Unbeetable Vegan Brownies
A secretly healthy dessert to satisfy your chocolate craving.
Sorry about the pun! But I had no choice. Is it too good to be true that these are vegan brownies AND have a secret healthy ingredient? I’ve eaten enough of these to tell you that you’re not dreaming, it’s true.
Vegan Beet Brownies are good for your blood
Beets are a veggie that I came to love when I learned that I needed a whole lot more iron in my diet. In order for our bodies to properly absorb the iron nutrient, it needs a little help from vitamin C. Lucky for us, beets have both! Just looking at the color of these dark red beets you can feel your red blood cells multiplying. There’s even a variety we grow in the garden called “Bull’s Blood”.
Secretly healthy dessert
Ok, enough about blood. What you really need to know is that this is an absolutely sneaky and delicious way to incorporate beets into your diet and to trick children into eating some veggies. Beets are available year-round fresh with their greens and loose from storage. They’re another veggie like kohlrabi that will last months in your fridge when stored in a plastic bag without their greens.
If you’re overloaded with beets and not enough fridge space, make the beet puree from this recipe and freeze it in a quart container. It’ll be ready for you when you want to make some snow-day brownies.
These brownies are almost better the day after. A day in the fridge allows them to set and they’re easier to slice and enjoy.
Unbeetable Vegan Brownies
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds loose red beets
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1.5 cups coconut sugar
- 1 T vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.25 cups vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Wash the beets and trim the top and bottom. Without peeling, chop into 2 inch chunks and add to a steaming tray. Steam beets until easily pierced with a fork. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Add beets to a food processor and puree until smooth.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl whisk the oil, coconut sugar and vanilla until combined. Add flour, cacao, baking soda and salt and whisk to a crumbly dry batter.
- Fold in beet puree and allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
- Spread brownie mixture into a 9×13 inch pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. For me, 28 minutes is the hot spot.
- These brownies cut best after cooled and even better a day later.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @growingwithgertie on Instagram.