Avocado Brownies

With their perfectly crackled tops and decadent chocolatey bites, these Avocado Brownies will easily become your new favorite dessert. Gluten free and so fudgy, too!

When I think of brownies, I think of fudgy centers, decadent chocolate, crackly tops, and a handful of baking staples. This Avocado Brownies recipe is no different, but swaps the typical ingredients with healthy, gluten free alternatives!

Mashed avocado may sound like an odd addition to baked goods, but it proves to be a moisture-boosting and complimentary ingredient in these brownies, as well as my chocolate avocado cake and chocolate avocado cookies. You get all of the healthy fats but none of the avocado flavor.

Recipe features

• The avocado adds a ton of moisture without needing much butter.
• Made with a crackly top and a fudgy center, just the way you'd expect a brownie to be!
• They’re really easy to make with only 9 ingredients.

Ingredient notes:

• Avocado - Mashed avocado is a natural oil-free alternative in baking, just like mashed bananas, applesauce, and pumpkin. The avocado flavor is hidden behind chocolate, sugar, and almond flour, so you get none of the flavor but all of the benefits. 

• Eggs - While you can make these brownies vegan and replace the eggs with flax eggs, the texture just doesn’t turn out as fudgy. The vegan fudge brownie lovers would be better off sticking to my fudgy vegan brownies recipe.

• Sugar - Use coconut, cane, or white sugar.

• Almond flour - One of my favorite gluten free flours! Not only does baking brownies with almond flour mean they’ll be gluten and grain free, but the nutty flavors and healthy fats add complexities to every bite that you wouldn’t normally find in a regular brownie recipe.

• Brewed coffee - Coffee and espresso have a magical ability to make chocolate taste even more decadent. Not a coffee drinker? Use hot water instead.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Mash the avocado. Use a potato masher or fork to mash the avocado in a small bowl. Set it aside while you make the batter.

Step 2: Melt the chocolate. Quickly melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil together in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Step 3: Prepare the batter. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, salt, vanilla, coffee, and mashed avocado and mix until combined.

Step 4: Bake. Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Step 5: Cool, cut, and enjoy. Let the brownies cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into squares and eating!

Tips and FAQs

• Speed up the process by mashing the avocado in a food processor rather than by hand.
• The secret to crackly top brownies is to thoroughly whisk the eggs and sugar together. Try not to skip this step!
• Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing. They’ll fall apart and crumble if they’re too warm.
• Do you have an extra avocado lying around? Use it in this chocolate avocado icing. Everyone loves frosted brownies!

What do avocados do in baking?

Just like how black beans can replace flour in brownies, avocados replace the oil. Avocados are an amazing source of “good fats”, like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. This means they naturally add moisture to baked goods and are one of the best replacements for oil and butter.

Can I use regular flour instead?

I don’t recommend it. The texture and flavor of these brownies always turn out best when they’re made with almond flour. If all you have is all purpose flour or a 1:1 gluten free flour mix at home, stick to my brownie cupcakes instead.

Can they be made oil-free?

Yes! Omit the coconut oil and melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler to prevent them from burning.

Storage

Refrigerator: Keep the brownies in a container at room temperature and consume within 48 hours.

Freezer: If you're not going to eat the brownies within 1-2 days, I recommend freezing them. to do so, wrap the brownies individually in plastic and freeze for up to 3 months.

More gluten free baked goods 

• The Best Paleo Brownies
• Apple Cupcakes
• Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!

UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in April 2017. It was updated with new text and photos in July 2022.