Running and Eating are my two favorite things in the world. Often when I’m doing one I’m often thinking about the other. When I was running this morning my mind wandered off to thinking about food – this happens all the time. But today I started dreaming about a delicious brownie.
But, I’m really trying to clean up my diet (and my life) so I knew I wanted to have a ‘healthy brownie’. So I thought up this brownie recipe using protein powder from Bodyhero, egg whites and almond butter. This replaces the massive amounts of sugar, oil and flour in usual brownie recipes. Try it when you need a delicious treat and don’t want to derail your diet.
Protein Brownies Recipe
This healthy brownie recipe is probably paleo and gluten free and over-analyzer-eater approved. But don’t hold me to that. All I know is they are easy to make and not 84% sugar like most brownies.
Ingredients:
-
3/4 cup chocolate protein powder
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1/4 cup stevia OR 1/2 cup sugar (adjust depending on your protein’s sweetness)
-
1/2 cup PB or Almond Butter
-
1/2 tsp baking soda
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1/2 tsp salt
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2 eggs
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1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 – 1 cup almond milk (start with 3/4 and add if needed)
You can also use honey and they’ll come out a little fudgier and you may need to adjust baking time.
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat almond butter slightly in a microwave safe dish – 30 seconds or until easy to mix. Shake protein powder and almond milk in a shaker cup. Pour into bowl and add remaining ingredients.
The batter was really thick so I started with 1/2 cup almond milk and added more until it was like cake batter. It should be a little thinner than usual brownie batter because the protein powder will soak up extra moisture.
Pour into very well greased 8×8 baking dish. Bake for 20 to 26 minutes or until set.
Cut. Eat. Repeat.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Optional: Slather with Nutella (but that defeats the purpose of a healthy brownie but is also a super amazing idea so I leave it up to you).
they turned out to be dry and not creamy like normal brownies
I used the 1 cup milk. They had to bake for an extra 20 minutes so a total of 46 minutes. They’re very airy and cake-like, less brownie or fudge like. I eve. Added 2 tbsp honey. I think less milk might make the. Thicker and bake faster.
Has anyone calculated the nutritional values for this recipe?
I’d like to know the protein count, in particular.
Thanks!!
These turned out great. They are a little cake like but very light. I tweeked the recipe a touch. Used arbonne chocolate protein powder and used 1/2 c blue agave syrup instead of the full sugar amount and used only 2 tblsp sugar. I also used 1/4 c of the wild nature peanut/ cashew butter and 1/4 c reduced cal jif only because I didn’t have enough wild nature. I also added 1-2 Tblsp of Hershey’s chocolate syrup. I also used the full amount of almond coconut milk. Unsweetened. They turned out awesome. My DH really like them. Our new go to desert.
These turned out great. They are a little cake like but very light. I tweeted the recipe a touch. And used 1/2 c blue agave syrup instead of the full sugar amount and used only 2 tblsp sugar. I also used 1/4 c of the wild nature peanut/ cashew butter and 1/4 c reduced cal jif only because I didn’t have enough wild nature. I also added 1-2 Tblsp of Hershey’s chocolate syrup. I also used the full amount of almond coconut milk. Unsweetened. They turned out awesome. My DH really like them. Our new go to desert.
These look so delicious. I can’t wait to give it a try.
I just made these, followed instructiins, and didn’t come out like brownies. More like a bread? Still yummy and super filling. Just wondering what i should do to make them more brownie like..
I’d suggest adding more milk (whatever kind you use) and maybe a little more PB (or almond butter). It really depends on the protein powder. I recently made them and they were super fudgey and a lot different from the last time.
Is brown sugar ok? Instead of stewia / white sugar? I love Brownie and I want to try your recipe
I don’t know what I did wrong, but these turned out nothing like brownies. Mine were more like plastic muffins and they don’t taste great either. 🙁 I won’t be making these again.
I wanted to love this recipe, but I guess I’ll have to stick with banana protein brownies.
I had the same problem. Even coated in dark chocolate I can barely stand to eat them.
Love these! Have shared them with my fitness class students and they, too, adore them. Came back to this recipe for Valentine’s Day! Great idea, Kate, adding cocoa powder…my chocolate protein powder is pretty mild, too!
I made these last night and added some cocoa powder to make them more choclatey, they are yummy!!!
This recipe is AMAZING! Stumbled upon your site via google search for a protein brownie recipe. Made slight modifications to fit my diet and ingredients on hand but I’m sure this will be a staple for my higher fat days. I might add cocoa for a more chocolatey flavor and probably up the almond milk next time. Not as dense as yours but perfect nonetheless. Thank you so much for posting!!!
