Healthy Zucchini Brownies
Posted on | August 1, 2011 | 30 Comments
Yes, you read right I mentioned the words healthy and zucchini in connection with brownies. These brownies are super delicious, and you won’t even have the slightest idea that they are have been prepared with zucchini! They are filled with chocolatey goodness and believe me, you won’t feel bad eating these guys. Well, unless you eat them all at once…
Here’s why they are “healthy”: whole wheat flour is used; the oil is substituted with applesauce; lots of cocoa powder is added for some healthy antioxidants; and two cups of shredded zucchini… This has to be good for you…
And the best of it all, they taste absolutely incredible. These brownies are super moist and rich in chocolate… A must-try!!!
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup / 200 g sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml applesauce
- 1 cup / 150 g whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup / 45 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 cups (about 300 – 320 g) grated zucchini
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
In a bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla extract, sugar, salt, and the applesauce.
Sieve the flour and the cocoa powder into another bowl. Add the baking soda, the cinnamon and the cardamom. Mix well.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and combine until the dry ingredients are mixed in well.
Add the grated zucchini and the chocolate chips. Mix once more.
Pour the brownie batter into a greased 8 x 8” / 20 x 20 cm baking tin or something with similar dimensions.
Bake at 350°F / 175°C for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out somewhat clean.
Allow to cool completely in the pan.
Guten Appetit!!!
Source: slightly adapted from Food + Words
Comments
30 Responses to “Healthy Zucchini Brownies”
Leave a Reply
August 1st, 2011 @ 16:30
They look incredibly delicious! And they definitely look ‘chocolatey goodness’
August 2nd, 2011 @ 10:07
Thanks, Natalie. I hope you’ll have some time soon to try them out. Can’t wait to hear your verdict!
August 3rd, 2011 @ 07:12
If possible, do you know the calories per serving? I would LOVE to make this
August 3rd, 2011 @ 12:02
I made these today and loved them. They came out more cakey than brownie, but they’re still delicious.
August 3rd, 2011 @ 12:35
Thanks for all the comments!
Kimberly, I have to admit I don’t know the calories but I hope you’ll give the recipe a try anyways.
Jessica, I am glad you enjoyed them, too. I sure did!
August 4th, 2011 @ 07:00
Oh my these brownies look absolutely amazing! I love the addition of zucchini too, one of my fav veggies. They’re now on my must try list!
August 8th, 2011 @ 11:57
Tried these over the weekend. Super easy and really delicious.
August 9th, 2011 @ 09:45
@ Natalie: Thanks for coming by and commenting. I am glad you enjoyed them as much as I did.
August 9th, 2011 @ 09:49
@ Miriam ‘On Willy St’: Thank you for linking back to me. I’d try to leave a comment on your wall but I couldn’t, therefore I comment here. I’d love to make the brownies even healthier with less sugar or some sugar substitute. Let me know how it works out.
August 12th, 2011 @ 16:42
Heya!
I finally made them, and they turned out great!! They did kind of stick to the baking tin (of course hahaha)so they don’t look the best but are still eatable!
August 17th, 2011 @ 14:57
My picky little sisters who won’t eat anything love these. And I love sneaking zucchini into their “treats” while they’re at school!
August 17th, 2011 @ 18:12
@ Toni: That is awesome! I love the thought of that. Thanks for making my day with your comment!
August 18th, 2011 @ 02:31
5th time I’m making these, and I love them more every time!! By now I became an expert at baking them(no more sticking to the baking tin or burning the sides)hahahaha. Anywho, this weekend its a family ‘reunion’ so I’ll be preparing some more
-the recipe is now part of the fridge door hehe-.
August 18th, 2011 @ 10:01
@ Natalie: I am so proud of you!!!! That is awesome. You will surpass me with your cooking and baking skills by the time you’re my age for sure… hahaha… Your family is going to love them!!!!
August 19th, 2011 @ 20:13
What a small world! I just posted my own version of Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies. Mine are sweetened entirely with honey or agave nectar (if you are looking for a recipe that doesn’t use sugar). Brownies CAN be healthy! Great minds thing alike.
September 5th, 2011 @ 03:39
Can’t wait to try these – I’m going to make them tonight. Won’t tell the family what’s in them until afterwards though – can’t wait to see their faces!
September 5th, 2011 @ 07:34
@ Kate: Thank you for your comment. I love healthy brownies. I will have to try agave nectar sometime to sweeten them to make them even better. Thanks.
@ Elly: hahaha…I hope they love them as much as my surprised family and guests. Enjoy! Thanks for your comment!
September 15th, 2011 @ 11:14
Oh mercy…this is just what I’ve been looking for! Thank you SOOOO much! I can’t wait to try them! I have a feeling I’ll be blogging about these soon. Thanks so much!
Natalie from
NatSprat.blogspot.com
October 13th, 2011 @ 09:35
These look super yummy! Out of curiosity, what does the cardamom do, I’ve never cooked with it?
January 18th, 2012 @ 10:42
I can’t wait to try these tonight! As a sweetsaholic it is sure difficult to satisfy that desire for decadence and still be healthy/lose weight! I love zucchini, so I’m excited about these!
January 18th, 2012 @ 16:09
@ Natalie from NatSprat: I hope you gave these brownies a try and loved it…
Thanks for commenting!
January 18th, 2012 @ 16:10
@ Jessi: In Germany, we use cardamom quite often when we bake Christmas treats. I am not sure how to explain what it does other than it adds some extra flavour (lame explanation, I know…
). If you have cardamom available just give it a try, I love the little extra flavour but I’m sure the recipe would be fine without it, too.
January 18th, 2012 @ 16:15
@ Lexophilia: I hope you’ll love these brownies as much as I do. Thanks for commenting and keep up the healthy lifesyle!!!
January 21st, 2012 @ 10:36
i made this last night and they were delicious! more cake-like than brownie i thought, but so good. i used 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips instead of 1 1/2 of regular and thought that was plenty of chocolate, just another way cut some calories.
January 22nd, 2012 @ 09:13
@ daina: I am glad you enjoyed them.
I have experimented with the amount of chocolate chips as well and I came to the conclusion that by reducing the chocolate chips the brownies will indeed become more cake-like. I even left them out completely and out came chocolate cake. But if you want fudgy brownies, you’ll need to add 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips. Hope this explains the more cake-like texture!
Thanks for visiting and commenting!
January 29th, 2012 @ 14:17
These are in the oven right now and I can’t wait to pull them out! I’m making these for my butter-and-sugar-loving-parents. Fingers crossed they like them!
We also have a family line of organic baking mixes called “Eveything but the”. You just add water, oil, and a fresh fruit or vegetable. They’re not quite as healthy because they include white flour, but we’d loooooove to come up a new sweet zucchini-based treat (instead of savory). Thanks for inspiring us!
Lauren
January 31st, 2012 @ 10:23
Oh My! Two of my girls and I just made these and they are absolutely fabulous! The cardamom really adds a great flavor and scent to these. Thanks for the great recipe!
February 1st, 2012 @ 12:27
@ Lauren & Jennifer: Thank you both so much for your comments!
February 14th, 2012 @ 05:38
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I just worked out the PointsPlus value (for those of you Weight Watchers folks out there) and with whole wheat flour, brown sugar, and every last one of those delicious chocolate chips, it comes out to 4 points per brownie (if you cut a 9×9 pan down to 16 brownies). Using a sugar substitute and perhaps 1 cup of chocolate chips rather than 1.5 could bring it down even more. Such a delicious treat!
February 15th, 2012 @ 11:01
@ Michelle: Thank you for your comment and for posting the points. I appreciate it!!!