These Sugar-Free Brownies are incredibly fudgey and easily made gluten free!
This recipe was originally published on January 11, 2012 and it sure is a very popular recipe to date, but since then I discovered my allergies to wheat, so I wanted these to easily be adapted for a gluten free life style. Now you can make these whole wheat or gluten free and of course without any sugar added!!
My more popular brownie recipe on my blog is the flourless brownie recipe, but sometimes I run out of that secret ingredient. When I made this recently for the kids, they fell in love with them all over again and dare I say think they are better than my flourless recipe?!! Either way this recipe is a winner! You can make both then decide!
Of course my other motivation for making these wasn't just to make my kids happy, I wanted to get rid of the horrid pics I took back then!! But I did leave one below for you to laugh at. 🙂
If you can't find sugar -free chocolate chips you can use the highest grade of cocoa you can find in chocolate chips or even a candy bar and break it into pieces. I use Lily's sugar free chocolate chips because they are sweetened with stevia.
SO now after you wipe the drool off your chin you can laugh below at the horrid and sad pictures I left just to amuse you today!
(OLD SAD PIC)
(OLD SAD PIC)
I have tried making a bunch of sugar free brownie recipes and really love how these came out. I had guests and never shared they were sugar free, in fact one guest actually ate 3!!!
See its not that because I choose a sugar free life style that I have to give up chocolate! No its just that I need to make it more pure and more wholesome than boxed brownies without refined sugar that causes ....well.... you know the after effects of sugar highs don't you? If you haven't read my post about the sugar-free sweeteners I choose to use you may want to read, Top 3 Refined Sugar Free Sweeteners to get more info.
Embrace the chocolate I say!
Its not your enemy.
Now refined sugar THAT is not my friend! It causes me too much grief to allow it back in my life. You can read about my sugar free journey here.
You won't feel awful or get a spike in blood sugar after eating one of these scrumptious brownies, but I guarantee you may not be able to eat just one! A nice addition to these brownies would be to add some chopped walnuts. Unfortunately my boys are allergic but I can only bet they would be even more yummier!
Brenda's Notes: (Updated April 16, 2014)
- I adapted the temperature in the original recipe reducing the time to bake these.
- I added an egg as one was not in the original, but if you have an egg allergy you can sub a flax egg or leave it out entirely.
- I also subbed butter for the coconut oil in the gluten free version, but either will work.
- To make this gluten free: Remove the whole wheat pastry flour and substitute it with your favorite gluten free four blend. I used Bob's Red Mill. Add ½ teaspoon xanthan gum.
- Use 2-4 packets Sweetleaf Stevia (4 makes them super sweet) or 4 -6 tsp. of this powdered stevia by Sweetleaf.
- Pure stevia extract is used within the recipe so I could compare and because it is the extract it is much sweeter and you do not need as much.
- Nutrition info has been updated to include sugar free chocolate chips where the original was optional.
- P.S. I realize that the title of these is Sugar-Free brownies and applesauce is included in this recipe, But because it is only a small amount the natural sugar is still only 1 gram.
Sugar Free Chocolate Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 4 tablespoons milk 1%
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 egg
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or see notes
- ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure stevia extract or 2 teaspoon Chocolate Liquid Stevia
- ½ cup sugar free chocolate chips
- Optional: ½ c. chopped nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk together oil, milk, vanilla, applesauce and egg.
- Add cocoa, flour, baking powder, salt and stevia (xanthan gum for gluten free) and mix well.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Add optional nuts if desired.
- Line an 8 by 8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Pour batter into pan and top with a few more chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Jennifer
Would I be able to substitute the coconut oil for olive oil? Or will the outcome be different? I really want to give these a try, they looked delicious!
Brenda
I'm thinking it would work just fine with olive oil. Let me know if you try it.
DangIt
Also, are we supposed to melt the coconut oil? Because mine wouldn't "cream" with the rest of the ingredients.
Brenda
I just edited that so it's clear, just soften ti next time on the stove or microwave.
