Healthy Brownies

4.76 from 54 votes

The best Healthy Brownies! Made without flour, refined sugar, butter, or eggs, these rich, fudgy, and deeply chocolatey brownies can be easily prepared with ingredients found at your local grocery store. Plus, there's an optional frosting recipe for those who love frosted brownies.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Chilling Time6

Total Time7

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American, Vegetarian

Keyword: healthy brownies

Servings: bars

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $5.53

Ingredients

Brownies:

1 and 1/2 cups (53% cacao) dark chocolate chips divided Note 1
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut oil Note 2
1 cup honey vanilla Greek yogurt Note 3
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup coconut sugar (or use light brown sugar)
3/4 cup oat flour (just blend regular oats in your blender)

Optional Frosting:

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk or whatever milk you have on hand
2 tablespoons vanilla Greek yogurt
3/4 cup powdered sugar

US - Metric

Instructions

PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal. Lightly spritz with nonstick cooking spray.
MELT CHOCOLATE: In a large bowl place 1 cup (175g) of chocolate chips and set aside. Add the solid coconut oil to a separate, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the coconut oil and then measure the coconut oil in its melted, hot state to get 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons. Pour the hot melted coconut oil over the dark chocolate and stir the chocolate until it is completely melted. If needed, microwave the chocolate and coconut oil in 10-15 second bursts, stirring in between each burst for 20 seconds until completely melted and smooth. Let cool slightly.
REMAINING INGREDIENTS: Add in the Greek yogurt; stir to combine. Stir in the vanilla, salt, baking soda, and coconut sugar (or brown sugar).
BLEND OATS: Add old-fashioned oats to a blender or food processor. Blend or process until the oats are fine and resemble flour. Measure the oat flour after blending and not before, to get a level 3/4 cup. Add blended oats and remaining 1/2 cup (91g) chocolate chips to brownie batter. Mix to combine.
BAKE: Spread the mixture (it is very thick) into the prepared pan in an even layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 28-32 minutes or until a fork comes out clean when inserted into the center. Do not overbake. Slightly underbaking is better and will yield a superior taste and texture (more fudge-like). Remove from the oven and allow the pan of brownies to cool completely at room temperature on a wire cooling rack. If desired, frost the cooled brownies (see next step).
OPTIONAL FROSTING: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons milk. Microwave in bursts of 15 seconds, stirring for 15 seconds in between each burst until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir in the Greek yogurt until fully incorporated and then whisk in the powdered sugar. Frosting may seem thin -- don't worry; it thickens as it cools. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes and then spread frosting evenly over the brownies.
CHILL: Cover the frosted (or unfrosted) brownies and place them in the fridge to fully chill. These brownies are best cold (we like them best after being chilled 6-8 hours). Once chilled through, remove the brownies using the overhang of the parchment paper. Cut into small pieces and enjoy!
STORAGE: Store leftover brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Freeze individually wrapped brownies for up to 2 months. The frosting does get a bit watery upon being thawed.

Video

Notes

Note 1: We like Nestle's Dark Chocolate Chips best in these brownies. Too high of a cacao content in dark chocolate chips and the brownies will taste bitter. The chocolate chips are essential to the recipe, so don't leave them out or interchange them with cocoa powder.

Note 2: Greek yogurt is arguably the most important ingredient in this recipe. It can definitely make or break the final flavor. I have tried so many different Greek yogurts and hands down the best yogurt to use is Honey Vanilla Greek yogurt (made by Greek Gods®). If you do not love the Greek yogurt straight out of the container, you will likely not love this recipe -- the Greek yogurt is a huge component. I also recommend adding a flavored Greek yogurt (honey or vanilla flavored) instead of plain.

Note 3: I have found a good amount of variation in coconut oil brands; some brands leave a stronger coconut flavor in some brands than others. I personally use LouAna Coconut Oil and don't find any recognizable or pronounced coconut flavor in these brownies.

Nutrition