These secretly-good-for-you chocolate workout brownies are high in protein, gluten free, oil free, vegan, and they can even have no sugar added.
If you are one of those people who love healthy desserts and how amazing they make you feel, be sure to put these brownies on your “must try” list.
Made up of just six plant-based ingredients, without any refined sugars or flour, the clean eating protein brownies are super quick and easy to prepare.
Also Try These Keto Muffins – Just 6 Ingredients
If you’re bored of energy bars, this could be your new favorite workout recipe.
They are great for:
Runners
Dancers
Weight Lifters
Yogis
Cyclists
Swimmers
Sports Players
And basically everyone else who loves chocolate and wants to incorporate it into a healthy, on-the-go snack.
Brownies with superpowers.
It’s like grabbing a post-workout energy bar, but with cleaner ingredients than most packaged energy bars – no soy protein isolate, sucralose, or high fructose corn syrup.
I know it’s completely frustrating when a healthy-tasting recipe claims to taste exactly like a real hot fudge brownie… so I will tell you right now:
These are not supposed to be like a decadent dessert. Just as you wouldn’t serve a tray of Luna Bars at a fancy dinner party or bake sale, I wouldn’t recommend the workout brownies for a party either.
They are definitely more of a healthy snack or dessert meant for people who enjoy the wholesome taste and nutrition of healthy desserts.
If you are one of those people, hopefully you will love this recipe as much as I do!
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
If you want a good protein powder recommendation to use in the recipe, I really like the plant-based protein by ALOHA.
All of their products are organic and free of soy, gluten, dairy, and artificial ingredients, and they use a combination of pumpkin seed, hemp seed, and pea protein, with 18g protein per serving. I was also happy to see the protein powder doesn’t contain stevia, so you don’t get that weird aftertaste many other chocolate protein powders seem to have.
**Note: The link to their website is not an affiliate code. I don’t make any commission on sales of their products. I love both the taste and the company’s philosophy, and this was the brand of protein powder I used for the workout brownies.
So if you want to make the recipe exactly like I did, I know using ALOHA protein powder yields good results.
(Watch The Recipe Video Above)
Brownie Frosting Options:
Basic Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Or, if you want to keep these brownies super healthy like I did, you can make your own chocolate “frosting” by simply combining cocoa powder with an avocado and a little sweetener of choice – here’s how to make avocado chocolate frosting.
You can also top them with Coconut Ice Cream and fresh berries, for a healthy post-workout fudge brownie sundae!
Chocolate Workout Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup overripe mashed banana or applesauce (for low carb, try these Keto Brownies)
- 2/3 cup nut butter of choice, or allergy-friendly sub
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp chocolate protein powder (such as this one), OR sub additional cocoa powder
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave, OR additional banana
- optional mini chocolate chips, crushed walnuts, etc.
Instructions
- Notes: If using applesauce or unsweetened protein powder, or if planning to eat the brownies unfrosted, I recommend including the sweetener of choice. Using peanut butter gives a peanut-butter flavor, while almond or cashew butter taste more neutral. Sunbutter or pumpkin seed butter can be used for allergy-friendly brownies. You can use regular unsweetened cocoa or a combination of regular and dutch.Preheat oven to 325 F. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper. If using natural nut butter, gently warm it until it is easily stir-able. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir until completely smooth, and spread into the prepared pan (see video). Bake on the center rack 20-25 minutes (20 for super fudgy brownies) – they will be undercooked when you take them out. Let cool, then loosely cover with a paper towel and place in the fridge overnight, during which time they will firm up without losing their fudginess. They are also much sweeter the next day! Frosting options are listed earlier in this post, and you need about 1/2 cup total. Once cut, the brownies can either be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to a month. You can even eat them straight out of the freezer if you wish! As mentioned, they are more of a healthy snack than a decadent dessert – if you enjoy healthy desserts and snacks, hopefully you will love these!View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
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The most delicious looking workout snack that I’ve ever seen!
xo,
Em
Oh wow, these look so delicious! The perfect thing to take on the go for before or after a work out…or both!
Katie these are my kinda workout snacks! Could I sub dates for the sugar? If so, how many do you think I’d need to use?
You can definitely experiment, and please be sure to report back if you do. Or just use the extra-banana option if you want it to be free of added sugars.
Love this recipe! A workout brownie sounds like the perfect treat to stay energized with
These look SO good! Thanks for the protein powder recommendation too, I love that it doesn’t contain stevia. I try to avoid any artificial sweeteners or stevia as much as possible so finding a protein powder without them can be tough.
These need to be made ASAP! One question, do you think they’d still taste good if I used their mixed berry or banana flavors instead of the chocolate? I’d like to try the brand you used but don’t want to buy a whole tub of chocolate because what I normally use protein powder for is fruit smoothies. So chocolate wouldn’t really work there and I’m afraid it would go to waste.
I bet they would. I’ve had the ALOHA banana protein powder and it is delicious in smoothies so it would probably work well for you there too.
Jason (media relations)
My local health food store has individual packets of protein powder for $2-$3, I’m going to do that since I usually use berry or vanilla myself. 🙂
LOVE this post!! I appreciate how up front and thorough it is, plus I’m super stoked to try these! Question for you Katie: Do you ever use raw cacao powder? Or strictly cocoa? Just wondering what your thoughts are on the subject.
I often sub cacao powder for cocoa in brownie recipes, with no problem 🙂
What can I substitute for protein powder in this recipe Katie?
A protein powder free option is listed there in the recipe.
KATIE! I made the workout brownies as soon as I saw them in my email this morning and they are PHENOMENAL! They have wildly exceeded my expectations. I know you said they taste good “for a healthy brownie” and not for a decadent dessert but I 100% do not agree. I could easily serve these to people who I know aren’t the energy bar or healthy foodie type and I’m pretty certain they would still like these. The brownies are thick and fudgey and so chocolaty, and I haven’t even let them sit overnight yet!
Thank you for all that you do and your creative genius. I love all the recipes I have tried from your site.
Did you use applesauce or banana, and did you include the sweetener?
I made this today and it’s delicious! I used maple syrup and added dark chocolate chips to the batter. I’m sharing it with all my friends.
Here is a picture!
Oh my gosh those look so good!
Wow, these look and sound fantastic. They might even inspire me to work out. Seriously, I am going to make them tomorrow.
Hi Katie!
These look so yummy and easy! Can I omit the protein powder or would I have to sub something else for it?
Thanks!
You can probably sub just extra cocoa powder and maybe a small amount of extra sugar or sweetener. Be sure to report back if you try!