May 16
The best brownies I’ve ever eaten: tahini brownies. No butter, flour, oil or refined sugar. These paleo, gluten free and grain free brownies are simply incredible with REAL, wholesome ingredients!
While I was in Israel last November, I consumed the most tahini I had ever had in my life. The hummus (or often pronounced WHOOO-MUH-S) was one of the best things I’d ever eaten. Granted I have never been to Greece but this stuff was creamy, rich, and with a slight bitter tang from the freshly ground tahini.
After eating tahini for over a week with various dishes like roasted pumpkin, bread, meatballs and more, I became addicted. And even more so when I found out that Trader Joe’s sold tahini (aka sesame seed butter) for less than $5.
*places all TJ’s tahini in cart and runs*
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If you aren’t familiar with tahini then you really must try it. It’s typically added to hummus or can be used in salad dressings. It’s also great on toast with honey and toasted sesame seeds. Or even on apples. Here is my favorite brand!
OR in my delicious tahini banana bread (chocolate chunks are a must in this).
And finally, I’ve got an even better recipe for you to try:
TAHINI BROWNIES.
These brownies chewy, fudgy, perfectly sweet and just the most amazing brownie I think I’ve ever tasted.
I’m serious. They are THAT good. I had four in one night. I couldn’t STOP.
A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, ya feel?!
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, top them with something a little extra special.
Here are some suggestions:
-Dried cherries
-Fresh raspberries
-Toasted sesame seeds on top
-A little sprinkle sea salt
The options are endless.
One thing I do want to mention is that it’s important to use a good quality cocoa powder. My current favorite is this one from Divine. Others that I love are Ghirardelli.
I hope you LOVE these brownies and give them a try soon! They take less than 10 minutes to mix together. If you make them, be sure to tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram or leave a comment below. xoxo
Pin these here!
- Serves: 16 brownies
- Serving size: 1 brownie
- Calories: 175
- Fat: 11.2g
- Saturated fat: 2.8g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Sugar: 13.1g
- Fiber: 2.2g
- Protein: 3.7g
- 1 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- For the chocolate drizzle
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 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 22-30 minutes or until knife inserted into the middle comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Don't 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.
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Hi,
I’m hoping you can help me with something… I have lost 30 lbs over the last couple months and am halfway to my weight loss goal. I’ve done it (in part) by not eating gluten or anything with more than 5 gr of sugar in it. But…I would really love a treat right about now, any fantastic gluten free / low sugar recipes up your sleeve? P.S. I can’t cook…
Try Chia Pudding! No cooking Required. Or cashew cheesecake. Also no cooking required, just a little bit of blender magic 🙂 You can find some great recipes online
OMG…..these look so frigggin good! Love the bounty of tahini in these babies, im sure it brings such a nutty twist.
I am all over the toasted sesame seeds on top idea!! Dang girl, dang!
Those had me salivating. Got to try the recipe this week-end.
Oh em geee! *excited emoji* These look absolutely divine! I am obsessed with tahini and can literally eat it straight from the jar (NO SHAME)! These are totally up my alley, I can’t wait to try them. Thanks for the recipe!
I can’t even! These are what heaven must be like! I love that they’re Grain-free and tahini is such a good combo with chocolate!!
Wow! These look incredible. Definitely on my list to make soon!
I don’t have any coconut flour. Do you think almond flour would work?
No sorry! The coconut flour helps to absorb the liquid.
Can I use a gluten free all purpose flour?
The texture might change a bit because coconut flour is more absorbent
What do you think about using rice flour?
I haven’t tried it, but let me know if you do!
These look amazing! And easy to make. Loved your grain free chocolate almond butter cookies and these look like their tahini filled cousins!!
These look delicious!!
I made these today- but made a half batch because I was almost out of tahini. I used a biscotti pan instead of a 9×9 and everything turned out perfect. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
HI. Ty for sharing this recipe. I’ve tried several of your recipes and always love them. Just confirming that for this recipe it’s raw tahini paste. Correct ?
I actually used a roasted sesame seed butter (tahini) not raw.
My TJ’s doesn’t sell roasted tahini. Can you use the kind they do sell?
Oooo I’m excited about this one!! Only caveat is I’m lactose intolerant. Do you have any recommendations for milk-free chocolate chips? Thank you in advance!
Enjoy life brand is great! Or Lily’s for lower sugar!
Would these go ok with flax or chia as an egg replacement?
I’m not sure, maybe flax egg. Let me know if you try it!
