optional chocolate chunks then they are the healthiest Brownies out there. Even with the addition of the chocolate chunks they are still really healthy in comparison to more traditional Brownies.
Contents:
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- Almond Butter - I sometimes make my own, as I find this a less pricey option than buying from Supermarkets. Alternatively you can opt for *creamy* Peanut Butter, or possibly Cashew Butter, although I haven't tried the latter. Peanut Butter does give a slight peanut taste but overall it's not too dissimilar.
- Cacao Powder - I use Cacao Powder in this recipe instead of the more common Cocoa Powder. This is because it's high in antioxidants, has a great flavour, and is still inexpensive. I buy mine by the kilo from an online Health Food Store. You can also get them in almost all health food shops, or places like Amazon.
- Chocolate (optional) - We use a high Cocoa content Dark Chocolate, usually above 70%. You can however choose whichever you like.
- Medjool Dates - I recommend using Medjool dates if you can get them. They are rich and caramel like in flavour. However, if you can't get hold of Medjool, any other soft date will work. Supermarkets and health food stores usually sell bags of these at a lower cost than Medjool. I get mine from GrapeTree in the UK.
Equipment
- Baking Paper
- Food Processor
- Loaf Tin
- Measuring Cups/Scales
How to Make Them
- Add the Almond Butter, Cacao and de-stoned Dates to a food processor and blitz together until you have a smooth batter consistency.
- If using Chocolate Chunks then add them to the mixture and pulse briefly to incorporate.
- Line a loaf tin with baking paper then spoon in the brownie mixture and spread it out with the back of a clean metal spoon. You might find this easier if you dip the spoon in water as this helps it to glide over the sticky batter.
- I like to add a few more chocolate chunks to the top at this stage.
- Bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes, then leave to cool for at least half an hour before cutting. The longer you leave them, the firmer they will be.
Storage
These can be stored in an airtight container, in a cool place, for up to 5 days.
Recipe Tip
The mixture can be very sticky when trying to level it out in the tin. If you struggle to smooth out with a wet spoon, you can try using a sheet of baking/parchment paper; Lay it over the top of your brownie mixture in the tin, using that as a non-stick layer between the brownies and your spoon, use the back of a spoon to level it out.
Serving Suggestions
These are delicious served warm with Cashew Cream and fresh Berries as a dessert. Or simply enjoy on their own for a healthy delicious snack. We like to have these for breakfast...
FAQ's
These ones are as they have no processed sugars and are made with Cacao rather than Cocoa. If you're using ingredients like Cocoa* powder, sugar and vegan butter then no, they aren't. However, there are many healthy vegan brownie recipes out there to experiment with instead, using things such as sweet potato, chickpeas or even black beans!
*Cocoa isn't bad for you, its just that Cacao has more health benefits, due to it not being heat treated or containing added sugars like Cocoa does.
You can eat the brownie batter raw. I recommend rolling a tablespoon of the batter in to a ball with the palms of your hands. Then rolling the balls in hemp seeds, crushed hazelnuts or more cacao powder and storing them in an airtight container in the fridge (for up to 1 week).
I’ve added in things like walnuts and chocolate chips, toasted hazelnuts, pecans and raspberries. You could also use another nut butter like peanut, or cashew.
More Dessert Ideas
Coming up with a recipe that I would be happy with my toddler eating was the drive behind making these. I've never believed that 'treating' your kids has to be synonymous with negatively impacting their health. There are plenty of alternative ingredients to get familiar with that are much more beneficial for your families health. For instance, choosing Cacao powder over Cocoa powder, the latter of which has less nutrients due to being heat treated and comes with added refined sugar.
There's no reason your kids have to miss out on foods like brownies, cheesecake or cookies, just because you want to look out for their health.
Recipe
Vegan Date Brownies (3 Ingredient)
Equipment
- Baking paper/parchment
- Food Processor
- Loaf Tin
Ingredients
- 2 cups Pitted Medjool Dates (tightly packed)
- 1 cup Almond Butter
- ⅓ cup Cacao Powder
- ¼ cup Warm Water
- 80 g Dark Chocolate (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°c (350°f).
- Line a loaf tin with greaseproof/baking paper. Be sure to leave extra at the sides to help with lifting the brownies out of the tin once baked.
- Add all of the ingredients (except for optional Chocolate or Nuts) to your food processor. NB make sure that you have de-stoned your Dates beforehand, if they aren't already.2 cups Pitted Medjool Dates, 1 cup Almond Butter, ⅓ cup Cacao Powder, ¼ cup Warm Water
- Blitz on high speed for 20-30 seconds until mixture is smooth and well combined (no lumps of dates).
- If you are adding in any nuts or chocolate chunks add them in to your batter now and mix for 5 seconds to combine.80 g Dark Chocolate
- Spoon the brownie batter in to the loaf tin.
- Using the back of a wet metal spoon, level the mixture to distribute evenly in the tin.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 14-16 minutes until the edges appear firmer and pull away from the edge of the tin.
- Leave to cool completely.
- Once it has cooled completely, cut the brownie into 8 equal pieces.
Katey
All the family love these & my youngest daughter especially likes the option of having them in balls straight out of the fridge! We're hoping to have a go at making out own almond butter soon too!
Easy to follow recipe & I like all the extra info too 😁
Yasmin
We are so glad to hear that these went down as well as they did in your house. Please let us know how you get on with the almond butter too!
sam
Why didn't anyone tell me about these sooner? I'm definitely going to be making these again!
Sally
Fab recipe and delicious Brownies. Thanks for sharing!
Skyler
I've tried these and they are really nice. I really want to try them with nuts next time though. What nuts would you recommend topping them with when I do, Id like the nuts to be as crunchy as possible once baked.?