These fudgy gluten free brownies and not only chocolatey, easy, and delicious, but are loaded with a secret healthy ingredient: beets! Healthy, simple to make, and perfect healthy treat to feed your sweet tooth. And they are vegan too boot!
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My daughter and I were playing a game the other day. It was called “I’m the Queen and call all the shots”. I’m sure any of you who have spent 5 minutes with an elementary school kid can guess who was the queen and who was the loyal servant. Needless to say, we were having fun and she was on a bit of a power trip.
“Servant Mommy!” my daughter, Alice, bellowed in her best queen voice (that has a bit of a British twist and mixed with a bit of southern) and getting comfy on her couch thrown, “I command you to get me one of those brownies!”
I had just made a batch of these gluten free brownies in preparing for shooting them and had let her try a bite…you know, for quality control.
“Sorry sweetie. Those brownies are off limits until I get the pictures I need,” I responded, breaking character.
Queen Alice was not impressed….with my answer or me stepping out of my role. She shot me her best queen glare and then said “if you don’t let me have another brownie, it is too the dungeon with you!”
So, while I was dazzled that my daughter was supper loving on these beet-loaded brownies (8 year-olds are the toughest food critics in my experience), I was even more dazzled that she was telling me I was going to be locked in my room. Alone. For not giving her one.
Alone. Yes, I love being a mom. But I also love quiet time alone in my room…with a book. I’ll take that punishment, kid.
Why these beet gluten free brownies are so good
This is one recipe that I tested. And tested. And tested again. I’ve eaten so many beet brownies in the past week that I don’t want to even talk about it. But it was one recipe that I was determined to get just right and that got my family’s ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ approval.
These gluten free brownies are tricker than most because beets have a very earthy taste that many people balance out with A BOATLOAD of sugar. Most of the beet brownie recipes I stumbled upon added 1 cup of sugar along with oodles of chocolate chips to mask the earthiness (aka dirt taste) of beets.
But, I found a way to not only make these brownies fudgy (I’m so team fudgy when it comes to gluten free brownies), but egg-free, gluten free and with as little added sugar as I could while still balancing out the beet taste.
Why beets are good for you
Don’t get me wrong. These beet gluten free brownies are 100% a treat in my book. But a healthy treat that has a lot less sugar than traditional brownie recipes, but has the added bonus of beets in the mix.
Beets are plant rockstars that add so much to your food. By adding beetroot has, you also add: (source)
- protein
- fiber
- Folate (vitamin B9) (this is helpful for cell and tissue growth)
- Manganese. (an essential trace element)
- Potassium. (good for heart health)
- Iron. (an essential mineral that is necessary for the transport of oxygen in red blood cells)
- Vitamin C. (something all us parents need oodles of in our diets)
Different methods for cooking your beet
Yep, you need to cook your beet. Please don’t skip this step, as it really could impact the yum factor of these brownies and nobody wants that. Cooking your beet brings out the natural sugars in it and cuts the earthy flavor that makes so many people run far and fast from this root veggies.
But if you already have a raw beet in hand, there are lots of different ways to cook a beet. Some methods I have used are…
- Roast (Suggested. I find roasted beets provide for a stronger color)
- Boiling
- Instant Pot
- Steaming
Tips:
- Cook and peel your beet first. I mentioned it above but I am going to say it again. Don’t try to shortcut this part. Cooking beets helps to bring out their natural sweetness, which is kinds of important in a dessert.
- Let those suckers cool completely. I almost pitched this batch of brownies because I thought they hadn’t firmed up. But once I let them cool completely, they were perfection. So, don’t rush them. Be patient. Let them cool. You will be rewarded with yumminess.
- Make sure your oat flour is certified gluten free. If you have a gluten allergy or are making these for someone with an allergy, this is important. Not all oats are gluten free! The legit ones with boast a label on the outside of their packaging for all to see.
- Don’t over bake. Cooking for too long can make the beautiful beet color in these go away. If they still seem soft when you take them out of the oven, remember they are still cooking while they sit on your counter. They will firm up as they cool.
Suggested Adaptations for fudgey beet gluten free brownies
- Make them with eggs. If egg-free isn’t important, replace the flax meal and water in this recipe with 2 eggs. Heads up though, that the eggs make these brownies more cakey than fudgy. But if that is your thing, egg away!
