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Heart Beet Brownies

Gluten Free
Paleo
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Super Fudgy Beet Brownies (Grain-Free, Sugar-Free)
When it comes to Valentine’s Day and other Hallmark holidays, the only thing that matters is the food. Valentine’s Day is a worthy holiday because it’s an excuse to eat lots of fancy chocolate, and I absolutely endorse any plan that involves a lot of chocolate (as you may have deduced from this, the 4th chocolate recipe in a row), and therefore consider Valentine’s Day to be a valid holiday. Other benefits of Valentine’s Day include buying heart-shaped cookie cutters, and an excuse to eat adorably pink and red foods for no other reason than their adorableness.

Though these brownies should arguably be a blazing shade of red velvet, sometimes things just don’t go as planned and you just have to roll with it. Like on Tuesday, when I was supposed to give a huge presentation at 8am, only to wake up to a text from my colleague informing me that I had to be downstairs at 7:10; the presentation has been moved up (!!!). To say I was frazzled was an understatement. Luckily, I pulled it together and the presentation went fine, and that morning is a metaphor for these kinda-sorta-if-you-squint red velvet brownies.

I love using natural food dyes, and Melissa’s sent me a generous shipment of beautiful, soft and flavorful steamed baby beets, so these brownies were just crying out to be made red velvet. Using beets as an excellent source of natural, unprocessed sweetness and chemical-free food coloring, red velvet brownies seemed like a breeze. But the first, er, several tries yielded unappetizingly red lumps of faintly-chocolate-flavored mush. But red velvet typically contains just the faintest whisper of cocoa, and I wanted a darker chocolate flavor. So, I relented, ditched my plans for red velvet – much like my plans for a good breakfast and a sufficiently-caffeinated bloodstream on Tuesday morning, if we want to beat this metaphor thoroughly to death – and tweaked.

Super Fudgy Beet Brownies (Grain-Free, Sugar-Free)
A more cocoa/fewer beets/slight addition of coconut flour (for structure and texture) combination did the trick nicely, and transformed the mushy lumps into dense and rich dark chocolate gems that take 5 minutes to make in the food processor, but are decadent enough for your valentine. Adding more cocoa accidentally drowned out the beet color with more chocolate color, so if you would like red-velvet-ier brownies, halve the cocoa, and be sure to use natural cocoa, not dutched or Hershey’s Special Dark. Also, be sure you are using steamed and not roasted beets. It makes a huge difference! Covering them with decorative chocolate coating (or an EKG design if you’re in my league of nerdiness) and festive sprinkles does wonders as well.

Either way, though, these brownies are not to be missed. I lost count of the number of people who ate these, loved them, and had no idea that they contain no flour or sugar, and tons of root vegetables. I am not proud of this deception (ok, who am I kidding, I totally am. And I never lied, just didn’t offer up some info…really, your honor! I’m innocent! Anyway.) and no one had any problem with the beets after they had tried the brownies. What about you: Does the idea of adding vegetables to your brownies sound horrifying, or a little too close to Jessica Seinfeld for comfort? Pssh, I didn’t think so. Jessica Seinfeld is so 10 years ago, but these brownies are timeless.

Super Fudgy Beet Brownies (Grain-Free, Sugar-Free)
 

Grain-Free Beet Brownies

Yield: 9 -12 brownies

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup soft steamed beets, roughly chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons granulated sweetener, I used Norbu
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil or vegan butter, but still liquid, melted and cooled
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/3 cup almond flour
  • 2 Tablespoons coconut flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips for garnish
  • Optional: Sprinkles for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease an 8"x8" baking dish.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients and puree on high until the mixture is smooth, periodically scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
  3. Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
  4. If you're using the chocolate chips, you can sprinkle them across the top of the batter before baking, or save them to melt and decorate with.
  5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
  6. Allow to cool completely in the pan before slicing or cutting out shapes. If you plan to cut out shapes, chilling completely in the fridge before doing so yields the cleanest cuts.
  7. If you did not garnish with chocolate chips before baking, melt the chips in the microwave or over a double boiler and use a knife or pastry bag to apply to the tops of the brownies. Follow with sprinkles if you desire.
  8. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave me a comment and rating, or tag me on Instagram using @nora_acleanbake or #acleanbake!

