Beet Brownies: counting the ways I love this real food dessert

You will absolutely love these beet brownies that are loaded up with sweet roasted beets, whole dates, and a bit of extra dark chocolate. Optionally, you can top them with a layer of rich coconut ganache for ooey gooey chocolate goodness. These brownies are dairy free, gluten-free, naturally sweetened, and if you use Paleo-friendly chocolate, they’re Paleo too.

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If you DON’T love beets, let me put forth this recipe as the one to change your mind about one of my favorite root vegetables. These brownies are moist, rich and satisfying with big chocolate flavor without leaving you with a massive sugar crash.

Just like with my black bean brownies or white bean blondies if a pan of these brownies show up, they will be gone quickly. Back when my stomach tanked after my boys were born and I couldn’t tolerate a drop of dairy, all 3 of these recipes were a treat when treats were out of the question. Thankfully intermittent fasting, kombucha and years of making myself a science experiment has given me back the ability to handle some dairy, but I’ll never stop loving these beet brownies.

These things are going to blow your mind! Let’s bake!

Beet Brownies

Why beet brownies are my favorite real food dessert of all time

1. Beets: Beets are so stinking good. I always have a bunch in the fridge or the freezer to add to smoothies, soups, salads or just eat out of hand. My daughter and I will eat fresh roasted ones plain like candy. Good for you candy.
2. Super moist: These brownies are more like a rich chocolate cake in terms of their moisture. Top them with the ganache and they become a legitimate healthy chocolate cake.
3. Blender: It’s fun to mix up a recipe in a blender. I’m convinced we don’t use it as much as we could or should.

Will my brownies taste like dirt? and other musings about beets

I know beets have a reputation for tasting kind of earthy. It’s something I’ve grown to love about beets, but every vegetable has its legions of haters. I get it. Growing up the only beets I ever saw came pickled on my Grandma’s holiday relish trays. Those technicolor slices were simultaneously mouth-puckering sour and icky sweet despite their incredible color. These days I appreciate those home pickles (though I use both less vinegar and sugar in mine).

I assure you that these beets do not have an overwhelming earthy taste. Here the beets just add moisture and depth to the chocolate. I talk a lot about how coffee and cinnamon are flavor boosters for chocolate; here beets are almost a texture booster here adding a richer mouthfeel to these brownies than in my other gluten free brownies (black bean brownies, white bean blondies).

Tips for making the best beet brownies

1. Roast your beets ahead of time: I know these days they sell beets already roasted in the produce section. If you need the shortcut, definitely use those. Otherwise, roast off your beets some time before you want to make this recipe (see the directions in the notes). I will do this up to a week ahead of time, or I’ll even freeze a batch. Frozen roasted beets do perfectly fine here.
2. Chop up your dates: In this recipe you do not want to soak the dates as you do for black bean brownies or white bean blondies. That’s because the beets have plenty of moisture such that we don’t want to add more to the mix. Because dates are extremely fibrous, be sure to chop them up into about 1/2″ chunks before you blend them. This will help your blender not have a heart attack as it tries to blend up the beets well.
3. Use foil!: Because of the moisture content of the beets, these brownies take a little longer to set up. To keep the tops from drying out and getting too brown, definitely cover them halfway through baking with foil.

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