Yes, you read that right! I made brownies with cauliflower! It’s kooky and over the top, even for me! But before you call the men in white coats to take me to the funny farm, hear me out! These low carb brownies are surprisingly delicious! At least this batch was – the first attempt…not so much! Hubs spit it into the garbage, as did my four year old who pronounced them “gross!”
I have to agree – batch one was pretty nasty – tasted like… well… pretty much what you would imagine cauliflower and chocolate might taste like when mixed together! And the texture was way off. So I tossed them into the trash and made some adjustments – less cauliflower, more chocolate, more coconut flour, and some cinnamon, among other things.
It was with a considerable amount of trepidation that I cut into version 2.0 – I really had no idea if they would taste better than the first round. It kills me to waste ingredients, but I just had to try this recipe again because I knew it could work! I’m so glad I didn’t throw in the towel on this one! I knew as soon as I cut into them that they would be good – they had a nice “crumb” to them but also a fudgy texture, that for me, is critical to a good brownie. Intensely chocolatey, slightly sweet, and not a hint of cauliflower to be found, these low carb brownies are definitely among my most unusual and successful recipe creations!
And how did my husband (sworn hater of cauliflower) like them? He said: “I’m not planning to give up regular brownies any time soon, but these are actually really good! I’d never have known they had cauliflower in them if you hadn’t told me.” Win!
MY LATEST VIDEOSI can’t wait to see how many of you are intrepid enough to try them, and find out what you think! I triple dog dare you! ;)
Cauliflower Brownies (Low Carb and Gluten Free)
- Yield: 36 brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cauliflower puree
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 6 squares Lindt 90% chocolate
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup SF chocolate flavored syrup
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tsp stevia or splenda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Puree the raw cauliflower in a blender, then add your almond milk and puree together for another 30 seconds or so. Make sure its completely smooth and there are no chunks!
- Put the butter, chocolate squares and cream cheese into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for one minute. There may be a few small chunks of chocolate still not melted and that’s ok.
- Scrape the chocolate mixture into the blender with the cauli. Puree for about 20 seconds until well blended. Add the chocolate syrup and eggs and blend well.
- Add all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Pour the wet ingredients from the blender into the bowl containing the dry ingredients (scraping to get as much out as possible) and stir to combine thoroughly. The batter will be thick, almost mousse-like.
- Grease a 9 x 9 baking pan and spread the batter evenly into it. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees (F) for 35 minutes. Remove and cool before cutting.
Notes
Use the best quality chocolate and cocoa powder that you can get for the best results. I used Torani brand sugar free chocolate flavored syrup but you can use Davinci or any other brand as long as it’s sugar free. In the recipe I call for almond milk because it’s easily found, but I used an almond/coconut milk blend that I found that is sold by Almond Breeze. If you can find it, try it, but if not you can use either almond or coconut milk beverages found in the dairy section – just be sure to check the carbs (should net out to zero after you subtract fiber) and make sure they are labeled as unsweetened – the original flavor is sweetened and loaded with carbs.
The serving size for these is about 1.5 inch square, because they are so rich and chocolatey you really don’t need much. But if you are making a low carb brownie sundae out of them, which I highly recommend (try my sugar free mint ice cream with these), you might want to cut them a little larger. This recipe is pretty low in calories, so feel free to splurge if you want to!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 brownie
- Calories: 69
- Fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 1.5g net
- Protein: 2g
Now I’m off to make some cauliflower ice cream. Ha ha, just kidding! Or am I??? ;)
For more great recipes, download your copy of The Gluten Free Low Carber today!
I think this will be a keeper (waiting for them to cool off in the fridge). A question for you have 3 teaspoons of sweetener listed midway in the dry ingredients. My powdered sweeteners would take waaay more than that to sweeten that much unsweetened chocolate. I used the 3t as liquid and then added powdered to taste. So the question is: liquid or powdered sweetener? Mine seem to be REAL crumbly. After trying some crumbs, lol, I’m going to freeze the rest in the pan, take them out frozen and bag them separately. Do you have an idea what might be wrong? Only “change” was the fact I had Irish Cream SF syrup rather than Chocolate, that should’t be a issue.
★★★★★
It’s been YEARS since I’ve made these but pretty sure I was using powdered Stevia at the time and it didn’t measure cup for cup like sugar because it was so intense.
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★★★★★
I made these exactly as written, except I used THM Super Sweet blend for the sweetener. The texture was pretty good but I think they needed more sweetness. Maybe I’ll make frosting for them. They take a LOT of ingredients and prep work, but it’s all stuff you’re likely to have if you do much low-carb baking. The only think I had to buy special was a fresh head of cauliflower!
I tried this recipe but substituted the Sf syrup for Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup and really liked the outcome! I whipped whole cream and served it on top. My friends thought it was gluten free but they didn’t know it was sugar free. Thank you of the recipe! I will add it to my collection of go-to sweets.
★★★★★
Eww Gross. I respect those who like the brownies and all, but ewwwwww… looking at the ingredients made me want to barf
Wow. Can’t take you seriously when you didn’t even try them.
Can you use almond flour instead of ground almonds? Seems like it would be the same thing.
What can you use in place of all the “nuts”? Cream for the almond milk? What about the ground almonds? Flax? Extra coconut flour?
One of the happiest things I’ve read I. Avery long time… Accept I’m allergic to coconut. Any recommendations on a substitution?
OK Melissa.. I’ve been eyeing these for years and I may just have to try these out. I had been thinking of making up my own batch and I was like – why? Someone already has a recipe! Will report back when I do – my food processor went missing so I have to buy a new one. Oye!
9×9 pan & it’s supposed to make 36 servings? How small are these brownies? 2″ square is what I would consider a serving. I wouldn’t even be able to get 36 using a 13×9 pan.
You can cut them to whatever size you prefer Carly.
Sorry, I’m a little late to the cauliflower party, but I had a couple questions that I don’t think were totally addressed.
