Yes, kale brownies…
I promise I’m not crazy.
Well maybe just a little bit.
When I first started blogging, I loved to see what google searches were leading people to the site. A few of my favorites:
- Chocolate covered bumblebees
- Chocolate covered grasshoppers
- How to turn your boyfriend into a pig
- Ugliest banana ever
- Sarah Palin is a pumpkin
- Eat cheese or die
- Toes taste like tator tots
(Really I have no idea about the last one… it’s quite perplexing disturbing. And my apologies to whomever found the blog while searching for “eat cheese or die.” Most likely my site was a big disappointment.)
And then there were the two people who found my blog by typing “kale brownies” into the search bar. Although I didn’t actually have such a recipe posted at the time, the idea intrigued me. I’ve done cauliflower cake, spinach ice cream, zucchini coconut cream pie, chickpea blondies, zucchini muffins (maybe that last one isn’t so out-of-the-ordinary)… In other words, I’m open-minded about trying odd-sounding foods. Maybe it’s because I grew up in Japan, where they often put beans in desserts and where green tea ice cream is a staple. Or maybe it’s just because I’m overly curious.
In any case, this is one of the rare recipes on my site that I probably wouldn’t serve to someone who isn’t open-minded or into healthy eating. It’s not that the kale brownies aren’t rich and delicious (they are!), but you can see flecks of green in them, which is an instant giveaway to their healthfulness. Still, if you consider yourself an adventurous person, do give these brownies a try. They might just surprise you!
Kale Brownies
Adapted from Zucchini Brownies
- loosely-packed 3 cups kale or spinach leaves (80g)
- 1/2 cup applesauce (120g)
- 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups water (360g)
- 3 tbsp ground flax (18g)
- 3/4 cup vegetable or melted coconut oil (115g)
- 1 cup coconut flour (135g) (Coconut-free recipes are linked at the very bottom of this post.)
- 3/4 cup cacao or cocoa powder (65g)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup xylitol or sugar of choice (150g)
- 1/16 tsp pure stevia, or 2 extra tbsp sugar of choice
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper, or grease well. Blend together the first 6 ingredients (if using coconut oil, make sure applesauce and water are not cold).
In a large mixing bowl, stir together all remaining ingredients. Pour wet into dry and stir until just evenly combined, pour into the prepared pan, then use a full sheet of parchment or wax paper to press down firmly until the batter evenly covers the pan. Bake 19-20 minutes. Pat down hard with a pancake spatula or another sheet of parchment paper. Let brownies sit 15 minutes before cutting into squares. (As a general rule, cutting brownies with a plastic knife prevents crumbling.) They taste 10 times better the next day, so make them in advance if possible. Makes 20-24 squares. (Frosting recipe is below the next photos.)
Frost the coconut flour brownies with either my Healthy Chocolate Frosting or with the following:
- 1/2 cup cacao or cocoa powder (40g)
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup or agave (30g)
- 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, melted (75g)
- chocolate chips for the tops, optional
Mix the frosting ingredients to form a sauce. Spread over the kale brownies, top with chocolate chips if desired, then refrigerate or freeze 10-20 minutes; the sauce magically transforms into chocolate frosting! Due to the melty nature of the coconut oil, the frosted brownies are best stored in the refrigerator or freezer (they thaw well). The healthy brownies are high in fiber and Vitamins A, C, and K, cholesterol-free, gluten-free, vegan, low in sugar or sugar-free, and they also offer Omega 3s! (If you prefer coconut-free brownies, try my Black Bean Brownies or Pumpkin Brownies.)
Link of the Day: Baked Oatmeal
These look awesome!! I never would have guessed you could put kale into brownies. So cool! They look so delish. 😀
I’d never had kale until like a week ago, and I LOVE IT. The stuff is amazing! Now I know why everyone else is obsessed with it. 🙂 haha!
Pinning these! 😀
I LOVE kale!! They are one of the few things I grow in my patio garden! 🙂 What a creative use for them!
Katie, should the kale be chopped?
Also, mine was very liquidy too. Maybe too much oil?
I’m pretending that it is a lava cake.
Still tastes good though.
It should be blended with the other ingredients as mentioned in the directions… definitely shouldn’t be liquidy… can you tell me more specifics about what brand of coconut flour you used? I am sorry for the trouble but would definitely like to figure out what might’ve happened.
I made my own coconut flour. I added an extra 1/3 cup because it was still so liquidy. The gram measurement of the applesauce and oil – are they correct?
Yes everything is correct… but maybe you can’t use your own coconut flour? I think actual coconut flour from a store has been dehydrated… for homemade, did you just pulverize shredded coconut or did you soak and dehydrate?
I toasted it, then ground it up.
Next time, I will use commercial coconut flour.
Lovely-looking brownies! Just wondering, if you closed your eyes and ate them, would you taste/feel the kale leaves?
Hmmm… I don’t think you would 🙂
I wonder if i could use nettle leaves in place of the greens?
You can always experiment 🙂
I love greens!!! That is soo cool that u snuck kale into these. My family is like anti-healthy and believe that desserts should be made the best they can if made at all, which usually means adding a buttload of sugar and butter. -_-
Just wait until i make these. Then ill show them how amazing healthy and dessert taste together! !! But ill probably tell them about the kale after they’ve licked their plates clean! 😉
I always laugh at the google search terms that lead people to find my site. Sometimes they are so obscure! I would love to give these a try, any way I can add more greens into my day is a bonus for me!
Sounds like an interesting combination and they look delicious 😀
Brownies are my nemesis, I can never get the right. But I shall persevere and make these anyway!
Awesome recipe, Katie! I didn’t have kale but was swimming in spinach and decided to make a batch yesterday. I cut the spinach leaves up almost like cutting up basil just because I wasn’t sure my little ones would like the bigger leaves. It was such a BIG hit for our children (all 9 of them) that I made another pan last night. That’s without taking the time to frost them even. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Thank you so much for making them! 🙂
Early on in my blogging days, I actually created a single serve microwave sourdough cake because I noticed a search for “microwave cake sourdough starter”. There’s some benefits to it too!
I have no doubt that these are delicious…as well as all your other recipes! I’ve made chocolate chickpea muffins and white bean vanilla cake the have fooled many! Btw, I’m laughing my head off at the google searches…I’m gonna take a look at mine now 😉
Hahaha reading about those Google searches made my day!! They were sooo funny! Thanks for sharing them! I wonder if its possible to dehydrate brownies to keep the kale raw…
I have a batch in the oven now! How fine did you chop the kale? It seems to be sticking out in random places. Hoping it blends in kind of like zucchini would?
I processed it in a blender, so it was pretty fine.
what an interesting recipe! I love anything with kale! 🙂
Whoa! My mind is officially blown. I am a LOVER of kale and these are TOTALLY going on my to do baking list!
Love the searches! I would add peppermint bits to the recipe so my friends didn’t know what the green bits were… Hee hee hee