These Cassava Flour Paleo Brownies are allergen-friendly being nut-free, gluten and grain free, refined sugar-free along with dairy-free. These fudgy, rich brownies feature both cacao powder and melted dark chocolate you are gonna love these rich, ooey gooey, chewy grain-free paleo brownies!!
Are you a brownie lover? I wasn’t growing up, but I sure am now! I LOVE a dark chocolate, fudgy, double chocolate chip brownie. Growing up my mom never made desserts from scratch. It was always a boxed brownie mix with water, eggs, and vegetable oil. There is nothing wrong with that if it’s your jam but learning more about nutrition and the value that ingredients can provide in terms of nutrients, I wanted to make a healthier version. This is a simple recipe that is allergen-friendly and more importantly delicious! Once I realized that I don’t enjoy the overly sweet brownie recipes, I started testing with different sugars, different types of chocolate, and flour alternatives.
Who would have thought that all purpose flour, almond flour, and cassava flour would yield such different results! The major concern for me was it needed to be gluten-free. The second concern was the amount of sugar. I really don’t do well with a lot of sugar, buttttt if you want a brownie, you need sugar to get that crinkly top. So, you will see 1 full cup of coconut sugar in this recipe but overall, it is what completes this brownie. You can always remove some of the sugar, just remember that altering the recipe will yield different results.
Good news for you we have our very own Tasty Yummies Raw Organic Coconut Sugar! One of the other positives for using coconut sugar is that it has been shown to have a lower glycemic index. What does that mean? It means that coconut sugar has been shown in some studies to have less of an impact on your blood sugar. It may help with not getting or feeling that sugar rush and then a crash twenty minutes later. Everyone has a different reaction to sugar, but with using a sugar that is less processed can be more beneficial than using refined sugars.
Not only do we have our own organic coconut sugar that you can now purchase, we have our own organic raw cacao powder for sale. We also use out new Tasty Yummies Organic Raw Cacao which adds the most delicious chocolate flavor! Cacao powder is key! We use 2 tablespoons in this recipe and one of the benefits are that cacao powder has minimal processing, and it is full of nutritious antioxidants and flavonoids.
For our chocolate chips we used a mixture of chocolate chips sweetened with coconut sugar and dark chocolate chips that were unsweetened. You can use any type of chocolate chips that you prefer. The mixture of the two different types of chocolate chips adds a nice bite that gives you the impression that the brownies aren’t as sweet as you think. We added one of our Tasty Yummies chocolate bars chopped up on top for that double chocolate chip vibe. You can add an additional ¼ cup or ½ cup of chocolate chips to the batter before putting the brownies in the oven, this is optional and total up to you.
Moving on in the ingredient list we used grass fed raw butter, ghee, or coconut oil. All three options work wonderfully with this recipe. I did try swapping the oil/fat for applesauce, and they were ok, but I don’t think I would pick that batch as a favorite and would not recommend as a substitution for this recipe. You melt the 8 tablespoons with one cup of chocolate chips either in a saucepan on the stove or in the microwave.
When it comes to flour I went with cassava because it tends to be more allergen-friendly. It’s nut free, gluten free, grain free. It is higher in carbohydrates so that is something to note if you need to monitor your intake. Different brands of cassava flour produce different results. You want to make sure that you are using a fine cassava flour, it will be light and almost like a powder. When measuring out your half cup of cassava flour, you want to spoon it into your measuring cup, do not pack it down in your measuring cup or scoop it out of the container with the measuring cup. Cassava flour sucks up a lot of moisture so a little goes a long way! If you pack the cassava flour in the measuring cup your brownies will turn out very dry….trust me I did this and I don’t want you to experience dry brownies.
We used our homemade vanilla in this recipe because we may be biased but homemade is delicious and adds so much flavor. Check out our homemade vanilla extract recipe here to start your own vanilla. Other than that it is your standard baking soda, 2 eggs, and salt to finish up the ingredient list. If you like a hint of salty with your sweet like we do, we recommend that you aadd some flaked sea salt to the finished brownies. That salty sweet bite is pure perfection. On occasion I have also been known to put a big dollop of coconut whipped cream or even some ice cream. Let us know what you top your brownies with!
These are for sure a treat in my book and something that I love to keep in the freezer cut up in tiny squares for when I’m looking for a dark chocolate fudge like snack. As a side note when making homemade desserts without any preservatives, I find that storing them in the refrigerator or freezer helps them to last longer.
Cassava Flour Paleo Brownies {nut-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free}
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons of butter, ghee or coconut oil
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips, bittersweet chips, chocolate chunks or roughly chopped chocolate - see notes
- ½ cup cassava flour
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder, cocoa powder works too
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- Optional* flaked sea salt before serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ªF. Prepare an 8x8 pan, either cut parchment paper to fit or grease so that the brownies don’t stick.
- Melt the 1 cup of chocolate chips with 8 tablespoons of butter. You can melt in the microwave start at 1 minute, then stir and heat for 15 seconds at a time after that until it is melted. If using the stovetop, use a small sauce pan and heat on low. Constantly stir and watch carefully so that the chocolate doesn’t burn.
- In a large bowl mix all of the dry ingredients, cassava flour, Tasty Yummies coconut sugar, Tasty Yummies raw cacao powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a small bowl whisk together the 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract.
- Add the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture to the large bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Do not overmix. Just mix until all the dry ingredients are mixed with the wet and you don’t see any flour stripes in the batter.
- Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and spread it out so that it touches all the corners. If you want to add some chopped up Tasty Yummies chocolate on top, now is the time, or you can use any chocolate chips that you want to add in for the double chocolate vibe.
- Cook for 25-40 minutes. Start checking at 25 minutes. If you want that fudge like brownie remove before the center gets completely firm. The brownies will continue to cook in the pan after being removed so don’t worry they won’t be raw.
- Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes if you want to be able to cut squares that stay together. Cut into 12-16 squares. They are best if chilled in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. It allows the chocolate and butter to solidify again giving us the fudge like consistency.
- Sprinkle with flaked sea salt before serving.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week or the freezer for a couple of months. If storing on the counter make sure to use an airtight container and they will stay good for 3-4 days.
- For serving you can top with coconut whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream, whipped ricotta with cinnamon, a drizzle of chocolate sauce... the sky is the limit!
