These decadent and fudgy olive oil brownies are gluten-free and the perfect healthier treat to satisfy all your chocolate dreams.
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Olive oil? In brownies?! I understand why this may seem like an odd pairing because I thought so at first too. I discovered this combination accidentally when making a boxed brownie mix with my husband years ago. We quickly realized that we only had olive oil in our pantry and decided to give it a try. Friends, the brownies were so damn delicious that we exclusively made that boxed mix with olive oil from that point on. More recently, I began to wonder if I could create a healthified version of those delectable olive oil brownies, and I must say that I absolutely nailed it. My dear friend Courtney also inspired this recipe. She asked if I could come up with a healthy brownie recipe and I did my best to deliver. Courtney, this one’s for you!
Ingredients for Olive Oil Brownies
Olive Oil: The quality of olive oil is important in this brownie recipe, as the flavor is a big component of what makes these brownies great! As always, buy the highest quality you can afford. Costco’s Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is my go-to.
Eggs: Eggs act as an emulsifier to make sure everything combines and stays together.
Vanilla Extract: This might seem like an odd thing to put in a chocolate treat, but vanilla acts to add smoothness and creaminess and counteract any bitterness from the chocolate.
Coconut Sugar: Coconut sugar is an unrefined sweetener made from the sap of a coconut tree flower. It is considered a “healthier” alternative to white sugar as it is minimally processed and has a lower glycemic index.
Cocoa Powder: This gives our brownies their signature chocolate goodness. Any cocoa powder works, just make sure that cocoa powder is the only ingredient!
Oat Flour: Oat flour is simply rolled oats blended into a fine powder. You can make your own oat flour in a blender or food processor by pulsing until it reaches desired consistency. If you’re lazy like me, you can buy oat flour at many stores (it’s not expensive!). Of note, some oat products are made on equipment that also processes gluten so make sure to get certified gluten-free if needed. My favorite brands are Bob’s Red Mill or Arrowhead Mills.
Sea Salt: So important in baked goods to enhance and deepen all our flavors.
Chocolate Chips: I definitely recommend using dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips here. You can even chop up a salted dark chocolate bar if you wanted to take things to the next level.
Flaky Sea Salt: To top at the end. Totally optional, but makes things feel fancy.
Tips & Tricks
- Use quality ingredients! In particular, the quality of the olive oil, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips will really affect the outcome of these brownies.
- The brownies are done when a tester or toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. When in doubt, go ahead and take them out of the oven, as they will continue to bake in the hot pan for a few minutes.
- Make sure to let them sit for at least 30 minutes! If you cut into them too soon, they will be a gooey mess.
- To store, put brownies in an airtight container for two days at room temperature or five days in the refrigerator.
If you try these oh so delicious gluten-free olive oil brownies, be sure to leave a rating and review! This helps little blogs like mine show up on Google and it would mean the world to me.
More Sweet Treats!
Gluten-Free Olive Oil Brownies
Equipment
- 8×8 square cake pan
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- oil or butter for greasing the pan
- flaky sea salt for topping (optional)
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup oat flour (gluten-free if needed)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and line an 8×8 square cake pan with parchment paper. Grease with oil or butter to ensure nothing sticks and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat olive oil, eggs, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract together until well-combined.
- Next, mix in cocoa powder, oat flour, and salt until well-combined. Finally, fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour brownie batter into pan until evenly distributed and smooth with silicone spatula. Bake for 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean or with only a few crumbs. At this point. you can sprinkle flaky salt on top if desired.
- Allow to sit for 30 minutes before cutting into nine squares and enjoying.
Notes
Photography by Hope Agresti
