These flourless zucchini brownies are fudgy and chocolatey. They are also gluten free, grain-free, and paleo. It’s an easy one bowl recipe and a great way to use up zucchini.
A few weeks ago, I shared a recipe for zucchini brownies. It’s one of my favorite new recipes and I’ve made them several times already for friends and family. After sharing that recipe, I received several requests for a flourless version, so I went back into the kitchen to do some research.
I had to sacrifice a few jars of almond butter while testing these, but I think it was worth it.
Speaking of almond butter, here’s a very real conversation I had with my husband the other day:
Me: We are out of meal prep meals. Did you make yourself a sandwich for lunch?
Him: Yes.
Me: What did you make?
Him: I made one with acorn butter. I only used the crunchy one since I know you use the smooth kind for baking.
Me: Uh… you mean almond butter?
Him: Is that what this is? Okay sure.
This guy also brought my zucchini brownies into work and then told everyone they were not brownies and when some people asked for the recipe, he linked them to my zucchini bread. *facepalm*
Taste and Texture
Back to a little more about these brownies. These brownies are not chewy but they are very chocolatey and fudgy. The chocolate flavor is even more intense the next day.
Almond Butter
One of the key ingredients to these brownies working without flour is using almond butter. Make sure to use the creamy, natural almond butter– the kind you need to stir before using, because the thicker processed almond butter may be too dry for this batter.
Almond butter is a magical baking ingredient, when mixed with eggs and a rising agent and baked, it can rise and have a cake-like structure.
Zucchini Tips
- You will want to shred the zucchini using the small holes on the grater because you want very thin shreds. First, the thin shreds will almost disappear into the brownies once cooked. Second, if you choose to make thinner shreds, your zucchini will be more moist, which is needed to get the batter to the right consistency.
- When I finished shredding my zucchini, it was very moist, but it did not have any pools of released water. If for some reason you are dealing with a very watery zucchini, drain out that released liquid before adding the zucchini to the batter. You want the moisture from the zucchini, but not all the liquid
Flourless Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup creamy natural almond butter
- 1 ripe medium banana mashed
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (do not use dutch processed)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup finely shredded zucchini
- 1 cup semi-sweet chopped chocolate (to keep this strictly paleo, you can use paleo chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 inch by 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine almond butter, banana, egg, honey, cocoa powder, vanilla and baking soda. Mix batter until it is evenly combined. Batter will be quite dry.
- Stir in the zucchini. As you continue to stir, the zucchini will release some water and you should see the batter becoming more liquid. Stir until batter is evenly mixed and no longer dry and it becomes a thick liquid batter. Stir in ½ cup chocolate.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle surface with remaining ½ cup chocolate. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow brownies to cool before cutting and serving.
Notes
- Make sure to use creamy, natural almond butter. Avoid using the thick, processed almond butter.
- You will want to shred the zucchini using the small holes on the grater because you want very thin shreds. When I finished shredding my zucchini, it was very moist, but it did not have any pools of released water. If for some reason you are dealing with a very watery zucchini, drain out that released liquid before adding the zucchini to the batter. You want the moisture from the zucchini, but not any pools of water.
- Recipe adapted from Running with Spoons
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
These were so good! In one day, my husband and I have already eaten half the tray o_O It’s crazy to believe that there’s nothing super bad about these… they’re really the healthiest brownies you could ever have! Thank you!
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed them so much!
lovely surprise/\. These brownies were not as heavy as most , but 100% delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
yummy and healthy!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed!
Love this recipe! It’s now in our healthy snack rotation. I cut the cocoa powder back to 1/2 cup (and used Dutch processes cocoa-yikes!) and it came out great! Even my super picky eaters really enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I’m happy you got the recipe to work for you!
These brownies are awesome! I used natural peanut butter in place of the almond butter, and my husband was amazed at how moist the brownies were. Thank you! Now I know what to do with the many zucchini’s in our garden every year! I’ll use some frozen, drained, shredded zucchini next time, as I froze quite a bit.
I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed the recipe!
Hi! Can I use apple souce as a substitution for the banana?
(English is not my main language, so correct me please if I have made a mistake :))
Sorry I have not tried, but I don’t think that substitution will work.
This is the BEST brownie recipe ever!!!! Thank you!!
So glad you liked them!
Just made this recipe exactly as written (though I did bake it in a cast iron skillet, rather than a pan). It turned out amazing! Very fudgey and gooey. The brownies taste quite a bit like banana, but that didn’t bother me. They taste like eating really moist chocolate-y banana bread brownies. I love how healthy and easy this was to make, and I think you could do a lot of variations (I might try swirling some PB on top or adding nuts next time!) Thanks for this great recipe.
I’m so glad this worked out for you!
Acorn butter! I love it! My coworkers were looking at me because I was laughing at the computer. Hahaha
I can’t wait to try this recipe. They look delicious.
Heh, I could do a weekly column on all the amusing things my husband says. Glad you found it funny too!