These not-too-sweet treats make for satisfying snacks and just-enough desserts. Mashed banana helps moisten the batter, and sliced banana serves as a fresh topping that complements the chocolatey brownies. Wait until just before serving to top the brownies with banana slices.
By Nancy Macklin, RDN ,
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
- ¾ cup whole pitted dates, chopped (4 oz.)
- ½ cup mashed banana
- ½ cup unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk
- ¼ cup natural no-salt-added peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats, ground
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons pure cane sugar
- 1½ teaspoons regular or sodium-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 2 bananas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl combine flaxseed meal with 6 Tbsp. water; let stand 5 minutes. Place dates in another bowl; add boiling water to cover. Let stand 5 minutes; drain. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil.
- In a blender or food processor combine flaxseed mixture, drained dates, mashed banana, milk, peanut butter, and vanilla. Cover and blend until smooth.
- In a large bowl combine the next five ingredients (through salt). Add blended date mixture; stir together just until moistened. Spoon into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.
- Bake about 25 minutes or until puffed and set. Cool on a wire rack at least 30 minutes.
- Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust brownies with powdered sugar. Cut into 16 brownies. Thinly slice bananas. Fan slices over the tops of brownies. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Information:
Per serving (1 brownie), 104 calories, 18 g carbohydrates, 2.5 g protein, 3 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 132 mg sodium, 2.4 g fiber, 9.7 g sugar
Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.
Do these freeze well? Or keep for longer in the fridge? Thanks!
I found these great, not sweet but healthy and tasty.
Hi Felicity,
Yes, these will freeze well. They will keep longer in the freezer (up to two months) than in the fridge. While I haven’t frozen this brownie recipe, I find many brownies and cookies are delicious eaten straight from the freezer. They get all chewy. And you can always eat them once defrosted like a normal person!
This is my go-to brownie recipe. I freeze them and eat one before early morning workouts. It feels indulgent!
Love this recipe! Lots of flavor and lovely texture. Next time I might try 1 Tbsp of sugar since they tasted plenty sweet
I was craving an indulgent treat and these fit the bill. As the recipe indicates, I used ground oats (quite fine but with a bit of texture) and used date sugar for the extra sweetness–although my banana was quite ripe and the extra sugar probably wasn’t needed. I added just a few vegan chocolate chips and baked for exactly 25 minutes. I will definitely make again when the urge hits.
I thought you were SOS free but I see sometimes there is sugar in your recipes
These were disappointing. Wanted to make a nice treat for my daughter’s first day of school. This was not it. Pretty bland and chewy. And I used parchment paper NOT foil because that just sounded like a disaster.
Who is designing these recipes? Make sure to get a salt-free peanut butter then scroll down and one of the next ingredients is salt?! Hahah. Whole food plant-based healthy cooking but you’re adding cane sugar as well? This is not a healthy recipe whatsoever. There are a million WFPB SOS free brownie recipes. Don’t follow this one. Don’t use salt or sugar especially if you ever want your taste buds to taste & appreciate real food. Sweeten with dates. What’s next, adding oil back into this too? Insanity. Someone needs to moderate these.
Jack, the reasoning for no salt peanut butter, is so you have control of the salt in that particular recipe, NOT That they are ELIMINATING salt.
Yes, in any recipe, if you are Salt Free, just eliminate the salt.
Some people can use salt, for whatever their reason.
this comment was hilarious
Made this today and absolutely love it. After reading some reviews I did make a couple of changes…1) I doubled the sugar as many said it was not sweet enough 2) I added a cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of chopped walnuts. Just gonna say…I can still taste the bananas. I do not notice a woody flax flavor at all and it is very moist. I took it out exactly at 20 mins and i baked it in an 8X8 pan. I will be making this again.
Can’t say these were anything to shout about. I cooked these for 45 mins and they were still very much like raw dough in the middle. Fine if you like brownies extra ‘squidgy’. I just used rolled oats instead of ground. I presume ground oats would be more like a flour so that might help them set better. You couldn’t taste the peanut butter – masked by too much cocoa powder, (and I used a lot less cocoa powder than the recipe asked for).
