Healthy & Fudgy Nut Brownies

 
While recently in New England, we stopped for a late lunch at a cute café in Vermont in the early afternoon. As we walked inside and towards the back of the restaurant to the large table set up for our group of twelve people, I felt like I was walking through a cozy log cabin… Wooden floors, walls, tables, and chairs filled the entire space!  

The kitchen sent out a gigantic amount of food for our lunch, starting with bowls of mixed greens and pasta salads, followed by platters of sandwiches with chicken, turkey, and caprese fillings, and even a pitcher of hot apple cider and bags of crunchy potato chips. They definitely took good care of us!
 

 
After our meal as we wandered back towards the front of the store, nearly every single person in our group stopped to look at the glass display case of sweet treats right next to the register. Although fairly full from lunch, we almost unanimously decided that we still had room for dessert… Those cookies, cupcakes, bars, and even oh-so-fancy chocolate mousse cups looked really tempting!

Yet as a chocoholic, I opted for the huge, oversized brownies sitting in the lower corner of the display case. Supremely rich, supremely fudgy, supremely chocolaty… And with a supremely decadent chocolate frosting on top. Simple, classic, and worth every bite!

But partway through thoroughly enjoying that brownie, I remembered something…
 

 
Many of my blog readers (maybe even you!) have been begging me for a healthy brownie recipe with nuts! So once I returned home from my trip, I immediately got to work in my kitchen and perfected this Healthy Nut Brownies recipe for you!

They’re just as rich and decadent as the brownie from my trip, yet these contain no refined flour or sugar… And they basically have the same texture as fudge too!

True chocolate brownie bliss. ♡
 

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY BROWNIES WITH NUTS

Let’s go over how to make these healthy and fudgy nut-filled brownies!

You’ll start with equal amounts of white whole wheat flour (like this!) and unsweetened cocoa powder (this one is my favorite!). Because you’re adding just as much cocoa powder as flour, your healthy nut brownies will already taste supremely chocolaty without Dutched or special dark cocoa powder! In fact… I actually recommend against using those. Their flavor is much more muted in this recipe, so your brownies won’t taste as rich and chocolaty compared to using plain ol’ unsweetened cocoa powder.

And yes — white whole wheat flour actually exists! It’s not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and regular whole wheat flour. Instead, it’s made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They both have the same health benefits, but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture. That lets the chocolate flavor and fudgy texture of these healthy nut brownies truly shine!
 

 
Unlike traditional recipes with a stick or two of butter, these healthy nut brownies only require 1 tablespoon. That really helps keep them low calorie! Then the rest of their supremely fudgy texture comes from…

Greek yogurt! If you’ve looked through some of my other recipes before, then you know just how much I love baking with Greek yogurt. It adds the same moisture to your brownie batter as extra butter or oil but for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your dark chocolate brownies a protein boost, too!
 

 
You’ll skip the refined granulated sugar and sweeten your fudgy dark chocolate brownies with coconut sugar (like this!) instead. Coconut sugar is exactly what it sounds like: an unrefined sweetener that comes from coconuts! However, it doesn’t actually taste like coconuts. It has a rich caramel-like flavor, similar to brown sugar!

Time to mix in the nuts! I opted for finely diced pecans because many of my family members are allergic to walnuts. Both work equally well! I use these diced pecans (also called “pecan chips”) as a quick and easy shortcut. It’s so handy to keep that bag in my pantry!
 

 
One last tip for you! When you bake these healthy dark chocolate brownies, you’ll actually want to pull the pan out of the oven when the sides look done but the center still looks glossy and underdone.

That’s okay the center doesn’t look fully cooked — that’s actually good! It’ll continue to cook through while your brownies cool to room temperature and then set for another 8 hours. Yes, I know it feels like torture to wait that long… But it gives your brownies the most decadent fudgy texture possible!
 

 
There’s a reason extra fudgy brownies are one of my favorite desserts! 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy nut brownies!

Healthy Nut Brownies (Extra Fudgy!)

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 16 brownies

These brownies are supremely rich, decadent, fudgy, and chocolaty — just the way I love them! They have a similar flavor as 72% dark chocolate, and the nuts add a fun crunchy contrast to the moist and chewy brownies. They’ll keep for at least five days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator — if they last that long!

4.80 from 5 votes

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Ingredients 

• ¾ cup (90g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
• ¾ cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar
• 6 tbsp (90mL) nonfat milk
• 3 tbsp (21g) finely diced pecans, divided

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 300°F, and lightly coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the coconut sugar. Stir in the milk. Add in the flour mixture, stirring until just incorporated. Gently fold in 2 ½ tablespoons of pecans.
• Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and gently press the remaining pecans into the top. Bake at 300°F for 15-19 minutes (15 minutes yields the fudgiest brownies; 19 minutes yields slightly cakier brownies). Cool completely to room temperature in the pan, and let the brownies sit for at least 8 hours at room temperature for the fudgiest texture before serving.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's very important to measure the flour and cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much flour and cocoa powder in the brownie batter will make your brownies dry and crumbly, rather than chewy and fudgy. Too much cocoa powder will also make your brownies taste bitter, rather than rich and chocolaty.

 

IMPORTANT MIXING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not use a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer! Use a whisk where explicitly instructed, and use a fork for everything else.

 

IMPORTANT BAKING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: The brownies are ready to come out of the oven when the edges look firm but the center still looks glossy and underdone! The heat from the pan continues to cook the center while they cool. If the edges of the brownies pull away from the edges of your baking pan within 10 minutes of pulling them out of the oven, then you’ve baked them for long enough!

 

If you’re too impatient to wait for 8 hours once your brownies are at room temperature, then you can stick the pan in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours after they’ve reached room temperature to speed up the process. (The brownies turn fudgier the longer they're allowed to rest. If you cut into them sooner, they'll be more cakey than fugdy.)

 

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Regular whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour. Oat flour (gluten-free, if necessary!) may be substituted as well, but be extremely careful when measuring it!

 

COCOA POWDER NOTES: I do not recommend substituting Dutched or special dark cocoa powder for the regular unsweetened cocoa powder. Both Dutched and special dark cocoa powder have a different acidity level, which can affect the taste and texture of your brownies. They also taste more bland and muted in this recipe compared to the rich chocolate flavor of regular unsweetened cocoa powder.

 

If your cocoa powder is very bumpy and/or clumpy, then sift it into the mixing bowl.

 

COCONUT SUGAR ALTERNATIVES: Brown sugar or granulated sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar, but the brownies will no longer be clean eating friendly.

 

If you’d prefer, ½ cup (120mL) of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave may be substituted for the coconut sugar and 4 tablespoons of the milk. (You still need to add those 2 final tablespoons of milk!)

 

MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.

 

PECAN NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: These are the finely diced pecans that I use. Such a handy shortcut so I don’t have to cut my own! If you are chopping your own, make them about the size of miniature chocolate chips (or no larger than regular chocolate chips) to ensure your brownies bake evenly.

 

Walnuts can easily be substituted for the pecans.

 

GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, use as follows: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will also work, if measured like this.

 

HOW TO STORE: Store leftover brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should keep for at least five days, if not longer. They freeze and thaw well too!

 

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  Healthy Flourless Extra Fudgy Brownies (one-bowl recipe!)
♡  Healthy Fudgy Olive Oil Brownies
♡  Healthy Fudgy Chocolate Chunk Brownies (one-bowl recipe!)
♡  Healthy Fudgy Cookie Dough Brownies
♡  Healthy Fudgy Cheesecake-Swirled Brownies
♡  Healthy Slow Cooker Fudgy Dark Chocolate Brownies
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy brownie recipes!