These brownies are thick, fudgy, and chewy and made with good-for-you healthy ingredients. Healthy zucchini brownies are a great way to sneak in some vegetables, plus they are delicious and have no refined sugar.
Healthier Zucchini Brownies – No Refined Sugar
Keep reading for a step-by-step recipe instructions and some health benefits of these delicious brownies.
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You heard me right- vegetables in brownies? Heck yes!
These delicious brownies are thick, fudgey, and chewy. Plus they are made with good-for-you healthy ingredients.
Don’t we all need to eat more vegetables? These brownies are a great way to include a little bit more vegetables in your day. I’m all about adding vegetables to anything I can to boost the nutrition.
Sometimes you just need a brownie, and these brownies will help you to feel a little bit more guilt-free because they are loaded with zucchini (and you can’t even tell!) and have no refined sugar and less fat. With the hidden zucchini, these brownies are delicious and healthier than typical brownies.
I hope you enjoy these healthier brownies.
Zucchini is a versatile and good-for-you vegetable with great health benefits.
Incorporating any amount of zucchini into your diet is beneficial to your health because it contains loads of vitamins, fiber, some minerals and low calories. Specifically, zucchini is a beneficial source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, folate, potassium, antioxidants, and more nutrients.
It is a great vegetable to include in your diet (especially when it is in season) for a great boost to your health. Zucchini provides anti-inflammatory benefits, blood sugar regulation, digestive health benefits, and lowers risks of cancer and diseases.
Even by eating one slice of zucchini brownie, you can get important nutrients from the zucchini.
BEST WAYS TO USE ZUCCHINI
What are good zucchini recipes?
Zucchini is extremely versatile and you can add it into almost anything. The flavor is sweet and mild and can easily be incorporated into many dishes like omelettes, wraps, veggie pizza, green smoothies, soups, veggie sandwiches, pasta, salads, rice bowls, and even desserts.
Because of the mild flavor, zucchini is a perfect vegetable to “hide” in desserts and other foods for your kids where you want to sneak in an extra vegetable. It works especially well to sneak some shredded or pureed zucchini into baked goods such as brownies, muffins, cookies, cake, and of course zucchini bread.
BEST IDEAS TO INCORPORATE MORE VEGGIES
Let’s face it- most of us aren’t eating enough vegetables, right? It’s not necessarily because we don’t like veggies, it can be difficult to find the time or the right inspiration to prepare them in appealing ways. Here’s some ideas to incorporate more vegetables into your diet without making huge changes in how you eat:
- Try adding veggies to food you already eat. Grab some simple and versatile veggies such as bell peppers, onions, zucchini, spinach, cucumbers etc. and add them to foods you already make such as sandwiches, pasta, omelettes, smoothies, wraps, soups, burgers, pizza, and more.
- Stop only focusing on fresh vegetables. It’s just as healthy to use frozen and canned vegetables. Keep some on hand to add into any dish. When you don’t have time to grocery shop, canned and frozen veggies are a great way to still get a boost of nutrients. (Tip: try to buy no-salt added canned vegetables and rinse them before use to lower the sodium content.)
- Make vegetables easily accessible. Cut up vegetables (or buy them pre-cut) and store them in clear containers/bags in the fridge where you will see them often and remember to eat them. This makes an easy grab-and-go snack.
Hopefully this list helps you brainstorm some simple ideas and inspiration that you can do this week to add more vegetables into your diet.
If you are looking for more healthy recipes like this that your family will love, be sure to check out my 30 Days of Healthy Eating Menu Plan.
Now on to the recipe:
- 2 cups zucchini, finely grated
- ½ cup melted and cooled coconut oil (or very light olive oil)
- ½ cup honey (can also use pure maple syrup)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¾ cup white whole wheat flour (can also use whole wheat pastry flour)
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1⅓ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a 9 x 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a little extra so that you have some hanging over the sides. Spray parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Grate the zucchini, then lightly pat with a paper towel to remove some excess moisture, but make sure that you don't dry the zucchini out completely.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the coconut oil, eggs, honey, and vanilla. Fold in the zucchini.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- Add dry mixture to the wet zucchini mixture. Stir until completely combined, then fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (be sure not to overcook). Let brownies cool completely before removing from pan with the parchment paper that is left hanging over the sides.
Recipe adapted from Well Plated
Hope you enjoy these healthy brownies. Looking for more healthy dessert recipes? Try some of these:
4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Balls
Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bites
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