You will love these nutrient-packed beauties!
Full of wholesome ingredients, they turn traditional brownies into a powerhouse of goodness without compromising taste. In fact, they are more like a quality energy bar in nutrient value than anything else and would work well as a loaded breakfast bite on-the-go.
These brownies are fully adaptable which means that you can substitute whatever nut or fruit filling you wish. Play around with different combinations and see what suits you best. You will simply want to be mindful of the dry to wet ratios to ensure that the brownie base sticks together.
Because these brownies are highly concentrated in nutrients, a small square goes a long way. Enjoy!
Raw Vegan Brownies with a Peanut Butter-Banana Frosting
For the Brownies:
- 1 cup pitted prunes, or pitted dates
- 1 cup dried cherries, or dried cranberries
- 1 cup raw walnuts, or nut of choice
- 1 cup raw pistachios, or nut of choice
- 1/2 cup raw peanuts
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil (left out at room temp to melt)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cacao powder
For the Frosting:
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup natural just nuts raw peanut butter
- 4 Tbsp pure maple syrup (or honey if not vegan)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cacao powder
These brownies do best stored in the freezer. You can eat them right from the freezer as well as they will never freeze solid. If you leave them out at room temperature, the frosting will start to melt.
In a blender or food processor, combine prunes, cherries, walnuts, pistachios, coconut oil and ¼ cup cocoa powder. Process until the brownie mixture is well blended (you will still see flecks of nuts – very pretty! – but the fruit should be well broken down). The mixture should be sticky and hold together when pressed between your fingers. If it doesn’t, you can add a little bit more coconut oil, olive oil, or smooth nut butter for binding.
Line a baking pan (roughly 6 1/2 x 10) with parchment or wax paper and then spread the brownie mixture overtop, distributing as evenly as possible. Using a small roller or the back of a spoon, press down gently to pack.
Using the same blender or food processor, add: vanilla, banana, peanut butter, maple syrup and cocoa powder until mixture is well blended and the frosting develops a nice creamy texture.
Spread frosting over brownie layer, spreading it out to distribute evenly.
Place pan in freezer for about 45 minutes to one hour until mixture has set.
Remove pan from freezer and, using both sides of wax or parchment paper, pull brownie slab out of the pan.
This recipe looks amazing! Could you by any chance email it to me as I can’t find any other way round printing it ?
Hello, thank you so much for your note. I will update this post shortly with print functionality (a relic from my old blogging platform) but in the meantime, I would be happy to email you the recipe!
Hello and what a pleasure it is to find your website! I recently have switched to a wheat-free diet in hopes of keeping my blood sugar and cravings in check. I am so impressed with all the beautiful and tasty health-bars in your recipe index. I have been struggling with my snack-attacks in the afternoon, as nearly every snack known to man has wheat in it! I will most definitely enjoy trying many of your recipes! Plus, it’s wonderful that you are such a delight.. I’ve been reading through comments, and you connect so well with your readers. Wow, just wow!
Jennifer, what an absolute joy to discover your comment. Thank you kindly for your complimentary words and for taking the time to write and share a little bit about your background — both helpful and encouraging. I do offer a number of wheat and grain-free options of all varieties (snacks, desserts, meals) and I hope you enjoy exploring… feel free to drop in any time if you have a personal request. Also, I do quite a bit of work in the area of food/mood, cravings, addiction and blood sugar control. I’m not certain if you caught it but I just posted a segment on Sugar (cravings and blood-sugar) under the tab Nutrition Tips. Enjoy and thank you again for connecting! xx
Ooh Kelly, these are amazing. I love the combination of ingredients, a flourless brownie but so full of flavor. The frosting could really be used on so many other desserts too. We could all use a few healthy desserts during this holiday season!
I am diggin’ the pistachios PLUS that frosting! Raw, vegan, or not. It looks delicious!
I should make these for my friend for the holidays. She’s always having a hard time finding good gluten free dessert options. I love the touch of color in these too. Very pretty. Maybe I’ll whip some up for her for Christmas. :)
The peanuts were a pleasant surprise as well as these being no bake! I really like the combination of dates and cranberries. I’m not a fan of dried cherries. I find them way too tart for my tastes. However, I do Love fresh cherries. Anyhoo, these do look like delicious and as always, healthy little treats!
I can’t believe these are raw Kelly – they look so… for want of a better word, “baked” (in a good way!). I’d try a combination of prunes and dates I think instead of just one. I’ve never been a huge fan of dates, but I find their consistency excellent for things like this, so the prunes would do a great job at offsetting the flavour a bit.
Another home run, Kelly, these are not only so delicious and soft and chewy looking but they are healthy too. Particularly this time of year when we’re OD’ing on sugary sweets and fatty savouries. I will make these for sure…stay tuned for my surprise ‘take’ on them.
Such an impressive treat.
These sound so so good! But I think the frosting takes the cake (or the frosting?!). I would seriously eat that by the spoonful ;)
Haha, everything in moderation indeed. The good news is that there are 24 servings here – each coming in under 200 calories – so actually very reasonable for a snack and unheard of for a dessert! But yes, if you gobble 5 at once, maybe a little on the excessive side ;0).
Looking forward to seeing your method for sure!
Yes, right handed, spreading with the left and clicking with the right – makes for an awkward photo indeed ;0) – too funny! – I don’t have any hand models on week days! (the weekends are too frantic here to attempt posts :).
Agree, they are very festive, perfect for this time of the year!
BTW, are you left-handed or were you spreading the frosting with one hand while taking the photo with the other? (that would be enough to leave me in complete awe, if I attempted to try that trick there would be nasty consequences and a new camera acquisition in the horizon)
Throw in a cup of tea and I will have the perfect afternoon.
:-) Mandy
They are absolutely DIVINE!
I am trying to make similar sugar-free bars that don’t need to be placed in the freezer and so can go to work with me. I think I have it sussed out and will be doing them this weekend.
Kelly I am just drooling over these amazing raw brownies!! Love all the substitution options, too!!
Are they really healthy, nutritious and in general good for me? In spite of being sticky, rich, chewy and looking like the best brownies in the world? And they don’t even require baking! I am scared to think what would happen if I made these brownies… I would quickly convince myself that they are 100% harmless and end up having them after every meal (and between!). They are extremely festive with all the nuts and dried fruits too. In short, I love them!
I love these bars. I basically live off of them.