First, I want to say that I saw this while at work. Since I love to bake, I’m always bringing in baked goods. My boss saw your post and had this horrified look on his face and said “NO!” LOL He said I’m not allowed to bring these in and “experiment” on my coworkers. hahaha
Since I’m not Keto or Paleo or diabetic, can I use real sugar, honey, maple syrup, or something else instead of (what I call) “diet” sugar? And if so, how much more would I use? And if I use a liquid sweetener, do I need to increase the coconut flour to off-set the extra liquid? (I just really don’t like the artificial taste of SF stuff.)
Can I use regular whole milk? I saw where you told someone heavy cream wasn’t a good substitute, but what about regular milk? Or even coconut milk? I don’t normally drink/use almond milk and I’ve never seen it in smaller than 1/2 gallon cartons, so I’d hate to get a 1/2 gallon and only use 1/2 cup.
Otherwise, I can’t wait to try it. My husband has a HUGE sweet tooth and I’m trying to lower our carb intake. This recipe fits both needs. :D
Thanks!
I am trying these today! I’m obsessed with finding new things to make with cauliflower, and I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to only cauliflower recipes! One question: can I use sugar free Hershey’s chocolate chips instead of the Lindt bar? It appears that 6 squares of the bar are about 2 ounces. Would I be able to substitute 2 ounces of the sf chips? Other than that, I have everything on hand, and my oven is preheating!
Sorry I didn’t get to this sooner and hopefully you went ahead with it because I would say the sugar free chips should have worked ok if it’s what you had on hand. It’s a much lower cocoa content than the lindt though, so my only concern would be that the chocolate flavor wouldn’t be intense enough to mask the cauliflower flavor. How did they come out??
I made them with the sf chips! Delish! I definitely want to try it again with the lindt bar, but my husband, who does not like super-rich desserts, thought it was great too. I didn’t tell him there was cauliflower in it until he tasted and judged it good :) I didn’t taste any cauliflower, but I blended a lot. I also didn’t have Torani’s sf chocolate syrup, so I used Torani’s sf salted caramel syrup. They are better cooled in the fridge, like someone else mentioned. We will most definitely finish off this pan, but I am looking forward to making it again with the right chocolate and the right syrup. This one is a keeper! Thanks.
EYE LOVE YOUR BLOG!!! Your recipes are AMAZING!!!!!!!! I just made a double batch of these, which ALMOST didn’t fit in my blender, and they are INCREDIBLE!!!!!! I bought 2 heads of cauliflower, thinking a recipe called for 1 head…i have a head and a half left over, but will be using ALL of it to make more brownies!! Gotta go back to the store for more of the other ingredients! LOL!
Can I use regular flour IF I can’t find coconut flour?
No heather, regular behaves differently so I don’t think it will work!
Thank you Melissa. And can you use egg whites? and raw cocoa powder instead of all the chocolate?
and can’t do diary; in ref to the cream cheese..?
Thanks so much for your reply.
★★★★★
I made them and I’m not a fan. The texture was very off and it wasn’t sweet enough. I may give it another go. Not sure because it’s a lot of ingredients to waste. But I love a lot of the recipes on this website!
What an awesome idea! I’ve been combing your site for a few days now since my best friend, husband, and I are kicking off a keto period (trying to see how it’ll affect gains in the gym, although I’ve had great success in the past for skin and sleep issues). Anyway, thank you so much! You’re making everything so much easier than just eggs, bacon, and avocados :-)
these came out great and i’m not a baker
(i play it far too fast and loose with measurements, never had the patience for it)
I couldnt get SF chocolate syrup without waiting for delivery and didnt want to wait
So used a SF maple syrup that has (no after taste shockingly enough and goes great with the cream cheese pancakes recipe from this blog)
i used Dr Oetker 90% chocolate. Same 6 cubes even though i had no idea of the size of the Lindt squares.
(Though a quick search online suggested it was sold in 100g packages same a Dr Oetker so couldnt be too different)
i also used liquid surcalose 6 drops (bottle says 1 drop=0.5 of a sugar cube which i estimate to 0.5 of a teaspoon)
i also used a tart tin thinking it was shallow enough
great results…have been searching for a keto friendly dessert to go with my coffee
the mini kitkats in my fridge have remained untouched lol
have had to do extra small portions so i dont go too nuts
I’m confused..
The carb info you give is 1.5g net carbs but the info given by Yummly is 9-1=8.
Being a diabetic means these numbers mean everything to me.
So, please, which is the correct carb count??
Also, “Subscribing” was mentioned a few times .. To what do I subscribe to see more of your recipes?
I am viewing your recipe via Yummly if that makes a difference.
You mentioned that you used a Nutribullet to do your cauliflower.
I would like do the same.
In the recipe it calls for adding all the other wet ingredients to the veg.
So your bullet was ok with that? Did the chocolate mix stay liquid enough to be able to go into the Bullet even though we are told NOT to put anything hot into it??
I like things really sweet, how would I increase the sweetness in this recipe?
I am going to save this article so I can reread it a few times so I can pick up on what everyone has said about any tweaks to the flours since Almonds and I don’t always get along and coconut flour is a HUH moment in this little rural WA town…lol
Does anyone have like a ballpark figure on the cost of these little yumms?
Most of the the ingredients are pretty pricey so am curious. Down to “Just how much do I realllly want some choco-loty goodness..lol
Thanks from this poor deprived Chocoholic :)
These tasted kind of weird when I first tasted them straight out of the oven. I could taste the cauliflower and they had a cakey texture that kind of turned to powder in my mouth. I almost just declared it a fail and tossed the whole pan, but decided to save some in the fridge just in case. I decided to give them another try the next day…and oh my goodness. Completely different! For a sugar free – low carb brownie, they were really really good! I didn’t know you could get a healthy brownie that delicious! And the cauliflower taste was gone and the texture was a lot more melty. These may be the only brownie that taste better when they AREN’T fresh. These would taste really good with some sort of frosting, but I’ll leave it to the professionals to come up with a low carb recipe for that. :)
I made these and they were OK. I’m not sure if it is because I used EZ Sweetz liquid sweetener and maybe the sweetness was off. I might add some sort of frosting. I will definitely make them again. I think I just need some more experimentation. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Cooking mine how-to made a few changes…Will let you know how it turns out.
