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I promised a full-size version of the single-serve okra brownie I posted a little while ago, and I’m here to deliver! These brownies are a Deep S for Trim Healthy Mamas, which means that they focus on foundation fats (like coconut oil and eggs). They’re naturally gluten, dairy, and nut free, so allergy people rejoice!
Yep, you read that right. I said “okra.” In case you’ve never seen okra in its whole form, check out the pictures in this post. We grow this unique vegetable in our garden every summer; it’s very hardy and very prolific. I suggest using frozen diced okra in this recipe because it’s been blanched, and the blanching process helps cut the slime in the okra and makes it disintegrate into your brownies better. Want to learn more about okra as a superfood? Check out the explanation in this recipe on the Trim Healthy Mama website or read about it in the THM Cookbook.
I used a significant amount of okra in this recipe because I’ve really been trying to eat more of this special vegetable. I’m using a Ninja blender which is losing some of its power after years of hard use and it didn’t blend the okra quite as finely as I would’ve liked, so you can probably see some okra specks in the pictures in this post. I say all that to explain that I can taste the okra in these brownies. It adds a bit of an “earthy” flavor. I’m not going to lie and say that you can’t taste it a little. I put enough in these brownies that I expected to taste it, and I don’t mind a bit! I definitely recommend refrigerating these brownies overnight before eating them – and once they’re fully chilled…mmm, are they ever good! Every single bite contains lots of good okra and coconut oil to nourish your body. I personally love them, but if they’re not your thing, I understand. I just wanted to give you an upfront warning. I’m about the farthest thing away from a picky eater you could find, so sometimes I struggle to know which recipes I should blog and which I shouldn’t. Honestly, I like most of the recipes I create, but not everyone agrees with me (this is when I’m especially thankful for my bluntly honest family). I will say this: these brownies only lasted the two days that they did because I insisted to my sister that we should save some to go with the Deep S ice cream recipe I was working on the day after I made them…. 😛
If you don’t want quite so much okra, try the Cry No More Brownies recipe in the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook. Those brownies are different in that they don’t use so much okra, and they use yummy things like baking chocolate to make what looks like it would be a wonderfully traditional brownie recipe! They aren’t Deep S, though. I have a non-okra Ultimate Brownie recipe here that has a pretty traditional taste and texture – no scary veggies involved – if that’s more your speed.
Disclaimers aside, I love these superfoody okra brownies. They’re so healthy that they put dessert guilt in the negative, plus they taste good. That’s always an added bonus. I don’t usually remake recipes, but this one is definitely going to be made again in my kitchen. If you try them, let me know what you think!
As always, check out the Notes section of the recipe for answers to FAQs, and check out the Suggested Products section below the recipe to find links to the products I use and recommend.
You might also enjoy:
- Starting THM
- my picture recipe index
- my ultimate brownie recipe (no okra)
- my Deep S recipes
- this single serve okra brownie
- 1½ c. frozen diced okra, thawed*
- ½ c. + 2 T. warm water
- 5 T coconut oil**
- 3 eggs
- -
- ½ c. oat fiber (use gluten free if necessary)
- 6 T. cocoa powder
- 1½ - 2 T. THM Super Sweet Blend
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- Blend the okra, water, coconut oil, and eggs together in a blender just until smooth.
- Whisk the dry ingredients.
- Add the blended mixture to the dry ingredients and beat with a hand mixer just until mixed.
- Spread the batter into a greased 8x8" glass baking dish and bake at 350* for 24 minutes. The center may still feel underdone, but that's OK. Let the brownies cool, then refrigerate them overnight before cutting and serving. Store in the refrigerator. Yields 9 servings
**Use refined coconut oil if you don't want a coconut flavor.
Suggested products:
I’m working on a Deep S ice cream recipe to go with these brownies, and I have a Deep S peanut butter ice cream topping all ready to post with the perfected ice cream recipe! Deep S brownie sundaes, anyone?
I find it funny that you called the taste “earthy”. I made these yesterday and I love them. My husband decided to try a bite and actually could not eat it because “it tasted like mud”! It’s funny how taste is so individual. I hadn’t told him the ingredients just in case he was prejudiced against okra 😆
Haha…well I’m glad you liked them at least! Yep, if I’ve learned anything over the years as a food blogger, it’s that taste buds are NOT the same!
Hi! Do you think I could substitute oat flour for the oat fiber? Since I really don’t like the flavor of oat fiber….TIA!!!
No, I’m afraid oat flour and oat fiber are quite different, both in nutrition as well as in texture/dryness. They’re not interchangeable. I wonder what brand of oat fiber you’re using. Some are nasty, but I’ve always had great success with this one. It’s really light in color and mild in flavor >> https://www.briana-thomas.com/recommends/oat-fiber/
I don’t much care for the taste of coconut oil, do you think that red palm oil could work instead? Thanks!
Have you tried refined coconut oil? There’s no coconut flavor! I like Nutiva brand from Amazon (affiliate link) >> https://www.briana-thomas.com/recommends/coconut-oil/
I’m afraid I’ve never tried red palm oil so I’m not sure how it compares! If you try it in these brownies I’d love to hear how they turn out.
Have you ever tried this with zucchini?
No, I’m afraid I haven’t. I don’t think the texture would be the same. The sliminess of the okra is what gives these brownies a great texture. 🙂
These are soooo delicious with not a hint of okra taste! I will definitely be making them again. Thank you!
Awesome! Thanks so much for trying them!
Excited to try!! Appleesauce instead of the oil thoughts?
If you’re following Trim Healthy Mama, that would change the fuel type to a crossover. 🙂 I don’t think applesauce would be good for the texture either. The coconut oil helps firm these up when cold.
