It’s about to be a happy monday (I hope) because I’ve got some pretty AMAZING brownies for you.
First though, how was your weekend?
I feel like I can’t start this blog post without saying that my heart goes out to those in Florida and the Caribbean islands who were hit by Hurricane Irma. I sincerely hope that this recipe brings you a little joy to your day, even if it’s just a little smile. Most of all, I’m thankful that you’re okay.
Brownies are one of my favorite things to bake when I’m having a bad day or a bad week (because then I can eat one every day). Rich chocolate, crackly tops, sweet bites of chocolate, melt in your mouth gooeyness — there’s just something about a brownie that feels a little healing and lifts my spirits.
P.S. I also feel that way about 99.9% of the desserts I make, because if you haven’t noticed — I LOVE BAKING.
This brownie skillet just so happens to be one of fav new desserts, and Tony’s too! This is surprising considering it’s made WITH WALNUTS (made into a nut butter!).
After dinner one night, he topped one with a little ice cream, then helped himself to seconds and told me it was one of the top 5 desserts I’ve ever made. AND YOU GUYS… these brownies really are that good.
Fudgy, rich, nutritious, nourishing, soul food, make you happy brownies. Plus they’re really friendly for anyone who has a gluten or dairy allergy. And even if you aren’t dairy free, you’re going to absolutely LOVE how this brownie skillet tastes. DESSERT HEAVEN.
Omega 3 brownies, oh my!
Omega 3’s are essential fats—the body has to get them from foods, and we often don’t get enough of them. Foods high in Omega-3 include fish, vegetable oils, nuts (especially walnuts), flax seeds, flaxseed oil, and leafy vegetables. Read more about omega 3s here.
These are called omega 3 brownies because the base of the batter is made from walnuts. If you weren’t already aware, walnuts are an excellent source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 essential fatty acids, in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). (source: WHFoods.com).
I also added chia seeds to the batter for a little crunch plus a tiny additional boost of omega 3s. They’re delicious so don’t skip ’em.
I hope you get a chance to make these brownies. They’re easier to make than you think. You just need a food processor to make your walnut butter (or a high powered blender such as a Vitamix will also work).
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it then let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment below! xo!
More grain free desserts you’ll love:
Grain Free Salted Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies
Grain Free Tahini Brownies (the best brownies I’ve ever eaten!)
Small Batch Paleo Almond Flour Brownies with Raspberries
Healthy Lemon Bars (gluten free, dairy free & paleo!)
Ambitious Kitchen
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125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Grain Free Omega-3 Fudgy Walnut Brownie Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups raw walnut halves (10 oz)
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon chia seed
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips, dairy free if desired
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
- For the topping:
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips, dairy free if desired
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place walnut halves on a baking sheet. Toast walnuts in oven for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant and slightly toasted. Allow walnuts to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes.
- After a few minutes place walnuts in bowl of food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the side as necessary. You want the walnuts to become creamy like nut butter.
- Once walnuts are creamy (like the picture above), transfer walnut butter to a large bowl and add in coconut sugar, pure maple syrup, eggs and vanilla extract; mix until smooth and well combined.
- Gently stir in the cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking soda and salt until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips and chia seeds.
- Pour brownie batter to a 10-inch skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray or to 9x9 inch square baking pan. Sprinkle walnuts on top. Bake for 23-27 minutes or until brownies are done and a tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
- To make the chocolate drizzle: Add chocolate chips and coconut oil to a small saucepan and place over low heat. Stir until completely smooth and melted. Drizzle all over the brownies. Cut into 16 slices or squares. Enjoy!
Okay wow, these look TOO GOOD. I love baking brownies when I’m having a bad day too. I think that’s how I discovered your “Bad Day Bars!” 😀
Exactly! Brownies are the ultimate pick-me-up <3
Oh my WORD!!! I love walnuts, especially in my brownies, and these look absolutely incredible. I just re-seasoned my cast iron this weekend so I’d say this skillet is in order!!
