These are the perfect Gluten Free Sweet Potato Brownies. They are not too gooey and not too cakey. Sweet potatoes give the brownies the perfect texture, make the brownies a little healthier and you won't even taste it!
Brownies were always a special treat when I was growing up. I wanted to create the same experience for my daughter, but she doesn't eat gluten. So I took my mom's depression era brownie recipe and converted it to be gluten free. While I was doing that, I added a lot more chocolate, because I feel like brownies with just a hint of chocolate just don't cut it in 2024. I also added a touch of espresso powder to bring out the chocolate even more.
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Ingredients
Gather all of your ingredients before you start!
- Mashed medium-sized sweet potato
- Rice flour or gluten-free one-for-one flour
- Chocolate baking bar
- High quality cocoa powder
- White sugar
- Eggs
- Butter
- Baking Powder
- Espresso Powder
- Vanilla
- Salt
- Flaked salt for decorating (optional)
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are the secret ingredient in these brownies. They add structure in place of the gluten and give the brownies a nice moist texture. They can be easily cooked in the microwave too.
- Step 1: Prick a medium sweet potato multiple times and then microwave it for 5 minutes. Carefully, cut it in half and check for doneness with a fork. If it's not soft inside, microwave for 2 more minutes.
- Step 2: Let the sweet potato cool. Then scoop out ½ cup of insides. Mash with a fork until thoroughly mashed. Set it aside. Discard (or eat!) the skins and any left over potato.
Chocolate
Chocolate is the main flavor in brownies, so it's best to use high quality chocolate. For the semi-sweet baking bar, I would recommend Organics brand or Guittard brand from the baking aisle. If you like dark chocolate, use dark chocolate! For the cocoa, I love the Valrhona brand. You can order Valrhona from Amazon, but it's actually cheaper in the bulk section of Whole Foods, and you can buy a smaller amount. Valrhona cocoa powder is one of my favorite splurge foods, and it's so worth it! Next, I would recommend a brand from the grocery store that starts with a G like Guittard or Ghirardelli.
This recipe combines chocolate in multiple forms for the ultimate chocolate flavor. There's cocoa powder and the roughly chopped baking bar added in two ways. Half of the baking bar is completely melted and the other half is folded in at the end. The part that's folded in at the end doesn't melt completely, so it's just heavenly to bite into a semi-melted piece of chocolate.
Substitutions
- Vegan - substitute plant based butter and substitute flax eggs or egg replacer (such as Bob Mill's) for the eggs.
- Chocolate baking bar - you can substitute chocolate chips for the baking bar if needed. Use 1 cup of chocolate chips, separated in half. You can also substitute a high quality chocolate bar from the candy aisle.
- Espresso powder - you can buy espresso powder in a jar, but I just take regular espresso grinds out of my machine. You can also substitute instant coffee for the espresso powder.
Equipment
The great thing about brownies is that you don't need any special equipment. Like none, not even a mixer. Brownies should not be over mixed, so it's perfectly fine to combine all the ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula. I start by melting my butter in a large bowl and continue to add the rest of my ingredients to that same bowl.
Storage
Store the gluten free sweet potato brownies in an airtight container for 3-4 days at room temperature or up to 7 days in the refrigerator.
Next Level Tips
- Use high quality ingredients.
- Don't overmix the brownies.
- Definitely don't skip the mashed sweet potatoes!
FAQ
Please see my post on Salted vs. Unsalted Butter.
Gluten Free Sweet Potato Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter
- 4 ounces chocolate baking bar (separated) roughly chopped
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 medium sweet potato
- ½ cup rice flour or one-for-one gluten free flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt (add extra ⅛ teaspoon if using unsalted butter)
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Flaked salt or extra cocoa powder for finishing optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉. Line a 8x8 or 9x9 square pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
- Prick medium sweet potato multiple times and microwave if for 5 minutes. Carefully cut it in half. Test for doneness with a knife. If done, set it aside. If it's still hard, microwave for additional 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Add gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, salt, espresso powder and baking powder to a medium bowl. Mix together so that there are no white lumps of flour. Set aside.
- Microwave butter, in a large bowl, approximately 45-60 seconds to melt it.
- Add half of chopped chocolate to melted butter and stir until chocolate is melted.
- Add sugar to melted butter and chocolate and stir until combined.
- Mash cooled sweet potato with a fork. Add ½ cup to the wet mixture and stir until combined.
- Add eggs and vanilla to wet mixture and stir until combined.
- Add dry ingredients to bowl and stir only until combined.
- Fold in other half of chopped chocolate.
- Pour into baking pan. Bake at 325℉ for 35-40 minutes. Check at 35 minutes. Gluten free brownies will typically bake a few more minutes than regular brownies. A toothpick will not come out clean but it should not be coated either.
- Let brownies completely cool before cutting.
- Sprinkle flaked salt or cocoa powder on top for extra decoration.
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