Fudgy and decadent vegan beetroot brownies with a smooth avocado chocolate mousse frosting. Approved by vegans and non-vegans alike!
Seriously guys – you’ll never know there are VEGETABLES in this dessert! I served the brownies to a group of non-vegans and my partner and they didn’t notice there were unconventional ingredients in them.
And you know what?! The brownies are refined sugar free!
But will these vegan brownies taste like beetroot???
NO! With enough melted chocolate and other magical ingredients, you won’t taste or see the earthy red vegetable.
But why do we put beetroot in brownies?!
I don’t know the origin of beetroot brownies, but the water content of the beets makes the brownies moist and gives it a slightly red hue. Fruit and vegetables tend to make baked cakes more dense (hello banana bread) but for brownies, this is just what we want.
Perfect. Fudginess.
But will the frosting taste like avocados?
NO! It’s the same as the beetroot in the brownies. If you add enough sweetener and cocoa powder to the avocado, you’re on your way to bliss.
Just imagine the creaminess of avocado with the flavour of chocolate. Now, let’s combine them for this frosting and add them to the brownies – BAM!
Here’s some more brownie love!
This post was originally published in June 2015 and was updated in February 2020.
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Beetroot Brownies with a Chocolate Avocado Frosting
Ingredients
Brownie Dry ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup (200g) plain or all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (160g) coconut sugar, or to taste
- 1/4 cup (25g) cocoa or raw cacao powder
- 1 tbsp (12g) ground chia or flax seeds
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Brownie Wet ingredients
- ~1 cup (200g) beetroot puree*
- 3/4 cup (165g) melted vegan chocolate
- 1/4 cup (65g) light-tasting vegetable oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed
- 3 tbsp (45mL) plant-based milk, such as almond, soy or coconut
Chocolate Avocado frosting
- 1 medium-size avocado, skin and seed removed
- 1/4 cup (25g) cocoa or raw cacao powder
- 4 medjool dates, pitted
- 1-4 tbsp (21-64mL) maple syrup, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 20cm (8-inch) square baking pan with baking paper.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a medium-size bowl and mix until there are no lumps. Add all the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix until combined. Pour the batter into your baking pan and smooth the top.
- Bake the brownies in the oven for 15-20 minutes (shorter if you like them fudgy, longer if you like them more crispy). The brownies are ready when the surface is dry. They will set more over time. Allow the brownies to cool in the baking pan.
- To make the frosting: Add all ingredients to a food processor and puree until it is as smooth as possible.
- When the brownies are cool, spread the surface with the avocado frosting.
- The brownies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
Hi there, Anthea.
I love your blog. I’m not a vegan, but I stumbled upon your blog a few days and and I honestly think I could be converted by it.
Anyway, I LOVE the idea of beet root brownies, but my body doesn’t react well to all-purpose flour, so I’m thinking of replacing the all purpose flour with either almond flour or coconut flour, but I’m not sure how to convert all purpose to almond flour or how to convert all-purpose to coconut flour. Could you help me out?
Thank you so much,
Grace.
Hi Grace! Thanks so much for your kind words! With replacing all purpose flour, I can recommend a 1:1 combination of almond flour/meal and rice flour (so about 100g of each). I haven’t tested this recipe with gf flour but if you try it, let me know how you go!
Can we replace part of the oil with something else? For example applesauce, greek yogurt, nut butter?
Hi, Can I replace the chai seeds with something else?😀
Hey, you can replace them with flax seeds or maybe psyllium husk!
Hi Anthea, i just discovered your website and your instagram page and let me say i’m in love with everything on your blog.. all your recipes looks amazing and yummy.. i’ve always been interested in raw dessert and as a vegan italian girl i’m really interested to expand my knowledge on the subject..
i’m gonna try these delicious brownies as i love brownies and beetroot… =D
How big is the baking tray you used??? what can be used instead if almond meal???
Thank you for your time..
Keep going like this
Hi Alice!
Aw, that’s so sweet of you. Thank you!
Oh these brownies were delicious. I’ll definitely have to make them again soon. For the recipe, I used a 22x22cm square baking tray. Instead of almond meal, you can use any other nut meal or brown rice flour. If you use non-nut flour, you may have to add some oil (say 1/4 cup) as the almond meal has natural oils in it.
I hope this helps xo
Hi, how much do you think the beetroots you used weighted? Btw I love your recipes and can’t wait for the e-book 🙂
Hi Sara! I think each beetroot weighed about 150-180g. I hope that helps and I can’t wait to finalise my ebook 🙂
Haha, thanks so much lovely! And my absolute pleasure. It was probably one of the more fun desserts to create as it's all essentially a brown mess without much form! Yet, it tastes so ridiculously amazing. The effort to taste ratio is definitely in our favour. I hope you enjoy making and eating them xoxo
I am in complete admiration of your dedication to the brownie, and deeply grateful that you spent so much time (and did so many experiments) to perfect the mighty brownie; and let me tell you it looks like you have nailed it! I bet the beetroot adds such a richness to the chocolate, and that colour is fabulous! I'm 100% definitely making these as my next batch of brownies, thank you so much for sharing such a gorgeous recipe! xxx