These Paleo Dark Chocolate Fudge Zucchini Brownies are so dense and fudgey that you would never guess that they are guilt-free! Also vegan and gluten-free!
*Pictures updated 6/2/2017*
I’m not gonna lie, I feel pretty basic posting this recipe.
Not that this recipe is that basic, but it’s not like our other recipes, which isn’t a bad thing. We love to let our creativity shine through sweet recipes and create unique and tasty flavor combinations, like here and here.
Simple and basic can be good sometimes, especially when it comes to something everything loves, brownies. Everyone loves a good brownie, especially when dense, moist (sorry I know you hate that word!) and fudgey.
The challenge was trying to create a flourless brownie that is both paleo and vegan friendly and doesn’t taste “healthy.” I don’t like to tell people that the food I make is “healthy” because there is a certain stereotype to healthy food that makes people believe that it tastes like cardboard, which is completely not true!
To us, healthy means being made with real and whole ingredients, not “low-fat” or “low-calorie” processed foods.
These brownies totally crush that “healthy” stereotype. We brought them in to our gym friends without tell them that these brownies are healthier than traditional brownies and they loved them. Some people even asked what boxed mix we used.
Dark Chocolate Fudge Zucchini Brownies
Many times gluten-free brownies are dry and are more cake-like. To solve that problem, these brownies have hidden veggies, aka grated zucchini to keep them dense and fudgey, not cakey.
The dark cocoa powder makes these brownies super rich and chocolatey while the chocolate glaze is the icing on the cake (so punny!).
These brownies are so rich and delicious that you won’t be able to tell that they are flourless, paleo, gluten-free and vegan! They will become your new favorite brownie recipe!
The BEST Flourless Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond butter
- 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini about 1 large or 2 small
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 egg or flax egg
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Fudge Glaze
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and coat a 9x9 pan with cooking spray
- Combine all brownie ingredients together in a large bowl and spread in pan
- Bake for 30 minutes or until done and let cool
- Fudge Glaze: combine all ingredients together and mix well, pour over brownies and let sit in the fridge until hardened
Adapted from this recipe
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Question of the day!
How do you like your brownies, cakey or fudgey?
OMG!!! SO FUDGY I COULD DIE. These look amazing. And so dark…the darker the chocolate the better in my opinion! Nice job, ladies!
Kaila@HealthyHelperBlog recently posted…Superfood Sweet Potato Cookies [vegan + gluten-free]
Almond butter, chocolate, and zucchini? Who could (or why would!) anyone pass that up!?
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine recently posted…What To Avoid With A Fish Allergy
So funny that this recipe seems so basic to us, but it’s soo beyond basic! So fudgy and with veggies, YUM!
Wow, these look SO fudgy and delicious! YUM.
Mmmmmm it’s a must try! I love zucchini and I love brownies! Couldn’t imagine them together till now. Thanks for the yummy recipe 🙂
Now I wish I was one of your gym friends – cos taste testing these would have been fantabulous! Love that chocolate glaze and zucchini snuck in!
Shashi @ RunninSrilankan recently posted…Walnut Coconut Cookie Cake
Sometimes basic is the best thing. I love everything about this!
Basic is good! Heck even ‘moist’ is good in brownie land, sometimes there’s just no other way to describe epic fudgey gooey delicious chocolatey bliss like this!!! So much yum you could’ve even stopped before the glaze…but you didn’t and I love you for it <3
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit recently posted…30 Vegan Blueberry Recipes Perfect For Summer
I’ve baked with kabocha squash before, but never with zucchini, and I’m so needing to try it out!
These look DEVINE! 🙂
neil@neilshealthymeals.com recently posted…Zucchini Pasta Cashew Stir Fry
Oh my goodness YUM!!! I love the idea of using almond butter, too! I make brownies with almond flour sometimes and I love the texture so I’ll definitely have to give this recipe a try!
Liz @ I heart vegetables recently posted…Tone It Up Meals: Week 7
WOW! I put zucchini in practically everything! LOL! These look So so good!
Laura recently posted…Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cake
I loooooooove chocolate zucchini brownies. I need to make them again and do it with a fudge glaze. That’s brilliant!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table recently posted…#NOWGetFit: A NOW Foods Immersion and GIVEAWAY!
These are perfect! I love zucchini in desserts!
Fudgy brownies for the win. Although every once and awhile I want a cakey brownie with frosting. YUM!!!
Sam @ PancakeWarriors recently posted…Walnut Fig Bars
I have tried a handful of paleo/GF brownies lately in search of a good go-to brownie recipes, but non have sealed the deal yet. This recipe looks promising! I’m going to give this a shot for my next batch. Thanks!
AJ recently posted…Phrasal Verbs for Visual Learners (part 2)
WOWZZAAAA! I am going to have to make these for my fam! Great recipe!
Okay these look SO fudgey and delicious! I”m definitely trying
Yum! I love all brownies – fudgy, cakey doesn’t matter as long as there’s chocolate! Pinned to try
Nicole recently posted…Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free Oh My!
