The Healthy Chocolate Brownie That Just Happens To Be F’n Delicious
We didn’t start the not-terribly-bad-for-you-sweets trend, but we do intend to have the final word on it with this healthy chocolate brownie. Sweet potato. Black beans. The barest amount of flour possible just to bind the whole together. It’s even vegan!
But no one’s going to know or care about all that nutrition, for the simple reason that this is the fudgiest thing going, with a texture closer to mousse than cake. Our child can easily smash half the pan; you should make sure to bogart the rest so that doesn't happen (and/or you yourself). It’s good. Really good. And, hey, if your child refuses vegetables and/or anything else healthy at dinner later in the day, don’t worry about it: he/she had a brownie, after all.
- 1/2 medium Sweet Potato
- 1/2 can Black Beans (low or no sodium recommended)
- Coconut Oil (a pat of butter can also be used)
- 2/3 cup Chocolate Chips (We default to dark chocolate, for the lower sugar count)
- 1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour (add 2-3 additional tbsps if you want a more cake-like texture)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- Preheat oven to 350. Coat a small baking dish with cooking spray or butter.
- Rinse and drain the black beans. With a fork, poke holes all around the surface of the sweet potato and microwave until soft and easily mashable, roughly 6 minutes.
- While the black beans dry and sweet potato cooks, pour chocolate chips and a generous splash of oil or pat of butter in a large bowl and microwave until melted, roughly one minute. Mix as needed until the chips form a thick sauce.
- Add the sweet potatoes, black beans, and vanilla extract; blend with a forceful stir or a hand mixer until potatoes and beans are integrated with the chocolate. Add the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt (if beans have no added salt) and stir until mixed. (If you want a denser texture, add your extra flour here.)
- Scoop the batter into the baking dish, spreading around so that all space is filled and the batter is evenly distributed.
Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow ten minutes to cool before cutting and serving.
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
