Who doesn’t love a brownie? I know I do—and yes, sometimes my kids get the classic version in their lunchboxes, because I’m all about enjoying all foods. But most of the time, I like to fill their lunchboxes with nourishing, wholesome options. That’s where plant-based brownies come in!
Our resident dietitian Grace created this fudgy sweet potato brownie as a nutrient-packed alternative to the everyday brownie we all know and love (you know—the one that’s a little too high in sugar and fat for daily lunchbox duty). These brownies are still rich, chocolatey, and perfectly gooey, but with more nutrition, less sugar, and less fat. They’re also a great source of fibre and B vitamins.
And if you’re after even more plant-based brownie inspiration, check out our black bean brownie—it’s been a hit with my kids for years!
Ingredients: Yields: 10 – 12 brownies
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato (use approx. a 300g potato)
- 1/3 cup your choice of the following spreads : peanut butter, Biscoff spread, tahini or Buddee Chickpea spread all work (we used Buddee)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup raw sugar
- Pinch of salt
Method:
- Line a square baking tin with paper. Preheat oven to 160ºC.
- Melt spread slightly in microwave and mix with sweet potato & vanilla essence until well combined and no lumps.
- Sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Add in raw sugar, chocolate chips and salt and mix together dry ingredients.
- Add in the potato mixture and milk give everything a good mix (the mixture will be quite thick and need some muscle to combine but this is what gives it that great fudgy texture, if it’s too thick add a splash more milk).
- Pour mixture into prepared baking tin and spread out evenly. Bake for 30 minutes and allow to cool in the tin. Store in airtight container and enjoy!
- For an easy way to cook your sweet potato, pierce it with a fork all over and microwave in a safe container for 5 minutes, rotating the potato twice. Slice down the middle and remove the soft flesh from the skin and mash well.
- It’s great to get little ones involved in this to see how a sweet potato can be used for sweet dishes – veggies aren’t boring!
- Sweet potatoes contain vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium and are high fibre making them low GI.
- This recipe works well with any kind of the above plant-based spreads just be sure to use one that is safe to send to your school if you require a nut free option.