After first eating tahini for over a week with various dishes like roasted pumpkin, bread, meatballs and more, I became addicted. I immediately started making tons of amazing, sweet and savory recipes using tahini, and gave myself the nickname of “Tahini Queenie.” The OG AK fam knows what’s up.
These famous tahini brownies are truly what started it all. They’re chewy, fudgy, perfectly sweet, and when I made them back in 2017 they became my absolute favorite brownies in the entire world. If you haven’t made them yet, this is your sign to give them a try! If they’re a staple in your house (like they are in mine) it’s time to throw in another batch.
Everything you’ll need to make the best tahini brownies
These amazing gluten free tahini brownies are seriously everything you could want in a brownie. Chewy, fudgy, and baked with those lovely, crackly tops. All while being grain free, dairy free and refined sugar free! Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Tahini: the star of the show in these brownies? Tahini! It gives the brownies moisture without needing any additional oil.
- Sweetener: we’re naturally sweetening these brownies with coconut sugar and pure maple syrup.
- Eggs: you’ll need 2 eggs to help the brownies bake up properly.
- Cocoa powder: be sure to use a high quality unsweetened cocoa powder for the ultimate fudgy flavor. Cacao powder will also work well.
- Coconut flour: you’ll just need a tablespoon of coconut flour to give them the right texture.
- Baking staples: don’t forget the vanilla extract, baking soda & salt. Learn how to make your own vanilla extract here!
- Chocolate: I love to mix chocolate chips into the batter and top the brownies with a chocolate drizzle! For the drizzle, you’ll need a little coconut oil.
Tahini brownie substitutions
As always (and especially for baking) I recommend following the recipe as is for the best results. Here are some ingredients we can and can’t recommend for substituting in these tahini brownies:
- For the tahini: a natural, drippy almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower seed butter should work, but tahini is your best option! We do not recommend peanut butter as it gets too dry.
- For the coconut sugar: feel free to use brown sugar instead. Learn how to make your own here! I actually prefer to use brown sugar in this recipe for a fudgier brownie!
- To make dairy free: be sure to use dairy free chocolate chips like this brand.
- To make vegan: use two flax eggs in place of the regular eggs. Learn how to make flax eggs here!
- For the coconut flour: feel free to use oat flour or you can sub 2 tablespoons of almond flour.
Customize your tahini brownies
These brownies are also incredibly easy to make. If you’re looking for a dessert for a crowd and need something simple, just throw all the ingredients in one bowl and mix away. And if you’re feeling sassy, try some of these
- 1/2 cup dried cherries in the batter
- Fresh raspberries on top before baking, or a swirl of raspberry jam
- Chopped walnuts in the batter (even better if they are toasted first!)
- A swirl of tahini in the pan before baking
- Toasted sesame seeds or black sesame seeds on top
- A little sprinkle sea salt on top after they come out
The options are endless.
How to make one bowl tahini brownies
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl mix together the tahini, coconut sugar, maple syrup, vanilla & eggs until well combined.
- Add the dry. Fold in the cocoa powder, coconut flour, salt and baking soda until smooth, then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour & bake. Spread the batter evenly into a baking pan, using a spatula to scrape it all in there. The batter will be thick! Then bake them up.
- Drizzle & devour. While the brownies are cooling, melt some chocolate chips with coconut oil. Drizzle this all over your brownies, then enjoy!
How to store & freeze tahini brownies
- To store: I’d recommend leaving them on the counter for no more than a day or two, and then storing the brownies covered in the refrigerator. They’re especially delicious straight from the fridge!
- To freeze: allow brownies to cool completely, then cut the brownies as directed. Wrap individual brownies in plastic wrap, then in foil or a reusable bag such as Stasher bags. Freeze for up to 3 months.
More grain free desserts you’ll love
- Grain Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Inside Out Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake
- Grain Free Birthday Cake Cookies
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Tahini Blondies
- Healthy Peanut Butter Twix Bars (vegan & gluten free)
Get all of our grain free desserts here!
I hope you love these grain free tahini brownies! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Grain Free Tahini Brownies (the best brownies I've ever eaten!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup tahini
- ½ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar*)
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (or cacao powder)
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour, almond flour or oat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips, dairy free if desired
- For the chocolate drizzle:
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips, dairy free if desired
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the tahini, coconut sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and eggs until smooth and well combined. Gently fold in cocoa powder, coconut flour, salt and baking soda until batter is smooth. Fold in 1/3 cup chocolate chips into the batter. This batter should be rather thick.
- Spread batter evenly in prepared baking pan. If it's giving you trouble to spread (because it's on the thicker side), spray a rubber spatula with nonstick cooking spray (trust me, it helps!).
- Bake for 18-28 minutes or until knife inserted into the middle comes out with just a few crumbs attached. Do NOT overbake!