Gross. And a ton of work.
Both my husband and I were disappointed by this recipe. The brownies have a neutral, almost non-existent flavor. (My husband likened it to cardboard.) There is barely any sweetness, which would be okay if there was a distinct flavor, but lacking both I will not be repeating the recipe.
So I ran across this recipe.tonight and tried it. First off the batter is so yummy before cooking. I would recommend the title be changed. It’s not a brownie per say but more of a healthy treat. Maybe if thr oats were milled then it may be more brownie like. Will try that next. However, the recipe is good. I added more banana then recommended and drizzled a little Carmel on thr top. Will try cherries in it too. This is a good base to work with and create your own unique treat. Wasn’t hard to make. I actually did it in my toater oven. Would recommend people making it and making it your own.
HUMMM I was looking for a recipe for a brownie with sub ingredients that only included ONLY a box fudge “cake” mix and one 16 oz can plain pumpkin and baked up Brownies. Wondering if this could be revamped to cut the banana and peanut butter and add pumpkin instead?
*Not sure how I could sub things out of the “cake mix” box cake for the easy Brownie recipe.
I highly recommend these brownies. My husband loved them as well. They are even better the next day!
What you’re looking for is from Hungry Girl. 1box of devils food cake mix, 1 15 oz can of pumpkin – that’s all. No other ingredients listed on the box.
9×13 pan bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes.
I didn’t think peanut butter or powdered sugar was acceptable to use. I’ve only seen almond butter used.
Almonds use up huge amounts of fresh water causing untold damage to people and their environment. Peanuts 9nnthe other hand nourish the soil and particularly used by subsistence farmers, farmer who cause the least damage to the environment
Peanut butter is compliant as long as it’s 100% peanuts. Same for any nut butter. Like you, I’m surprised to see a powdered sugar suggestion. I’m not sure how that’s compliant.
Nuts, or nut butters (with fewest ingredients and limited or no added sugar or salt – preferably just peanuts, almonds, etc.), consumed in small amounts can be part of a healthful plant-based diet.
Several of the medical and nutritional experts with whom we consult are okay with small amounts of sweetener on occasion. The overall calorie contribution (in a serving) from the added sugar in a day’s worth of eating is minimal, so we include it as an occasional treat.
Omitting or minimizing the amount of added sweetener is encouraged if you prefer and/or have a specific health condition where avoiding is best.
these brownies taste good but mine turned out sticky. I wonder if I baked them long enough.
Since I found this recipe I’ve made it at least 10 times. Tips, use ripe bananas, use madjool dates ( I have like 8 different types of dates in my home at all times and this one works there best fir this recipe), use very good quality cocoa powder, flaxseed should be milled and soaked I don’t taste it at all. I have added chopped dry cherries to my mixture and OMG. It’s a hit every time. And yes baking paper/ parchment paper. Give it another try.
It says that this makes 16 brownies. In an 8×8 pan that would make them 1-inch squares and not at all like the picture, above (can’t get 3 slices of banana on a 1-inch square). Not a bad thing, but not a realistic assertion, either…
If you made 2×2 inch brownies, that would be 16 total.
Aluminum foil? Really, did they mean parchment paper?
That’s what I was thinking.
Just did not work out for me. They do not taste like peanut butter or banana. The date mixture made them very mushy but not at all sweet, and all I could taste was the bitter flax seed. My husband would not eat them.
If you are looking for a fudgy-yummy brownie, this is the one to make! My family devoured them!
This sounds delicious! I have everything in my cupboard except for the dates. Can I substitute something else or leave them out all together or will it ruin the consistency of the brownies?
I’m one of the unfortunate celiacs who cannot tolerate oats. Can anything else that is healthy be used in place of oats? Thanks in advance.
Have you tried certified gluten free oats?
Highly recommend for a healthy treat.
What is calorie count for recipe