Almond Butter Brownies

Welcome to the most delicious almond butter brownies! Made better for you with whole wheat flour, almond butter, and coconut sugar. These chocolate almond butter brownies are easy to make, extra fun with the almond butter swirl on top, and super chocolaty. You’ll keep coming back to this tried and true recipe when you’ll looking to make a healthier, but just as delicious brownie recipe!

Chocolate almond butter brownies

When a chocolate craving hits, these healthier brownies sure hit the spot!

We love them because they’re…

• easy to make
• mixed in one bowl
• extra chocolaty tasting
• delicious with the almond butter
• a healthier brownie option with less sugar
• did I say delicious?

You just can’t go wrong with these best brownies, any day of the week!

How do you make these paleo almond butter brownies?

To turn these brownies into paleo almond butter brownies, you’ll want to substitute whole wheat pastry flour for almond flour. 

They will be a bit softer, but as long as you keep the egg in the recipe, it will work and you’ve got almond flour brownies!

How do you make these vegan almond butter brownies?

To make these more traditional brownies vegan almond butter brownies, you really just need to substitute the egg for flax eggs.

I suggest making a flax egg by stirring together 1 TBSP flax meal with 3 TBSP water and letting it sit for about 5 minutes. 

After 5 minutes the flax meal and water will have gelled together to help give your brownies some structure.

Make sure to use vegan chocolate chips too.

What you’ll need for almond butter brownies

Scroll down to view the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions.

• egg
• coconut sugar
• almond butter
• avocado oil
• vanilla extract
• almond extract
• apple cider vinegar
• cocoa powder
• whole wheat pastry flour
• baking soda
• sea salt
• dark chocolate chips

How to make them

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 x 5 glass loaf pan with oil, add parchment paper, or use a silicone loaf pan and skip the oiling.
2. In a large bowl combine the egg, coconut sugar, creamy almond butter, oil, vanilla and almond extracts, and vinegar. Mix for 3-4 minutes until well combined.
3. Into the bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Mix the dry ingredients together slightly, then mix them into the wet ingredients. Stir in the optional chocolate chips.
4. Press the brownie batter into the prepared pan. The mixture will be very thick. Drizzle the optional extra almond butter on top of the batter and swirl it around with a toothpick.
5. Bake for 20-23 minutes on the center rack, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cooling for 10 minutes before slicing.

The best size pan for these brownies

The best size pan for these almond butter brownies is a 9×5 loaf pan or similar rectangular pan dimensions.

You can make it in a square 8-inch pan, however, the brownies will be a bit thinner.

For best results, I prefer to bake in a silicone loaf pan, because sticking is virtually gone, and clean-up is super simple!

Substitutions

Below you’ll find a list of substitutions that will work well in these fudgy brownies. 

If you try something different out, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it turned out!

Egg – To make this recipe egg free, I suggest making a flax egg by stirring together 1 TBSP flax meal with 3 TBSP water and letting it sit for about 5 minutes.

Coconut sugar – Brown sugar is a good alternative to coconut sugar. To keep from using refined sugar, you can also use maple syrup in the recipe.

Almond butter – Peanut butter, cashew butter, and sunflower seed butter will all work in place of the natural almond buter.

Avocado oil – Good substitutes include olive oil, melted coconut oil, or vegetable oil.

Unsweetened cocoa powder – Cacao powder is a good alternative to cocoa powder. You could also use carob powder for a non-cocoa option that will still give you a chocolate flavor.

Whole wheat pastry flour – White flour, almond flour, or regular whole wheat flour will all work in place of whole wheat pastry flour. If you’d like this recipe to be gluten free, you can also opt to use an all-purpose gluten free flour mix.

Dark chocolate chips – Chocolate chunks, chopped-up chocolate bars, and mini chocolate chips all make delicious alternatives for dark chocolate chips. Cacao nibs will also work as a non-sweetened chocolate option!

More healthy brownie recipes you’ll love!

• 3 ingredient raw brownies
• Vegan black bean brownies
• Peanut butter swirl brownies

If you try this chewy brownies recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!

XO

Heather

Originally published May 2012. Updated March 2023.