Healthy Brownies with all the richness and fudginess you love. No flour, refined sugar, butter, or eggs needed.
Or check out my popular Applesauce Brownies or Gluten-Free Brownies!
Author’s Notes
Hide the Pan, I’m Weak.
Brownies are one of my favorite desserts. The richer and fudgier, the better! BUT. If I don’t have a plan to share the batch with friends, family, or neighbors, I’ll end up eating every. single. piece. I wish I were exaggerating, but I’m not.
So, I came up with these healthy brownies. They still give me that same rich, chocolate fix, but if I eat a few too many, I don’t get the sugar crash afterward.
What to Expect
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. These brownies are rich, fudgy, and made with simple, feel-good ingredients.
- Texture: Best cold. After a few hours in the fridge, they turn into dense, chocolatey fudge-like dessert. Warmed, they’re softer and more cake-like.
- Flavor: Strong dark chocolate flavor.
Ingredients In Healthy Brownies
| Ingredient | Notes |
|---|---|
| Dark chocolate | I use Nestle’s 53% cacao dark chocolate chips. Anything darker can taste bitter. |
| Greek yogurt | Key ingredient. Honey vanilla Greek yogurt works best. |
| Coconut oil | I use LouAna and find it doesn’t leave a noticeable coconut flavor. |
| Vanilla, salt, baking soda | Add flavor and help with structure. |
| Coconut sugar | Can swap with light brown sugar 1:1. |
Quick Tip
These brownies use old-fashioned oats instead of flour. Blend the oats into a fine powder before adding them to the batter.
The Frosting (Optional)
The frosting is optional. It’s made with just four ingredients and is much lighter than most, but it does include powdered sugar. If you’re avoiding refined sugar, skip it.
It uses more dark chocolate and Greek yogurt, plus milk and powdered sugar.
The frosting is thick and ganache-like. It firms up when chilled but softens in warm temps, so keep these healthy brownies cold.
Tips For Making Healthy Brownies
- Stick to the recipe: Swapping ingredients can change the texture and flavor.
- Line the pan: Use parchment and leave an overhang to lift them out easily.
- Chill before slicing: A few hours in the fridge makes them easier to cut.
- Use a sharp knife: Run it under warm water and wipe between cuts for clean slices.
Featured Comment
These brownies were delicious! I’ve been looking for a recipe that actually tastes good AND is healthy! SO SO SO GOOD!
-Rachel
More Desserts Made Lighter:
Healthy Brownies
Video
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups dark chocolate chips 53% cacao, divided, see note 1
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut oil see note 2
- 1 cup honey vanilla Greek yogurt see note 3
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup oat flour just blend regular oats in a blender
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk or whatever milk you have on hand
- 2 tablespoons vanilla Greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F (176°C). Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang. Lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to a large bowl. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the coconut oil. Pour the hot oil over the chocolate chips and stir until melted. If needed, microwave in 10–15 second bursts, stirring between each, until smooth. Let cool slightly.
- Whisk the Greek yogurt into the melted chocolate. Add vanilla, salt, baking soda, and sugar; whisk until completely smooth.
- Blend oats into a fine powder. Measure out 3/4 cup after blending. Stir into the batter along with the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
- Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan (it will be thick). Bake for 28–32 minutes or until a fork inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake; slightly underbaking gives a fudgier result. Let brownies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
- Optional Frosting: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and milk. Microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring between each, until smooth. Stir in Greek yogurt, then whisk in powdered sugar. Briskly whisk until completely smooth. Let sit at room temp for 10 minutes to thicken before spreading over cooled brownies.
- Cover the pan and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight. These brownies are best cold. Once chilled, lift out using the parchment and cut into squares.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage
Keep brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–5 days. For longer storage, freeze individually wrapped pieces for up to 2 months.
Healthy Brownies FAQS
Not for the melted base, but they’re fine to use as the add-in chips.
Yes! Chopped nuts or toffee bits can be folded in before baking.
Other oils haven’t worked well in testing. Coconut oil is recommended for best results.
Some readers have tried dairy-free yogurts, but results may vary since the texture is different from Greek yogurt.
Make sure to blend the oats into a fine powder and measure after blending. Also, don’t skip the chill time.
Reader’s Notes & Tips
Tips & Variations from Chelsea’s Messy Apron’s Community
- No Frosting: Kelsey added extra chocolate chips on top instead.
