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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These were really good! I wasn’t expecting them to taste quite so dessert-like, and I’m definitely not complaining. You said to let them sit overnight but I didn’t want to wait that long. So I just cooked them a little longer until they were no longer underdone. A third of the pan is already gone!
The photos make me want to grab them off the screen. I appreciate how you revealed that they are not meant as something people not used to healthy desserts would probably like. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made a recipe from a blog or from Pinterest that claims to taste like one thing and then you’re left disappointed when it doesn’t. But I am the girl who eats Quest Bars as dessert so pretty sure I will love these!
I also am happy for the protein powder rec. I’m not really big on buying things online though. Do they sell it in stores at all, like at Whole Foods?
I’ve seen some of their products even at stores like Giant! If you don’t see their protein powder at your Whole Foods or grocery store, just ask for it at the customer service desk and they might be able to get it into stock.
I actually was at Target today and saw their protein powder in the vitamin/pharmacy section! I’m sure it’s been there before. I go to Target a lot but I probably passed it over. This time the protein powder stuck out to me because I had just read the recipe email a day before from Katie and bookmarked it. So of course I had to buy a container, because it was fate, right? 😉
I haven’t tried the protein powder yet but am planning on making the brownies with it this weekend.
Quest bars contain sucralose…not a healthy alternative. Please do your research on sucralose
You mean the research where it’s totally safe to eat? lol
Love this idea! Question: Can I sub unflavored protein powder? Would I need to add additional ingredients? Thanks!
You will probably just need to add a little sugar or sweetener of choice. Also maybe a little extra cocoa powder. If you experiment, be sure to report back!
NO added sugar? Perfect! Really easy recipe to follow, thanks Katie.
Except for the added sugar from the maple syrup, honey, or agave.
Which is optional, as it was mentioned in the recipe,,,
I love protein brownies and these looks amazing!
Another winner recipe!
Is it bad that I had two of these as part of my breakfast this morning???!
they look great!
I saw ALOHA protein powder at Target today so I considered it to be a sign and bought some to try in the brownies. Pretty excited about this one 🙂
These brownies look amazing! I’m totally making them tonight!
Paige
Healthy brownies? Count me in. This sounds incredible thank you for sharing!
x Annabelle
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