Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies

You know those days when you just crave a brownie? Have you ever had one of those days? After you give these Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies a try, I promise there are going to be many-a- brownie cravings in your future.

And do you know the best part about that? You can feel pretty dang good about satisfying those cravings with these guys. This lightened up version of a traditional brownie could almost be classed as health food.

They are perfectly acceptable, and nutritionally balanced enough, to eat for a snack, post-lunch dessert, post-dinner dessert, or even as a part of breakfast!

You’ll find yourself coming back to the pan again + again + again…

The reason that these brownies are so different and so magical is because of their sweet potato base. Now, I know what you’re thinking, really I do. “Sweet potatoes have no place in a brownie recipe.” And I get it. I thought the same thing…until I tried it. Replacing the majority of the flour in this recipe with sweet potato not only makes these brownies super moist and light, but it also sends their nutritional value off the charts compared to the normal, white flour/white sugar variety.

Sweet potatoes have been wildly praised in the health food world for years + for good reason. And while they are still just a natural carbohydrate source, they do happen to be mega rich in vitamins + minerals, plus they’re high in fibre – all good things! Orange sweet potatoes, in particular, contain all sorts of beta carotene, Vitamin C + potassium.

Along with the sweet potato, this recipe calls for some healthy fats in the forms of almond butter and coconut oil. Feel free to sub out the almond butter for any nut or seed butter of your choosing. I imagine that tahini or peanut butter would be bomb. (If you have a nut allergy, feel free to use all coconut oil!).

Now, they wouldn’t be brownies without some sort of chocolate, would they? I choose to include chocolate in two different forms because #chocolate. Firstly, to enrich the batter, we add cocoa powder. Feel free to use regular cocoa powder or cacao powder in this batter. They both are delicious here! Secondly, we add some melty texture with chocolate chips or chunks. You can opt for white, milk or dark. As usual, I think the darker, the better, but they’re your brownies!

The rest of the ingredients in these paleo sweet potato brownies are really simple, things like eggs, vanilla, salt + baking soda. Make sure that you include the coconut flour – it’s what gives these brownies some lift + structure! Without it, they’ll just be chocolate mush.

Simply mix all of your ingredients together, pour it into a lined pan (you’ll want to line it, so they don’t stick!) and bake for a short 20 minutes or so. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the brownies to cool. You really need to allow them proper time to set or they’ll just fall to pieces, which nobody wants!

Once they’re cool, feel free to be even more extra + drizzle the tops with a bit more melted chocolate. I also added some flaked sea salt to really push these over the edge.

Now, in the spirit of full transparency, if you’re expecting a dense, fudgey brownie, these paleo sweet potato brownies might not be it. (You could try my Double Chocolate Tahini Cookies.) They have a much lighter texture, but rich, dark chocolate flavour. I liken them a bit more to a cakey brownie than a fudgey brownie. Either way, give them a try! I think that you can appreciate them in their own right – they’re moist, rich, chocolatey + light. I’m not sure what’s not to like about that…

This recipe is a perfect treat to keep on hand for snacking throughout the week. They keep really well at room temperature for optimum snackage, but I actually prefer them cold! Straight from the fridge or the freezer, these babies are UNREAL. Somehow it seems to intensify their flavour? No matter how you choose to enjoy them, you really can’t go wrong with this recipe.

These paleo sweet potato brownies are current treat obsession. They’re simple + easy to make, but even easier to eat. If you like chocolate even a little bit, you’re going to love these. If you make them, I’d love to hear if you can tell there’s sweet potato in them. Let me know what you think in the comments below or tag me in your photos on  Instagram!

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