DangIt
I made these but they were far too bitter!! D: they cooked for over an hour as well, and were still quite mushy. Help??
Brenda
Not sure why they were mushy, they are definitely supposed to be nice and soft though. If they aren't sweet enough simply add 1 tablespoon of the powdered stevia which will make them sweeter.
Danielle
Thank you!
Danielle
Can you tell me what's the difference between white whole wheat flour ( which I've used in a few of your recipes) to the whole wheat pastry flour this one calls for?
Brenda
Here's a couple of links for you:http://healthnutnation.com/2010/12/20/the-difference-between-whole-wheat-pastry-flour-whole-wheat-flour-and-all-purpose-flour/ and this one: http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-flour/. I think with baking I'm finding using the whole wheat pastry flour makes for a better baked good than the white whole wheat. Just my opinion.
rena
Hi,
I recently bought some sweetleaf stevia powder. I made this recipe and i used about 6 tsp of it but the brownies were not sweet enough, they were pretty bitter...is that how the stevia tastes?
Melinda
How would using agave nectar work?
Brenda
I don't use agave at all but let me know if you do.
Sabrina
Brenda,
When you refer to Stevia powder do you mean 100% stevia extract (where the serving is 1/32 tsp)? Or do you mean the stevia that you can get in packets or in the baking aisle? (I have Stevia in the Raw packets so I was wondering if I could use those)
Thanks!
Brenda
The Sweetleaf Brand I have I got from iherb.com and the serving size is 1/8 of a teaspoon. That is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar. You could use the packet and just measure out the amount you need.
Lisa
My dad is diabetic and still sneaks and eats brownies!!!!! i am looking foward to try this recipe for Fathers Day! I will however be using 2% milk . . .I will let you know what he thinks. He doesn't hold back!!! LOL! : )
Brenda
That's awesome! Good Idea with the 2%!! Especially for him LOL!
Lisa
This looks sooo delicious! I may give this a whirl with Almond flour since I'm trying not to have any grains. I was happy to see coconut oil was in the recipe, since I'm a big fan of using it.
Brenda
Almond Flour is a great idea and if my boys weren't allergic to nuts, I'd surely be trying that!
Mel
Hi Lisa,
Did you try these with almond flour? If you did, how did they turn out? and were the amounts the same?
I too am grain-free so I was thinking of doing this and was hoping someone had tried it : )
Thanks!!
Mel
L.H.
These were delicious! So moist and fudgy and rich! I used 2 packets and they were a little on the bitter side (which I'm learning to love now that I've stopped making desserts with refined sugar), so next time I will use additional packets or add some 65% dark chocolate chips on top.
Brenda
Thanks! So glad you liked them!
Triana
I think I have to buy some Stevia...
Kammie @ Sensual Appeal
Pinned! These look great. Can't believe they are so low in calories!
Diana
Thank you for this recipe! It looks really good--I'm looking forward to trying it! 🙂
AW
I use Stevia Clear from Sweet leaf, a liquid. Do you think it will work as well? How should I adjust the measurements, or just to taste? Thanks.
Brenda
I think it will work fine. Here's the link to their site to convert measurements:
http://www.sweetleaf.com/recipes/conversion-chart
Emma
I just baked these and really like them! I used truvia, which I don't mind, and just vegetable oil. They are not as moist looking as yours - maybe because of the oil change. Thanks for the recipe. This is a great change to a popular dessert.
marcie
Hi, I am just wondering what else I could use instead of coconut oil? We live on a military base in the united kingdom so our health section is pretty small.. no stevia either. Would splenda work.. love your site. Thanks
Brenda
Hi Marcie, I think you could probaly use any oil you have on hand, but Splenda is definitely sweeter and I don't use it because it isn't natural. I am not sure how much you would need to use of Splenda. The Stevia packets I use are equal 2 teaspoons of sugar if that helps! Thanks!
Diana
Butter (if you can have dairy) is a good substitute for coconut oil, since they're both a solid fat at [normal] room temperature. I just swapped the coconut oil in for butter in another brownie, and it worked that way just fine. 🙂 Did you try it with regular oil, though, and how did it work?
