Sneak some veggies into your brownies with these vegan + gluten-free sweet potato brownie bites. No one has to know the secret ingredient!
I’ve always had a love for sweet potatoes, but the day I figured out just how good sweet potatoes work for making decadent gluten-free brownies, that love was magnified by 1,000 percent.
Seriously, I’m hooked on these healthy sweet tater brownies. I’ve made them so many times already and I don’t think I’ll be slowing down any time soon. Especially given the fact that the holidays are right around the corner and I always turn into a baking queen as soon as the season hits.
The baking has obviously already started.
Veggies in Dessert? Yup!
I stumbled upon the idea for these sweet potato brownie bites through listening to a podcast. One interview I listened to was with Michael Morelli, the author of The Sweet Potato Diet. He mentioned one of his favorite recipes for sweet potato brownies and I immediately became curious and had to try them.
They were rich, delicious and super fudgy.
I loved Michael’s recipe, but I started toying with the idea of doing a vegan version and maybe trying brownie bites in a mini muffin tin instead. Turns out Maria and I liked the vegan version of these brownies even better than the original. Using maple syrup instead of honey gave them the perfect amount of sweetness without having that pronounced honey favor and the flax eggs worked great in place of regular eggs. I was a little worried because coconut flour can be fickle without eggs, but this recipe worked like a charm.
Why Sweet Potatoes?
If you’re wondering why the heck I’m putting vegetables in my dessert, I’ve got plenty of reasons why! So I don’t scare you off, I’ll start by saying that sweet potatoes add an amazing texture to these brownies – binding them together without a traditional egg. Beyond that, sweet potatoes add a nutritional punch! They’re high in fiber and a variety of important vitamins and minerals like beta-carotene, vitamin C and potassium. (Source)
dark chocolate chips – I used Enjoy Life for a dairy-free and vegan option!
almond butter – optional
Substitutions and Notes:
Flour: I haven’t tested this recipe with a different flour and I don’t recommend subbing the coconut flour. Coconut flour soaks up way more liquid than other flours and can’t be subbed 1:1, so if you do try a different flour you’d likely need to add more than 1/2 cup. If you decide to try a different flour, comment below letting me know how the brownie bites turned out.
Eggs: If you don’t need this recipe to be vegan you can swap the flaxseed eggs for 2 regular eggs.
How to Store These Brownie Bites
These brownie bites don’t ever last long in our house, but my recommendation is to store any leftover brownies in the fridge for up to one week. I haven’t tried freezing them, but I’m sure they would be okay to freeze in an airtight container for up to three months.
If you make these sweet potato brownie bites, please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other readers who are thinking about making the recipe.Â
1/4 cup almond butter (for stuffing, totally optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Pierce sweet potato with a fork in 2-3 spots. Wrap in foil and roast until tender, about 30 minutes. Let cool. Peel sweet potato and mash with a fork. Measure out 1 cup of mashed sweet potato for the recipe and save the rest for something else.
Add ground flax to water and whisk together in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
Lower oven temp to 350ºF. Lightly coat a mini muffin tin with coconut oil.
Add mashed sweet potato, maple syrup, coconut oil, flax eggs and vanilla into a large bowl and stir to combine. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Gently stir in chocolate chips.
Drop batter into the wells of your greased mini muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes. Brownie bites are done when you can insert a knife and it comes out clean.
Notes
For the almond butter stuffed version, simply add a little of the brownie batter to the muffin tin and make a tiny well with your finger. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of almond butter to the well and cover with more brownie batter.
Craving something chocolatey and filling this morning – This was exactly what I was looking for, especially from Eating Bird Food! I subbed in a little over 3/4 cups of almond flour and it turned out great. I baked them by filling full-size muffin tins up about 1/3-1/2 full, and had to bake way longer, even 40 minutes.
This was 12/10 – an AMAZING recipe. I put mine in the freezer and my family legitimately thought that this was chocolate fudge. So great – I’m going to make so many more batches. Thank you!
Ahh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear, Jasmine! I’m so glad these brownie bites were a hit with your family. Thanks for trying my recipe and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
My kiddo loved these! Will definitely be making them again! Next time I will try the almond butter in the middle. I posted this to the Fb community and have been getting requests for the recipe. I have shared it with 2 friends also!
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Kristal! I’m so glad these brownies were a hit. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it! <3
Hey Rita – You could try using butter, a different oil, mashed bananas or applesauce to replace the coconut oil. Let me know what you end up using and how these turn out for you. 🙂
I made these as a treat for myself and the kids and we all loved them. I love that there is sweet potato in them. You’d never know eating them. They are delicious and I’ll be making them again. Yum.
