Healthy Brownies Recipes (Gluten-Free Brownies)

Below: Keep enjoying dessert with best healthy brownies recipe that uses healthy ingredients and doesn’t sacrifice flavor.

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It can be easy to think that eating healthy means that we have to say goodbye to our favorite desserts. The truth be told, that is far from the truth, and even with a healthy eating lifestyle, we can continue enjoying many of the things we love, just in a more healthy manner by using clean ingredients that are good for our bodies.

Today, we are going to learn how to make a healthy brownie recipe that even people who are not watching what they eat as closely will enjoy. These are gluten-free brownies, but they still have a great flavor and are filled with chocolatey goodness.

What are Brownies?

This may seem obvious to many, but for people who don’t live in the United States, it may be a new word. For those people, “brownies” is the word used to describe those small, square shaped, cakelike dessert that are almost always made with chocolate. That said, there are some variations that are made with careamel, white chocolate or peanut butter. There is a lighter version that omits chocolate that is called “blondies” also.

Brownies are not well known for being healthy, seeing as how they normally have lots of sugar and fat, but I am going to show you how you can make a healthy batch of brownies that will satisfy your craving for something sweet.

How do you make healthy brownies?

This recipe has a variety of dry ingredients which are combined with wet ingredients to make a thick batter. To make this healthy dessert, gather the following wholesome ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of pure, organic cacao powder
• 1/4 cup of white, vegan chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of gluten-free flour. I used this one, but you can use also use cassava flour like we used in this grain-free tortillas recipe if you prefer or some other flour like oat flour.
• 1/4 cup avocado oil. I like this because it doesn’t add any flavor to the brownies, but you can also use olive oil.
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
• 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda, to give it a more spongy texture.
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons of chia seeds or hemp seeds (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon of carob powder. This is a natural chocolate substitute that you can use to give this easy recipe a rich chocolate flavor.

To make this recipe, preheat your oven to 325 degrees f. Then, melt all of the chocolate chips in a small bowl for 1 minute and mix well until they are completely melted. Add the melted chocolate to a large bowl with the oil, maple syrup, and vanill and mix well.

In another bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, cacao, carob, chia seeds, salt and baking soda) and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little bit at a time until everything is perfectly combined.

Add the batter to a prepared baking dish or a cast iron skillet and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let it cool for about 5 minutes before serving with a healthy vanilla ice cream.

Why are these brownies good for an anti-inflammatory diet?

One of the main ingredients in this recipe is pure cacao, which has many benefits for our bodies. For example, it has anti-oxidants and flavonoids which can help improve our cholesterol levels and blood sugar, which can reduce risks for heart issues down the road. This is good for people with chronic illnesses that cause inflammation and can be used in a variety of recipes.

If you decide to use hemp seeds in this recipe, these provide lots of omegas 3 and 6 because of the healthy fats which can help lower triglicerides and ultimately improve your cardiovascular health.

What is the texture of gluten-free brownies?

These brownies may not have the traditional fudgy texture of normal brownies, but they are also not necessarily crumbly. I recommend making them in a cast iron skillet and then serving them by the spoonful instead of trying to cut them into squares. With that said, the longer you let them cool, the easier they will be to remove, so experiment with them until you get the best results.

There you go – healthy, delicious brownies. Let me know in the comments how they turn out!