These Healthy Banana Brownies are life-changing. They are moist, fudgy, can be made gluten-free, have no oil or butter, and are made with cleaner ingredients than a classic brownie… but you’d never be able to tell!
Why You’ll Love These
- moist, fudgy, gooey, and soft texture
- deep, dark, rich chocolate flavor
- cleanier ingredients than a classic brownie with a similar taste and texture
- can be made gluten free and refined sugar free
Ingredients
- Bananas: You need about 2 medium bananas, mashed, for this recipe. Make sure to use ripe bananas for the best flavor, texture, and and structure.
- Eggs: 2 large eggs at room temperature create chewy brownies.
- Pure Maple Syrup: Pure maple syrup adds a healthier sweetness and extra moisture.
- Light Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar: A touch of light brown sugar or coconut sugar adds extra moisture, flavor, and sweetness.
- Almond Butter: Almond butter, or any natural nut butter, provides structure and contributes to the fudgy texture. Make sure to use natural, runny nut butters rather than firm.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract rounds out the flavor.
- Oat/ Almond Flour: I usually use almond flour, but oat flour will work too. Make sure to measure properly using a kitchen scale or by spooning and leveling the flour into measuring cups.
- Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder is where these brownies get their chocolate flavor. I use natural, but dutch-processed will work too!
- Salt: Salt brings out sweetness and enhances flavor.
- Chocolate Chips: You can use any chocolate chips you’d like, add more, reduce them, or completely omit them.
Step by Step Process
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray to ensure the brownies come out of the pan cleanly.
STEP 2: In a large bowl, whisk mashed bananas, room temperature eggs, maple syrup, light brown sugar, almond butter, and vanilla extract together until combined.
STEP 3: Add oat or almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt to the bowl. Whisk only until you see the dry ingredients disappear into the batter.
STEP 4: Fold chocolate chips and other desired mix-ins into the batter. Mix until evenly dispersed throughout the batter.
STEP 5: Transfer the batter to your prepared pan. Top the batter with additional chocolate chips and other mix-ins for a more sophisticated look. Bake the brownies for 28-33 minutes or until the top of the brownies look shiny, the center looks slightly soft, and the edges spring back when poked quickly with your pointer finger.
Frequently Asked Questions
Make sure to measure flour using a kitchen scale or by spooning and leveling to avoid dry brownies. When mixing the dry ingredients into wet ingredients, do not overmix. Additionally, keep an eye on the brownies as they are baking, as the center should look soft and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out with moist batter on it. Overbaking leads to dry brownies.
Yes, you can bake this recipe in a 9×13 inch pan only if you double the recipe. If you bake this recipe, as is, in a 9×13 inch pan, the brownies will be extremely thin and won’t have a fudgy, gooey texture at all.
Yes, you can substitue almond butter for another nut butter if desired. Make sure it’s runnier or thinner in texture for best results.
Expert Tips
Measuring: Make sure to measure your flour properly by using a kitchen scale to measure 80g exactly or by using a spoon to transfer flour from its container to your measuring cups before using a knife to level off the top. This creates fudgy, moist brownies.
Mix-Ins: You can add tons of other mix-ins to these brownies besides chocolate chips. Fruit pieces, walnuts, pecans, candy pieces… all of these mix-ins would would be fabulous in these brownies!
Storage: These brownies keep fresh when stored tightly covered, in an airtight container, or individually wrapped after they have fully cooled. Store them at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Bring frozen brownies to room temperature or reheat in the microwave before serving.
Related Recipes
Print
Healthy Banana Brownies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8x8 pan 1x
- Category: Brownies, Chocolate, Banana
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Healthy Banana Brownies are life-changing. They are moist, fudgy, can be made gluten-free, have no oil or butter, and are made with cleaner ingredients than a classic brownie… but you’d never be able to tell!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (270g) mashed, ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs (100g), room temperature
- 1/4 cup (85g) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (60g) light brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup (80g) almond butter or other runny nut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (80g) oat or almond flour
- 1/2 cup (40g) cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (135g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper to ensure the brownies come out of the pan cleanly.
- In a large bowl, whisk mashed bananas, room temperature eggs, maple syrup, light brown sugar, almond butter, and vanilla extract together until combined. The batter may not be completely smooth due to the mashed bananas.
- Add oat or almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt to the bowl. Whisk only until you see the dry ingredients disappear into the batter. Mixing past this point could lead to dry brownies.
- Fold chocolate chips and other desired mix-ins into the batter. Transfer the batter to your prepared pan.
- Bake the brownies for 28-33 minutes or until the top looks shiny, center looks slightly soft, and the edges spring back when quickly poked with your pointer finger. A toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out with moist batter.
- Allow the brownies to fully cool before storing in an airtight container or tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Notes
Pan: Make sure to use an 8×8 inch pan because baking in any other size could impact taste and texture. You can double this recipe, but you’ll need to use a 9×13 inch pan.
Chocolate Chips: You can use any size, flavor, or amount of chocolate chips. I use semi sweet and dark, but you could use anything you’d like or anything you have on hand. You can also completely omit them if you’d like!
Bananas: Make sure to use ripe bananas in this recipe. The more brown spots on the bananas, the better. This will help create sweeter, moister brownies!
Nut Butter: Make sure to use a runny nut butter rather than a firm one, as the texture will differ greatly.
Keywords: Banana Brownies, Healthy Brownies, Healthy Banana Brownies
ACTUALLY OBSESSED. Never have I ever craved a healthier version of a sweet treat more than these brownies! A must try.
★★★★★
Yay!!! SO glad to hear this, Katy!
These brownies are to die for!!! There are so good they don’t even taste like a healthier version of a brownie… maybe that because I added a little extra chocolate chips 😂. But seriously, these brownies are great and I highly recommend them!
★★★★★
This is the greatest to hear, Alex! Thank you so much for this kind review… and I’m totally with you on the extra chocolate chips 🙂
These are seriously delicious, absolutely a new favourite. Thanks so much for making and sharing the recipe!
★★★★★
Thank you, Abbi! So glad you enjoyed these- they are truly one of my favorite treats!
Wow wow wow!! These brownies are EVERYTHING! Seriously the easiest recipe ever AND when you find yourself eating half the pan right after making them, just know you aren’t alone haha!! Definitely recommend trying this recipe!
★★★★★
Thank you, Addison! This means the world!
These are so yummy and have such an intriguing flavor – like a mix of banana bread and fudgy brownies. Gotta love an easy one bowl recipe and healthier treat (my husband said “wait these are healthy?” 😂). Loved them!
★★★★★
Yay yay yay! Thank you for trying these and sharing such a sweet review, Ellen!
I cannot get enough of these brownies! I had my doubts when I looked through the recipe because I didn’t see any leavening agents (baking powder or soda), but they turned out BEAUTIFULLY. I didn’t have any natural nut butter on hand, so I just ground up some roasted, salted cashews into a quick cashew butter and used that. Highly recommend!
★★★★★
I’m SO happy you liked these, Alyssa! Great idea making the cashew butter! Thank you for giving the recipe a try!