Despite the fact that these brownies are typically considered the kiddo’s favorite, this is how this morning’s conversation went…
Kiddo: “These are nummy! Best brownies I’ve ever had. Awesome!…. You know what would make these even better? Peanut butter.”
Me: “Um, peanut butter sort of defeats the purpose of having them be nut-free.”
Kiddo: “Oh, well, maybe you could just smear it on top for people that don’t mind nuts.”
So, if you don’t mind nuts, just smear some peanut butter on top of these. Kiddo-tested. Kiddo-approved.
For the rest of you, I think these are about as allergy-free as you can get, unless you have seed allergies. In which case, you have my sympathies.
That sugar on top? Yay, totally negates the sugar-free thing. But, it makes the picture prettier.
Nut-Free, Grain-free, Vegan, Sugar-Free Banana Brownies
2/3 cup (78 g) raw sunflower seeds
1/3 cup (50 g) raw pumpkin seeds
2/3 cup (102 g) seedless dates
1/3 cup (30 g) cocoa powder
1 small, very ripe banana (about 88 g)
1 T. flax seed
3 T. hot water
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
Preheat oven to 350°. Spray oil an 8″ square pan and set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, grind the sunflower and pumpkin seeds until you have a fairly fine powder. (This would probably work in a high speed blender, too. I don’t have one, though, so I can’t say for sure.) Add the dates and process until the dates are finely ground. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until you have a thick and sticky batter.
Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top as much as you can. (It will be sticky.)
Bake 18-24 minutes, until top is firm to the touch and edges are pulling away from pan slightly. (You won’t really see browning, unless you have a really good eye and look closely at the edges.)
Cool completely. Cut and serve. Makes about 9 brownies.
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The Mommy Bowl 
Any sub for the sunflower seeds which don’t work well with my tummy?
I haven’t tried subbing those for anything. If nuts work for, you, I’m thinking nuts (of just about any sort) would probably work. Or, I have swapped out hemp seeds for the pumpkin seeds and that works, so my guess is you could do a combo of pumpkin and hemp seeds.
I would eliminate ALL of the seeds and nuts (including flax seeds). Nuts and seeds are loaded with PUFAs that disrupt the endocrine system!
These look great! I was just doing a poll on my FB account about favorite brownie recipes!
Please feel free to add this to the FB page on The Pure Pantry!
Thank you!
Elizabeth Kaplan
Founder, The Pure Pantry
I was about to ask the same QQ that Heather asked (about subs) I am thinking if nuts don’t mess with me I could sub them for the seeds. It looks simple enough to swap.
These look great! Though I have to agree, they’d be even better with a smear of PB 😉
Thanks, Amber. And, yes, anything with chocolate, banana and peanut butter has to be good, right?
I am SO making these. Bananas be damned! 😉 They look fabulous, just as they are. Thanks so much for submitting to WW this week. 🙂
Thanks, Ricki. The ACD safe version which I made and which were eaten before I could photograph them were: 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 1/3 cup hemp seeds 1/3 cup cocoa 2/3 cup palm sugar 1/2 avocado (70 g)
Um, that’s all I wrote down. I’m pretty sure there was a flax egg, too – and some salt, baking soda, and vanilla. But, if you feel like experimenting, go for it. 🙂
These look so good and fudgey! I’ve used sunflower seeds before, albeit roasted, but not very often. I’ll have to try your recipe sometime. 🙂
What do you think I could use in place of the dates? These sound delish!
Raisins or figs would both work, I think (measured by weight), though they’d give a different flavor. You could also probably do palm sugar (measured by volume). Those are not tested subs, though.
Love chocolate-date brownies! I don’t ever miss the sugar when baking with dates. I’ve never made brownies with bananas and seeds though. I’ll have to give yours a try.
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What an awesome looking brownie! Love that there is no added fat or refined sugar. Brilliant.
I cannot wait to make some.
Many thanks,
Nina
I’m with the kiddo–brownies smeared with PB? Yesssss.
As always, looks delicious!
Wonderful idea! They look so moist!
I don’t mind nuts. And I’ll say it again – the kiddo is a culinary genius. I need him here for ideas 🙂
He’s getting quite sophisticated. This weekend I made pumpkin muffins and he tried them and said, “They’re good, Mom. Not blog-worthy, good. But, good. I mean, the texture is awesome, but the flavor…it needs something.” (He was right, too.)
This looks like the best allergen-friendly brownie recipe I’ve seen. Gotta try it!
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yum! great job on these brownies!
i just made these. (well, they’re still in the oven). i added another 1/3 of a cup of cocoa, and also a tablespoon of psyllium husk and about a tablespoon of peanut butter, just because i wasn’t looking so much for an allergy free snack but instead for a healthy snack. the batter itself was TO DIE FOR. if they come out of the oven as good as they were tasting, i don’t see any real reason to make normal brownies again.
So glad you liked them! I hope they taste as great for you in baked form as the batter did. 🙂
These are wonderful and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made them since finding your recipe. Just today, I made them again and did something I haven’t done before – I licked the knife off after spreading the batter in the pan to go in the oven. I was pleasantly surprised at the taste of the raw batter and had a great idea….why not use it as ICING for cupcakes or cake?!?!?
Wow. What a great idea. Thanks!
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