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 a skeptic when it comes to healthy recipes because I’ve tried a few and they’re TERRIBLE, but yours is quite the opposite; it’s DELICIOUS! My batter is a bit thinner compared to yours I don’t know why but it still came out great and tasted great. I just seriously need to thank you for creating a healthy recipe that doesn’t taste like sand lmao
Seriously best brownies ever! I tried baking them in a muffin tin to more easily share at work and after 20 min they were perfect. sooooo perfect. and if anyone is wondering, they are great with plain yogurt too.
Quick question – I like to experiment with adding flavors to chocolately treats – do you think it might work to add toffee bits, mint extract, hazelnuts, or raspberries into the batter? Any weird consequences I haven’t considered to adding any one of those?
Thank you SO much 🙂
I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed these brownies!! I don’t think you’ll have a problem adding most things into the batter especially extracts and toffee bits 🙂
WOW! I was super skeptical of a “healthy” brownie, but these are AMAZING! I can’t.stop.eating. 😉
I have a question about combining the oil and choc chips. My heated coconut oil did not melt the chips at all! I used a double boiler and it melted easily, but wanted to ask what others did to melt the chips with the oil. Thank you!
So happy to hear you’re enjoying these! 🙂 If the coconut oil doesn’t fully melt the chocolate chips, the double boiler works great too 🙂 You could also try microwaving the chocolate chips with the coconut oil in short bursts of 15 seconds and stir in between each burst until melted.
My 3 year old son is all about baking lately, which is fun, but also not the healthiest thing 🙂 I found your recipe and they are delicious! I even omitted the sugar, completely by accident….some how I skipped right over it, and noticed after I already had them in the oven. I did not have vanilla greek yogurt, so I just added a few extra splashes of vanilla. Some day I am going to learn to follow a recipe, but luckily for us this one worked out just fine!!!
These brownies are SUBLIME! It’s now going to be my go-to recipe! I replaced the sugar with 3/4 cup of honey – thus added another 1/2 tsp of baking soda and lowered the temp to 330 degrees F to adjust with the honey. They ended up turning out GLORIOUS – fudgy, sweet, and so amazing!
If anyone is like me despite my controlled diet I have a real sweet tooth! I came across this recipe and with all the ingredients in the cupboard I gave it a go! My oh my these are incredible taste like the real deal! ? Lovely to find a recipe without peanut butter don’t get me wrong I love encorperating into my healthy treats but sometimes it’s nice to not have it! Thank you! These are great! X
I’m so happy you enjoyed these brownies! Thank you so much for the comment 🙂
Hey Chelsea,
I’m not much of a baker since I can never stick to precise measurements and your brownies were my first attempt. I must say I did cheat and used cacao powder instead of chips but it was still amazing.
I did have one question, mine as yummy as it was, was quite crumbly, could you tell me why so next time I don’t repeat my mistake. Less oil? Less yogurt?
Thank you so much for introducing me to easy fuss free baking 🙂
I’m happy you enjoyed these! I think they were crumbly from using the cacao powder since that is going to be a lot different than chips (powder verses a “liquid” when the chocolate chips are melted). If you use the chocolate chips I think that should solve your problem! 🙂
O.M.G. These are AMAZING!!!
First time I made them as per the recipe, but unfortunately since my toddler has inherited my (lack of) self control when it comes to all things chocolate, I now use unsweetened applesauce instead of the oil and cut the sugar in half…. that way I don’t feel too terrible when we sit down on the kitchen floor as soon as the pan has cooled down enough to touch and we finish about half in one sitting. But when I’m making it for a girls’ night in, I make no changes, double the recipe and bask in the chocolaty praise as it gets devoured 🙂
I’m so happy these have a been a hit! 🙂 Haha! Thank you so much for the comment 🙂
I love this recipe!!! more than perfect for my family 😉 <3
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for the comment Manelly ?
Hey! 1 cup of Greek
yoghurt means approx 200g right?
I think it should actually be 225 grams.