These Applesauce Brownies are easy, healthy vegan brownies made with just 3 ingredients. They are ultra moist and fudgy using simple pantry staples that deliver the best flourless, gluten-free brownies in less than 30 minutes.
I love my healthy banana brownies so much that I had to try a version using applesauce. The result is as good, less sweet of course because applesauce contains less sugar than bananas.
That’s also because applesauce is watery. So, to make brownies with just 3 ingredients with it, you must use more unsweetened cocoa powder, which results in a more bitter flavor. But don’t worry, I found a quick fix to that!
If you love your brownies healthy but sweeter, add 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or up to 1/3 cup of coconut sugar to the batter.
Why You Will Love This Brownie Recipe
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free
- No added sugar
- No flour needed and gluten-free
- Just 3 ingredients
- Easy and healthy
Ingredients and Substitutions
This paragraph gives you all my tips about picking the right ingredients. For the full recipe with measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post!Go to Full Recipe
You need just 3 ingredients with another optional one to make these brownies.
- Unsweetened Applesauce – I tested store-bought canned, unsweetened applesauce and homemade applesauce. The results are a bit different, and if you have a few minutes to spare, I highly recommend making your own to make these vegan brownies. I keep the skin on my apples and use ultra-sweet apple varieties like Jazz, which enhance the sweetness and firmness of the apple brownies. Note that the skin also helps the brownie batter hold better since it adds fiber to the recipe.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder or cacao powder, but this second option makes the batter very bitter.
- Peanut Butter or almond butter. Make sure you use natural nut butter that has no added oil, no added sugar for best results. Use a fresh jar with drippy nut butter to have the brownies’ texture at its best.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – This is optional, but they make the brownies sweet, less bitter and I highly encourage them. Otherwise, try 1/3 cup of any granulated sugar you like. I love coconut sugar or brown sugar in brownies.
How To Make Applesauce Brownies
- To make applesauce, use sweet, red apples like Jazz apples. They add the perfect sweetness to the brownies. Keep their skin on, core and cut them into cubes, and cook them in a non-stick saucepan with 1-2 tablespoons of water.
- Cover the pan, bring it to a light boil, reduce the heat, and cook until the apples are tender. Uncover the pan, let it cool, and blend the apples until smooth. The fun fact is the applesauce will be pink because of the apple skin. Let the applesauce cool down completely at room temperature before using in the recipe. You can also use store-bought applesauce!
- In a large bowl, stir applesauce, peanut butter, and unsweetened cocoa powder until the batter is moist and consistent. I recommend stirring 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips for sweetness, especially if you use unsweetened applesauce from the grocery store.
- Stir until well combined. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 6-inch square pan with parchment paper and lightly oil with cooking oil spray.
- Spread the brownie batter in the pan and sprinkle some extra chocolate chips on top.
- Bake the brownies on the center rack of the oven for 25 to 35 minutes until set on the top and a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownie comes out with a little sticky crumb, which means the brownies are still fudgy. If it is too wet and sticky, keep baking.
- Let the brownies cool down in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Serving Applesauce Brownies
Cut the cooled brownies into 9 squares and serve them with some of the following:
- A scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream
- Vegan whipped cream
- Vegan ganache
- Protein frosting
Expert Tips For Apple Brownies
I’ve made this recipe so many times that I can give you a few tips to make it perfect every single time.
- Make your own applesauce using sweet apples. This makes the brownies less bitter.
- Add chocolate chips for a boost of sweetness or 1/3 cup of coconut sugar.
- Add crunchy ingredients to the batter, like 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts, pecans, or unsweetened shredded coconut.
- Store the brownies in the fridge in an airtight container to increase the firmness and keep ultra-fudgy brownies.
Frequently Asked Questions
My brownies are fragile, how can I adapt the recipe?
You can stir in 1/2 cup of oat flour or 1/3 cup of coconut sugar to firm up the brownies.
Can I swap applesauce for something else?
You can use mashed bananas or sweet potato puree instead.
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Applesauce Brownies
These applesauce brownies are easy, healthy, vegan brownies made with just 3 ingredients. They are ultra moist and fudgy, using simple pantry staples that deliver the best flourless, gluten-free brownies in less than 30 minutes.
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Servings: 9 squares
Calories: 140.9 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsweetened Applesauce - (note 1)
- ½ cup Peanut Butter (Unsalted) - (note 2)
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - (note 3)
Optional (highly recommended for sweetness)
- ½ cup Semi-Sweet Vegan Chocolate Chips - (note 4)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 6-inch (or 8-inch) brownie pan with parchment paper and grease it with cooking oil. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir applesauce, peanut butter, and cocoa powder using a silicone spatula until the batter is moist, thick, and consistent.
- Taste the batter; if it is too bitter, stir in the semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 55% cocoa vegan chocolate chips).
- Pour the batter into the prepared brownie pan and spread evenly. If you like, sprinkle some extra chocolate chips on top.
- Bake the brownies on the center rack of the oven for 25-35 minutes at 350°F (180°C), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a little sticky crumb on it. If they are too wet, keep baking. If desired, you can foil the pan.
- Let the brownies cool down in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack and cool completely before slicing. An hour is the best as less than that leaves the brownies fragile when cut. If it is too fragile, pop the brownies in the fridge to firm them up.
Notes
Note 1: Make your own applesauce or use a store-bought version.
Note 2: Almond butter or sunflower seed butter works as well.
Note 3: You can use sweetened cocoa powder to boost the sweetness of the brownies if you are using apples that aren’t too sweet or unsweetened applesauce.
Note 4: or chopped walnuts.
Storage: Store the brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1square (no chocolate chips) | Calories: 140.9kcal | Carbohydrates: 17.3g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8.4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 63.3mg | Potassium: 343mg | Fiber: 4.3g | Sugar: 7.2g | Vitamin A: 29IU | Vitamin C: 3.9mg | Calcium: 17.7mg | Iron: 1.3mg | Magnesium: 69.2mg | Phosphorus: 106.8mg | Zinc: 0.9mg
Sets well in fridge. Taste and texture is delicious.
Can you use a hot chocolate mix instead of coco mix
You can, but it will be sweeter since hot chocolate mix contains sugar.
? What do you think about spreading the recipe thin over a cookie tray and attempting to cook it crunchy trying to simulate brownie brittle? Lower and slower temperature or the same until desired effect?
That’s a good question, it might work but I’m really not sure.
Can you swap coco powder for nesquik?
It will be very sweet, but it should work
Can you substitute Greek yogurt for the nut butter?
no, sorry it will not work at all, the brownies won’t firm up.
Do you use the same amount of mashed bananas as applesauce
Sure you can, or use my healthy banana brownies recipe.
Simple, sugar free, plant based, minimally processed. My kind of recipe. Thank you!
I made them twice now. They are very rich and dark and could see how some people might not favor that dark of a flavor, like my boyfriend, but they are delicious! I say great because there is more for me. LOL. I will continue to make them and thank you for the recipe!
Thank you!
This turned out quite delicious, but I was wondering if I could freeze the brownies?
You absolutely can!
I made this today and it was good but not sweet at all. I did add some Stevia and next time I would add maple syrup. Otherwise they are very rich brownies.
I like my brownies not too sweet, but for my kids, I add chocolate chips to the batter to make them sweeter.