5-Ingredient Vegan Banana Brownies {Paleo, grain-free, oil-free}

My healthy (but decadent) 5-ingredient vegan banana brownies are flourless, egg-free, dairy-free, grain-free, gluten-free, oil-free, and 100% perfection. Hooray!

The Brownies You Need to Make

You need brownies. I need brownies. We all need brownies right about now. Some laughter, puppy pictures, and sunshine would be excellent,  too. But first, brownies.

I have the brownies that you need. Right here. Right now. They are:

• decadent in taste and texture
• healthy (good for you, and make you feel great)
• egg-free
• dairy-free
• grain-free
• flourless
• oil-free
• easy 
• made in 1 bowl

Pinch yourself; you are not dreaming!

Five Ingredients = Fabulous Brownies

Making these brownies requires no more than 5 ingredients, specifically: 

1. Mashed, very ripe banana
2. Smooth nut or seed butter (e.g., peanut, almond, sunflower seed)
3. Unsweetened cocoa powder
4. Baking soda
5. Coconut sugar (or brown sugar)–just a little bit

You’ll need 1 level cup of the mashed, very ripe banana. This will be roughly 2 and 1/2 medium-large bananas. For an accurate bake, be sure to mash and measure the bananas rather than go by approximate number and size of bananas. 

Burning Question: Do These Taste Like Bananas?

These brownie taste like brownies. Rich and fudgy chocolate brownies. I guarantee it.

It’s largely owing to the generous amount of cocoa powder (1/3 cup). The bananas add sweetness and texture to the fudgy result.

The brownie, not banana, taste is also due to a small addition of coconut sugar (2 tablespoons). You can use another granulated sweetener in it’s place, but do add the sweetener. It airlifts the brownies from healthy breakfast or snack bar territory to the land of chocolate dessert bliss.

Now, Let’s Make These Brownies

Mashing and measuring is this only labor intensive part of making these brownies. To be fair, it’s roughly 2 minutes of finger and fork labor. It’s so worth it.

Onward. Plunk the mashed and measured bananas in a medium mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients (cocoa powder, nut or seed butter, baking soda, and coconut sugar).

Give everything a vigorous stir until completely blended.

Your assessment of the batter below is correct: SCRUMPTIOUS! You can take as many tastes as you like (no worries about raw flour, eggs, etc.), but be sure to leave enough to bake into brownies :).

Spread the batter in an 8-inch square baking pan that has been line with parchment paper. These can be baked without lining the pan, but lning the pan makes them so much easier to remove post-bake.

To be clear: these brownies are super-chocolatey and all around amazing without any adornments. 

Nevertheless, if you are an accessorizing sort of person, you certainly can add the flotsam and jetsam of your choosing.

I choose miniature chocolate chips. Not every time, but sometimes. For example, today. This is about 2 and 1/2 tablespoons-worth, scattered over the top:

Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the surface of the brownies appears dry and set. 

Place the pan on a cooling rack and cool completely.

Once cooled, use the paper overhang to lift and remove the brownies to a cutting board.

Cut into 9 big squares and enjoy some serious chocolate bliss!

Happy baking, and stay safe and sound, everyone. These brownies will help :).

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