These vegan sweet potato protein brownies are incredibly moist and fudgy, that no one will guess they are secretly healthy! Super quick and easy to fix, and everything can be made in one bowl.

It is totally possible to make some amazing desserts using protein powder! I had made protein mousse and protein mug cake in the past, but these amazing sweet potato protein brownies are my latest obsession!
Just a heads up, these vegan protein brownies are super moist and fudgy. If you prefer a cakier brownie, I do recommend checking out my oat flour brownies.
💚Why you will love this recipe
- Decadent and fudgy - You will be surprised by how good these vegan protein brownies taste! They are moist and soft, with a rich chocolate flavor.
- Great source of protein - A serving (2 slices) contains almost 10g of protein and a little over 200 calories.
- Perfect for meal prep - They store well in the fridge and can also be frozen. I love keeping a batch of it in my freezer so I will have dessert ready to go at all times!
- Naturally vegan, gluten-free and dairy free.
🍠Cooking sweet potato for brownies
You can definitely use store-bought sweet potato puree to save time, but I really like making my own as it is much more budget-friendly!
You can either cook sweet potato in the oven, microwave or air fryer. Whichever method you choose to follow, do clean and pat dry them before cooking. Using a fork, pierce a few holes a few times on both sides.
- Oven - Bake sweet potato in an oven preheated to 200C/400F for 45-50 minutes.
- Air fryer - Place them in one layer and cook for 30-35 minutes at 200C/400F.
- Microwave - Microwave sweet potato on high for 3 minutes. Flip it around and microwave for another 2-3 minutes.
Allow sweet potato to cool for 10 minutes. Then, peel of the skin and mash it with a fork until smooth. Or, you can puree it in a food processor.
Take the cooking times above as a guideline. Depending on the size of your sweet potato, you might have to cook it for longer or shorter amount of time.
🍫What you will need
📃Notes/substitutions
- Mashed sweet potato - You can either use store-bought sweet potato puree, or make your own at home by mashing up some baked potatoes! Check out the section "cooking sweet potato for brownies" above for the full instructions.
- Oat flour - If you don't have any on hand, make your own by blending some oats in a blender until finely grounded.
- Protein powder - I am using chocolate flavored pea protein powder, but you can also use other kinds of plant based protein like soy and hemp.
- Maple syrup - Feel free to use other liquid sweetener in place like agave syrup or even honey, if not vegan.
- Cashew butter - You can use other nut butters like peanut, almond or hazelnut butter in place. To make this vegan protein brownies completely nut-free, use tahini or sunflower seed butter instead.
🔪How to make
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine together mashed sweet potato, applesauce, cashew butter and maple syrup. Stir to combine.
Next, add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.
Pour brownie batter into the prepared pan. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, smooth out the edges. Top with chocolate chips and chopped almonds, if desired.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until it appears to be set and a toothpick comes out fairly clean with a few wet crumbs when inserted down the middle.
Let vegan protein brownies cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before transferring it to a cooling tray to be cool down further. Slice and enjoy!
✔Helpful tips
- These sweet potato protein brownies are not super sweet, especially if you are using unsweetened protein powder. However, you can add in 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, like coconut or brown sugar if you like yours to be sweeter.
- Use a protein powder that you actually like! If a nasty and unappealing one is used, this will definitely affect the taste of your brownies.
- As for cocoa powder, I do recommend getting a higher quality one, if possible. It does makes a huge difference! I either go for this Ghiradelli cocoa or Cacao Barry Extra Brute.
- If you are not a fan of sweet potato, you can swap it with equal amounts of pumpkin puree instead.
- It might seem undercooked and wet when you first remove it from the oven, but do not worry as it will firm up upon cooling.
- Let vegan protein brownies cool completely before slicing. I recommend slicing it with a plastic knife, if possible.
🥜Optional add-ins/toppings
- To enhance the chocolate flavor, add in a teaspoon or so of instant coffee powder to your vegan protein brownies.