I tried making these tonight, and something went very wrong. I made it as described, aside from finding out I didn’t have a 9×9 pan, seems someone left it out recently and our cats decided it wanted to be on the floor in pieces… The closest I had was a 6×10 and they came out bitter and dry. I probably ended up over-baking causing the dryness, but I can’t explain the bitterness. I used Torani brand chocolate syrup as well as Target brand stevia. Aside from getting the right size pan, any ideas on what could be tried next time to get them to come out right?
I’ve heard that stevia and chocolate can turned bitter when cooked together so that may have been part of it. Sorry it didn’t work out – this is a tempermental recipe and it seems from the comments that any deviation (even in pan size) can cause an epic fail. :(
I’m definitely going to give it another shot, this time with the right pan size. If it doesn’t work again then I know it is something else. Do you know if the sugar you used originally was a stevia/splenda blend? Some quick googling showed that they each possibly sweeten different parts.
I think I was using Ideal at the time which is a blend of sucralose and Xylitol (toxic to dogs so be careful.) A lot of people love Swerve sweetener which is Erythritol based. Sometimes I use Splenda granulated because my husband prefers the taste of that over the others – and it seems to work well in baked goods though it’s not the healthiest of the options. Let me know how they come out – hopefully this next batch will work out!!!
So 3tsp of trivia that is all the sweetener you use
The Sugar Free Chocolate Flavored Syrup is very sweet so the truvia or splenda is just to supplement that Cindy. You’ll need both to make it work!
Hi! Can I substitute GF all purpose flour or rice flour for the coconut flour? I don’t have any :/
Can’t wait to make these, thanks!
You can certainly try Denae but since I haven’t worked with them I can’t guarantee the results – these brownies seem to be particularly unfriendly to experimentation so do so at your own risk! Please do let us know if you try it and how it comes out though!
Very interesting recipe. Have you ever tried cauliflower in a cookie? Thinking of tinkering around with that for a Paleo cookie recipe.
If it works in a brownie it should work in a cookie as well, just make sure you have strong flavors to mask the cauliflower!
I made these again today (they are a staple in my house!!!) and added a teaspoon of cayenne pepper! It was amazing with a little kick to it! Always fun to add little bits of variety. LOVE this recipe!
Thanks for letting me know, I love that cayenne idea – must try that soon, thanks for sharing!!!
Hi, Mellissa. My mom and I made the brownies yesterday. I love them. Ours didn’t turn out very sweet–which I really like! I don’t like overly sweet, artificially sweetened items. The aftertaste usually turns me off. These are really rich and moist. I was pleasantly surprised. I tried an avocado chocolate mousse a while back, that while it tasted dessert-like, I just couldn’t get past it being avocado (and I LOVE avocado). I don’t have that problem with the cauliflower in the brownies. I refrigerated them, and they are very good cold. I think I’m going to freeze the rest of the batch and enjoy them over time. Will definitely make again.
Thanks for the feedback Joy, so glad you like them!!!!
we dont have access to SF syrup here in NZ ( at least I dont think so) and our lindt is the 85% and thats as high as it goes… what do I substitute for SF syrup? and is the 85% ok?
I’m really not sure Elaine – you could increase the chocolate and sweetener to make up for the lack of SF syrup, but this recipe doesn’t seem to respond well to substitutions based on the comments. Without the syrup it might not work and I’d hate to have you waste ingredients. But if you try it and it works please let us know what you did!
I found this recipe on Pinterest and finally made it last night. I made only 2 changes to the recipe. I used Hersheys dark chocolate cocoa and I used an 8×8 pan to cook them. The product was just ok. Very moist, almost fudge like; not very sweet; and they did have a mild cauliflower tased. I blended my cauliflower in a blender but had to add 1/2 c almond milk to get it to puree. I used the lines on my blender and it was about 1.5 cups when all puréed. It could be that even a little bit over a cup can dramatically change the taste. I would use a food processor to purée vs blender then measure exactly 1 cup. Also, dark chocolate is a bit more bitter then regular so that could account for the lack of sweetness. As as far as using and 8×8 pan, I saw another post that said it affected there results also. Anyone made them in an 8×8 pan with success? How long did u cook?
Sorry you didn’t really like these Kathryn! You’d definitely have to cook them 10 minutes or so longer in an 8×8 pan – that’s why they were so moist. The extra cooking time will dry them out further and make them more brownie-like in texture. It’s possible that the dark chocolate powder also required more sweetness to offset it. Overall I don’t find the Hershey’s brand to have a strong or rich chocolate taste (even the regular tastes bitter to me) so if you make them again, try a dutched chocolate powder which will probably help mask the cauliflower flavor. Thanks for the feedback!
Is the chocolate bar sugar free too?
The Lindt 90% is not sugar free, but it’s very low in sugar – especially compared to other chocolate bars.
Hi Mellissa…just bought your kindle book yesterday and am really enjoying the recipes. I’m on a low carb, high fat diet. I’m wondering why you use almond milk as opposed to heavy cream? Also, can I use one cup of almond flour? Is that the same as 1 cup ground almonds? And finally, do you like the Walden chocolate syrup for this recipe?
Thanks so much for your help!
Hi Dave! Welcome to IBIH and thanks for purchasing the ebook! Ok in answer to your questions – the almond milk adds moisture but not calories and sometimes the heavy cream thickens too much during baking so for this the almond milk is best. You can use almond flour, it’s a little finer than the ground almonds but should work the same. Walden chocolate syrup will NOT work in this recipe – the chocolate syrup I’m calling for here is a chocolate flavored syrup, like what they use to flavor coffee (Davinci or torani brands are most popular) – it’s watery and not thick like a hershey’s chocolate syrup or Waldens. If you use the other stuff it will alter the texture and not in a good way.
Hope that helps and that you enjoy the brownies! Let me know how they come out!
I just put them in the oven. They smell heavenly and they look good to. I love trying new things.
