Ok now that our ONE Vegan protein is officially launched, I am super excited to share this recipe that I have been perfecting for the last few weeks. You all know how much I love my chocolate and peanut butter, and of course brownies, so we had to make these Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Brownies to show you guys just how good the baking ability is with ONE Vegan.
Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Brownies
Even if you aren't vegan, you will LOVE this new protein. I've been working on some other recipes with it that aren't vegan, but the more absorbent and thicker texture of the plant-based protein gives the most fudgy brownies, moist air fryer protein cakes, and thick protein oatmeal / porridge. Stay tuned for all of those to come!
Anyways, back to the recipe at hand. It is actually quite easy to make and you likely already have most of the ingredients on hand.
What all do you need?
- ONE Vegan Protein (or another plant-based protein, want it to be primarily pea protein which tastes the best and is the best for baking!)
- Cocoa powder
- Applesauce
- Pumpkin puree
- Chocolate chips
- Sweetener (I like to use Truvia or Swerve)
A few notes about the above ingredients...
Vegan protein: please, please, please do NOT use whey protein as a substitute for the vegan protein. The closest substitute would be casein protein, which absorbs a similar amount of liquid. You can use our ONE Protein (if you still have some on hand before we ran out!), but you will want to reduce the applesauce and pumpkin puree by about 1/3.
Cocoa powder: not much to say here other than just make sure to use unsweetened cocoa powder. You can use a dark cocoa powder, cacao powder, or even black cocoa for more of an Oreo flavor.
Applesauce: don't skip this! It helps replace the egg and oil in the recipe. I used unsweetened applesauce.
Pumpkin Puree: this can be substituted for mashed banana, or even Greek yogurt (if you aren't trying to keep it vegan). Using Greek yogurt will help up the protein. You could also use a plant-based yogurt like coconut yogurt. I love using pumpkin because of the light flavor and low calories, and it helps keep these super moist.
Chocolate chips: what can I say? You can't have brownies without some chocolate chips. I used dark chocolate chips, but milk or semi-sweet would work (although probably not vegan).
Sweetener: you will want to add a bit of sweetener to really get the rich chocolate flavor. I used Truvia which is a sweetener blend (erythritol and stevia) which makes it sweeter than sugar. If you use something like Swerve which is 1:1 measuring with sugar, you will want to use a bit more than if you are using the Truvia.
Cooking notes!
** Because there is no flour, butter, or oil, you will want to cook these brownies and then let them cool in the fridge to set up and they will get a delicious, dense fudge-like consistency.
** I like to let them sit overnight in the fridge before adding the frosting and cutting them. This makes it easiest to cut them and they set up much better.
Peanut Butter Frosting
Lastly, because it can't be a chocolate peanut butter brownie recipe without some peanut butter, we have a delicious, creamy, peanut butter protein frosting.
What all do you need for the frosting?
- ONE Vegan (vanilla flavor, but you can use chocolate if that is all you have)
- Peanut flour
- Sugar free maple syrup
- Water / milk to reach desired consistency
Just mix it all up and you get a delicious frosting that you can (and probably will) eat by the spoon. Heck, you can even make some extra of the frosting and keep it in the fridge and use it as a protein peanut butter spread!
Recipe
Brownies
2 scoops (64g) Macro1 Nutrition ONE Vegan protein, chocolate flavor
1/2 cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (113g) unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup (180g) canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup (48g) Truvia sweetener (if you use Swerve you will need to use about 72g)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1/4 cup (60g) dark chocolate chips
Peanut Butter Frosting
1 scoop (32g) Macro1 Nutrition ONE Vegan Protein, vanilla
1/2 cup (64g) peanut flour (PB Fit or PB2)
1/2 cup (120g) sugar free maple syrup
2-3 tbsp milk or water (may need more or less to get desired frosting consistency)
Notes
**Do NOT use a whey protein powder in this recipe. It will not work the same at all as the ONE Vegan protein. The closest substitute would be a casein protein. If you use our regular ONE Protein, you will need to reduce the pumpkin puree to 120g.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a standard loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add all dry brownie ingredients: protein powder, cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt. Mix.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry: applesauce, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. Mix until a smooth, thick brownie batter forms. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Bake at 350F for 25 minutes. You want to bake until the edges are done and the center still seems slightly gooey and underdone. They will set up once they are done cooking and cool. I like to place in the fridge overnight or a few hours.
- For the peanut butter frosting, add all ingredients to a large bowl. Start without any milk / water and add if needed. If you use a different protein powder you may need a different amount of milk / water. Start with a little bit and add as much as needed to get a thick frosting consistency.
- Once brownies are cooled and set up, spread peanut butter frosting over the top. Cut into 8 brownies and enjoy!
Yield
8 brownies
Nutrition
Per brownie WITHOUT peanut butter frosting: 115 calories, 7 protein. 12 carbs, 4 fat, 5 fiber, 5 sugar
Per brownie WITH peanut butter frosting: 175 calories, 14 protein, 18 carbs, 6 fat, 8 fiber, 7 sugar