Did you ever try this without eggs? How did it go? Thank you! ^_^
I just made these with two flax eggs (each egg 1 tbsp flax meal and 2 tbsp water, rested for a couple hours) and chickpea flour instead of coconut flour, they turned out great!
I love making bread with nuts and seed butters but never tried brownies! I’ve got to get on these ASAP!
I just made theee – delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
Yum I’m going to try these!
Must try! I made tahini chocolate chip cookies and LOVED them so this should be just as good 💁🏻
These look great! in case I don’t have tahini, can I sub it for peanut butter? thanks!
I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure it would work okay, just not certain you’d get quite the same consistency since tahini tends to be very oily/liquidy. 🙂
Made these today, but skipped the chocolate topping. While they aren’t ghirardelli brownies, they sure are close!! Love them and will definitely make them again
OMG…..these look so frigggin good! Love the bounty of tahini in these babies, im sure it brings such a nutty twist.
Definitely taking your word on these!!
Made these (minus the chocolate drizzle) for my husband on Wednesday night…GONE BY FRIDAY! He is obsessed…I will be making another batch this weekend for him! Thank you 🙂
Good lordt! These were great, loved by adults and toddlers. I really enjoyed the extra nutty flavor that the tahini added. Thanks for sharing!
Isn’t the flavor awesome?! Glad you all loved them!
I just bough tahini for the first time this week! Looking forward to trying it out in these brownies.
Awesome – I hope you love them!
Intriguing… Do you think I could use 1/2 cup of almond butter in place of 1/2 cup of the tahini?
I used a 1/2 and 1/2 combo and they came out great!
The TJ’s tahini is seriously one of the best deals on the planet. I’ve been wanting to try it in sweets, and I can already tell I’d love this recipe. Mega fudgy!
Just made these, they came out perfect. I only have a 9×13 pan so I shortened the cook time to 11-15 minutes and they are great! Do you think you could add chopped nuts and they would be okay?
So glad! And yes – I think chopped nuts would be great!
I added chopped dried cherries!
I just made these! they are really good! I might leave out the coconut flour next time because mine were crumbly and a bit dryer than I like! But overall they are really good!
What is the difference between tahini and sunflower seed butter?
Hi Cathi! Tahini is actually made with sesame seeds rather than sunflower seeds, but they have a similar consistency.
Just made these, slightly more cake like than brownies but so so good!! my whole family loved them 🙂
What you do with tahini is what I do with the TJ’s sunflower seed butter jars. LOL!
Omg so good!
For Some reason the Tahini mixture coagulated n thickened wen contacted with eggs, making it difficult to mix. Mine was roasted sesame tahini, could that b the reason. I am gonna try again next time blending rest of ingredients with the eggs and then folding with tahini+cocoa+coconut powder mixture.
These are amazing! The best healthy brownie I’ve ever eaten. I hate tahini by itself but with everything mixed together it was so good. Love all your recipes ❤️
Yay so glad you liked them! They’re definitely my favorite 🙂
These were amazing! So easy to make and really delish!
So glad you liked these! They’re my absolute favorite brownies.
Oh mah gahhh, these are incredible! I just made these for a healthier weekend treat my boyfriend and I could enjoy, and holy moly, we are both obsessed! They’re so fudgy and decadent, just as brownies should be! My mom had recently brought me back lots of tahini from Lebanon, where we’re from (and where she lives, so I totally shared a mom-visit with you!), and this recipe might beat hummus in terms of what I’ll use the tahini for 😉
These are great! Only needed the 22 minutes & my topping wouldn’t drizzle so I just spread it. Thanks!
They were amazing and were devoured immediately but I don’t know what happened when I baked them I took them out after 15 min because the top started to burn so I thought they were done but when I cut them it all fell apart. Still tasted amazing but I couldn’t really cut them up in squares. Any advice?
Sounds like they weren’t done well enough if they weren’t cut. Also I’m not sure why they would burn unless you added the melted chocolate on top before baking?? Or perhaps you changed a few ingredients?
Can you recommend a sugar substitution? I don’t have coconut sugar :((
Sure, you can use brown sugar!
Can you use stevia or xylitol in place of the coconut sugar and maple syrup?
I don’t bake with sugar substitutes like stevia, so I’m not 100% sure! I think stevia has a specific kind for baking that might work.
Just made these and WOW!!! I didn’t use coconut sugar, just added a bit more maple syrup and they were perfectly sweet. Fudgy and soft and chewy. Def making these a staple!!!!
So glad you enjoyed! They are definitely a staple in my house!
These are fantastic!