Anything good does take work. My husband said: cauliflower and brownies no I can’t see thow that wourld work. I said you like cauliflower pizza. While I was putting them together he said: what smells so good. I said OH, you like the smell, wait until you taste them. Not done yet but they can’t be bad because they smell SO good.
Thanks for the comment Janice, I hope these passed the taste test for you guys! :)
What I am about to write is not meant to be insulting to this recipe or the blog!! Honestly, I must have royally messed these up because they came out so terrible I couldnt stomach them and I had to throw them away. First off, I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder, they came out totally black like lumps of coal and not a lovely brownie color. Then I didnt have the proper syrup, so my friend & I thought that maybe a SF chocolate dip mixed with some vanilla SF syrup would work, apparently it did not. Ha…Those changes along with some extra Splenda added in made for some horrific brownies. I also let them cool overnight on the counter which may have been a bad idea. Even after refrigerated until cold they had a strange vitamin/healthy green like taste to them, they tasted almost like a vitamin smells, I am not sure if anyone else knows that I mean, but thats the only way I can describe it. Almost like a really bad protein bar, even though no protein was used…I am so sorry they didnt work out for me, it was completely my fault!
Oh dear! So sorry Gina! This is definitely a recipe that requires no substitutions to come out right. Don’t feel bad though, my first attempt at these was so horrible that it was outright gag-worthy! Talk about an epic fail! When i finally got the recipe right, it didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for error I guess – let me know if you try them again (though I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t!) and how they come out!
Who knew I’d actually get a good site from Googling cauliflower brownies?! Awesome!… this recipe is almost exactly what I’m looking for! Thanks!!
Could you please answer a few questions to help me perfect my brownie dream?
1)Any tips though on making it dairy-free or lower in dairy?
2)Also I’ve been really into the idea of wanting to try avocado brownies… do you think I could do this in the same recipe?
3)Also, do you know what kind of or how much nutritional benefit(s) the cauliflower in this recipe may bring?
You’re novelty and bravery is inspiring!! Thanks!!
Oh…I just saw the above comment about someone subbing avocado for butter! Cool! Any idea how much avo to use?
Hi Bri, welcome to IBIH! These brownies are great, but I can’t really say how substituting other things will affect them. It took me several tries to get the right flavor and texture, so even the smallest changes could possibly render them inedible. Not saying don’t experiment, just that I can’t guarantee that they will still work. I’ve never baked with avocado so I can’t really offer you advice there either. Regarding the nutritional benefits of cauliflower, I wrote a little about that in this post. Hope you like them and if you figure out how to make them without dairy, please share your tips with the rest of us! Thanks!
I made these and substituted avocado for the butter and added carob chips into the batter at the end then baked them in 1/2-filled cupcake tins for about 20 minutes… delish!
Sounds great Shauna! I’m intrigued by your replacement of avocado for the butter – I’ve never thought to do that in a baking application before. Will have to try this out! Thanks!
Thank you for the recipe! I made these today and they’re great. I think the suggestion to taste the batter and adjust is a good one. I didn’t have SF chocolate syrup so I used vanilla, added an extra ounce of melted chocolate, 2 tablespoons of cocoa and 2 tablespoons of real sugar. (Since I eat low-ish carb and don’t mind a little sugar.) They’re awesome and I can’t taste the cauliflower at all!
Thanks Angela, I’m glad you were able to make them work for you! Adding in the extra chocolate when you subbed in the vanilla syrup was definitely a good call! :)
Thanks for the recipe, i’ve made it a few times now and so delicious! :)
I’m wondering how many carbs each piece is (not NET carbs). Please and thanks!
Hi Joanne, I don’t have my notes on these anymore but to figure out the total carbs you can just enter the ingredients over at Calorie King and then just don’t subtract out the fiber. Enjoy!
Thanks! I counted my ingredients and it was 77g total, divided by 35 pieces. 2.2g each.
Thought I would share. thanks for the wonderful recipes.
Thanks so much for sharing Joanne! I appreciate it!
I made these last night. They made the house smell oh so good. The brownies had a very nice chocolate taste and were brownie like. They were not sweet enough for me and hubby. My hubby ate one with ice cream. He said they tasted good that way. I am thinking of adding a little more of the sugar substitute and I think some vanilla.
I did not have coconut flour so I used 1Cup of almond flour.
Hi Elaine, thanks for the feedback! Coconut flour is in itself a bit sweet so substituting with almond flour may be part of why yours weren’t quite sweet enough – either way, boosting the sweetener if you make them again should fix that! I love mine with ice cream too! Well, who doesn’t I guess! ha ha!
Just made these. Followed the recipe to a “T” except for the SF Chocolate syrup, I used SF Vanilla instead. They just don’t taste very good to me and not nearly sweet enough. Not sure what I did wrong.
Using the SF chocolate flavored syrup is critical to the success of the recipe in my opinion – it imparts a deep chocolate flavor that can’t be compared at all to what you’d get with the vanilla. Sorry you didn’t like them, but I think you’d get a completely different result with the right syrup – if you try it again do let me know if it made a difference in how you liked them! :)
I made these today and they came out great! I substituted SF Carmel syrup and added unsweetened toasted coconut…yum!
I love this recipe. I’m on the old weight watchers diet. Do you think you could include how much fiber is in this?
“…because they are so rich and chocolatey you really don’t need much”
Who are you kidding. That’s the reason you need more!
XX.
OMG! This has become my FAVORITE foodie site. My husband and I are only three weeks into low-carb eating and I finally found a site in which I found recipes that actually look mouth watering and are easy to make. Thanks so very much!!!!!!!
I finally got brave enough to make this recipe, it has been calling my name for a few weeks.
I was thrilled with the texture of the brownies. I used splenda for my sweetener, but didn’t get a sweet taste at all. I whipped up some cream cheese and xylitol mixed with splenda for frosting. It worked fairly well. I will use stevia next time and see how we like it. I LOVE to bake and that is what I have been missing since we started low carbing. I have been gathering ingredients to make the Coconut Frenzy Cake.
