Sweet Potato Brownies
Updated Dec 15, 2025
Sweet potato brownies made with mashed sweet potatoes, cocoa powder, peanut butter, and chocolate chips baked into fudgy squares.
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Sweet Potato Brownies are soo good!
I know, sweet potatoes in brownies might sound unusual, but you guys, they are soo good! I first tried these on a whim when I had some leftover sweet potatoes and a craving for something chocolatey, and they turned out so fudgy! The sweet potatoes also add a natural sweetness, making the brownies super rich without needing a ton of extra sugar or fat.
What I love about these sweet potato brownies is that they’re decadent but feel a little lighter. The peanut butter and chocolate chips bring out the chocolate flavor even more, while the sweet potato keeps everything moist and almost melt-in-your-mouth. If you’re in the mood for a twist on classic brownies, these are a must-try!
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Sweet Potato Brownie Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: You can substitute a gluten-free flour blend, just get one that works at a 1:1 ratio.
- Cocoa powder: Natural cocoa powder is best for this recipe since it contains baking soda.
- Baking soda: Make sure it is fresh and active!
- Butter: Go for unsalted butter. You can start with cold butter since it gets melted in this recipe.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar is best, but you could use dark brown. It will just have a slightly more caramelized flavor.
- Mashed sweet potatoes: You can use leftover mashed sweet potato (just make sure it’s not seasoned) or use canned sweet potato puree! You can also used canned pumpkin.
- Peanut butter: I like to use creamy peanut butter because it’s easier to mix in with the rest of the ingredients, but you can use crunchy if that’s your preference. Almond butter will work, too.
- Vanilla: I like to use pure vanilla extract; you could even use vanilla bean paste if you wanted to.
- Chocolate chips: Semi-sweet, bittersweet, or dark chocolate chips will be fine!
How to Make Focus Sweet Potato Brownies
Sweet Potato Brownies Recipe
This sweet potato brownie recipe uses cocoa powder, peanut butter, and chocolate chips for rich brownies with mashed sweet potatoes mixed in.
Video
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes about 1 large potato
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving extra overhanging on the sides.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, add the butter and melt in the microwave for 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and whisk with the melted hot butter until well combined. Stir in the mashed sweet potatoes, peanut butter, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the sweet potato mixture and mix until combined. Add chocolate chips, reserving 1-2 tablespoons to sprinkle on top, and fold in.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan. Smooth the top and add a few extra chocolate chips. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan for about 30 minutes before lifting the parchment paper and transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. Once cooled, cut into 16 squares.
Notes
- My Top Tip: Use a parchment paper sling. Line the baking pan with parchment paper so that the sides overhang the edges of the pan a good bit. This makes it easy to lift the brownies up and out of the pan once they’re baked!
- Storage: Kept in an airtight container, these brownies will last for up to 5 days at room temperature or a week in the fridge. I like to put layers of parchment paper in between the stacks of brownies so they don’t stick!
- Freezing: Cool brownies completely, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1piece, Calories: 131kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 4mg, Sodium: 189mg, Potassium: 137mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 1224IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 33mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Recipe Variations
- Add a swirl. Add a nut butter or cream cheese swirl on top before baking. If using nut butter, dollop about 2 tablespoons of nut butter all over the surface, then use a knife to swirl. If using cream cheese, dollop a ⅓ cup of softened cream cheese in small chunks all over the surface, then use a knife to swirl.
- Add spice. While it’s not traditional in a brownie, since these are made with sweet potato, a warm spice like cinnamon or nutmeg makes a nice addition. Start with ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg.
- Add a frosting. Try a chocolate ganache frosting or a cream cheese frosting once these are cool.
Recipe Tips
- Use a parchment paper sling. Line the baking pan with parchment paper so that the sides overhang the edges of the pan a good bit. This makes it easy to lift the brownies up and out of the pan once they’re baked!
- Test to make sure the brownies are done first. I like to use a toothpick for this! Just insert it into the center of the brownies. If the batter sticks to the toothpick, the brownies need more time in the oven. However, if just a few crumbs are on the toothpick, they’re done!
- Make the brownies more cakey than fudgy. You can do this by swapping the baking soda for baking powder! If you do this, make sure to swap to Dutch-processed cocoa if using baking powder.
- Don’t skip cooling. Letting the brownies rest in the pan for about 30 minutes before cooling on the wire rack helps the brownies settle and form. Allowing them to cool completely also makes them easier to cut.
Comments
What can I substitute for butter? Will unsweetened apple sauce do? Do you think it will have the same texture if unsweetened apple sauce is used? Thanks
I would recommend avocado oil actually. I think it needs some fat to give it that rich flavor and crackly texture. I have not tried it with applesauce though.
The brownies came out amazing! I was wondering if there’s an alternative I can use for the sugar like maple syrup or powdered sugar?
Yes, I think maple syrup would work well! You may need to add some more flour to help balance out the wet to dry ingredient ratio. Please let me know how they turn out if you end up trying it!!
What can I substitute peanut butter with?
You can use any nut butter instead.
These were delicious!
Amazing!! So happy you liked them!
Wow I was genuinely so shocked when these came out of the oven and I declared them ‘the best brownies ever!’ My husband also couldn’t believe how good they are and my 4yo keeps begging for more. They don’t taste at all like either peanuts or potatoes, just rich and chocolatey. The recipe looks easy to make gluten free too so I will be sharing this recipe with some friends. Thanks for the great recipe.
Amazing!! So happy you and your family love them!! Thanks, Stacey!
The brownies were delicious and I will be definitely be making them again!! However, I only got eight brownies, not 16. The batter was very thick and difficult to spread out. Any tips about that? I tried adding about a tablespoon of milk but it was still super thick.
So happy you liked the brownies, Matilde! Did you use an 8×8 inch pan? That’s the size I use, then I cut into 16 brownies.
I tried this brownie today. It was absolutely delicious!! So much better than the store-bought ones.
Yay! Aww, so glad you liked them. Thank you, Sakshi!!
These were absolutely delicious! So fudgy, and you would not know about the sweet potato by tasting it. I will be making these on repeat!
Yay!! So happy you loved them! Thank you, Erin!!
Well…. You’ve done it again!! This is the only way I will make brownies forever from now on.
I made some substitutions, I have a friend who is gluten free so I used oat flour instead and I don’t eat processed sugar so I used maple syrup (so added a bit more oat flour) and it was perfect!! I can’t believe this tastes just like “normal” brownies. THANK YOU! So so amazing.
My friend is gluten and egg free so this was the most amazing recipe ♥️
Thank you!
Yay! So happy you loved the recipe and were able to share it with your friend!! Thank you so much, Katie!
Followed the recipe to the t and they turned out amazing. Very delicious. Going to add walnuts next time.
Yum, sounds so good! So happy you liked it, Catherine!