I used:
2 scoops (1 cup) peanut-butter-cup protein powder from 1st phorm
2 eggs
1/2 cup all natural peanut butter – nutty
1/2 cup raw local honey
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon himalayan pink salt
(omitted vanilla extract)
Splash (tablespoon) unsweetened almond milk
Baked for 26 minutes. Came out fluffy and cakey – like zucchini bread. <3 <3 <3
Glad you liked it! Yeah, I’ve had to tweak the almond milk a few times depending on what protein powder or sweetener I use.
OOPS! The highly-offendable politically-correct globalist sad-sacks just got “triggered”. Again.
OH WELL.
Great recipe, thanks for posting it! I appreciate it.
You rock!!!
Has any one used a nut oil in place of peanut butter? If so how was it and what measurement ?
Any idea of nutritional data? Grams of protein sugar fat and carbs per serving? Thx
I was wondering the same about the nutrition facts…
Has anyone tried 1/2 cup honey instead of honey?
I tried 1/2 cup honey and the batter is killer. Like crack. The brownies are still baking but the batter texture was amazing. Also used all natural nutty peanut butter and a little more protein powder because 1 cup of protein powder (whey) was 2 scoops. 2 eggs – no whites. I guarantee honey will taste better than stevia and have a richer melt in your mouth texture. Besides, who doesn’t love chocolate, peanut butter and honey together?? Honey baking smells like heaven as well. Crack I tell you. Best thing to happen to whey – ever. <3
I’ve made these twice and they both came out really cakey 🙁 i want them to look nice n chewy like yours lol the first time i thought the batter was too thick so i added more almond milk after so it was probably 3/4 cup. but the second time i only used 1/2 cup, and the batter was super thick, but i still left it. Still came out cakey… 🙁 any suggestions?
leave out egg whites
HI there
great idea! I am a gym person so this works out perfectly for me and any cravings 🙂
Thanks
I just made them! I am baffled by how this works without any kind of flour, but they are incredible! I can’t handle stevie though, so I used 1/2 cup of honey instead and I LOVE chocolate so I added a tablespoon of unsweetened coacoa! Best healthy substitute recipe I have ever had!
Just made these and they are AMAZING!! I used Pro-Nutra Fit 15 chocolate cookie protein powder and I only used 1/3 of peanut butter (next time I will add the 1/2c) I think using the 1/3c made them a tad more cake like instead of fudgey so I’ll be doing that next time. Also, this is whey protein powder and so yes it was a little more runny but I just added about 1tbs of coconut flour and that made it perfect! Thanks for this awesome recipe and will be making again! Just in case anyone is curious I used Wild Friends honey pretzel pb…..delicious!
These brownies are actually pretty amazing. I made mine with 2% milk and 1/2 c sugar and a mashed banana, and it tasted like wonderful chocolate peanut butterry banana bites. Props to you lady, this is a boss recipe.
Thanks! I love adding ripe banana in baked treats!
Haha! I’m Hispanic and I have refered to myself as a brownie forever. I have never heard anyone else doing this though.
Do you think these would work with PB2 (powdered peanut butter) instead of almond butter? Obviously the peanut butter would be prepared so it would still be a half cup of creamy peanut butter, not just a half cup of powder. Just wondering!
I think they would be very dry and might not stick together. The healthy fats from the AB really help keep them moist.
Second time making it. Just love it…
Love these….they look delicous .. going to try making them ….what are macros fr these ??
I just baked these for the first time as of now. I got them in th oven at the moment. I’m nervous and excited at the same time. My fiancé usually does all the baking and cooking haha. Guess there’s a first time for everything.
Other than that I can’t wait to try em out!! Thanks for this recipe, it helped me out all the way and it instructions were broken down into amazing steps.
Thank you!!!
I tried the protein brownies recipe and they turned out nothing like what the picture online looks like. I followed the recipe and they turned out dry and with the consistency of bread…any help?
Yeah, I’ve made this recipe several times and they never looked like the picture again either. No idea why. But, mine are not dry – they are cake-y. It might be the protein powder. I use whey and 3/4 almond milk.
I have my batch in the oven right now. I used muscle milk protien powder and topped them with chocolate chips, can’t wait to taste them!
I don’t see greek yogurt in the photo. Did you use it?
I was wondering the same thing. It’s in the ingredient list, but it’s not listed in the instructions. Mine came out much different than the ones in the picture, so I’m not convinced it was really supposed to be in there. 🙂
I made these tonight. I didn’t have baking stevia so I used 8 packets. Probably should have used 10-12. I added some mini chocolate chips too. They are great other than not being quite as sweet as I wanted. I used orgain organic protein powder and a little more than 1/2 cup almond milk was just right. Thanks!
I just made these brownies and my batch came out more dry and cake-like than chewy as your photos show. I used whey protein powder. Any ideas why? I made no substitutions.
I don’t have protein powder? Whats a good sub for it, i want to make these now!!!!
