Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies - gluten, egg and dairy free recipe

I was celebrating my first week on an elimination diet and ended up concocting my own version of vegan sweet potato brownies. 

In addition to staying dairy and egg-free, I am also trying to cut out / reduce wheat, gluten, unfermented soy and caffeine. Strictly speaking, I should also cut out sugar. But hey (!), we all have our cheat days. 

Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies (gluten, dairy and egg-free)

For this badge of brownies I used demerara sugar, which can be substituted with a healthier alternative (i.e. coconut sugar). Unlike many other vegan recipes, this recipe doesn't call for an insane amount of obscure ingredients. What's even more important, it only takes about 90 minutes to make these from start to finish, including the time it takes to clear-up.

A little while ago I experimented with avocado brownies, in which the avocados replaced the butter, whilst the flour component was made up by all-purpose flour. The avocado / wheat flour brownie version was rather too dense and heavy in texture in my opinion. 

These sweet potato brownies, by comparison, are gooey, but not dense; and I would opt for the sweet potato / oat base rather than the all-purpose flour version without hesitation, even if I was not trying to follow an elimination diet. 

Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies (gluten, dairy and egg-free)

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups of cooked sweet potato
• 1 avocado half
• 1 cup of brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 0.5 cups of cacao
• 4 tbsp of agave nectar / maple syrup 
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract 
• 200g of dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp of coconut oil
• 2 cups of oats
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 0.25 cups of crushed pistachio 

Preparation:

• Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius / 360 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking dish (mine measured 24cm x 24cm x 6cm) with parchment paper.

• Start off by peeling and cooking the sweet potato until mashable with a fork, drain and set aside. 

• Melt the chocolate together with the coconut oil until combined.

• Use a food processor to turn the oats into oatmeal, add the cooked sweet potato and the avocado half. Mix until well combined. 

• Add all other ingredients and mix for about two minutes until all ingredients form a solid mass. Unlike conventional brownie mixes, this batter will look dry by comparison. 

• Transfer the batter from the food processor into the baking dish, spread evenly and sprinkle with the crushed pistachios. 

• Bake for around 20 - 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

• Remove from the oven, set aside to cool down and cut into squares. 

• Enjoy.

Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies (gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free recipe)