YUM…..I made them in an 8×8 pan and cut them into very small pieces. I under-baked them and they were more like fudge! I mixed some of the peanut butter right into the batter. Delicious. Love your recipes
As someone who has both weight loss surgery (a few years out) and Celiac (newly diagnosed), i can’t wait to try these! However, I’m curious about the maple syrup. Can I substitute it for stevia or will that compromise the flavor/texture?
I ended up making these using Splenda since that’s what I had on hand. They turned out pretty well! I kept them in the oven 30 minutes overall but I think next time I’ll leave them in 5 minutes longer to make them even crustier on the outside. 🙂
Hi Brittany!
Of course, urrite! Everything is better with a little nut butter added! Love, love sweet potatoes, so will try this as soon as my coconut flour is replenished!!!
They sound wonderful, thank you- thank you.
I cannot wait to make these they look so delicious!!! If I wanted to use regular eggs instead, how many would I use? It shouldn’t change the result right?
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I definitely recommend prepping the sweet potatoes by microwaving them instead of roasting them, and throwing them in a blender to mash!
★★★★★
Craving something chocolatey and filling this morning – This was exactly what I was looking for, especially from Eating Bird Food! I subbed in a little over 3/4 cups of almond flour and it turned out great. I baked them by filling full-size muffin tins up about 1/3-1/2 full, and had to bake way longer, even 40 minutes.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Gabrielle! Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
What a great recipe! My 12 year old daughter loved them and has made me promise to make them again. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Woo!! So glad these brownie bites were a hit. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
This was 12/10 – an AMAZING recipe. I put mine in the freezer and my family legitimately thought that this was chocolate fudge. So great – I’m going to make so many more batches. Thank you!
Ahh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear, Jasmine! I’m so glad these brownie bites were a hit with your family. Thanks for trying my recipe and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
What can you substitute for coconut oil? Would applesauce work?
I think that would work just fine, Priya. Let me know if you try it and how these brownies turn out.
My kiddo loved these! Will definitely be making them again! Next time I will try the almond butter in the middle. I posted this to the Fb community and have been getting requests for the recipe. I have shared it with 2 friends also!
★★★★★
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Kristal! I’m so glad these brownies were a hit. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it! <3
Can I substitute coconut oil for another fat in this recipe?
Hey Rita – You could try using butter, a different oil, mashed bananas or applesauce to replace the coconut oil. Let me know what you end up using and how these turn out for you. 🙂
I made these as a treat for myself and the kids and we all loved them. I love that there is sweet potato in them. You’d never know eating them. They are delicious and I’ll be making them again. Yum.
Ahh!! So glad that you and your kiddos like the sweet potato brownies. They’re a favorite over here too!
YUM…..I made them in an 8×8 pan and cut them into very small pieces. I under-baked them and they were more like fudge! I mixed some of the peanut butter right into the batter. Delicious. Love your recipes
These look amazing! Love working on all the recipes etc that you post on FB and IG. Can’t wait to try this!
As someone who has both weight loss surgery (a few years out) and Celiac (newly diagnosed), i can’t wait to try these! However, I’m curious about the maple syrup. Can I substitute it for stevia or will that compromise the flavor/texture?
I haven’t tried it with stevia, but I feel like it should work! Let me know if you try it.
I ended up making these using Splenda since that’s what I had on hand. They turned out pretty well! I kept them in the oven 30 minutes overall but I think next time I’ll leave them in 5 minutes longer to make them even crustier on the outside. 🙂
Hi Brit. I bought liquid coconut oil–is it the same as coconut oil melted?
Hi Deborah! Yes, you can definitely use liquid coconut oil instead of melted. It’s the same thing. 🙂
Yummy!!! I can’t wait to bake these when I get home from work today!
Yay! How did the brownie bites turn out, Kimberly?
Yummy!!! Even my 16 year old son, who is a “regular” brownie lover is loving these! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Ahhh!!! I’m so happy to hear this, Kimberly! So glad your son is enjoying the brownie bites.
Yum! I can’t wait to try these! What are your thoughts on adding in some protein powder?
Hi Abigail! I’m not sure how protein powder would work but you can definitely try it if you want to experiment!
These look great, and yes, everything is better with a bit of almond butter! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Brittany!
Of course, urrite! Everything is better with a little nut butter added! Love, love sweet potatoes, so will try this as soon as my coconut flour is replenished!!!
They sound wonderful, thank you- thank you.
Yay!! Can’t wait to hear what you think of these little bites. I’m hooked.
I cannot wait to make these they look so delicious!!! If I wanted to use regular eggs instead, how many would I use? It shouldn’t change the result right?
Hi Liv! Sure, just use 2 regular eggs instead of the flax seed eggs. Let me know how they turn out.
I was going to ask the same thing. Thanks.