- Yogurt Swaps: Tricia used plain, Tina used salted caramel, Anna used applesauce and sour cream.
- Sugar Swaps: Several used brown or white sugar instead of coconut sugar.
- Vegan Ideas: Asma suggested almond or coconut yogurt.
- Pan Options: Heather baked in a muffin tin, Tessa’s came out thin in a larger pan.
- Chill Time: Kelsey and others said they’re best cold after chilling.
- Sharing Wins: Many, like Stephanie and Faith, shared with friends and family—everyone loved them!
I’m allergic to oats. Any suggestions for a substitute for the oat flour?
You could try an almond flour, but I haven’t ever tried almond flour in these so I can’t say for sure what the results would be.
Hi! I was wondering if I would be able to substitute honey for sugar?
I’ve never tried that so I’m really not sure what the result would be without further recipe testing. Wish I could be of more help!
These brownies were delicious! I’ve been looking for a recipe that actually tastes good AND is healthy! SO SO SO GOOD!
So thrilled to hear that! Thanks so much Rachel for the comment 🙂
Thanks for this recipe, Chelsea.
I plan to try it but I’m wondering what your recommendation is for substituting the Oat Flour. I would like to make these completely CD friendly and oats are a no-no, unfortunately (LOVE’M but can’t use’m). Considering there’s a small amount of flour, I’m thinking I’ll simply use a GF blend, but it will no doubt change the texture and taste somewhat.
Thanks for your time!
You are welcome Regina! 🙂 Gosh I wish I had a solid recommendation for something in place of the oat flour, but I haven’t tried any other flours here with success. If you do try a GF blend it will change it up… I would recommend trying less GF flour than oat flour so they don’t get too cakey. Wish I could be of more help!
Your recipe is exactly as advertised. I made this yesterday, goofed up a little and melted ALL the chocolate, used brown sugar as I didn’t have coconut sugar. They were delicious warm but I took your advice and put them in the fridge, and…WOW!! Seriously decadent!! Most recipes tout “the best” but yours truly are!! Chilled, they are a cross between a brownie and fudge! Mmmmmm!! Fellow foodies: Make these…you won’t regret it!!
Awe thank you so much Rhonda! 🙂 I really appreciate your sweet comment and that you tried these out! 🙂
I’m not sure where I went wrong with these brownies. Still looking forward to eating them, but they turned out being more of a brownie bark texture, thin and not fluffy, and a bit crunchy. My batter wasn’t quite as thick, but I followed all the instructions to a tee. Any suggestions?
Did you use an 8 x 8 pan? Or did you perhaps use a larger pan? That’s the only way I could see them being thin since they are quite thick.
OMFG! I made these brownies this past weekend and they were absolutely incredible! Seriously the best damn brownies I’ve ever had in my life! You’re right, they are amazing cold. My boyfriend loved them even though he hates greek yogurt! I can’t wait to make them again even though I still have a couple left! I only used 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in the icing and it was still plenty sweet. I didn’t have coconut sugar so I just used white sugar. And I used a high quality semi sweet chocolate chip (46%) by Guittard. I may use their 63% dark chocolate next time. Mmmmm. My parents loved them too. So decadent!
I just read another comment several comments back stating that these taste like Ghirardelli box brownies. I can say that they definitely do not. They are a million times better. I made a box of Ghirardelli brownies this weekend too because I needed something to take to a party. They were good, nice and soft and chewy but nowhere near this level of better than sex brownies!
Wow!! That is seriously quite the compliment, makes my day to hear these are better than Ghiradelli 🙂 Thank you April! So happy you enjoyed these! 🙂
Haha!! I am so thrilled you and your boyfriend enjoyed these so much! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your changes too! 🙂
Thanks so much for this! It was perfect to break fast with during Ramadan. I also had to blog about my first attempt at it, and I hope I did it justice. 🙂
I loved your blog post!! I’m so thrilled these were enjoyed 🙂 Thank you AFizzle!
Awe thank you! 🙂
Made these yesterday and I have just easten a cold slice with a cup of tea and it was divine. My little sister had one yesterday and she really liked them. Will be taking the remaining brownies to work tomorrow to share with my work colleagues. Thank you for sharing this healthy recipe Chelsea! 🙂 x
So thrilled you and your sister enjoyed these Faith! Thanks so much for the comment 🙂