Agreed! My favorites 🙂
Hi Monique! Can’t wait to bake these for my coworkers next weekend! I was just wondering, do they keep well in the fridge or on the counter top? I’m taking them to my coworkers Saturday night but I’m busy all day Saturday, so I wondered if I could make them Friday night.. Would they still be as good the next day?
Thank you again and can’t wait to try!
Hi Christen! Amazing! I usually keep them on the counter, and they’ll stay good for the next day 🙂 You can also keep them in the fridge after a couple of days and they’ll actually get fudgier!
These were absolutely DELISH! I confess I did over indulge and eat about 4-5 pieces when it was fresh out of the oven. Will be making again!
It happens to the best of us! So glad you enjoyed these 🙂
Wow!! I have to agree–these are definitely the best homemade brownies I’ve ever had! I’m going to try them with flax eggs next time to see if I can make them vegan. Love!
So glad you enjoyed! And flax eggs should work 🙂
Made these for a potluck and they were a hit! I used oat flour since I didn’t have any coconut flour. Flavor was great, but I overbaked them by a few minutes and they got dry and crumbly. I will definitely be trying them again with less baking time!!!
Less baking time and coconut flour should help it! Glad they were a hit either way 🙂
These really are the best brownies I’ve ever made or tasted!!!! Thank you!!!
Amazing!! You’re welcome 🙂
Hi, just one question before I go and make them. One cup is how much? In grams approx.?
Thank you for the answer
Tina
I believe it’s about 250 grams!
Hi Monique,
So, I’m on to my tenth batch in less than four weeks that resulted in me taking a pregnancy test, which was negative but there is something going on!?! The brownie is soooooooo good. Oo the brownie, oo the brownie, give me the brownie, the brownie, the brownie, THE B R O W N I E!!! I have been spreading the love. Muchas gracias!
Oh my gosh this made my day! These are the best brownies I’ve ever eaten for a reason 😉 So glad you’re enjoying and spreading the love!
Uncompromising in taste, and so easy to make! made in an 8×8 in. pan instead of a 9×9 (since that’s all I had) and it baked up beautifully. Enjoyed by both kids and adults, regardless of dietary differences. This is going into my “favorite recipes” file 🙂 Thank you!
Amazing! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed 🙂 they’re the best for a reason!
These are absolutely amazing! Made them last night with a jar of TJ tahini and Ghirardelli’s cocoa and they truly are the best brownies I’ve ever tasted as well! Thank you for the great recipe–new favorite!!!
So glad you got to try these! They’re a staple in my house 🙂
Hi, they look delicious! I really want to try them, but unfortunately my oven just broke. Is there a possibility of baking it on the stovetop?
I’ve never tried it! I would probably advise sticking to the oven 🙂
I can’t tolerate eggs so I subbed with 3 flax eggs, just to ensure there was stability there, and they were delicious! Mmmmm! But mostly I wanted to thank you for providing a photo of the food on all your recipes! It drives me crazy when cooking blogs don’t offer one on their print out, after all that stunning photography! The pic grabs your attention when searching thru your recipes at home- it just makes sense to me. Thanks so much! ~ LOVES ~
Flax eggs are perfect! And I’m glad you like the photography in here, too 🙂 I love adding it!
OMG, so good!! recently discovered your blog and its the best!!
This took 5 mins to make and it’s awesome!!!
Welcome to Ambitious Kitchen! These are my go-to brownies – glad you enjoyed!
Love your recipes! Would it be strange to add zucchini to this recipe? How would the additional moisture contend??
I haven’t tried adding zucchini – it may add a bit too much moisture!
I’ve made these several times and they are absolutely delicious! I just wanted to comment that I use cacao powder instead of cocoa to make it more healthy and they are wonderful. Instead of the drizzle, I just throw the dark chocolate chips right into the batter. No one has ever noticed that they are “healthy” brownies! Thank you for the recipe!!
So great to hear! And yes – cacao works just great in this recipe (as do dark chocolate chips!) You are very welcome 🙂
These are so so SO good! I was too impatient and didn’t let them cool long enough before turning them out of the pan so the bottom kind of separated from the top. Nevertheless, still delicious and ooey gooey! Next time I’ll definitely need to be more patient or line the pan with parchment. Next time likely being tomorrow because I’m HOOKED!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these! They are my absolute go-to. And yes, letting the cool will help them stay together! Enjoy 🙂
I just made these and added almond butter, tbsp coconut oil and skipped the maple syrup. I also added match to the ch sauce on top! They are AMAZING!!! My kids ❤️
Will def be making these again…
Delicious! So happy to hear that!
“the best brownies i’ve ever eaten” is pretty dang perfect! I tried these and absolutely loved them!
