Gluten free sweet potato brownies are rich, chocolatey and moist with the classic texture you want from a brownie. Mashed sweet potato adds moisture and structure to the batter, helping to create soft, fudgy brownies without making them taste like sweet potato. The result is an upgraded chocolate brownie that everyone can enjoy, thanks to a little help from an unexpected ingredient.
Brownies were always a special treat when I was growing up, so I wanted to create that same experience for my daughter, who doesn't eat gluten. I started with my mom's Depression era brownie recipe and adapted it to be gluten free. While I was at it, I added a lot more chocolate because, in my opinion, brownies with just a hint of chocolate don't really cut it anymore. A little espresso powder brings out the chocolate even more without making the brownies taste like coffee.
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Ingredients
Gather all of your ingredients before you start!
- Mashed medium-sized sweet potato
- Gluten-free one-for-one flour
- Chocolate baking bar
- High quality cocoa powder
- White sugar
- Eggs
- Salted butter
- Baking Powder
- Espresso Powder
- Vanilla
- Salt
- Flaked salt for decorating (optional)
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potato might seem like an unusual ingredient for brownies, but it works surprisingly well here. The mashed sweet potato adds moisture and helps give these gluten free brownies their structure, while the chocolate, cocoa powder and espresso powder keep the flavor firmly in brownie territory. You won't get a strong sweet potato flavor, just a moist, chocolatey brownie.
- Step 1: Prick a medium sweet potato multiple times and then microwave it for 5 minutes. Carefully, cut it in half and check that the inside is tender with a knife or fork. If it's still firm, microwave for 1-2 more minutes or until it's tender.
- 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 sweet 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. Folding in the remaining chocolate at the end creates little pockets of chocolate throughout the brownies.
Substitutions
- Vegan - substitute plant based butter and substitute flax eggs or egg replacer (such as Bob Mill's) for the eggs.
- Gluten free one-for-one flour - you can substitute rice flour for the one-for-one gluten free flour.
- 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 also substitute instant coffee for the espresso powder. I also use ground espresso coffee out of my espresso machine.
Equipment
You don't need any special equipment to make these brownies, not even a mixer. Brownie batter is best mixed by hand to avoid overmixing, so a wooden spoon or spatula works perfectly. I also melt the butter in a large bowl and use that same bowl to mix the wet ingredients, which means fewer dishes to wash.
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.
- My favorite one-for-one gluten free flours are Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour and King Arthur's Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour.
- Also, for brownies, it's important that you don't overmix them. Even gluten free brownies.
- Gluten free brownies are done when edges look set and the center should no longer look wet or liquid. Insert a toothpick into the center. It should come out with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter. Be careful not to overbake, as the brownies will continue to set as they cool.
- For an extra special dessert, serve these brownies with a scoop of my vanilla bean ice cream or chocolate malt ice cream!
FAQ
Please see my post on Salted vs. Unsalted Butter.
These brownies fall between fudgy and cakey. Not too fudge and not too cake. They're moist and chocolatey without being overly gooey, and the sweet potato helps keep them from becoming dry.
The sweet potato adds moisture and helps give these gluten free brownies their soft, tender texture. It also adds a little structure to the brownies, which is especially helpful when baking without traditional wheat flour.
No. The sweet potato adds moisture and texture, but the brownies have a rich chocolate flavor from the cocoa powder and melted chocolate. If you didn't know there was sweet potato in them, it definitely wouldn't be the first thing you'd notice and you may not notice it at all.
Related
Looking for other dessert recipes? Try these:
Gluten Free Sweet Potato Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate baking bar (separated) roughly chopped
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup sweet potato cooked and mashed
- ½ cup 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 the oven to 325℉. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
- Prick the sweet potato multiple times and microwave it for 5 minutes. Carefully cut the sweet potato in half, and check for doneness with a knife. If the sweet potato is tender, set it aside. If it's still firm, microwave for additional 1-2 minutes or until tender. Set it aside to cool.
- In a medium bowl, combine the gluten free flour, cocoa powder, salt, espresso powder and baking powder. Stir until evenly combined and there are no visible lumps of flour. Set aside.
- Place the butter in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave for 45 to 60 seconds, or just until melted.
- Add half of the chopped chocolate to the melted butter and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
- Add the sugar to the melted butter and chocolate and stir until combined.
- Once the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, mash it with a fork. Measure ½ cup of mashed sweet potato and add it to the butter mixture. Stir until combined.
- Add the eggs and vanilla to the wet mixture and stir until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in the remaining chopped chocolate.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, checking at 35 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs but should not be coated with wet batter.
- Let the brownies cool completely before cutting.
- Optional: sprinkle with flaky salt or cocoa powder before serving.
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