- Make them with whole wheat flour. If you are gluten free due to an allergy or intolerance, don’t do this. But if gluten isn’t an issue for you, feel free to switch out the flours.
- Skip the beet and sub with 1/2 cup extra applesauce, butternut squash puree, sweet potato puree or mashed banana.
- Make them as muffins. Bake at the same temperature for 20 minutes and let cool before enjoying.
Other beet recipe that is going to make your love this veggie…
Fudgy Beet Gluten Free Brownies
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp flax meal
- 5 tbsp water
- 4 ounces beets (about 1/2 cup pureed) cooked and peeled. I suggest roasted beet, as it holds color best in my experience. If the color is not important to you, than use whatever cooking method you like
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce or you can sup mashed ripe banana
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 cup almond or coconut milk
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar or granulated sweetener of choice
- 1/4 cup coconut or avocado oil
- 1 1/2 cup gluten free oat flour See below for how to make your own, if needed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder not Dutch processed or cacao
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips or chocolate chunks plus extra for sprinkling on top. Optional. Also, make sure they are dairy-free if that is important
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉ and line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper. Or grease it well with additional oil. Set aside.
- Mix the flax meal and water together in a small bowl. Set aside for at least 5 minutes to "gel"
- In a food processor or high-speed blend, combine cooked beets, vanilla, maple syrup, milk, applesauce and oil. Blend until the beets are completely pureed and the mixture has an even and smooth consistency.
- Add flax/water mixture and remaining ingredients (except the chocolate chips) into the blender/food processor and blend until mixture is smooth. Scrape down side of bowl and reblend if needed.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top if desired.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top of brownies is set and dry to the touch.
- Let cool completely before slicing. I like to let mine chill in the fridge for a bit.
- Slice and enjoy. Store leftovers in fridge for 4 days.
Notes
- start by pouring rolled oats in a blender. If you have a smaller blender, do less and work in batches.
- Pulse until a coarse flour texture forms. This will happen pretty quickly, though you may need to take a spoon a stir the flour up between blending to make sure the oat flour has a consistent texture.
- Use in a recipe right away or store in an air-tight container for future recipes!
Nutrition
What about canned beets?!
You could probably do it with that! Hmmmm. I’m going to have to try!
I’m so impressed that you found a way to make beet brownies that aren’t overloaded with sugar! I’ve had such a sensitive stomach ever since I went vegan, and too much sugar and sweets don’t usually agree with me. Not easy for someone who LOVES deserts! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
If I use a gluten-free flour mix instead of oat flour would it be the same amount? Do you think that would work OK? I just have some on hand that I would like to use up.
It might work. I haven’t tried it with a different flour though so I can’t be sure
What is the reason you can’t use cacao in place of cocoa?
You can but cacao can change the acidity of the brownies and *might* impact the color. Beets are tricky to bake with when it comes to maintain color. If the color is not super important to you, then cacao powder would work fine
About how many beets are 5 ounces as recipe calls for? Making this for school Vday festivies.
The recipe calls for a 4 ounce beet. My 4 ounce beet was a smallish beet (not tiny). If you were to puree it up, it would be about 1/2 cup of puree
How long do you roast the beets for?
I’ve linked some suggested cooking methods above…including roasting that will walk you through it!
Maybe I made these wrong, but they were sticky and all I tasted were beets. They were pretty disgusting. I saw rice flour was a gf recommended switch. Don’t do this- unedible.
Hi Sarah! Sorry to hear they didn’t work out. I haven’t made these with rice flour, so I can’t speak to how they change the texture or flavor. Where did you see that recommendation? I didn’t see it comments or in the Suggested Adaptations part of the post. As for the beet flavor, that surprises me since most people have told me they felt it didn’t taste beety at all compared to most other beet baked goods. However, we all have different taste preferences and I know some people might be more sensitive to beet flavor in a recipe than others. Some people have shared with me that they’ve replaced the beet in this recipe with sweet potato with success!
My kids and I loved this recipe! The texture is so great and the beets add such a depth of flavor (without tasting a ton like beets). Will definitely be making these again!