The walnuts make them SO, so good! Fire up that cast iron 🙂
if I didn’t want to make the walnut butter, how much pre made walnut butter do I put in ????
Hi Joesy! You can add one heaping cup of walnut butter.
I mean omega 3’s in a brownie? I can’t think of a better reason to eat them!
Ohh yes! So delicious!
Wow, I just have to try making this amazing looking brownies. They look super yummy for my tummy:)
I hope you try them!
Have you ever substituted applesauce for the egg in this? That’s usually my go to sub and I’m curious as to if you’d tried.
I haven’t, but I’ll let you know if I do!
I don’t have coconut flour. Could I sub with almond flour or something else?
Hi Sue! I haven’t tried another flour – the coconut flour is actually what binds these ingredients together, so I’m not sure another flour would yield the same results!
Could you use honey instead of maple syrup?
Hi Lauren! I wouldn’t recommend it as the honey will overpower the flavor.
I am LOVING these grain free desserts! I recently cut out gluten & all grains, and this recipe looks so delicious! Good work!
These will be perfect for you! Hope you enjoy!
I’m allergic to walnuts. Could I use pecans instead? I’m sure I could add homemade peanut butter. I’m allergic to cashews too.
That should work just fine!
I currently have these in the oven but I realized that when I pulled my nuts from the pantry, I accidentally pulled pecans and made the brownies with pecans… I’m missing out on those omegas from the walnuts…. but I’ll let you know how it tastes with pecans.
Also, on a side note… in the directions it doesn’t say when to add the chia seeds. Just an FYI.
Another side note…. they were pecan pieces… I know what pecans and walnuts look like, but when they’re in pieces… I didn’t realize. HA!
Whoops! Well I hope they turned out just as delicious!
Can I use a regular pan?
Thanks!!
Hi Marisa! You could use a 9×9 inch square baking pan for these 🙂
I have almost everything to make this and a dinner party coming up tomorrow, with a big crowd to feed. Plus, one of them is gluten-free and one is vegan so this’ll be perfect with a flax egg!
Perfect! I hope everyone enjoys them!
I can’t eat a lot of brownies due to my health condition (LPR) 🙁 , but these truly look irresistible.
Sorry to hear that! Sending over good vibes, Luna!
These look so good! I can’t wait to make them.
I hope you do and love them!
I am in the mist of making this – just poured batter into a pan and realized I didn’t add the chia seeds because they’re not in the directions…when do those go in?
Hi Lily! I hope you enjoyed these! Thanks for the heads-up – you can add the chia seeds when you stir in the cocoa powder, coconut flour, etc. I’ll be sure to add to the directions!
Just made these and they are delicious! They are wonderfully moist and just sweet and chocolatey enough to satisfy my daily sweet tooth/chocolate craving without the guilt. BTW, I also did not know when to add the chia seeds, so I did it with the chocolate chips. It seemed to work.
Such a great treat! And noted on the chia seeds here – recipes has been updated 🙂
Hi Monique, Do you have an egg substitute I could try for this recipe?
Hi Mindy! Feel free to use a flax egg, which is 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons of water. Let it thicken up in the fridge for a bit and then it should work just like an egg!
Hi!
I only have cashews handy and dates instead of coconut sugar. Could I use these two substitutes?
Thanks!
Jesss
Hi Jess! You can use cashews to make a cashew butter for these, but I would stick with a granulated sugar (like the coconut sugar) in order to maintain the consistency of these brownies.
I just tried making these with flax eggs, and the recipe didn’t work for me. I cooked them for 12 additional minutes, and the center was still quite gooey. I like gooey brownies, but they tasted undercooked. Also, there was so much oil pooled in the bottom of the pan that it was literally dripping off the brownies when I scooped them out. Has anyone else tried these with flax eggs, and did they work for you? They tasted great, and I love the idea of making them from homemade walnut butter. I am curious if less water per flax egg (I used a ratio of 1 T. ground flax + 3 T. water per egg as recommended in the comments above) or an extra T. of coconut flour might make them cook better. Suggestions? I would love to try them again, but the ingredients were expensive, and I would hate for them to be undercooked/terribly oily again. Thanks!
