Hidden Veggie Butternut Squash Brownies

Sharing is caring!

These nutritious butternut squash brownies are irresistible for little chocolate lovers! Yummy, and oh so fudgy, your toddler will never guess these brownies are packed with healthy butternut squash.

Jump to Recipe

Whenever I tell Ava there are brownies baking in the oven, she’s suddenly camping out in the kitchen waiting for the sweet smell or melting chocolate to fill up the room. Chocolate brownies are always a hit at our house and a sweet treat perfect for a cold day. Because traditional brownies are loaded with sugar and butter, I started thinking of ways to make brownies healthier and more nutritious for the little ones. These hidden veggie butternut squash brownies not only have a serving of veggies… they are also made with whole wheat flour and no added sugar.

Why Hide Veggies in Brownies?

Hiding veggies in baked goods is one of my favorite tricks. Don’t get me wrong, our tot eats plenty of veggies during meals as well. But I love the challenge of sneaking vegetables where toddlers least expect them. Meet these delicious hidden veggie brownies! Traditional chocolate brownies have this soft and fudgy texture that make them totally irresistible, especially right out of the oven. Thanks to their texture and the dark brown chocolate color, brownies are really sneaky: veggies are pretty much impossible to detect in brownies even by the pickiest toddlers! In this butternut squash recipe, the sweetness and softness of pureed butternut squash makes the brownies even fudgier and perfectly complements the texture.

Are these Butternut Squash Brownies Healthy?

These Butternut Squash Brownies are much healthier and nutritious than regular brownies. These brownies are packed with butternut squash, whole grains, and only sweetened with honey. To lower the sugar content, you can use 100% dark cocoa unsweetened chocolate chips. They might be a bit bitter for the little ones but once they get used to dark chocolate, they honestly hardly notice.

How to Find or Prepare the Butternut Squash Puree?

You can easily find butternut squash puree canned. I love to keep a few cans in my pantry since you can mix it in so many different dishes to add some hidden veggies. Most of the time though, I prefer to make the butternut squash puree from fresh or frozen butternut. I simply buy some cubed butternut squash, steam it in the microwave, then puree it until smooth. Make sure to drain all the water before you puree the squash though so it doesn’t end up too liquid. Finally you can use a few jars of butternut squash puree from the baby food section.

Can I Make Substitutions?

You can absolutely replace the butternut squash with pumpkin puree or acorn squash puree depending on what you have on hand. You can also replace the honey with applesauce at a 1:1 ratio.

If you prefer a more fudgy brownie, you can omit the egg entirely and increase the squash puree to 1 whole cup.

Finally you can use any kind of chocolate chips in these brownies. Milk chocolate chips will add more sweetness.

If you want to make these brownies gluten free, you can substitute the whole wheat flour with gluten free flour.

Can I Frost these Butternut Squash Brownies?

You can definitely add a layer of frosting to these brownies! My favorite healthy frosting recipe is made with coconut milk and dark chocolate chips. If you plan on frosting the brownies, skip the layer of chocolate chips on top.

To make chocolate frosting, use 1 can of full fat coconut milk and 2 cups of dark chocolate chips.

In a microwave safe bowl combine ingredients and heat for 30 seconds on low heat or until combined. Whisk until smooth and let cool. Spread evenly on the cooled brownies.

Tips to Bake the Perfect Butternut Squash Brownies

Make sure not to over bake your brownies! Mae sure that if you do the toothpick test you pull it out when the brownies is still moist. Otherwise you will end up with a dry crumbly brownie.

Everyone likes their brownies differently so you can adjust the baking soda a little bit to change the brownie texture. To make brownies more cakey, you can increase baking soda by 1/4 tsp. And to make brownies more fudgy, you can reduce baking soda by 1/4 tsp.