So happy to hear that! 🙂
Hi, can I make the brownies with regular flour?
Hi! I wouldn’t recommend using regular flour as the consistency will be quite different in this recipe.
Just made these! In your words… DANK! Bomb! They are almost gone!
SO happy to hear that! These are the best for a reason 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
These brownies are absolutely delicious! Easily the best brownies I’ve ever made, and even better that they’re made with wholesome ingredients! Thanks you for another incredible recipe that not only tastes divine, but also is good for me.
They are my absolute favorite brownie! I’m so happy you loved them as much as I do 🙂
OH. WOW! I made a pan of these brownies this afternoon, and they are almost gone… what an amazing pan a heaven!! I didn’t make any changes or substitutions (so rare for me :)), they are perfect as is. Run to your kitchen and make a batch of these babies, you won’t regret it!!
I’ve been trying to keep my diet low carb & free of refined sugars, but definitely miss things like cake & brownies. These were perfect! I used Lily’s chocolate chips so I have zero guilt & I don’t feel icky afterwards. Big time bonus – my picky 7 year old loved them! He actually moaned while eating them! Your recipes never disappoint 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that! Glad they were kiddo-approved, too 🙂 Enjoy!
Just made these with cashew nut butter instead of tahini and with chopped orange lindt choc on top. They were amazing! xxx
Oh my gosh the orange lindt chocolate on top sounds incredible! So glad you enjoyed!
What a great idea to use tahini like this. I thought tahini would over-power but doesn’t. I had to substitute maple syrup for honey and coconut sugar for organic brown sugar. Unfortunately I baked them in a smaller oven for 23 min and I over-baked them :(. They just cooked faster because of the oven size (cuisinart pizza / convection / toaster oven). I think 18 min would have been perfect. I’ll try again.
The tahini is super subtle in here and bakes really well! Sorry to hear that your smaller oven caused some over-baking, I hope these turned out for you the second time around!
I made these and they were amazing but the chocolate chips are melted but they don’t look smooth when you cut them. I’m assuming the chocolate chips are supposed to be like chunks??
I’m so glad you loved these! And the chocolate chips will melt in these brownies, so there should just be bites of gooey chocolate in them 🙂
Would Cacao powder work ok?
Yep!
Can i make this without the chocolate chips?
Sure!
A friend of mine at work mentioned this recipe to me and I must say it is quite a tasty treat.
I have also made them with a homemade “sunflower tahini” and it was a hit, I think I may be leaning for the true sesame tahini version, of course I will have to do extensive testing first . 🙂
The only problem is that they always disappear so quickly, my teenager children swear they have no idea.
Thanks for providing this healthy desert alternative, You Rock !!!
Cheers!
Can you freeze the grain free brownies and how long for? Is that mean we are eating lots of tahini for serve?
I just made these and wow was I surprised! They were absolutely delicious and fudgy. I was very skeptical, but these are my go to brownies now. The only difference for regular brownies I they weren’t super crackly on top, but otherwise no one would ever know that they’re healthy.
These are SO GOOD!!! I’m amazed at how good. Even better 2nd day I think. Stop reading & just go make them!🙌🏼
Monique…you are a creative food genius!!!😘
Thanks Jennifer!! So glad you loved these – they’re the best I’ve ever eaten for a reason! 🙂
Monique, another great recipe. The kids loved this brownie. Fluffier than black bean brownies. I wonder if I can cross the recipes to get a good combo of fudge and cake.
Glad you and the kiddos love these! Let me know if you experiment with a combo 🙂
I made these last night and they were delish!! The only issue is that they were crumbly and didn’t hold together. Any suggestions? I followed the recipe, although I used cacao powder instead of cocoa, but that shouldn’t affect consistency.
So glad you loved them! Hmmm these should hold together pretty well – it sounds like they may have needed a little more time in the oven.
I don’t know if its already been mentioned but after I ran out of tahini, I made a batch of these with drippy almond butter. They were also amazing. Great recipe as usual!!!!❤
YUM that sounds fabulous! I’m so glad you loved them!
These are downright amazing!!! To die for!!! Thanks!!! Will post a photo on IG later and tag you.
Amazing!! So glad you liked them 🙂 and I’ll look out for a photo!
Hello! Just a question about the recipe… I’m super excited to make this (a friend recommended this to me!) and will be baking these at some point this week, but are these safe to give to someone with a nut allergy? I just wanted to check before offering any to my brother after I make these. As far as I’m aware he doesn’t have an allergy to sesame seeds, but I wanted to check to make sure 🙂 Thank you, and looking forward to making these!!