I am SO encouraged!!! Thank you!!!!!
By raw cauliflower you mean uncooked right?
I was eyeing on this recipe for few days and finally tried it today and it turned out great!! very moist and rich! BUT!! I made a crucial mistake of forgetting to put sweetner! I had to microwave some butter and sugar free chocolate chips to make chocolate sauce to pour over brownies so I can make up for that missing sweetness. I am pretty confident, the next batch will turn out much better than this one:) Thank you for such an amazing recipe :D!
Ouch! No sweetener would definitely be an issue – way to make it work with the chocolate sauce, I bet that was awesome! Glad you liked them! :)
I never ever ever use fake or processed sweetners :/ so how do you think this would translate with raw sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar or honey etc ?? something natural? maybe even stevia?
thanks a bunch!
My daughter wants to make these for her class but there are many kids who need nut free things so we need to substitute the almond milk and almond flour. Would regular milk and maybe whole wheat flour work for this?
Hi Darcy, this somehow got stuck in my spam folder and I just rescued it! Sorry I didn’t respond sooner, but yes, I imagine you could substitute regular milk and any traditional flour for the almond products – let us know how they turn out!
I’m sure it would taste delicious, it would just increase the calories and carbs a bit. Stevia will work if you are comfortable using it – I used to use it all the time with good results. Enjoy!
Hi,
I am going to be making these using Xylitol. I know you said you were going to start using Xylitol. Have you made these with it yet? If so can I please get the amount.
Thanks,
Kim
I’m not sure how it would be if you were using straight xylitol, but if you are using a blended xylitol product it’s about 1/4 cup. Enjoy!
These look divine Melissa – what a wonder you are ;-) I can’t find any type of sugar-free syrup where I live so I’m wondering if I can substitute it with extra cocoa. Also, because the syrup is a liquid, will I need to replace it with another type of liquid?
Thanks Ria! I think you could substitute 2 more squares of Lindt 90% for the syrup with good results – let me know if you try it!
This recipe seems amazing, however, every time I make it it seems too bitter or I can taste the cauliflower a lot. I did have to make some changes to the recipe, and I’ve made it so it is “all right”. I am going to make another batch next weekend (3rd solid attempt)
Sorry it hasn’t been awesome for you yet Jen, hope third time is the charm! :)
Made these brownies this evening and followed the recipe exactly, except for omitting the cinnamon. They turned out lovely and moist and rich!!! Loved them. Didn’t share–froze the whole batch for myself. *wink*
Glad you liked them April, can’t wait to make a batch for myself when my Whole 30 in August is over with!
Just tried these out because I am desperate for a decent dessert but I think I used too much califlower-they look nothing like your yummy goodness! Any recommendations on how to easily purée the cauliflower? Thanks!
I just puree mine in my magic bullet until mostly smooth and then I add the almond milk and puree it rest of the way. Not sure what another way would be to get it smoother – you could try a blender or food processor if that’s what you have. Hope your next batch comes out better if you try again!
Wow I am SO glad I found you. Your recipes are KILLER. I starred like SO many of them on Google Reader (yes, I subscribed. Why on EARTH wouldn’t I, you’re amazing!!!) Looking forward to more from you :)
Thanks so much and welcome to IBIH! :)
I love that you use real ingredients in your recipes and not the low carb chemicals I see others using so often. It’s great to be able to make something out of my pantry or with a quick trip to the grocery store. Can’t wait to try your recipes!
Thanks so much Christine! I hope you like these!!!
I only have a 9×13 pan, any suggestions on adjusting cook time?
Hey Rachel! I’m not sure cooking time is your biggest issue. You might have to increase the recipe by about 1/3 to fit your pan. Otherwise they’ll be really thin like cookies. If you do try it I would knock off about 10 minutes, test them and if not done add another five minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let me know how they turn out!
These were excellent. Thank you so much for your hard work!
Thanks so much for reporting back Airyca (love the spelling of your name BTW!) So glad the recipe worked for you!
What a great idea! Cauliflower sounds like a great idea as a base, actually. I’ll make this in the near future, though I’ll sub in maple syrup for the *shudder, taste-wise* stevia. Maybe they’ll appear next time (after I, er, TEST these) when we have a bake sale at work. For some reason I fail to fathom the muffins and brownies that appear to get et first at those things are from box mixes… But there are some people who appear to like real food.
Oh man I hope they come out good for you with maple syrup and that they go over big at your bake sale! I can’t wait to hear back the reactions when you tell people what is inside them! ha ha! I know what you mean about the box mixes, but back in the day I’d still eat box brownies – those companies are rich for a reason, they know how to manipulate our taste buds! Too bad it’s all so bad for you. I’ll take a sugar free cauliflower brownie any time over a box mix – and I’ll eat it guilt free knowing that it won’t make me fat and sick! :)
Hey Melissa,
Did you use a 9 x 9 pan or a 9 x 13 pan? I used the 9 x 9 and my brownies came out thick and I didn’t get 36 brownies. Maybe if I used a 9×13 pan, I would’ve and they would’ve been thinner, like yours. The chocolate I used was a Trader Joe’s 85% dark chocolate, and I used Hershey’s SF chocolate syrup. Guess I should’ve added more “sweetener”, which mine is xylitol.
My brownies did not turn out real well . . . sweetness . . . so, now I’m going to use them as a part of ice cream, because I really HATE wasting food. Mine turned out a little dry, too. Were your moist?
Hey Doris, thanks for reporting back! I used a 9×9 pan and made five cuts at 1.5 inches each way for 6 rows of 1.5 inch square brownies in the paper cups photos (the others were from another batch). They are small but thick and fudgy so I didn’t need big pieces. I haven’t tried trader joes chocolate but at 85% it should have been enough. I think where you went wrong is with the SF syrup. Hershey’s chocolate syrup isn’t the same as the Torani or Davinci SF chocolate FLAVORED syrup which isn’t made to be eaten on ice cream or as a dessert, but is meant to sweeten and flavor coffee or food. It is intensely chocolate flavored and very sweet for that reason. The hersheys is sweet and tastes like chocolate but it’s not going to be enough to flavor the brownies like the other stuff. That might have also been why you were a little dry because the flavored torani syrup is watery and not thickened like the hershey’s. Sorry it didn’t work out for you! I hope your ice cream idea worked and you were able to salvage them! :)
Ohhhh . . . I’ll look for the Torani or Davinci SF chocolate FLAVORED syrup next time. Where do you buy these? World Market? I think it would’ve been not as bad also if I added some maple syrup, or maybe some apple sauce? Just wondering.
