aka “And The Beet Goes On…”
I saved the best for last!
I thought beets were weird. Sure, they looked sweet and innocent from far away, but as soon as I mixed them into my salad, they turned my feta cheese hot pink. Hot pink. Strangely, I don’t find neon-colored dairy products very appetizing…
So while my mom swore by them, I picked those pesky beets out of my food.
Until I started reading about cutting-edge chefs adding them to baked goods. After coming across 27 recipes for chocolate and beet treats, I wondered why I hadn’t thought of something like that before…
I’ll tell you why: Because these brownies are SO addicting. They’re dense, moist, rich, and fudgy — everything a brownie should be! And with the hidden veggies inside, I felt absolutely no guilt eating two three five the day I pulled them out of the oven.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
modified from the Eggless Cooking recipe
If you can wait, these turn fudgier and taste even better once they’re completely cooled — and twice as good the next day!
- Preheat oven to 350° and lightly coat an 8” square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the chocolate chips to a separate microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 20-sec intervals, stirring after each, until the chocolate melts (about 1 to 1½ min). Stir in the beet purée and next 6 ingredients (through vanilla), mixing thoroughly. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 350° for 35-40 min or until firm. Cool completely before slicing into squares.
Note: Oat flour is easy to make! For this recipe, just add a heaping ¾ cup of old-fashioned oats into a food processor or blender, and pulse until they turn into a fine powder.
Other Sweet and Sneaky Veggie Treats:
caramelized onion breakfast muffins
Alright I tried these, and kept them in the oven for the full 40 minutes, and they seemed firm when I took them out, but when I cut them into squares, they were pink inside and I could easily taste the beets…which was not very good…
Any suggestions?
Oh no, I’m sorry they didn’t turn out the way you wanted! What kind of chocolate chips did you use? And did you make sure to drain all of the beet juice? I’ll keep thinking of other things that could explain your results too.
Right, I should’ve mentioned, I used fresh beets, I used a pound, boiled and puréed them myself with my food processor. And instead of chocolate chips, I used 3 one ounce squares of bittersweet chocolate.
Bittersweet chocolate doesn’t have quite as strong of a chocolate flavor as dark does, so that might contribute to the more prominent beet flavor. I haven’t tried this recipe with fresh beets, so I’m not sure if the canning process would take out some of the “beet-y” flavor too. I’m really sorry your brownies didn’t meet your expectations!
I see what you mean, but I do want to try these again. Do you think maybe adding more unsweetened cocoa powder would help? Or using less beets? Like half a pound maybe? I actually have another pound that I puréed already and froze to try these again, just need to buy more vanilla extract and I’m good to go.
Oh and hey, don’t apologize, it’s not your fault, haha I can never follow a recipe word for word 😛
I’m so excited that you want to try again! Most people (including me, on occasion) just throw in the towel instead and move on. :]
Yes, more cocoa powder could help! Maybe a few tablespoons, but you may also want to consider adding a little extra liquid if the batter looks dry. And for the beet purée, mine measured out to be 1 cup. I’m not quite sure what that equates to in pounds, but hopefully you have a clean measuring cup handy? ;]
I’m thinking maybe I didn’t drain them right before pureeing too. I did it lightly so that all the water from boiling was gone but that was all.
I believe I rinsed mine before puréeing, so it’s worth a shot!
OMG the one cup measurement is helpful!! I’m pretty sure mine was way more than that!!! Definitely sticking to that for next time!!!
Hooray!! I’m so glad we figured it out. I can’t wait to hear how the second batch goes! :]
These brownies are really tempting! I must try them.
I hope you enjoy them! I’d highly suggest waiting a few hours after they cool before trying one. Their fudginess increases the longer you let them sit!
Just to verify (because I don’t like beets) these brownies taste nothing like beets. Right?
If you positively hate beets, you may be able to detect a slight beet-like undertone. Most of my taste testers could not, but they didn’t know there were beets inside! If you’re looking for another healthy brownie option without beets, I’d recommend my fudgy whole wheat brownies instead.
Do you know the calorie count per brownie?
I just added the Nutrition Information link beneath the recipe. Hope that helps Mary Katherine! 🙂
I am doubling the recipe and don’t have enough beets, do you have any suggestions for a substitute for the other half of beet amount or will they still turn out fine if I use what I have.
I haven’t tried it myself, but using applesauce to replace the remaining beets would probably work, or possibly part applesauce and part yogurt. You’ll definitely need something since the beets provide so much moisture to the brownies. I’m excited to hear what you try and how it turns out for you Bea! 🙂
Thank you. I used a puréed apple. The brownies are still warm, but we did taste them. They have good flavour but are at this point a bit more like a cake than brownie. So not chewy but very moist and kinda fluffy. I prefer the chewy kind but my son liked it. I don’t know if my substitution created this texture or is that how it’s supposed to be. Thanks agin for a quick reply.
My pleasure Bea! The longer you let the brownies cool and set, the fudgier they’ll be. If you slice them while warm, they’ll be cakier, but if you let them sit 6-8 hours (or overnight), they’ll turn chewier and fudgier. Store the cooled sliced brownies in an airtight container, and that should help too!
OH MY GOSH!!!! These are insane!! I can’t believe how good these are. Seriously the best healthy treat I’ve had in a long time. I added an extra 1/4 cup chocolate chips at the end (not melted) because that’s how I love my brownies. Incredible!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownies Jessica! The more chocolate, the better for me too. 🙂
OMG so delicious!!
I’m not like so many of the others that posted they don’t really enjoy beets…I absolutely love beets so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it….beets and chocolate, double yum!!
I always have fresh beets in the fridge…yay and I don’t usually have vegan yogurt so I used vegan mayo in place of the yogurt….I make the most moist and delicious chocolate chip banana bread and I add 1 tbsp mayo so I knew it would be ok!
I don’t know how many pieces I ate while slicing them, ? I can’t wait to let them sit a day like you suggested ?
Thanks again for an awesome recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownies Daria! And thank you for sharing your lovely picture on Instagram too. That made my day! 🙂