Hi! I think it depends on the person – I would double check with him because this has coconut product in it. Hope you love them!
My husband is allergic to nuts and he had no problem with these—that being said, he eats hummus all the time and that’s how we knew it was fine. He is allergic to fresh coconuts, and I didn’t want to risk it with even a baked coconut product, so I switched out those ingrediants. At least some people with nut allergies include coconut in that. I second asking the person because allergies are super weird/individual. Hope this helps someone!
These are delicious, and so easy! I never had tahini before I bought it for this this recipe,and I can’t wait to try some more recipes with it!
I LOVE cooking and baking with tahini! Search “tahini” in the search bar and you’ll find some other great ways to use it 🙂
Can I replace the coconut sugar with maple syrup?
Absolutely fabulous brownies! I made them as a birthday surprise treat for my sister visiting from California. I used cacao powder instead of cocoa (don’t really know the difference) and made 2 batches of brownies. I learned on the first batch that sifting the cacao first would be a good idea as it was a challenge to incorporate. But hands down DELICIOUS!
The BEST surprise! I hope she loved them, too 🙂
So, I made the vegan version if these with 2 flax eggs and I aslo used cacao powder instead. They are absolutely amazing. Fudgy, rich, crispy on the outside, nutty, just great. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Perfect! So happy you loved them 🙂
I made these with brown sugar, agave syrup, and whole wheat pastry flour (with about a teaspoon of chia seeds because Monique mentioned somewhere in the comments that the coconut flour absorbs moisture). I didn’t do the glaze and added the extra chocolate chips into the mix instead. The flavor was great and I really enjoyed these as a cake…maybe it was the substitutions (?), but they just weren’t brownies.
Belle — thanks for your comment. You made several substitutions to the recipe and then rated them as if you had made the original, which I think is a bit unfair. Totally understand about potential allergies and subs, but more than likely you changing the recipe is a result of them not turning out as you hoped.
The BEST brownies ever!!! So obsessed. We added walnuts. Yum yum yum! Thank you!
YES so good! Love the idea of walnuts in here too 🙂
Howdy! I made these brownies last week and they were so good! I used two “flax eggs” instead of real eggs and they still came out great. I shared some with my Dad who is gluten-and dairy-free (begrudgingly, for health reasons) and he really liked them-they made his day! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe 🙂
Hey Jesse! Perfect – I’m so glad you both really liked them!! They’re my favorite for a reason 😉
They look amazing, but a lot of sugar tho… Have you used sugar-free sweeteners in your recipes? Do you think I can replace the coconut sugar+maple with stevia+erythritol and still have good results?
Thanks 🙂
They’re delicious! I don’t bake with sugar-free sweeteners, as I like to use all-natural ones. I’m not sure the amounts to use with sugar alternatives, but let me know if you try it!
D E L I C I O U S !!! Thank you for the recipe! I just replaced the sugar with a stevia/erythritol blend 1:1 and worked perfect!
So glad you loved these!
D E L I C I O U S !!! Thank you for the recipe! I just replaced the sugar with a stevia/erythritol blend 1:1 and worked perfect!
These are INCREDIBLE!!! Hands down one of the best brownies I’ve ever eaten. Reccommend using Ghiradelli chocolate chips–so rich and creamy!
YES so happy to hear that Dana! 🙂
I just made these, and they are everything you said they would be! I added dried cherries and walnuts. Thanks, I love your creativity with the tahini.
So happy to hear that Paula! Love the idea of dried cherries and walnuts in these. More tahini recipes to come 🙂
I made these with whole wheat flour instead of coconut flour and they turned out pretty cakey. That could also be because I think I baked them too long… I baked them for 25 minutes, but they would’ve been perfection around 21 minutes. I added a spoonful of chia seeds to absorb the extra water (mentioned in another comment), but I shouldn’t have because then they would’ve been gooier and fudgier I think. Anyway, more cake-like than brownie-like, but still good!
Hi Rachel! I wouldn’t suggest swapping the flours in this recipe because it does change the consistency (that’s why the brownies were more cake-like).
I’ve always made these with cassava flour instead of coconut flour, and although the texture is a bit more cake-like, they are still delicious. This is my go-to recipe when all other paleo desserts fail me! 😊
Noted on the flour swap – glad they still work out for you! Love these ones 🙂
I love to make homemade brownies. I have made several different recipes and these are the BEST brownies I have ever made. Even my friends loved them. Can’t wait to make again. Thanks Monique!!
So happy to hear that Tara! These are my absolute go-to’s. Enjoy!