I left the brownies on the counter for a couple days and it’s HOT here in Arizona. All last week was over 100° F, but it cooled down for the weekend. Anyway, I tried to add it to the homemade kale & avocado ice cream made with my Blendtec blender (so yummy), but because I didn’t refrigerate the brownies, the cauliflower in the brownies caused them to spoil.
Normally I don’t smell the cauliflower when it’s cooked & fresh, but having it sit out for a couple days made it smell BAD! I had to throw my ice cream out and then the whole batch of brownies. YUCK!
If you live in a hot climate and the brownies don’t get eaten quickly (within the day), they do need to be refrigerate. I will attempt to make these brownies again, as since you were successful, I want to be successful, too, at this and slap the naysayers . . . I told some people I was going to make cauliflower brownies and you should’ve seen the grimace on their faces. LOL.
Way to stick with it Doris! ha ha! Hope they work next time and the naysayers jaws drop! :) Yeah, I refrigerated mine after the first night because I wondered if they would spoil – glad to have it confirmed though I’m sorry it happened to you and they went to waste! After a couple of days I put the rest in the freezer and the other day I took one out an popped it in the microwave for 30 seconds and had it with a little low carb vanilla ice cream – it was BLISS! Got all melty and fudgy – so awesome! I really want you to experience them the way they should taste so fingers crossed that it works next time! Oh and yes you can get the sf syrups at World Market or even Walmart in the coffee aisle usually. Can’t wait to hear back!
I saw your recipe and had to try them! I made a bunch of modifications cuz’ I can’t have dairy or eggs and my kids can’t have nuts. So, I made them egg-free, dairy-free, and some other modifications. They are good! Not too sweet. I need to tweak some things in my recipe to make even better. Thanks a bunch for the recipe!
Thanks for reporting back Sarah! Glad they worked even with your modifications!
Sarah, not sure if you’ll read this, but I’m really interested in the modified recipe you came up with. Please share ;-)
It all says “Noooooooo!” to me, but I can see from a cook’s perspective how this would work. I mean … what’s wrong with choccy and cream? I’m going to surprise my Mrs (who loves cauli) and see how she likes it.
Hope she likes them Paul!
I made these this past weekend to take to my friend’s birthday get-together. The only thing I changed was that I used soy flour instead of coconut flour, since that’s what I had in the house. I tested them on my brothers first (ages 13 and 16) and they approved. My friends liked them too! I waited til after they’d tasted them to mention the cauliflower ;)
Awesome Ariel – so happy to hear that they passed the test! Good to know that soy flour will work in place of the coconut flour since some people have said they are allergic to it. Thanks so much for reporting back with your results!
Hi Melissa,
I don’t know how I missed seeing this post. Maybe I’m just now subscribed to too many people. Drat. This recipe of yours may save me. I promised both my kids I would be making treats for their classes and I think 70 cupcakes is just too many cupcakes to do, especially Paleo friendly ones.
Think I’ll make these brownies as I have a lot of cauliflower and all the ingredients. However, the only chocolate I have is a Baker’s bar and I will be using xylitol instead. Not going to tell anyone I put cauliflower in it until they’ve eaten it. I may be making my own coconut milk or almond milk, but I also have both in the fridge.
Doing the brownies will hopefully save me a lot of work, or I can maybe do brownies for everyone? Thanks Melissa. Will report back what 5 dozen plus kids say (or however many brownies I do).
Hey Doris, hope these work out for you and can’t wait to hear back!
Not sure it is a good thing to put xylitol in treats for children. I personally would be pretty mad it you did that for my kids without notice
I am a Registered Nurse and xylitol is very appropriate for children. They are now using xylitol to sweeten medications made for children. xylitol has been known to cure sore throats and ear aches in children and adults and has been used in toothpaste and sugar free gums for a very long time. The only thing I can see that may be harmful for some children, would be the almonds, as some children have nut allergies.
★★★★★
I think Doris’s statement was that she wasn’t going to tell anyone that she put cauliflower in the brownies until after they’d eaten it, not the xylitol. I looked up side effects of xylitol on children and found this statement:
“Is xylitol safe for children?
Xylitol has been approved for use by people of all ages. Studies suggest that children especially can benefit from using xylitol.
Ideal exposure time is best determined by the family’s dentist or pediatrician. Dosage amounts will vary as children age, but in most cases as few as 5-8 grams a day will provide tremendous benefits.
Some dentists also recommend that the parents of young children regularly use xylitol gum or mints to reduce the spread of cavity-causing bacteria. Studies have shown as much as an 80% reduction in cavities for children whose mothers used xylitol gum during the first few years of her child’s life.”
I never knew that xylitol actually improved dental hygiene, especially in children – now I feel even better about my choice to sweeten with xylitol at home as opposed to sugar.
Source of quote and other information about xylitol can be found here:
http://www.epicdental.com/t-xylitol-faqs.aspx#2C
I never tried brownies made with cauliflower but those looks amazing, Plus from a nutritional standpoint they’re great, low sugar, low fat and with all the awesomeness that cauliflower bring!
Thanks for sharing
Super healthy and super delicious too! Hope you enjoy these Mike!
For the ground almonds….do you ground your own almonds or could I use almond meal?
I ground my own simply because I didn’t have any store-bought in the house, but you can definitely use almond meal if you have it!
Wow these look amazing!! I’ve had sauerkraut chocolate cake before that was awesome and slightly “out there” and of course zucchini, but never thought of cauliflower! Very impressed and can’t wait to try these. Have to wait until after the weigh-in at the doctor’s appointment this Wednesday, then it’s on like Donkey Kong!