- You can also add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract if you like.
- Throw in a pinch of salt to balance out the bitterness of cocoa powder.
- You can swap chocolate chips with chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans instead.
- Drizzle on some of your favorite nut butter after baking!
- Or, you can spread on some melted chocolate instead.
❔Commonly asked questions
Store leftover vegan protein brownies in a sealed container and refrigerate them up to 4 days. You can also freeze them and they will stay well for 3 months.
To reheat, let frozen brownies thaw in the fridge overnight, or on countertop for a few hours. You can then heat them up in the oven at 200C/400F for 5-8 minutes. Alternatively, thaw brownies using the microwave's "defrost" setting, then microwave on high for 15-30 seconds.
One slice of vegan protein brownies contains 104 calories.
No, it is not recommended to use whey protein to make these sweet potato protein brownies. It will dry up after baking, causing brownies to be brittle and crumbly. Plus, the absorbency of whey protein is different from that of plant based protein powder, which might affect the overall texture of brownies.
🍽More recipes using protein powder
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Sweet Potato Protein Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups mashed sweet potato or sweet potato puree**
- ½ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup cashew butter or other nut/seed butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup chocolate protein powder (plant based)
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup oat flour (use gluten-free if needed)*
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine together mashed sweet potato, applesauce, cashew butter and maple syrup. Stir to combine.1 ¼ cups mashed sweet potato, ½ cup applesauce, ¼ cup cashew butter, ¼ cup maple syrup
- Next, add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.½ cup chocolate protein powder, ⅓ cup chocolate chips, ½ cup oat flour, ½ cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pour brownie batter into the prepared pan. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, smooth out the edges. Top with chocolate chips and chopped almonds, if desired.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until it appears to be set and a toothpick comes out fairly clean with a few wet crumbs when inserted down the middle.
- Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before transferring it to a cooling tray to be cool down further. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- These sweet potato protein brownies are not super sweet, especially if you are using unsweetened protein powder. However, you can add in 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, like coconut or brown sugar if you like yours to be sweeter.
- Use a protein powder that you actually like! If a nasty and unappealing one is used, this will definitely affect the taste of your brownies.
- If you are not a fan of sweet potato, you can swap it with equal amounts of pumpkin puree instead.
- It might seem undercooked and wet when you first remove it from the oven, but do not worry as it will firm up upon cooling.
- Let vegan protein brownies cool completely before slicing. I recommend slicing it with a plastic knife, if possible.
Reheating - To reheat, let frozen brownies thaw in the fridge overnight, or on countertop for a few hours. You can then heat them up in the oven at 200C/400F for 5-8 minutes. Alternatively, thaw brownies using the microwave's "defrost" settings, then microwave on high for 15-30 seconds.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
Shruti Gupta
This is wonderful, guilt-free, sweet tooth satiating dish. It tastes scrumptious. I personally like peanut butter so I didn't change anything in the recipe and followed all the steps to get the awesome result.
If you have such healthy options around then there are no worries of gaining weight. Thank you Meesha for sharing such recipes.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
My mouth is literally watering. My family would love this..
Leslie
Perfect Healthy Brownie recipe!
Natalia Soto
I did this recipe today and is so so yummy and fudgy, I’m really glad I found this page. Will definitely do it again. Thanks 💕
meesha
I am really glad that you like it ! 😊
Alena
I love how fudgy these brownies are!
meesha
Really glad you like it !
Chef Dennis
This Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies is making me drool!
Jill
Thanks for this recipe! I'm always looking for healthy options for desserts, I like that you're using ingredients I already have at home! Plus I still have leftover sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving. I'm going to give this recipe a try this week!
meesha
Yay ! I really hope u like it !
Ksenia Prints
Sugar-free + brownies = the recipe to my heart.
Christina
This was so delicious!
Sabrina
What a great vegan recipe!
Raquel
I am going to make these! They look delicious!
Chloe
Delicious- what a great idea for a healthy brownie!