Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies: Last week out of a whim, I bought a big bag of sweet potatoes from Costco. The idea was to eat only sweet potato for carbs after an intense work-out. Unusually I also tried to follow it through and had pressure cooked 2 of the sweet potatoes before leaving to the gym to only see that it was cooked too much and it was very mushy. I didn't feel like eating it, so saved it to make/bake something out of it later. That's how this vegan sweet potato brownie recipe was created.
Earlier I have baked chocolate cupcakes using mashed black beans and brownies with beet puree, so I was confident that these sweet potato brownies won't disappoint either.
I remembered that few months back I had bookmarked a vegan brownie recipe using avocado and thought why not use that recipe to bake this no eggs sweet potato brownie. I pretty much followed that recipe except reduced the quantity of sugar for the obvious reason that sweet potatoes are sweeter than avocado.
The original recipe did not have any added fat which is understandable because avocado has enough fat. So I added 2 tablespoons of oil in this recipe to make it a bit moist and not very dense. I also added some vegan chocolate chips to the brownie batter and topped it too once the brownies were out of the oven.
Soon to follow is also a vegan sweet potato pancake recipe!
Recipe
Low-Fat Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and ¾ cups white sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk (I had to add extra 2-3 tablespoons)
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional:
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C for about 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients; flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
- In another medium size bowl, beat together the mashed sweet potato, milk, water, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and combine it together but make sure you don't overmix. The batter felt a bit thick, so I added another 3 tablespoons of milk.
- Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips, if using.
- Line a 13x9 inch pan with aluminum foil with extra sheet hanging on the side so that you can lift it off the pan once it's baked.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Mine was done in about 35 minutes.
- Take the pan out and cool it on a wire rack. After about 30 minutes lift the foil and place it on the rack for the brownie to cool completely before cutting into squares.
My Notes
- All-purpose flour can be replaced with whole wheat pastry flour as well. More liquid might be required if using whole wheat flour. The baking time also will be a bit more.
- Pumpkin puree is also a good substitute for the sweet potato in this vegan brownie recipe.
Mar Diaz says
Would the recipe or baking time change if it's done in an 8x8 pan? If so, pls let me know.
Madhuram says
I'm guessing that the batter might be too much for an 8-inch pan. If you still want to try it, yes, it would take much more time than the 35 minutes in a 13x9 inch pan. Try 40-45 minutes probably.
Chandika Sankar says
Can almond flour or oats be used in place of AP?
If yes would the measurement be the same?
Madhuram says
Yes, it can be used. Being gluten-free the brownies might not rise up much.
Lia says
I made this recipe and it turned out delicious. However, the amount of milk suggested is in no way near enough. My suggestion would be to add the amount of milk and water stated in the recipe and then just eyeball add more milk until the batter is less thick.
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback, Lia.
Wiley says
Need to make this with gluten free flour will it work?
Madhuram says
Yes it should work, Wiley. Try it with gluten-free all purpose baking mix like the one from Bob's Red Mill.
Aqsa Khan says
Will Make this for my vegan uncle.Thank you for sharing.
Madhuram says
You're welcome, Aqsa.