So what is the texture like on these? Brownie-ish? Or cake-ish?
Thanks for all your hard work!
SusieT
I’ve never heard of sauerkraut chocolate cake – but I’d definitely try it! Hope you like them! I wouldn’t call the texture cake-ish – definitely more brownie-ish and fudgy in the middle. When they are chilled they are even more brownie-like. Can’t wait to hear back from you later in the week! :)
i left out the stevia, added 1 T. honey, and 4 dates. just the right amount of sweetness! i’d recommend pureeing the ground almonds in with the wet ingredients if you want a smoother texture, although i haven’t tasted the final product yet to know if doing so would make a difference. did so with just a portion of the batter when pureeing the dates. what i licked off the spatula was darn tasty!
keep the crazy great recipes coming, mellissa!
Phew! Glad these worked for you though I’m dying to know how the texture was in the cooked brownies for you! Honey and dates sounds excellent, how did you handle the syrup thing, did you add more cocoa powder and chocolate or were they fine without it??
i’m’ dying to know if anyone has had success without the syrup, because i’m so down with this recipe and want to make it NOW! going to go after it rogue, but will check back to see what else the blogosphere has to say. yay for cauliflower!
“going to go after it rogue” made me crack up! :)
I made these tonight. I couldn’t find chocolate torani anywhere around here so I used vanilla torani and added 2 drops of mint chocolate flavoring oil. I also used silk almond milk vanilla unsweetened. I thought these turned out well! Couldn’t taste the cauliflower and it smelled good while it was cooking!
So they were vanilla chocolate mint flavored?!? Sounds awesome! Glad you were able to make them work for you! Thanks for reporting back!
I couldn’t really taste the mint. I didn’t use enough. I think the cinnamon over powered it. I was thinking about maybe not adding the cinnamon next time and just doing the oil. Not sure how that would turn out. Then I could make it flavor specific. I get these https://www.lorannoils.com/c-6-super-strength-flavors.aspx and they are pretty strong flavoring. Will have to experiment next time a little more. I have the coffee oil and was thinking coffee flavored ones would be amazing!
Forgot about the cinnamon – I think I would omit it if I were making them mint flavored too. Now coffee flavored – that’s just genius! Must try! :)
These should definitely be tested. And with so few calories, I can enjoy them with a clean conscience :o) Thanks for all your delicious but healthy recipes :o)
Yes, please do test them out and report back! :)
I’m going to try these this weekend, but need to get the ingredients. I just have a few questions though…What brand of SF chocolate syrup did you use? I assume if I buy 1 head of cauliflower it will be enough? Did you use liquid of powder sweetener? I look forward to trying these…Thanks!!
If it’s a large head of cauliflower you won’t even need half of it to make a single batch, I think I only used about 1/3 of mine to get a cup of puree. I used Torani brand sugar free chocolate flavored syrup which I can get at my local super Walmart in the coffee aisle. Davinci also makes a sf chocolate flavored syrup if you can find that one. I used Truvia brand powdered stevia based sweetener but you can also use splenda or whatever brand you like. Hope that helps and they come out great! Thanks for trying them out!
Do you refrigerate the leftover ones?
Great question! I didn’t the first night and they dried out a little which I didn’t mind because it made them even more like typical brownies texturally. Since then I have refrigerated them though because I don’t want them to dry out too much or get stale. I’m going to freeze some and see how they do as well…
Totally making these when I’m home in the States in June. I bet m GRANDKIDS will love them!
Just don’t tell them about the cauliflower and they’ll never know the difference! :)
Hmpft… and I thought I was out there sometimes… Wow, that’s just plain insane! But of course, you KNOW there’s no way I could possibly pass on that one. I’ll just HAVE to give them a try (with a few substitutions, of course… me being me, you know!)
Hey Sonia! You ARE out there on some of your recipes (in an awesome way!) I hope you like these, can’t wait to see what you pull out of your bag of tricks to put your own healthy spin on them! :)
What can I substitute for the coconut flour? I’m allergic to coconut, it doesn’t matter if it’s GF or not. Thank you!
Em you can try almost any other flour if gluten isn’t an issue because most of them have around the same carb count – even whole wheat flour will add only about 1g net carbs to each brownie. You can also use buckwheat flour or oat flour I would imagine. Let me know if you try one of these and how it works out for you!
This looks amazing! Can you tell me what the weight is on the 9 squares Lindt chocolate? I may have to use what I have here…I can’t wait to go shopping to make these…must do it now!!
I’m assuming you’re using 9 squares because you’re substituting for the chocolate flavored syrup – otherwise it’s just 6 squares! A 10 square bar is 3.5oz so a little less than that for 9 squares. Hope you like them, let me know!
Very strange, but these look awesome! I love cauliflower but usually a large one is way too much for me and the kids since my hubby doesn’t like it either. Too bad he doesn’t like chocolate either or I’d try sneaking it on him in these! Haha.
You could always make a batch and freeze them – then you could just eat one every once in awhile! Or you could just keep making the delicious raw brownies you posted this week! I made a version of those years ago, back when I was doing raw and they are sooooo good! Yours looked very yummy!
I use cauliflower to thicken smoothies all the time, and this looks like such a great idea. I actually think using cauliflower in brownies is far less kooky than those crazies who use black beans!
Cauliflower in smoothies?!? That’s something I haven’t tried! Or black bean brownies, though I’ve heard of them! Hope you like these!
I tried the black bean brownies on Chocolate Covered Katie’s site, and they’re actually pretty amazing. The texture was screwed up because i forgot the oats, but other than that, my husband and son tore them up with a carton of strawberries. Don’t knock it!!
I actually use black beans for my brownies all the time in my shop. They make a great textured brownie that is 100% flourless yet tasty to all!! With high quality chocolate, no one knows the difference; and they are easy to make sugar free with stevia. I DO NOT use Splenda, it IS a sugar from the lower portion of the cane and anyone diabetic should flush the stuff!! but back to the brownie, you should try it; especially if you have kids. It is a great way to get them to take in a good amount of fiber without knowing they are eating beans!! I also use garbanzo to make a blondie and we sell out every day!! Good Luck!! Dr.J.
