Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies (Vegan Gluten-Free)

Thick, fudgy and rich chocolate brownies made from sweet potato stuffed with melting chocolate. These brownies are easy to make, naturally vegan, gluten-free and made with wholefoods.

I love a good brownie and I love being able to sneak in extra vegetables and goodness into my bakes. These Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies are the perfect excuse to make something really chocolatey as well as making a more wholesome bake to nourish you and your family. They are really easy to make in a few steps and they are:

• Thick and fudgy
• So rich and chocolatey
• Melt in our mouth delicious
• Packed with wholefoods
• Naturally vegan and gluten-free
• Easy to prepare
• Quick to bake
• Freezer-friendly

While I have tried a few sweet potato brownies in my time, like these Sweet Potato Cinnamon Fudge Brownies that feature a delicious chocolate ganache, I think this recipe is even easier and even fudgier thanks to the perfect balance of sweet, gooey ingredients and less flour (more flour makes a cakier brownie, if that is your thing!). So, what goes into these Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies?

• Sweet potato: obviously! This is the base for all good sweet potato brownies and helps to add moisture while acting as a natural binder for the mix, too. Simply steam your potato until tender and remove the skin as below, or you can roast a whole sweet potato at 160Fan/180*C (stab it first) for about 50-60 minutes until tender and continue as in the recipe below. If you don’t have sweet potato, you can use tinned/canned pumpkin, too.
• Runny nut butter: or if you are not using nuts, you can use a seed butter like tahini or sunflower seed. The runnier kind is best here and smooth will also produce a better texture.
• Maple syrup: this adds the sweetness and gooeyness, or you can use another syrup like agave or vegan honey.
• Coconut oil: just a little helps to hold these Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies together. You could also use vegan butter.
• Vanilla essence: for the subtle vanilla notes. If you have run out, don’t worry, you can skip this.
• Spelt or GF Flour: to make this recipe a little more wholesome, I love to use spelt flour but you can also use plain white or plain white GF flour (with xantham gum in).
• Cacao powder: for the richness! You can use cocoa powder too.
• Baking powder: for the rise.
• Salt: I always add salt to baking as it brings out the flavours, especially when working with chocolate.
• Pecans or walnuts: nuts and chocolate go so well together, so as well as chunks of nuts inside the brownies, there are also lots of them on top for the best crunch. I think pecans and walnuts work best with brownies, but you can use another nut like cashews or hazelnuts.
• Chocolate: these Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies are packed with melting chocolate chunks inside and then more chocolate drizzled on top after. These are very chocolatey but won’t leave you feeling overwhelmed.

The method for these Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies is very simple:

• Steam the potato then blend the flesh
• Blend together all the wet ingredients
• Stir together the dry ingredients
• Add the wet to the dry and mix
• Fold in the chocolate and nuts
• Pour into a lined tin and bake until smelling amazing and still a little gooey in the centre

You do need to allow these Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies to cool a little before slicing them, but the wait is worth it! Then drizzle with extra chocolate, a sprinkling of flaky salt and these are good to go. They make the tastiest afternoon tea treat, after-dinner dessert, snack with a glass of milk or to be enjoyed at any time of day. I make these all the time and they get better and better. They are delicious to make when you have friends or family over, going to picnics or BBQs or just as a gift – and no-one would be able to tell they’re made from plant-based wholefoods and that they are loaded with vegetables!

I hope you will love these rich, fudgy, nutty, and salted chocolate brownies and if you are looking for more easy bakes, how about my:

• Sweet Potato Cinnamon Fudge Brownies
• Vegan Lemon and Blueberry Loaf 
• Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake
• Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
• Vegan Black Forest Gateau

Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies (Vegan Gluten-Free)

• Servings: 9-12
• Time: 40 minutes plus cooling
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Thick, fudgy and rich chocolate brownies made from sweet potato stuffed with melting chocolate. These brownies are easy to make, naturally vegan, gluten-free and made with wholefoods.

Ingredients

For the Brownies
• 1 medium sweet potato (approx. 300g)
• 120g runny smooth peanut/cashew/almond butter
• 160ml maple syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 90g spelt flour (or plain flour/GF plain flour)
• 40g cacao powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 50g pecans or walnuts
• 80g dairy-free chocolate
For the topping:
• 30g chocolate
• 1/2 tsp coconut oil
Flaky salt

Directions

1. Stab the sweet potato and steam in a microwave steamer, or slice into cubes and steam over a pan of boiling water for 10-20 minutes until tender (cooking methods will vary the cooking time). Alternatively, roast a whole sweet potato (stab it first) on a tray at 160Fan/180*C for 50-60 minutes until tender. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and line an 8-inch square tin with parchment paper.
2. Allow the potato to cool for 5 minutes then remove the skin. Add the flesh to a blender and whizz until smooth.
3. Measure out 250g of the mashed sweet potato and return to the blender with the nut butter, maple syrup, melted coconut oil and vanilla essence. Blend until smooth.
4. Sift the flour, cacao powder and baking powder into a mixing bowl and add the salt. Pour in the sweet potato mix and stir to a thick smooth batter.
5. Chop the nuts and chocolate and fold in most of them, saving some for the top.
6. Pour the brownie batter into the tin, smooth over the top and sprinkle on the remaining chopped nuts and chocolate. Bake in the preheated oven and bake for 22-25 minutes – an inserted skewer will come out clean when they are done.
7. Allow the brownies to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes then remove from the tin and cool fully.
8. Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl in the microwave, working in 20-second intervals and stirring in between. Once melted, drizzle over the brownies and slice in 9-12 pieces. Sprinkle with salt and serve.
9. Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days or freeze for 1 month.

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies so please let me know what you think in the comments below. If you do make the brownies, I would love to see them, so please tag me on social media – I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With sweet potato brownie love x

p.s. this recipe was originally made with Panasonic, but I am sharing this on my website as I love it so much!