These look so delicious and moist! Love the fact that they’re paleo!
Lisa Favre
http://marblecrumbs.com
Lisa Favre recently posted…Best of the Week
thank you!
haha yes gotta love chocolate! Thanks so much!
thank you! I hope you do!
Oh boy, can you live next door to me and teach me how to make such amazing looking baked goods? Zucchini + chocolate is a fantastic pairing.
Emily recently posted…The Words that Hurt Someone with An ED
Yay I hope you do! thanks!
yay I hope you try them! They are so good!
heck yes to fudgey brownies! Cakey can be good too though!
thank you! me too!
aren’t they sooooooooo good!? Thank you!
don’t you love it!? Thank you 🙂
thank you! They are sooooooo good!
you need to bake with zucchini! it’s a game changer!
haha that’s the only word I could use to describe these! The glaze is an added bonus! Thanks so much Natalie <3
yessssss to basic thingys 🙂
haha thank you so much!
thank you! They are so good!
thanks!
haha thank you! heck yes!
IKR!?
haha yes so fudgey <3 Thank you!
FUDGE ALL THE WAY! This looks amazing
Oh my, these looks so rich and fudgy! Must be delicious and great way to use zucchini! – Love, Anna
These are so creative! I love the zucchini you added in 🙂 definitely going to have to give these a try!!
Brie @ Lean, Clean, & Brie recently posted…Currently: June
Oh my goodness, these look INSANE! ! I love baking with zuchinni and the way that it makes baked goods so moist! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
That is a chocolate lovers delight. I can’t take that much chocolate but I can drool.
Kathleen
#Bloggers Pit Stop
I wish I could eat these off the screen! They seriously look SO good! I still need to make zucchini brownies and black bean brownies — both are on my to do list 🙂
Kellen McAvoyh recently posted…Summer S’mores Bites
HI Bethany & Rachel,
Wow these look scrumptious! I have baked chocolate cakes with shredded zucchini and they are so moist and tasty – just as your brownie are. I am always amazed at how many things you can use zucchini for. Unfortunately I can’t eat chocolate any more but I think my husband would love these and I am going to try them. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & tweeted!
Marla recently posted…“6 Homemade Natural Face Mask to Rejuvenate Your Skin!”
Thank you! zucchini is awesome!
thank you! They are so good 🙂
haha thanks you!
they are SO GOOD! 🙂
thank you! you have to try em’ 🙂
they are so rich and fudgy 🙂
haha yes all the fudge!
haha i wish i lived in colorado! It’s a great combo 🙂
thank you!
thanks so much!
yay hope you try em’ 🙂
I’ve been craving brownies like nobody’s business lately. These would be an interesting twist on them. I like the added zucchini instead of black beans to make them healthier!
These look SO fudgey!! Yum!
Yum! I think I could even convince my kids who don’t really like zucchini to eat these.
Elissa recently posted…Purple dinner
Hooray for healthy brownies! Yum 🙂
these look delicious! Making them TOMORROW!
Congratulations on this post being among the most clicked on The Bloggers Pit Stop #27. Look for a feature on Friday.
Kathleen
Kathleen – Bloggers Lifestyle recently posted…Crock Pot Baked Apples |Savings
Your Brownies look amazing! Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Miz Helen recently posted…Old Fashioned Coleslaw
These look amazing! I am featuring them tonight on Allergy Free Thursdays. Can’t wait to see what you share this week!
Elle @ Only Taste Matters recently posted…Allergy-Free Thursdays
Hi! I’m making these tonight and can’t wait! Do i need to wring the zucchini out? I know it can be pretty wet, so I was just wondering! Thanks!!
Hi Ali!
It’s not required but you can totally do that if you feel it’s too wet! Hope that helps 🙂
AND THE ZUCCHINI in baked goods RETURNS! hahaha!
These are amazing. We don’t even do the icing. Live them.
Glad you enjoyed them Ginette! They’re one of our faves!
These were so yummy! Does anyone know an approximate calorie count on them?
Hi Sahar,
So glad you liked them! Unfortunetly we don’t use calorie counters on our blog, we just focus on using real, whole foods 🙂
made these today – holy cow!!! best brownies ever!! love the glaze on top. everyone in my family gobbled these up 🙂
Thanks so much! So glad you enjoyed them 😉
These are sooooo good. I’ve made them twice now. Added applesauce and a little more cocoa powder just because. And while these are good warm I actually like them best cool from the fridge. It’s like chocolate moose cake. So fudgy and gooey. Just amazing. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Leslie,
So glad to hear you love them!! Thanks so much for making 🙂
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Can I substitute almond butter with almond flour or coconut oil?
Hi Linda,
any type of nut or seed butter (such as peanut butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter and tahini)can be replaced with the almond butter. Almond flour or coconut oil will not work, hope that helps!
I think you link is broken but I can’t find the instructions for this recipe. Please help. .
I made these last night. They’re even better when refrigerated overnight and heated up next day. Yummy!!