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Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies {GF, Vegan, Low Cal}

August 12, 2019

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Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Vegan

Creamy Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie with a Paleo option too. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Vegan

This Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies recipe was originally published April 2016. I’ve retested, updated and rephotographed the recipe for you. Enjoy!

I’ve decided I need to plant a zucchini garden. This is a scary thing people! Everything I’ve ever planted dies. Hence, why I live in the dessert and plant cactus. You have to try really hard to kill a cactus. BUT for as many recipes as I make with zucchini, I thought I should at least try because I really do use zucchini in everything.

The only problem? I don’t have a garden nor do I have room for a garden because I have a small courtyard. So I asked my all knowing, green finger garden planting mother for advice but even she wasn’t sure. So I looked to my friend Google for suggestions and found out I could grown them in pots.

Creamy Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie with a Paleo option too. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Vegan

After consulting with Mom, she suggested I buy pots that are low to the ground so the vines could spread onto the patio. I remember her planting squash on the side of the house when I was younger and it literally grew like a weed.

Vines everywhere! Growing up, I mowed the lawn and was always fearful I’d run over a squash and become victim to Mom’s wrath.

So now I have a large pot sporting two zucchini plants and already in two weeks the leaves have doubled. I’m taking that as a good sign. Bring on the zucchini!

Creamy Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie with a Paleo option too. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Vegan

That means a lot more zucchini oatless oatmeal, zucchini oat cookies, zucchini parmesan fries, zucchini red pepper frittata, zucchini salsa turkey burgers, healthy zucchini chocolate muffins, zucchini cocoa pancakes, zucchini bread and Zucchini Espresso Chocolate Brownies will be happening a lot more around here!

WAIT…back up. Did someone say brownies???

Why yes I did! Zucchini Espresso Chocolate Brownies to be exact!

Creamy Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie with a Paleo option too. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Vegan

Zucchini Espresso Chocolate Brownies

And these aren’t just any brownies people. They’re made with zucchini, cocoa, nut butter, oats and espresso powder. OMG yum! Someone call the chocolate police now.

Now the secret to making these Zucchini Espresso Chocolate Brownies extra creamy is to use creamy almond butter and the key to getting that holy grail chocolate-y chocolate taste is in the espresso powder. If you haven’t used it before, I highly recommend it! BUT a little does go a long way. You don’t need much and it lasts for-EVER.

Creamy Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie with a Paleo option too. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Vegan

What You Need

  • Zucchini
  • Almond Butter (creamy)
  • Maple Syrup
  • Applesauce
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Gluten Free Oats
  • Espresso Powder
  • Baking Soda
  • Salt

Creamy Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie with a Paleo option too. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Vegan

Helpful Tips

Allow the brownies to cool completely before removing and slicing into bars. Because they are flourless, they will take slightly longer to cool and firm up.

Use a knife dipped in warm water to slice the brownies into bars and wipe the knife with a towel in between slicing to ensuring you get a clean cut. 

I have not tested anything but oats with this recipe, but if you try something new please comment below. This helps others who make the recipe. Now let’s bake!

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Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies

Creamy Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy!

Author Skinny Fitalicious
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Cool 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 9 brownies
Calories 187 kcal
Creamy Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie with a Paleo option too. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Vegan
5 from 2 votes
Print

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups zucchini ~2 small zucchini shredded
  • 1/2 cup almond butter creamy and unsweetened
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp espresso powder
  • 3/4 cup Gluten Free Rolled Oats
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp almond butter for swirl
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F and prepare an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.

  2. Place gluten free oats in food processor or high-speed blender and process until ground.

  3. In a large bowl, mix together almond butter, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth.

  4. Next add zucchini, cocoa powder, ground oats, baking soda, espresso powder and salt and mix ingredients together until well combined.

  5. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan. With a toothpick swirl in the 2 tbsp of almond butter into the batter.
  6. Bake 25-30 minutes until a toothpick can be inserted into middle of the brownies and comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan 30 minutes prior to slicing into 12 brownies and devouring!

Recipe Notes

  • My Amazon shop has more products similar to those used for this recipe and that I recommend to my nutrition clients.
  • I have not tested other flours with this recipe. If you do, please comment below to help others!
Course Dessert
Cuisine Dessert
Keyword almond butter, applesauce, brownie, cocoa powder, dairy free, espresso, flourless, gluten free, healthy, low calorie, low sugar, maple syrup, oat flour, oats
Nutrition facts per serving (1brownie)
Calories 187 kcal
Fat 11 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 210 mg
Potassium 324 mg
Carbohydrates 21 g
Fiber 4 g
Sugar 10 g
Protein 6 g
Vitamin A 41 %
Vitamin C 4 %
Calcium 86 %
Iron 2 %

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What I Used For The Recipe
  

Creamy Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy! Gluten Free + Low Calorie + Vegan

Zucchini Chocolate Espresso Brownies with an almond butter swirl! Made with almond butter, chocolate, espresso and oats, these brownies are gluten free, vegan and low calorie. Luscious chocolate-y brownies that make healthy eating easy!

