3 Ingredient Healthy Peanut Butter Brownies
These healthy peanut butter brownies are chewy, fudgy and full of chocolate and peanut butter flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 packed cup (165 g) pitted medjool dates
- 1/2 cup (128 g) unsweetened natural peanut butter
- 2 tbsp (14 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Add dates to food processor and pulse until a smooth paste forms. You may need to scrape down the dates from the sides of your food processor a few times to help your food processor blend all the dates. Also, see notes section regarding rehydrating the dates. The dates should pull away from the sides of your food processor and form a ball when done.
- Add in peanut butter and cocoa powder and process until smooth and uniform in color. Your brownie batter will be more like a dough consistency.
- Put mixture into prepared pan. Use your hands to press it evenly across the pan.
- Bake for about 10 minutes or until surface starts to puff up. The brownies will not rise much during baking. The purpose of baking them is to firm up the dough. Don't bake them too long because that will dry them out and the brownies won't be as soft, fudgy or chewy.
- Let brownies cool before cutting and serving. If desired, drizzle top with peanut butter before serving.
Notes
- The drizzle on top of the brownies is just natural peanut butter.
- Remove the pits from the dates before weighing them or putting them in the measuring cup
- You want to use dates that are very soft. If your dates feel dry or firm, soak them in warm water for about 15 minutes to rehydrate them. Then lightly pat dry with a paper towel before using them.
- This recipe works best with Medjool dates which have more soft flesh. Also, make sure to use natural peanut butter. See post for more details.
- If you have questions regarding potential ingredient substitutions, see the post for more details where I discuss potential substitutions.
- For best results, use a food processor. I find it hard to get the dates to the right consistency without one. You can try it with a mini food chopper, blender or by hand with a mortar and pestle, but it is much harder and a longer process.
- You can double the recipe and bake in an 8 x 8 inch pan. The baking time should still be about 10 minutes.
- Even though these brownies are naturally sweetened, they are not a low sugar recipe because they use a lot of dates and dates contain a lot of natural sugar. You can reduce the amount of dates if you are looking to lower the sugar amount, but your brownies will not be as sweet. The texture will also not be as fudgy or chewy.
Serving: 1brownie, Calories: 162kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 14g, NET CARBS: 15
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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