I don’t have a good suggestion since the protein powder acts as ‘flour’ or sorts and adds an element of sweetness.
Could you use chocolate almond milk?
Yes 🙂
350 degrees fahrenheit or celcius?
You can’t bake anything at 350C. Normal ovens don’t even go that high (for a reason).
Just made these and they are amazing! I used chocolate whey. I hate the taste of protein powder but you can’t even taste it! I added a few dark chocolate chips as well as a touch of unsweetened cocoa powder. My batter was very runny with only 1/2 cup of skim milk (didn’t have any almond milk in the house) but it turned out wonderful! Didn’t even need the full cook time
Wow these were awesome! I used chocolate peanut butter protein & baked them in a muffin pan, (didn’t come out like brownies lol), but they were the best peanut butter muffins I have ever had. Thank you for the recipe!
just made these and oh, holy YUM. i didn’t have chocolate protein powder, so i just added 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder to the dry ingredients (using my vanilla protein powder) and they turned out perfectly chocolately.
I know I’m a little late to the party, but these brownies were DELICIOUS! And as far as the “racist” context of the post that some users were offended by, I did not make that connection at all. I just figured you have a food-centered mind (like me! haha) and just ended up thinking of food -> baked goods -> ooh, brownies! I love your site and recipes and I hope the people who were offended didn’t bother you for too long!
Can i use regular milk instead of almond? And whats almond butter?
I know this was posted a while ago but did anyone get nutritional data of theses brownies? Thanks.
Use my fitnesspal.com and make the dish under my foods. Ill do it onve i can get an answer
Spammy August 7, 2013 at 9:34 pm
I made these yesterday and well I love baking and my mix was super runny like crepe batter! I had to add an extra cup of protein powder and 1 tsp of baking powder so it would bake properly. I did everything else to your recipe…is it meant to be 1 CUP almond milk or is that a typo? Even still with this happening mine turned out fabulous!
.
Spammy,
I believe you read the recipe wrong it reads”1/2 cup to 3/4 cup milk.. start with 1/2 c. then add more as needed”
I made these yesterday and well I love baking and my mix was super runny like crepe batter! I had to add an extra cup of protein powder and 1 tsp of baking powder so it would bake properly. I did everything else to your recipe…is it meant to be 1 CUP almond milk or is that a typo? Even still with this happening mine turned out fabulous!
Do you think coconut butter ( not coconut oil) would work in the place of the pb?
Cooking heat and time ????
WOW people need to take a pill and relax. I am hispanic and was so not offended by her comments, hnestly didn’t even notice it until everyone started commenting on it. NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT RACE PEOPLE. Chill out!
Thank you July. I obviously didn’t mean to offend anyone.
completely agree July, the pc police are working overtime just trying to make everyone else uncomfortable.
Mine ended up being a bit runny and took an extra 15 minutes to cook. Almost cake-like.
Making these right now! hehe using chocolate arbonne protein powder and soya milk instead of almond milk! Amazing recipe! Xxx
Looks great, do you have the nutritional info?
I hope you won’t let people ruin your day. People need to relax. I think you are hilarious and love reading your blog. I don’t think what you said was racist at all and actually find it quite ridiculous that anyone would say that. Thanks for always making me laugh 🙂
Monica, I’m so sorry people will find the silliest things you say to tear you down! We all read blogs by our own choice and you are the one opening up your life and sharing with others. Your blog is seriously one of my favorites! Your so honest and real and say it like it is. Your funny and I just love your blog and think we’d be great friends 🙂 My husbands parents are Mexican and my husband was born and raised in California. He has been called every name in the book and is never offended. We often refer to our 3 little boys as the little brownies or frijoles and think it’s quite funny! What’s not to love about a delicious brownie anyways 🙂 I’m going to have to whip up those brownies they look and sound delish, thanks for sharing! I have a yummy recipe for “Incrediballs” you should check out on my lame blog!
I’m just making this and the batter is very thin and watery after adding a cup of almond milk. It doesn’t look anything like the picture you posted. Did you actually add a full cup or do you think the difference could be because I’m using a different type of protein powder?
Yes, I used a full cup and my batter was super thick. It must be because of the protein powder? Bummer.
I used whey protein so maybe that was it? I ended up adding 1/2 a cup of wheat flower and they turned out pretty good though. Just more like cake than brownies!
Nutella never defeats the purpose! I need to make these. LOVE desserts that aren’t super dessert-y. Means you can eat more! 🙂
Yes! Though I liked If you give a Moose a Muffin better, cause I thought moose were cooler 😀
And yum! I love Spirutein, but have always gotten the vanilla kind and only used it in smoothies. Never tried baking with protein powder before.
