These chocolate beetroot brownies are gluten-free, relatively low in sugar and easily adaptable to be vegan. But don't be put off by their good qualities: they are soft, moist and thoroughly delicious.

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These chocolate beetroot brownies are thoroughly delicious. They are soft and sweet, slightly cakey rather than gooey but lovely and moist and so moreish you'll be coming back for more. And given the ingredients, you can almost tell yourself they are healthy.

Well, at least compared to most brownies. They are relatively low in sugar and filled with lots of good things - beetroot, coconut milk, dates and almonds. What's not to like?

The inspiration

Believe it or not, I actually hadn't made brownies before these. I rarely buy them as if I do, I normally find I can eat a bite or two but that's about it as they are too sweet for me. Or I keep eating and have a sugar headache (I know, I might be a bit weird on that one).

Anyway, I had a bit of a backlog of beetroot and had seen a few recipes to use them with chocolate in cakes or brownies so decided to try my own spin on beetroot brownies.

Why gluten free?

While I don't have any dietary requirements myself, I have been wanting to do a bit more gluten-free baking partly as I think we eat a fair bit of wheat already but also as some of the alternatives can have some great flavors to add in to baking, as I found on a previous project. I also liked the idea of combining lots of subtle flavors from things that add sweetness, moisture or texture.

I tried adding some rosemary in with the coconut milk and chocolate (as you'll see in the photo above) but to be honest, I don't think it cooked long enough to infuse so I have left it out of the recipe and will park it for another one. It's something I remember from a dessert my mum used to make and was really good, so will come back to it at some point. These brownies are easily adaptable to be vegan as well by using an egg-substitute.

You can make these either as little bites, as I have here, or as more conventional brownies in a tray and cut up into pieces. These little bites are cooked in a mini muffin/cupcake pan and cook much quicker but are the perfect bite size. Having made some in a tray as well, the tray version is a bit more gooey. Personally I prefer the small bites but play around and see what suits your palette best.

The overall flavor of these chocolate beetroot brownies is delicious. They has nearly everyone, me included, coming back for more.

Try these other healthier treats:

Sweet potato brownies
Carrot apple muffins
Spiced maple cookies
Plus get more snack recipes, both sweet and savory, in the archives.

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4.67 from 3 votes