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!
I 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??? ;)
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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.