OMG, those look amazing! I need better ways to get extra protein; I think I’ll be trying out your recipe. And, if you have them with milk…extra protein! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Definitely read that book, and “If You Give a Moose a Muffin”. I bet they’ve written a bunch of different ones by now. These look great- but then again I would literally eat anything that has to do with chocolate. Or brownies. Or nut butter.
It was one my favorite books to read to my son…along with the rest of the collection including-Take a Mouse to the Movies, Give a Pig a Pancake and I believe Give a Moose a Muffin….
I love “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” & love brownies & like you & your blog. Haters will hate. This recipe looks tasty. Happy Friday!
Mm, I think I may know what I’ll be baking up over the weekend; thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Also, I love that book, as does my niece!
Ohhhh these look good. Now I must get some chocolate protein powder!!!
I never heard of that book!
I love “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”!!
These brownies look great!
Those brownies look great! I still read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to my son. We also read If You Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Dog a Donut. Yum….donuts.
Never heard of the book.
LOVE the brownies..I have yet to ‘bake’ with my protien powder, I need to get on that…I am just not a baker in general……
These are the most beautiful protein brownies I’ve seen. Seriously. Normally, when I see protein brownies, they look oddly dark and a bit greenish (because of the black beans), but these look fudge-y and delectable!
I know that they are meant to be brownies, hence the chocolate, but since I don’t have any chocolate protein powder at the moment, could you substitute vanilla protein powder and make peanut butter blondies with the recipe? Would it work?
One of the girls I nanny for LOVES If You Give a Mouse a Cookie which means I read it about 600 times a day.
Do you just come up with your own ideas for recipes or do you alter others?
It depends. Sometimes I’ll hear about another recipe that sparks an idea – like the Cinnamon Coffee Cake one. I saw it online a while back before finally trying to throw something similar together. I never follow a recipe in general so I end up just ‘making it up’ as I go along. When it works and I like it I post it.
I NEED to make these ASAP when I get home- they look ace!
x
What type of protein did you use? Whey? I’m vegan and I’ve soy protein and wheat protein in my kitchen now – not sure if they’ll work.
This was a soy/pea blend. I do think whey works better in other recipes though.
Hi there, I use Arbonne Chocolate Protein Powder in mine. It is Vegan Certified and no nasty chemicals, I love it! You can get it from here http://www.amandaferguson.arbonne.com
I’ve read “if you give a mouse a cookie” to all the kids & they love it! Love your brownie recipe. I’ll have to try it!! I might throw some walnuts in it for a lil’ crunch. 🙂
Love thissssss! I need to make them! I love that book also, used to read it all the time!
That looks absolutely delicious! Need to make your brownies. I’m craving! 🙂
Oh yum! I like brownies and a healthy version? Yes please!
Ooohhhhhhhhhhh yum! These look SO delicious!
and just so you know, this is the post that made me unsubscribe.
Too healthy? or Too dumb in general?
Uhhh probably a little racist? Skinny brownies for your Hispanic friends? Bad judgment.
My mom and dad are both Mexican. I’m 100% a brownie.
But, now I feel bad for potentially insulting someone so I’ll edit it.
I am also a proud brownie and not offended. Well, the thought of de-fatted de-sugared brownies may offend my taste buds. How is this different from diet soda?
Monica, I know we’re supposed to take what you say with a grain of salt, but I find your use of the word ‘brownie’ offensive. I get that you don’t see it that way, but it’s a racial slur you promote by using it.
Great response to that comment. Anyone who thinks of something like that at first glance is just looking for trouble. I like the brownie idea and I want to try it! Do you know if I can use soy milk instead of almond milk?
Not offensive at all considering the context, source and spirit of the statement. Hispanics are not a race. So, it is not racist. Of all the things I have been called because of my ethnicity, never once heard the term “brownie.” I do recall President Bush referring to his grandchildren as “little brown ones”. I can think of 20 terms that are actually offensive. Won’t post them so that my comment will get posted. Monica, feel bad for you because I read enough of your posts to know that it will bother you for a while that someone took offense to something so innocuous. Have a fun weekend at RNR San Fran. Wish I could do it. Did the Dallas one and loved it. My brown eyed girl and I will make the brownies tonight and submit our findings.
Thank you. It did bug me a lot 🙁 But, I appreciate you chiming in. Have a good weekend!
omg yall should chill.we are all so racially aware and hyper sensitive that we dont just see what this is……foood! thats it. i am 100% subsaharan black and when i read this post, all i saw was food yall.amma try this recipe. i have seen recipes that used white and skinny in the same phrase. its food. fooooooooooooooooood!
Ooooh those brownies look so dense and delicious!
YUM! Those look so tasty! And I freaking LOVED those ‘Give a Mouse a Cookie’ books as a kid! I even had a stuffed version of the little mouse!
Wait, you stuffed a DEAD mouse?? I’m joking, I’m not an idiot..