Hi Ivy! The consistency should be the same as regular brownie batter, so there shouldn’t be excess oil dripping. Maybe try using 1 flax egg rather than 2?
Do I put the Pan in the oven ? at 350? and is it not going to ruin the pan?
Yep! The skillet will be just fine in the oven 🙂
Hi Monique! These look delicious! What if I have walnut flour? Could I substitute, and how much?
Hi Ameena! I’ve actually never tried baking with walnut flour, so I’m not 100% sure how it might affect the texture. If you do replace the coconut flour with walnut flour, let me know how it goes!
Is there a substitute for the chia seed? I can’t have chia. Thanks.
Hi Gail – you can leave the chia seeds out! Enjoy.
I have tried flax eggs before in several gluten free or paleo brownie recipes in hope, but I too have had the same results… Oily and almost tar like. Sad to say, but it might be how it goes
Very strange! Flax eggs usually work well for me when I sub them. I would make sure that you let them “set” in the fridge before baking with them!
I was just told to try a no grain and no dairy diet for one month. I was devastated. Then I saw your recipe. I tried it and have to say that this is delicious. I would eat the whole thing but had to be good so split it up and freeze portions for other times. Now I have a good dessert to look forward to as a treat! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you found this recipe, Linda! I have tons more grain + dairy free recipes here too that I think you’d love 🙂 Check out this list for some great ones!
This looks great! Any suggestions for substitutes for the maple syrup and coconut sugar? I don’t do any kinds of “sweeteners” except monk fruit or stevia.
I typically only bake with natural sugars (coconut, maple syrup, honey, etc.) so I’m not sure what the stevia equivalent would be in baking!
Sounds delicious! Can i substitute the walnuts for almond butter?
Yes, I think that would probably work well, although the almond butter should be very runny/drippy.
Insanely the best brownies I have ever made! Can’t stop eating them.
Amazing! Glad you loved them 🙂
Finally! After making grain free, lower carb treats, this recipe comes along!!! It’s perfection. So tasty. Tastes like a regular brownie but with magic. Thank you. This is my first recipe of yours and I can’t wait to try the rest!!!
I’m glad you found this one! I have tons of delicious, grain free treats you might like – check out some of my other favorites here 🙂
The grain free brownies are fantastic.
Yum! Yum! Yum! Thank you!
These brownies are super delicious! My whole family enjoyed them. Don’t hesitate to try this recipe. You won’t be disappointed.
So happy to hear that! Thanks for your note 🙂
Made these today with a few modifications & they turned out wonderfully! I used walnut butter & some mixed nut butter I had (with chia seeds already added in). I wanted to cut down on the sugar, so I also subbed Lakanto monk-fruit sweetened syrup for the maple syrup, subbed 1/2 of the coconut sugar with Swerve brown sugar, & used Lily’s stevia sweetened chocolate chips. I love the texture & the flavor of these!
Glad those swaps worked out well!
These were absolutely delicious!! Thank you, Monique! The walnut butter was surprisingly easy and tasted AMAZING!
So happy you loved them! Isn’t that walnut butter the best?!
Made them. LOVED THEM!
So happy to hear that!
This is a GO-TO recipe for special events. Birthdays are happily celebrated by all with this amazing flavor! I am so happy I found it and pinned it and make it often! Planning on making it for our son’s wedding rehearsal dinner. I will be doubling it and hope it works beautifully in a pan, the cast iron is always amazing!
Ahh I’m so glad to hear that, Sarah! Such a great one for celebrations 🙂 The cook time will definitely increase if you double it, just FYI!
Can this be made ahead and rewarmed??
Sure!