Butternut Squash Brownies
These healthy Butternut Squash Brownies are the best way to sneak in some extra veggies! These gluten-free brownies are made with real butternut squash and are topped with a vegan chocolate avocado frosting! They are perfect to satisfy any brownie craving in a healthier way 😉
I love me some sneaky veggies, especially when they’re paired with chocolate 🤗 I have tried sweet potato brownies and black bean brownies before and they’re so yummy- so I thought, why not try butternut squash brownies! Butternut squash recipes are so popular on this blog, so I expect this brownie recipe to kill it too! Guys, these are so fudgy and delicious- you’d never know butternut squash is the base for these gluten-free, vegan brownies.
The Brownie Ingredients
☆ Butternut squash. If your grocery store sells it pre-cut it’ll save you just a little bit of time, but otherwise you’ll want to buy it fresh, not frozen.
☆ Cashew butter. This is the most neutral tasting nut butter and adds some creaminess, but if you’re trying to avoid nuts you can use sunflower seed butter instead.
☆ Cacao Powder. Cacao powder is cocoa powder but in its most raw, unprocessed form. You can use either, just make sure it’s unsweetened.
☆ Date sugar. I decided to use date sugar to add a little fiber, but you can also use coconut or maple sugar.
☆ Pure vanilla extract. Make sure you’re not using imitation vanilla as that’s not gluten-free!
☆ Oat flour + Baking powder. You just need 1/4 cup of oat flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder in this recipe. You could use a different gluten-free flour if desired.
☆ Cinnamon. My favorite spice!
☆ Dark Chocolate Chips. Adds some of that melty, gooey chocolate inside the brownies 🤤
How To Make These Butternut Squash Brownies
First, you’ll roast the butternut squash in the oven drizzled with a little oil and sprinkled with salt. Roasting the butternut squash really brings that roasted salty sweet flavor to these brownies. I’m a huge fan of roasted veggies of all kinds- I find they are just so delicious cooked this way! You’ll need to roast the squash at 425 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes.
Next, add the cashew butter, cacao powder, date sugar, and vanilla to a food processor or blender. When the butternut squash is done roasting, add that to the food processor and blend until smooth.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and dark chocolate chips. Add the blended butternut squash mixture to the flour mixture and stir together to create the brownie “batter”. Spread the batter into a parchment-lines 8×8 square baking pan.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool before frosting and slicing. I chose to slice these into bars, but you can slice into traditional squares if that’s how you prefer your brownies 🙂 Store covered on your counter for up to 3 days. You may refrigerate as well.
The Healthy Frosting
Because I’m not using a lot of sugar in these brownies, and keeping this brownie recipe refined sugar-free, I chose to top them with a healthy Chocolate Avocado Frosting! That’s right. We’ve got butternut squash AND avocado in these brownie babies! The frosting is also super simple to make, be sure to check out the recipe. As the frosting sets up, it definitely has chocolate ganache vibes 😍
I hope you love this sneaky veggie brownie recipe! My kids scarfed them down! Let me know what you think down below in the comments section, as well as giving it a five star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ so that others can discover these healthy brownies! Tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Butternut Squash Brownies
These healthy Butternut Squash Brownies are the best way to sneak in some extra veggies! These gluten-free brownies are made with real butternut squash and are topped with a vegan chocolate avocado frosting! They are perfect to satisfy any brownie craving in a healthier way 😉
Ingredients
- 2 cups butternut squash, cubed
- ½ cup cashew butter (may use sunflower seed butter for nut free)
- ½ cup unsweetened cacao/cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup date sugar (may use coconut sugar)
- ⅓ cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
Chocolate Avocado Frosting
- 2 medium avocados
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cacao/cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons plant milk (such as oat, rice, almond, coconut, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. First, you’ll roast the butternut squash in the oven drizzled with a little oil and sprinkled with salt. You’ll need to roast the squash or about 25-30 minutes until soft and golden.
- Next, add the cashew butter, cacao powder, vanilla and date sugar to a food processor or blender. When the butternut squash is done roasting, add that to the food processor and blend until smooth. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and dark chocolate chips. Add the blended butternut squash mixture to the flour mixture and stir together to create the brownie “batter”. Spread the batter into a parchment-lined 8x8 square baking pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool before frosting and slicing. Store covered on your counter for up to 3 days. You may refrigerate as well.
Chocolate Avocado Frosting
Scoop the flesh of the avocados into a food processor or blender. Add the cacao powder, maple syrup, melted chocolate chips, pure vanilla, and melted coconut oil and blend until smooth and creamy. Add the plant milk and blend again for about a minute. Place the frosting in the fridge for 30 minutes to set up and then use it to spread over a cake, brownies, pipe onto cupcakes, cookies, as a dip with strawberries, etc. Once your dessert is frosted you can keep it out at room temperature. Keep any leftover frosting stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, allow it to soften slightly before spreading/piping onto your dessert.
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About the author
Gina Fontana
Gina Fontana is a certified health coach, recipe developer, food photographer, published author, and blogger. Her own personal health challenges led her to a gluten-free, vegan, plant-based lifestyle where she found significant improvement in her symptoms. Her passion and mission is to now share that with others who also need (or want) to pursue a healthier lifestyle.
This recipe was fabulous! The brownies were fudgy and delicious. The frosting was like a thick ganache. So good that no one knew they were healthy! I subbed whiskey cream in for the plant milk in the frosting and subbed almond flour for the oat flour in the brownies. I will definitely make these over and over! Thanks for the great recipe!
Yay! Love the swaps and glad they worked. So glad you enjoyed these brownies Michelle! 🙂