These secretly-good-for-you chocolate workout brownies are high in protein, gluten free, oil free, vegan, and they can even have no sugar added.
If you are one of those people who love healthy desserts and how amazing they make you feel, be sure to put these brownies on your “must try” list.
Made up of just six plant-based ingredients, without any refined sugars or flour, the clean eating protein brownies are super quick and easy to prepare.
Also Try These Keto Muffins – Just 6 Ingredients
If you’re bored of energy bars, this could be your new favorite workout recipe.
They are great for:
Runners
Dancers
Weight Lifters
Yogis
Cyclists
Swimmers
Sports Players
And basically everyone else who loves chocolate and wants to incorporate it into a healthy, on-the-go snack.
Brownies with superpowers.
It’s like grabbing a post-workout energy bar, but with cleaner ingredients than most packaged energy bars – no soy protein isolate, sucralose, or high fructose corn syrup.
I know it’s completely frustrating when a healthy-tasting recipe claims to taste exactly like a real hot fudge brownie… so I will tell you right now:
These are not supposed to be like a decadent dessert. Just as you wouldn’t serve a tray of Luna Bars at a fancy dinner party or bake sale, I wouldn’t recommend the workout brownies for a party either.
They are definitely more of a healthy snack or dessert meant for people who enjoy the wholesome taste and nutrition of healthy desserts.
If you are one of those people, hopefully you will love this recipe as much as I do!
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
If you want a good protein powder recommendation to use in the recipe, I really like the plant-based protein by ALOHA.
All of their products are organic and free of soy, gluten, dairy, and artificial ingredients, and they use a combination of pumpkin seed, hemp seed, and pea protein, with 18g protein per serving. I was also happy to see the protein powder doesn’t contain stevia, so you don’t get that weird aftertaste many other chocolate protein powders seem to have.
**Note: The link to their website is not an affiliate code. I don’t make any commission on sales of their products. I love both the taste and the company’s philosophy, and this was the brand of protein powder I used for the workout brownies.
So if you want to make the recipe exactly like I did, I know using ALOHA protein powder yields good results.
(Watch The Recipe Video Above)
Brownie Frosting Options:
Basic Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Or, if you want to keep these brownies super healthy like I did, you can make your own chocolate “frosting” by simply combining cocoa powder with an avocado and a little sweetener of choice – here’s how to make avocado chocolate frosting.
You can also top them with Coconut Ice Cream and fresh berries, for a healthy post-workout fudge brownie sundae!
Chocolate Workout Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup overripe mashed banana or applesauce (for low carb, try these Keto Brownies)
- 2/3 cup nut butter of choice, or allergy-friendly sub
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp chocolate protein powder (such as this one), OR sub additional cocoa powder
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave, OR additional banana
- optional mini chocolate chips, crushed walnuts, etc.
Instructions
- Notes: If using applesauce or unsweetened protein powder, or if planning to eat the brownies unfrosted, I recommend including the sweetener of choice. Using peanut butter gives a peanut-butter flavor, while almond or cashew butter taste more neutral. Sunbutter or pumpkin seed butter can be used for allergy-friendly brownies. You can use regular unsweetened cocoa or a combination of regular and dutch.Preheat oven to 325 F. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper. If using natural nut butter, gently warm it until it is easily stir-able. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir until completely smooth, and spread into the prepared pan (see video). Bake on the center rack 20-25 minutes (20 for super fudgy brownies) – they will be undercooked when you take them out. Let cool, then loosely cover with a paper towel and place in the fridge overnight, during which time they will firm up without losing their fudginess. They are also much sweeter the next day! Frosting options are listed earlier in this post, and you need about 1/2 cup total. Once cut, the brownies can either be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to a month. You can even eat them straight out of the freezer if you wish! As mentioned, they are more of a healthy snack than a decadent dessert – if you enjoy healthy desserts and snacks, hopefully you will love these!View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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Makena says
I just made these with sf vanilla syrup instead of syrup and they were absolutely delicious!!
ollie says
Im really surprised at how great these came out! You’d think without flour of some sort they would be kind of weird but NO. They were honestly a better consistency than regular brownies! I added a little vanilla extract and some espresso powder and they were freaking amazing. Thank you soooooo much!
Asia says
Hi Katie – these look delicious!
Can I use vanilla protein powder and axe out vanilla extract?
Stay safe with this Cornavrus ❤️ Thanks!
Katelyn Kelly says
I made these with:
Applesauce
PB2
Cocoa powder
Garden of life protein powder
Vanilla extract
Salt
Agave for sweetener
Using the measurements provided they came out super fudgey and wouldn’t hold their shape even after being in the fridge for about 24 hours. Basically like raw brownie batter. Did I do something wrong?