© Nora (A Clean Bake)
Thank you very much to Melissa’s for providing me with the beets that inspired and completed these brownies at no cost to me. Aside from agreeing to develop a recipe, they gave me total creative freedom and all opinions expressed here are my own (and I mean them!). If you’re interested in trying some new flavors for yourself – and hopefully making these brownies! – you can visit Melissa’s at www.melissas.com. Thanks for supporting the brands that help make A Clean Bake possible. 

Thank you also to Natvia for providing the ingredients that inspired this delicious recipe. This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through and purchase a product, A Clean Bake receives a small commission, which goes toward continuing to bring you delicious, healthy recipes every week. This does not affect the price you pay. Thanks for supporting A Clean Bake!


This post may contain affiliate links, which means that A Clean Bake receives a small commission from your purchase at no additional cost to you. All proceeds are used to continue to bring you delicious, healthy recipes. Thanks for supporting A Clean Bake!

Comments

  2. Erika says

    NORA MY HEART IS BEETING SO FAST FOR THESE BROWNIES

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!

    That presentation switch up sounds like craziness but OF COURSE you handled it like a champ! That’s just what you do when you’re a boss right? I can’t wait to try these. It’s so perfect that you’re using more alternative sweeteners because I’ve been trying to figure out how to use up my really old stevia/monkfruit/xylitol!!! Love these cute things!!

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      OMG, you are my pun soul sister!!

      Sooo yes, that little presentation episode is a taste of your future. RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN. Just kidding (sorta). If by handling it like a champ, you mean awkwardly making small talk to try to suppress the SHEER PANIC and then kind of giving a super hyper presentation (which luckily worked, thank goodness). If nothing else, it was a good experience in thinking fast on my feet! Never a bad skill to have – but OMG so many b-school flashbacks aaaahhhh!

      I am so happy to hear you have a bunch of alternative sweeteners to use up because I think that’s a perfect excuse to try these brownies!!!

      Reply

  4. Joanne says

    The cure for stressful presentations (and the adrenaline rush that remains after them) is definitely these brownies!! A good mix of indulgent and wholesome…which is really the best kind of mix in my opinion.

    Reply

  9. Mary Frances says

    Whew you rock for pulling off that presentation! Eh it’s life and you do just have to roll with it. I don’t care if these are blazing red or not, they’re blazing awesome and I want a dozen stat! Love that you used beets (they’re my new fave) Haha I cracked up at your Jessica Seinfeld line (so true though!) Love these brownies Nora, you nailed em!

    Reply

  12. Lulu says

    I can’t comment on the recipe as written, but I’m currently doing the AutoImmune Protocol and tried this with some alterations:

    1) Extra beets (I just had a slightly larger bunch cooked, so it was about a cup)
    2) replaced 1/3 c almond flour 1/3 c tapioca starch and added 2 more tbsp coconut flour (for the extra beet)
    3) replaced the 2 eggs with 2 gelatin “eggs” (2 tbsp gelatin and 6 tbsp of the water left from cooking my beets – procedure here)
    4) used carob powder for the cocoa powder

    Carob will never, ever replace chocolate, but this variation came out well anyway, making a gooey soft brownie that was lovely drizzled with some coconut milk. Tomorrow I’ll make vanilla coconut ice cream to go on top of it.

    Thank you for this recipe!! I seriously, seriously needed brownies tonight (and to get some good veggies in while I was at it).

    Reply

    • Nora (A Clean Bake) says

      That’s great to know, Lulu! Thanks for letting me know, and I am SO glad you liked it! It sounds like it was a much-needed treat! I’m going to have to try that gelatin egg trick sometime!

      Reply

  13. Camille says

    Ahhhh these are so amazing! I used Stevia and it was a bit strong so will half the amount next time (which I’m sure will be soon hehe). Thanks for a great recipe ????

    Reply

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