A moist flourless chocolate beetroot brownie recipe that begs the question as to whether a food can be healthy and damn delicious.
I’m a little lost for words as to how to introduce you to this deliciously moist chocolate brownie recipe. It delivers a delectable chocolate hit while being moist and not too sweet.
I’ve always been a sucker for moist cakes. So, that was a must for me!
Why brownies with beetroot?
What is great about combining beetroot into a brownie recipe is the moistness and richness of colour that it provides.
Beetroots are high in fibre, folate, iron and vitamin C. They have also been associated with health benefits such as improved blood pressure and athletic performance.
However, I don’t recommend these brownies or devour them myself for their health benefits. I enjoy them and share the recipe here because they are damn delicious.
Is this a healthy chocolate brownie recipe?
What challenges me is that some may declare that this chocolate brownie recipe is healthy because it is free of sugar, dairy and gluten and is flourless.
The thing is, omitting those ingredients does not make a recipe healthy per se. This is for two reasons.
The first is that none of those ingredients are inherently bad. Yes, some people have allergies and intolerances to dairy and gluten, and we continually hear messages that we ought to reduce our sugar intake. However, that doesn’t mean that, for most people, omitting these foods from our diet is necessary for good health.
If you’re unsure whether you should omit sugar from your diet, you may find this previous blog helpful, Sweet relief from sugar detoxing.
No food is healthy or unhealthy
Secondly, no food is healthy or unhealthy in its own right.
Food can provide nutrition that supports good health. It can be devoid of health-promoting nutrients. Or it can be correlated to illness when eaten in excess. However, this does not make a food inherently healthy or unhealthy.
Labelling food in this way can cause us to attach our self-worth to the food we eat or entice blame or shame should we eat unhealthily. Therefore, I find it more helpful and less stress-provoking to consider food based on the nutritional value it provides.
Although I choose foods to nourish my body, enjoyment of the foods I eat is an equally important consideration.
Fortunately, these flourless chocolate brownies meet both these requirements!
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Do these brownies taste like beetroot?
Surprisingly these brownies only have a mild earthy taste. No one would know they contain beetroot unless you tell them.
You could grate the beetroot before combining it into the mixture. However, I blend it to a smooth consistency in a food processor, so that there is no beetroot texture evident in the final brownie.
The texture is moist and almost fudgy, and the colour is definitely a chocolatey brown.
So although you couldn’t pass them off as standard chocolate brownies, no one would know the secret ingredient.
Frosting for beetroot brownies
The recipe for beetroot brownies is tasty on its own.
However, without frosting it has a more obvious red colour. To serve you may like to dust it with cacao powder.
The chocolate frosting just sends the brownie over the edge for delectability. I highly recommend it!
Looking for other chocolatey recipes?
You may like my chocolatey recipes for:
Did you try this brownie recipe?
Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear how they turned out.
Chocolate Beetroot Brownies
Ingredients
Ingredients – Wet
- 260 g raw beetroot, cut into chunks ~ 1 large beet
- 1 cup (200 g) pitted dates soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
- ¼ cup (70 mL) runny honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons (45 mL) olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients – Dry
- 150 g (1 ½ cups) almond meal (blanched or unblanched)
- 3 tablespoons (15 g) cacao, carob or cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (or ¼ teaspoon baking soda)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°C.
- Line a brownie baking tray with baking paper.
- Combine beetroot, dates, liquid sweetener, eggs, oil and vanilla in food processor or blender on high speed for one minute, until smooth.
- Then add dry ingredients and mix through, either in mixing bowl or using food processor.
- Pour mixture into baking tray (or spoon into paper-lined muffin tins).
- Bake for 45 minutes or until a fork comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool completely in tray.
- Top with wholesome chocolate frosting or serve topped with raspberries, yogurt or ice cream and shaved chocolate.
11 comments
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Hi Michell,
Thanks for letting me know that you and your spouse enjoy my blog. It’s great to hear from readers!
You can send me a message through the connect page and let me know a little more about the topics you write on.
Great to connect, Michell 🙂
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