Jason Sanford says
Hi, did you leave this comment under the wrong recipe? There’s no pb2 in this one!
Jenn says
Mine did the same & I followed recipe exactly. They also were very flat. Tasted good though lol
Sera says
These are surprisingly good! I just found your site, and although I am neither vegan nor vegetarian, I do love to bake, and I am trying to bake healthier things. I like the looks of a lot of the dessert recipes you have, and decided to try this one first. I used almond butter because I wanted to finish it up, but I think I’ll use peanut butter the next time. The flavor was overwhelmingly banana, but I like bananas, so that was fine. I just think I would like some peanut butter flavor to break it up a bit next time.
These were very filling and had a pretty good taste. I think I will leave the honey out next time, since I don’t need something this sweet after a workout. Would unsweetened applesauce work in place of the honey? I didn’t want to add more banana if possible.
Or maybe I can replace it and/or some of the banana with an egg? I’m ok with more protein and a bit higher calories; mostly just trying to limit sugar since I’m diabetic.
Anyways, I’ll be trying more recipes. Thanks for this one!
CCK Media Team says
Hi! Honestly there’s no way to know unless you experiment, but edible experiments are the best kind 🙂
Or if you want something that can be completely sugar free, maybe these instead? https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/keto-brownies/
Sera says
Those look great! Thanks :). I will probably try replacing some of the cocoa powder in that recipe with chocolate protein powder.
Katie says
So yummy! Seriously one of the favorite sweets I ever ate, and I used to be a “big girl”, recently lost 100 pounds and weight train regularly and these post workout on occasion are guiltless and satisfying! I skipped the frosting and added a small handful of dark chocolate chips before baking. I also eat it with a big spoon full of kemp’s frozen yogurt! Dynamite!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making them 🙂
Gurlgymnast says
So, I don’t like most protein bars but this was excellent. I was trying to make something to get my toddler to eat more protein. I used Hershey’s dark cocoa, applesauce with cinnamon, honey and then I did add in 2 things not in the recipe: 1/2 tsp baking powder + 1 egg (we are vegetarian not vegan). I also used strawberry whey protein because that is what I had on hand. I don’t know if it will last to see how firm it gets overnight.
Gurlgymnast says
I also added some chocolate chips
Jodi says
I gotta say I was happily surprised by the way these turned out. I served these to my family and everyone loved them. They are super rich and a glass of almond milk, water, or tea makes them feel like a decadent dessert.
I think the specific type of protein powder you use is the key to making these taste good. If you don’t LOVE the taste of your protein powder, you probably won’t love anything made with it. I used Orgain Chocolate Fudge protein powder and added a bit of monkfruit sweetener. Then cut the brownies into small (1.5″ squares). Even my super picky non-vegan dad went in for seconds!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for trying them!
Amy says
These were surprisingly good! I’ve tried baking with protein powder before and am always disappointed, but these were so fudgy- the perfect brownie consistency and chocolatey taste. I used Gold Standard chocolate whey protein, and omitted the sweetener bc I find protein powder tastes overly sweet for me.
Lindsy says
Omg! These are so decadent!! Turned out amazing!
Sweetie says
Hi Katie, this looks sooo good that I made the batter right after I saw the recipe (and I’m more of a scroll through and don’t actually do anything type) but anyways I was wondering if I could possibly not let them sit overnight cus, must have chocolate! Thanks, just wondering
J says
Hi Katie!
I put it in for 20 and then another 5-7 mins or so because it was still very wet. You were spot on about the texture though! Overnight in the fridge, they are still super fudgy – almost tastes like chocolate mouse cake but denser and more satisfying.
I am new to using things like applesauce in cooking so not sure how to improve. Any suggestions or tips you can share?
For reference, I used unsweetened apple sauce for everything (no banana, syrup/honey/agave), Skippy crunchy PB, hersheys cocoa powder, and idealfit chocolate protein powder.
I felt like the taste was a little of, saltier than i expected- is it the skippy crunchy pb? what pb do you use? Does it matter if it’s smooth or crunchy?
any suggestions? I’ve love to make this again
Sarah says
Great recipe! I tried this recipe a few times each time trying out different fruit sauces and different nut butter. I find the best combination is mashed banana with almond butter (and a pinch of dark chocolate chips) 🙂
Wan wan says
Hi!!! Omg thank you! I came across your recipe tonight and decided to make them because i had 3 ripe bananas. Omg they are so delicious!! I put protein powder as well as cacao powder. They are delicious!! I cant wait for my boyfriend to come home and try them tomorrow morning. I will update once he tries them.