Emma
Could you use Truvia packets? I know they are the same ingredient but I was wondering if it would make a difference. These look soo good! Definitely going to try them!
Brenda
You could use Truvia but I wouldn't recommend it. It has quite an aftertaste because of other additivies it is made with.
Heather
I am surprised that you think Truvia leaves an aftertaste. I use it all the time in my tea and love it - no yucky taste at all. I also used it in a chocolate pumpkin brownie receipe and found it worked out well.
But maybe I should try the pure Stevia you mention here. I am always open to trying new things.
By the way - this recipe looks yummy. I don't have any coconut oil but I may have to get some just to try this out.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Brenda
You might be surprised when you try something other than Truvia. You really might like it better. Please let me know if you notice a difference or not. Thanks!
Heather
I am ordering some Sweet Leaf now to try! Loving your blog and recipes. 🙂
Charlotte Moore
I made your whole wheat apple cake yesterday. I did not have packs of stevia i only had the bag you have to measure. I was disappointed that the cake did not taste sweet at all. I used about 11 teaspoons of stevia but i think I should have used twice that. I also grind my own wheat and used hard white wheat. I am not sure the difference in the kind you used. Mine was probably more heavy in texture.
I love how you do the Weight Watcher points. I am going to Weight Watchers and it is great to have recipes with them already calculated.
THANKS!!!!
Brenda
I'm sorry you didn't like the cake. Each packet of stevia is equal to 2 teaspoons so if you had used about 16 tsp that would have been equal to the packets I used. Better to be less sweet than too taste. It really isn't supposed to be a very sweet cake like a typical cake anyway, we prefer it like that. Hope you'll try it again though!
Jan J.
Yay, I just got some coconut oil and glad to find a recipe to try it with - can't wait to try these!
The Better Baker
Oh WOW! I can't wait to make these! Too bad it's bedtime or I'd do it now. Thanks for sharing your experiments with us.
Cookin' Canuck
I have started playing around with Stevia in our sweet and savory dishes (sauces), so am so glad to see your recipes. These brownies look so creamy and decadent!
Rachel
I recently set a goal to try and avoid white sugar and flour, so I am so excited to have found your site! I love the pics you post. They make your recipes look super delicious, and I can't wait to try some. Brownies are my weakness, so you can imagine my delight in seeing your latest post! I'm curious, do you have a particular chocolate chip brand that you use?
Brenda
Yeah! Good for you on getting rid of the white stuff! And thank you for the pic compliments! I've used Sunspire grain sweetened chips as well as a soy, nut, dairy free mini chip by enjoy life. If you want to use unsweetened chips I think that would work too or just make them without the first time and see how you might need to adjust the stevia to your liking.
christine
i am trying to eliminate sugar from my diet and have been 1 week sugar/diet soda free so far! i have a son with egg, dairy, wheat allergies. would you use coconut milk to make it dairy free? how about the flour? do you think my Gluten free flour blend would work fine? i guess i could give it a shot.
Brenda
yes coconut milk would be a fine substitute and I haven't worked with the gluten free flour so not sure there. Please let me know how it works for you.
Jennifer
Almond milk has no sugar **not safe for nut alergies**Hempmilk, coconut milk, soy milk would all work too. What flour blend do you use??
Brenda Russo
I made these brownies with gluten free flour and it worked just fine, however, I made a mistake and didn't add enough sweetener so will have to try it again, but otherwise they were moist and very tastey!
Connie Gould
I'm excited to try your brownies sweetened with stevia. I just bought a box of the packets. How many do I need for this recipe?
Jackie
I stumbled across your blog and am loving these recipe ideas - especially some of the snacks! I have a son with peanut and egg allergies so I am super excited to try this brownie recipe! Thank you!
Brenda
Yeah! So glad you found my site! Both my boys are allergic to peanuts, the oldest also has a soy allergy and the youngest is also allergic to all tree nuts. Hope you like the brownies!