About Megan

Megan is a certified nutrition practitioner, author, freelance food photographer and fitness instructor living in Phoenix, Arizona. On her blog, Skinny Fitalicious she shares EASY, gluten free recipes for weight loss. Follow Megan on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates.

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Susie @ SuzLyfe says

    April 8, 2016 at 3:38 am

    I too have a black thumb. We are going to try again in the new place, which has a balcony. I can tell you right now that nothing will make it..

    Reply
    • Megan says

      April 8, 2016 at 3:54 pm

      Some of my plants are already dying. 🙁 Hope you have better luck!

      Reply
  2. Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

    April 8, 2016 at 4:04 am

    All of my favorite things! No, I can’t grow anything, can’t even keep herbs alive. My mom just got me a mini cactus for Easter! Haha! It came with a tag that said, “I thrive on neglect”!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      April 8, 2016 at 3:55 pm

      Now that is funny!

      Reply
  3. Michele @ paleorunningmomma says

    April 8, 2016 at 4:55 am

    My neighbor across the street has a zucchini garden and there is an insane amount of huge zucchini over there! I was given some once and barely scratched the surface and had to throw many out. I should’ve shredded and froze but it was too late!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      April 8, 2016 at 3:55 pm

      I’m jealous of your neighbor! I have one zucchini plant and it’s not looking so good.

      Reply
  4. Taylor says

    April 8, 2016 at 5:50 am

    My mom grows zucchini… I can’t keep anything alive either. I love that you used espresso powder in the brownies! yum!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      April 8, 2016 at 3:55 pm

      Espresso powder is the best for baking!

      Reply
  5. Sandra Laflamme says

    April 8, 2016 at 6:55 am

    Zucchini is great but it can take over your garden leaving you with more baseball bat sized zucchini then you will ever know what to do with! These brownies look soooo good, almost like fudge. You can’t go wrong with adding espresso either!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      April 8, 2016 at 3:56 pm

      That’s exactly what I want! I eat a ton of zucchini.

      Reply
  6. Blair says

    April 8, 2016 at 11:07 am

    Zucchini plants are the best for gardens – they grow so well! I like to make a chocolate zucchini cake, so I bet these brownies are equally delicious…and way better for me! 🙂

    Reply
    • Megan says

      April 8, 2016 at 3:57 pm

      Oh yum! I’ve put zucchini in a lot of things but never a cake I bet it’s really good.

      Reply
  7. Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says

    April 8, 2016 at 12:42 pm

    That’s so awesome you’re growing your own zucchini! I have a small patio garden too and it is so rewarding to grow your own food, even if it’s just a little bit.

    These brownies look amazing! I love sneaking greens into my chocolate. 🙂

    Reply
    • Megan says

      April 8, 2016 at 3:58 pm

      I’m trying! So far…things aren’t looking so good. My plants are looking sad. I sure hope they come back to life.

      Reply
  8. Miss Polkadot says

    April 8, 2016 at 2:59 pm

    Careful with what you’re wishing for here ;). By the end of the season you might very well not want to see any more zucchini for a while. Read: we have them in our garden and they grow at an insane speed. Either way, these brownies look amazing.

    Reply
    • Megan says

      April 8, 2016 at 3:58 pm

      Haha! There’s good and bad with everything, right?

      Reply
  9. Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says

    April 9, 2016 at 5:14 pm

    So cool! We may be moving to a house with a yard soon and I’m REALLY excited just to be able to grow herbs. Zucchini is even better!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      April 10, 2016 at 6:18 am

      Hopefully you will have better luck than I am!

      Reply
  10. Chris says

    April 15, 2016 at 5:28 am

    I just made these brownies & they were the best i’ve ever had. I used Justin’s vanilla almond butter in the recipe & their hazelnut butter on top, for the swirl. I couldn’t find espresso powder at my grocery store, so i subbed in instant coffee & used all organic, high quality ingredients for the rest. Please keep these yummy, healthy desserts coming! I recently started following ur blog & i love it. Thank u!!!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      April 15, 2016 at 3:05 pm

      Oh so glad you liked them! You can get the espresso powder at Amazon. Link is in the post. It’s worth buying.

      Reply
  11. Erica says

    March 23, 2017 at 9:59 am

    Should the zucchini be squeezed of as much moisture as possible or do I use the wet stuff as is?

    Reply
    • Megan says

      March 23, 2017 at 10:26 am

      I’ve never had any moisture in my zucchini to need to squeeze it out. If you do, then yes you should squeeze it out.

      Reply
  12. Lynda says

    December 24, 2017 at 9:25 am

    I am soooo thrilled to have found this blog! GF recipes that look amazing are hard to find. Can’t wait to try everything!!!

    Reply
  13. Ayna says

    August 26, 2019 at 7:14 am

    These are so good! I used peanut butter instead of almond and it worked beautifully. Thank you for another awesome keeper recipe.

    Reply
    • Megan says

      August 26, 2019 at 7:50 am

      You’re welcome! Glad you loved them.

      Reply

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Megan is a nutrition practitioner, author of the Low Calorie Cookbook and podcast host of the Dish On Ditching Diets. Megan helps women over 35 lose weight after losing 80 pounds herself. Here you get low calorie recipes for weight loss that balance hormones. Learn more about my weight loss programs HERE!

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