I’m going to try to make these secretly then see what my husband’s reaction is… he hates cauliflower! But these look really good, and if I told him ahead of time what they’re made of he would reject it immediately.
I can’t wait to hear if you can get these by him Cassandra! I wish I’d done the same thing, problem is my husband is on to all of my wacky creations so he’s very suspicious when I ask him to taste anything and I end up fessing up! :) He liked them though!
I love the idea of cauliflower brownies, but am not a fan of coconut. Any chance I can use regular flour successfully?
Regular flour won’t work the same as the coconut flour with flavor, texture, or absorbability so I really doubt it!
This is awesome! It’s hard for me to use my dark chocolate bars for baking, though, so I may have to modify the recipe a bit. I don’t use sugar free syrup, either, so I’m not sure quite how my version will stack up to yours. Otherwise I’m totally excited about this idea!!
Let us know what changes you make and if they are successful! My first batch was pretty dismal so I’m nervous about suggesting substitutions lest they be disgusting – but if you aren’t using the sf syrup or the good chocolate, then you’ll definitely have to increase your sweetener and use a LOT of excellent quality cocoa powder! I suggested to someone else that you blend everything but the eggs first so you can taste the batter until it has the right blend of chocolatey and sweet for you and then add the eggs and bake it. Can’t wait to hear how they come out for you!
I will do! I like your idea of tasting without the eggs first.
Ok, can’t wait to hear back! :)
You have turned vegetables into dessert? (NOBEL PEACE PRIZE)
Well I’m definitely not the first to hide vegetables in a dessert, but as far as I know, cauliflower brownies is not something that’s been done before! Hope you like them! :)
Little confused on the measuring of the cauliflower. It says one cup puree, but you’re pureeing it with almond milk, so how do you know what one cup puree is? Or is it supposed to be one cup of cauliflower?
You’re right, that was confusingly stated, sorry! I reworded the recipe and hopefully it makes more sense now. I puree the cauliflower first and then measure it (my blender has the cup lines right on it so it’s easy) and then just in case it’s still kind of thick and chunky, I add the almond milk to it and puree until I’m sure it’s totally smooth and there are no chunks. About one and a third cups of chopped cauliflower usually translates to about a cup of puree. Hope that helps, sorry for the confusion!
Thanks..mine has a cup line on it too, but I just didn’t think about it :)
Hope you like them! Let us know how they come out!
O.
M.
G.
You are incredible. The end.
And how amazing that I have every last ingredient in my house?
ha ha! Best story about me ever! :) Thanks Jude, I hope you make these and report back asap! Can’t wait to hear how they come out for you – I’m dying to know if it was a fluke or if the recipe will work for everyone. Please let us know!
Ditto what Jude said. :D
I have everything but the almond/coconut milk, only ‘cuz I’m out at the moment. Headed to the store now. I am SO making these today!!!
Hey, I’ve made yummy low carb choccy cake from black soy beans, so it’s not out of my realm to make brownies from cauliflower. ;) And when I give them to hubby to try, I will secretly laugh! Bwa-ha-ha-ha! He HATES cauliflower!
Hey Suze I can’t wait to hear back if he liked them or not! I had mine in the fridge and last night we had company and I gave them to some friends and everybody loved them! Nobody (who hadn’t already read the post) could guess the secret ingredient and they were shocked when I told them! So much fun! And they tasted even better than when I first made them which was great! Hope you guys like them! Definitely even better cold so be sure to try that!
I made them. I wasn’t sure what 3 tsp of stevia or Splenda meant related to sugar – I have erythritol which is 1 1/3C to equal 1 cup sugar, and I have super-concentrated pure stevia, and wasn’t sure how to equate. I was off – it needed more sweetener. Also, I only had an 8×8 dish to bake it in, so got the bright idea to cook it 5 minutes longer since it was thicker than a 9×9 would be. Mistake, lol. It was more cake-y texture than like brownies and darn near dry.
All is not lost, though. I know what not to do now, lol. I will do it again with adjustments. ;-)
Made them. Reporting back. Major hit in the house. My blender annihilated the chocolate so I crushed up and added more right before pouring the batter into the pan. My kids and husband didn’t even know what was up–i had to hold them away from 3rds with a strong bat. I could taste the sweeteners but they didn’t bother me because the chocolately happiness overrode all other sensory input.
I’m still searching for that holy grail of sugar substitution. I’ve hear combining Truvia, EZSWeet (pure sucralose no carbs) and xylitol is pretty convincing.(?)
Hey Suze, sorry the sweetener didn’t work out! They all measure so differently that it’s hard to gauge! I hope your next batch comes out better! :) Thanks for reporting back!
as for the sweetner ..i use splenda ..they make a baking splenda gives conversion chart right on back of bag …hope this helps.
Hey Jude! (I chuckle a little inside every time I type that!) So glad they were a hit! I know what you mean about the sweeteners – it’s a constant struggle to find the right one! I just found out I’m allergic to Stevia so I’ll be trying Xylitol for now and if that doesn’t work for me I’ll probably go back to good old Splenda! Never really thought to combine a bunch together! Maybe I’ll try that sometime. Thanks for reporting back!
In 1 million years I would not make a negative comment on anything I try this for the first time I followed the recipe it came out just like it was supposed to do these ingredients were not cheap the the nuts send all the other ingredients were pricey to purchase I was all excited to try these I just let them cool off and I cut myself a small piece this by far must be the most horrible thing I have ever tasted this no sweet taste to it I must say the texture is wonderful it’s cake like and the wonderful fabulous thing about it is that there’s no carbs perhaps I’ll get used to this I do not ever like to be negative I was disappointed but I think maybe I’ll have to eat another one with an open mind LOL
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What kind of sweetener did you use? If it wasn’t sweet enough you can always sprinkle some over the top for this batch and then be sure to add a lot more to your next batch if you make it again.