- After brownies have cooled a few minutes, prepared the chocolate drizzle: Place a small saucepan over low heat, add chocolate chips and coconut oil and stir frequently until melted and smooth. Generously drizzle over the brownies. Makes 16 brownies.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on May 16th, 2017, and republished on February 7th, 2022.
Love these!! I just want to correct one thing that was missing about the origin of Tahini. It’s Palestinian. Not Israeli. Please make sure to not erase us as you recommend recipes. I was so excited to come here and look at the recipe knowing it was based on Tahihi. And was saddened to see that the mention of Palestinian was nowhere to be found. I come from this location by DNA from thousands of years ago. We are Christian Palestinian. The first Christians in the world. And my father‘s home was blown up by Zionist militia in 1948 when he was a boy. And the town 9 kg Met away was massacred. So he had to flee along with his family and 750,000 Palestinians that were never allowed to return. And I was never allowed to return to my dad’s homeland. So the least that you can do, is acknowledge that Tahini is Arabic, and since you were in that location, Palestinian. It may not feel like much. But the theft of our homes and our Lands feels even more devastating when it’s also the theft of our food.
I totally hear you, and my knowledge has expanded since this recipe was published (almost a decade ago). Thank you for your comment, and I’m glad you love this recipe!
Just want to say thank you! I followed verbatim, using brown sugar, and the coconut flour. 8×8 pan, which I’m glad I used for a thicker brownie. Came out fudgey and rich, yet not heavy. Very good
Now I can play with this a bit, vegan…alternative sweeteners, etc. but recipe as is will be repeated so I can gift and give
So happy to hear that! Let me know how the experiments go 🙂
Amazing!!!
One of our fav desserts!
This was DELICIOUS. I’m vegan so I used 2 flax eggs and it tuned out beautifully. 2 flax eggs = 14g ground flaxseed & 45g water. I also added 1/4 tsp baking powder to ensure a nice lift, due to the omission of eggs. I baked at 350° for 18 minutes and the brownies were perfectly fudgy with a delightful crackly top. My new go-to brownie recipe!
Perfect! I’m glad those swaps worked out well – such a great treat 🙂
These were amazing! I’d like to make a bigger batch. Would you double the recipe and bake in a 9×13 pan? Or any suggestions for making these in larger batches?
yes you can double and bake in a 9×13 inch pan. I did this recently and they just took a bit longer to bake! YUM!
I’ve made these brownies on several occasions, exactly as written – and they were AMAZING every time. So easy and kids love them! Thank you for my new favorite dessert recipe!
I’m so glad!!
The fudgiest brownies I’ve ever eaten!! & I love how they’re made in one bowl!
My go-to easy dessert, too!!
First time making these and can’t believe I waited this long! This will be my go to healthier brownie recipe going forward. I used almond flour and brown sugar and skipped the chocolate drizzle. I used an 8 x 8 dish so my baking time was on the longer end of the range. My family of 4 devoured them 24 hours! 😍
So happy to hear that! They’re my favs for a reason 🙂
These are hands down my favorite brownie. Sometimes I sub 1/2 the tahini for avacado oil so a half cup of each to make the tahini stretch and it turns out just as good.
I’m glad that swap works out well! Such a great treat!
Love these brownies! Great texture and taste. Love the ingredients too!
The perfect dessert!
Every bit as delicious as I hoped they would be. I made them as written with tahini and handful of chocolate chips plus toasted walnuts. I skipped the chocolate drizzle but topped them with a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt after baking. I cut them into 2 bite pieces and they are such a divine little fudgy treat. They are dense & intensely chocolatey without any cloying sweetness. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!!!
Perfect! So glad you loved them!
Hi I was wondering if I can I use hazelnuts and make hazelnut butter instead of tahini?
I think that should work fine! Just make sure it’s nice and “drippy” as opposed to thick so that the brownies don’t bake up dry.
Firstly, my batter was not particularly thick, though i followed the recipe. I also substituted brown sugar for coconut sugar (as noted at the bottom) because I only had the former. However, I didn’t realize that brown sugar causes baking soda to activate which releases gas bubbles making things light and fluffy. I was disappointed that I took this suggestion and ended up with more of cake than chewy, fudgy brownies.
Hmm I’ve used both brown sugar and coconut sugar and had the same texture each time! These should get even fudgier as they sit, and are extra fudgy the next day 🙂
Oh my gosh, you were not kidding when you said that these may be the best brownies that you have ever had. They are so good!! Wow! I will definitely be making these again, thanks for the recipe. I followed the receipe to a “t”.
So glad you loved them!!
I love all of your recipes, but when you said they were the best brownies you ever tasted I was a little skeptical. So naturally I had to make them. Girl…I ate the WHOLE PAN myself!! OMG! They were amazing! So fudge, and kinda had a salted caramel taste to me. Now I’m making and recommending them to everyone I know!