I have heard that Psyllium husks work well as a replacement for oat fiber, if so, would this keep this in the deep s range?
I’m sorry – I don’t have any personal experience with psyllium husks and don’t know if they would work in this recipe or not. They are Deep S friendly, though. 🙂
Trying this for the first time! Could you tell me how many we can have in a sitting? Is one filling? If I warmed it and put a bit of butter on it, you think that would work? TIA
There’s really not a limit on how many you can have in an S setting. 🙂 I recommend eating them cold, though, for best flavor and texture. (Any okra taste will become more prominent with heat.) A little melted butter on top might be good, though!
Any ideas on what can be subbed for the oat fiber? Would coconut flour work?
You’re welcome to try that, but I’m afraid I’ve only tested it with the oat fiber and that one can be tricky to replace. Coconut flour may be gritty and would not be Deep S (these brownies would become a regular THM S recipe), but that would probably be closer in dryness to oat fiber than most other low-carb flours so it’s a good starting place!
I absolutely love the single serve version of this. It tastes so good! I decided to make the full version so that I wouldn’t have to dirty my dishes up everyday. I’m not sure what went wrong. It looks delicious, but it tastes like….?When you eat something and it comes back up in your throat. I used exact same ingredients and blended the exact same way as the single serve. Can you think of what I could’ve done wrong? Thanks so much!!
Hi Tina! It’s the okra. I’ve never had it happen to me personally, but I’ve heard from many people that once in awhile they just get a bad batch of okra and it makes their recipe taste like vomit. The theory is that there’s an enzyme in some okra that reacts negatively with the other ingredients. I’m afraid I don’t have any info other than that, but I have heard of that problem before with various okra recipes!
I had that experience once making a chicken recipe from a THM book that had okra blended into the sauce. I had made it before and it was delicious, but the next time I made it it tasted putrid. That was the only word I could use to describe it. Thanks for explaining the mystery, Briana!
These are INCREDIBLE! I used my Gentle Sweet blend & with a bit extra & added 3 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut…it’s like “real ” brownies!!
I make these often as they are delish and a deep S!!! Win win!! Thank you briana for sharing your yummy recipes!!
Hi – I made these the other day. I did something that made them come out really bitter. Could you shed some light on what might have caused them to be bitter? These are the variables – I used raw okra from my garden (I figured they would cook while baking). I blended those with the eggs and oil in the blender, and then circumstances led to that mixture staying in the blender for a couple of hours before I got to the next stage of prep. I also decided to add in some fennel fronds and chocolate mint from my garden.
It wasn’t anything in the dry mix, because when I tasted the wet ingredients for sweetness (I had used honey and stevia from my garden for sweetener – already in the wet ingredients), the wet mixture was bitter. At that point, I added coconut sugar, to no avail. I hoped that the baking process, or the cooling overnight in the fridge would take away the bitterness, but it did not. They were so bad I spit it out (which I rarely do). Any ideas on what I did wrong? The next time I make them, I will go by your recipe exactly! I really love how they turned out texture-wise, but unfortunately I have been unable to redeem the taste.
Hi Marie, unfortunately with so many variables it’s really hard for me to pinpoint something. I recommend using frozen diced okra in my recipes not only because of the blanching process (see the note in the printable recipe), but also because anecdotal evidence suggests that some okra has an enzyme that doesn’t react well with some ingredients. Since we haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly what ingredient it doesn’t like and it only happens on rare occurances, I didn’t include that note in the recipe, but very possibly that could be the problem. Frozen okra doesn’t seem to have as much of a problem with this as fresh okra. Letting the okra sit after being blended with other ingredients possibly exacerbated the problem. Adding fennel fronds, chocolate mint, and fresh stevia definitely could’ve added bitter elements as well, especially when combining them all in the same recipe along with the okra and chocolate flavors. My biggest tip would be to try the recipe as written next time and see if they turn out any better. 😉
Any recommendations for a frosting?
I don’t have any that would allow these to remain Deep S, but this one is always a crowd favorite: https://www.briana-thomas.com/fudgy-mocha-frosting-low-carb-sugar-free-thms/
Or you could make this one with cream instead of the almond milk for a ganache-style frosting: https://www.briana-thomas.com/chocolate-ganache-frostingglaze/
I did use the chocolate Ganache frosting. I used 5 Tbls. Of almond milk . They were absolutely amazing! A huge hit. They are also delicious without the frosting too though
I make Deep S frosting by taking a basic Skinny Chocolate recipe and adding Butter. I eyeball it, but I try to use equal parts butter and coconut oil. Just make sure all the ingredients are cold. Use a hand mixer and beat well. So good with these brownies!
Great idea!
I made these yesterday and had one without frosting, it was very good, but I like frosted brownies. I thought that Briana’s Chocolate Truffle Fudge might work for frosting and keep it a deep S. So, I made the fudge and spread some over the cooled cake, then put it in the refrigerator. I was right, the fudge makes an excellent frosting. I do have to admit that I have a sweeter sweet tooth than Briana, so I added more sweetener to both recipes. It was so good, I had a piece for breakfast this morning. Briana, thank you for the great Deep S recipes.
Hi! These look super yummy! Do you know if I could use Swerve instead and if so how much? Thanks!
Hi Missy! This sweetener conversion chart should help you out: http://www.trimhealthymama.com/main-home/sweetener-conversion-chart/
Just find out how Swerve measures compared to sugar and use that in your calculations. I always start with less sweetener than I think I’ll need, then taste and adjust.
Yummm!! Deep S brownies is an awesome idea!
I love these Deeo S recipes – I get hung up on Heavy S frequently. ?