So happy you loved these, too! They’re truly my favorite!
Incredible and easy recipe!! I’ve made it so many and everyone can’t get enough. Especially when it’s gooey in the middle. Only thing this is definitely not 16 servings!! I would say 6 max but realistically 4. My batter fits in one of those mini round cheesecake trays, about 3 inches diameter.
Hi these brownies are not completely sweetened as it does have brown sugar or coconut sugar. What can you replace these sugars with. It already has maple syrup. Can you increase the maple syrup? They sound really yummy and I can’t wait to try these. You say in your post that you like to use brown sugar with these.
Thanks
Hi! The “dry” sugar (like coconut or brown sugar) helps with the texture in these brownies, too, so I’d recommend keeping both sweeteners in. I’m afraid all maple syrup will make them too moist.
I wasn’t sure how to edit my post, so I’m just writing another. I didn’t put the chips in cause I didn’t really feel the need to, and you really don’t need them but of course it’s fine if you put them in. Next time I’m gonna try making them with some swerve or monk fruit or something similar, and see how they come out. 😊 thank you for the recipe.!
So glad you enjoyed! Just be cautious with swerve or monk fruit as those sweeteners tend to be much sweeter in flavor.
Holy cow!!! these are beyond fabulous!!!
Good flavor, but these were more cakey than fudgey. They didn’t have that crisp outside. Also the batter seized up from the tahini so I added 1 T avocado oil and that seemed to help.
They will be fudgier the next day, too!
Delicious!! Followed the recipe exactly and topped with a little flakey sea salt – will definitely make again!!
The perfect treat!
I’ve made these many times to rave reviews! Just wondering, is it ok to omit the chips that go in the batter?
Yes feel free to omit them!
A bold recipe for sure, and super gooey if done right, but these are not kid friendly at all – the tahini flavor overwhelms the choc – worthwhile to take note :))
Hmm I haven’t had that issue with kiddos! But everyone’s kids are different 🙂 Feel free to try these brownies instead!
I wonder how many times I have made this recipe? Too many to count, that’s for sure. These truly are the most delicious brownies in the world. Bonus points for serving them with homemade ice cream.
So happy to hear that!!
Absolutely amazing. I used honey instead of maple syrup and only about an 1/8 cup, reducing the sweetness a bit. The brownies were still sweet and delicious!
Perfect! Glad you loved them!
these are the best brownies i’ve ever had. period. bonus that they’re gluten free 😍
So happy you loved them!
Can we use chickpea flour ?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it should work!
Delicious flavor but turned out quite cakey for us. I followed all directions, used Artisana raw tahini, and pulled out right at 18 minutes. We’re at sea level. Any tips for what to try next time to get a more fudgy brownie texture?
So strange! These will get even fudgier as they sit, but you could also try using 1/2 tablespoon of coconut flour.
These brownies are delicious! My kids want me to make these once a week. I didn’t have chocolate chips but I did use baking chocolate and it worked perfectly.
The perfect treat!
Just made these, they are phenomenal. I did not do the drizzle out of laziness but sprinkled a few extra chocolate chips and chopped walnuts to the top before baking. The walnuts were a great addition, didn’t even need the extra chocolate chips it is so good on its own. I am immediately saving this recipe, will definitely make again!
So glad you loved them!
Really good, but I made them using the instructions from the book, which has the baking time capped at 22 minutes, and boy I would have let them stay in there for 28 minutes if I printed out the recipe from here first. Maybe they’ll set more in the fridge.
I noticed this also, the book says 16-22 minutes and the online recipe says 18-28 (that 10 minutes is a huge difference). I have noticed 18 minutes to be the sweet spot for fudgy but still able to eat whole (when i bake for less minutes it can get like raw batter in the middle when it cools, have to eat it with a spoon). If over baked I have noticed it is more of a cake like texture.
I have made these brownies probably 4 times since I found the recipe last month. These are so so delicious, and some how are even better the next day! They were a bit too rich for me with the added drizzle, so i skip that. But this recipe (list most here) is a total winner!’
So glad you love these!
MIND. BLOWN! These are a new fav! Followed the recipe exactly and was honestly shocked it came out so much like a brownie after looking so fudgey in the bowl. Great taste. Might give it a go with some almond butter next time for an almond flavour too. Wowow. Thank you!
So happy to hear that!! Try my almond butter brownies next 🙂
Help! The brownies batter separated when I added the cocoa and the flower. I did use an egg substitute because this is one of the issues I’m trying to deal with. Is it possible to substitute added too much oil and caused it all to separate I don’t know what I did wrong
Hi! What kind of egg substitute did you use? Make sure to mix the wet ingredients VERY well until completely combined before adding the dry ingredients.
So very good..
Bought them to a neighborhood event and everyone loved them..😁❤️