Apple Carob Brownies (Gluten-free, AIP, Paleo, Vegan, high fiber)

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Apple Carob Brownies are great for quick breakfasts, lunch boxes, snacks and wholesome desserts. You’ll love having these bars around for healthy treats!

This treat is great for real food or Ancestral diets, including Gluten-free, AIP, Paleo, Vegan and VAD (and low copper). Accordingly, see the slight variations in the recipe for your unique diet.

Apple Carob Brownies are also egg-free, nut-free, dairy-free, with the grain-free option and can be coconut-free.

What do Apple Carob Brownies taste like

Apple Carob Brownies do not taste like chocolate. But, they’re so good you’ll want to savor yours.

They’re super moist and very satisfying! Plus, a little dense (that nice brownie chewiness), tender and sweet.

You won’t taste the apple as much as the carob. Overall, just very good, pleasant and easy to keep eating.

These brownies do taste like a healthy treat, not like a rich brownie. You can sense the fiber, which makes them more like a delicious hippie treat.

Both kids and adults will love these. They can be used as a healthy snack or side, but they can also be served during the holidays as a special baked good.

Ingredients in High-Fiber Apple Carob Brownies

This recipe contains: grated apple, flours (based on diet, more on this below), roasted carob powder, coconut sugar, coconut oil (or preferred fat), flax seeds (or gelatin for AIP, Paleo and VAD, or if preferred), baking soda and sea salt.

Why carob

Carob is used in place of cocoa for several reasons. But a couple of the most important:

• Cocoa is very high in copper, and carob is much much lower. Copper is a heavy metal, so chocolate is not as healthy as we’ve been told.
• Carob does not have caffeine, so gentler for the body.

Egg-free

Both the flax, or gelatin, are used in place of eggs in this recipe.

Flour options

If you’re GF or Vegan, you can use whichever flours you prefer in this recipe. The main recipe flours are:

• Gluten-free, VAD — oat flour and chickpea flour; but this second flour can also be subbed for another GF flour, if you prefer, such as buckwheat (which is also high fiber).
• For Paleo, AIP and grain-free — tiger nut and green banana flour. I believe the green banana flour will sub for more tiger nut flour, if you prefer. (Green banana flour does save money, as it’s a less expensive pantry staple.)

All of these flour ingredient ^^ links are in the main recipe below if you want to source them.

How to make Apple Carob Brownies

This brownie recipe is a simple standard quick-bread process: stir together the dry ingredients, stir together the wet ingredients, add wet to dry, and combine well.

The only exception you’ll see in the Instructions: the flax or gelatin is added to the wet ingredients.

I like to line the pan with a little grease and a piece of parchment paper, which makes it easy to remove the whole baked good in one piece, and then cut into squares after it’s cooled.

Do allow Apple Carob Brownies to mostly cool before transferring them to a rack to cool completely, especially the grain-free version of the recipe, which is a little softer.

How to store leftover Brownies

Place leftovers in a sealed container. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Or freeze for up to 3 months, and defrost as needed.

Which brownie pan to use

I have made these in a small casserole dish that measures 8×6 inches, which makes a slightly thicker brownie. (Try a pan like this, or one you already have, if you want a thicker brownie.)

And, I have also made them in an 8″ brownie pan, which of course makes a slightly thinner brownie, more standard for a brownie.

Both work fine. I recommend the 8″ pan for the Paleo, AIP version of the recipe. The GF, VAD version can go either way, if you happen to have a small dish like I do; the thicker GF brownies are nice.

Here’s a standard 8″ brownie pan that will work well for conducting heat (aluminum is considered safe by bakers as long as there are no reactive ingredients in the recipe, like lemon or tomatoes, and you’ll be lining the pan with parchment).

Print Recipe

5 from 12 votes

Apple Carob Brownies (High Fiber, GF, AIP, Paleo, Vegan, VAD)

Apple Carob Brownies are a great source of gentle fiber, taste like a delicious, dense, moist, tender piece of cake or brownie, and we love them with breakfast, for snacks and anytime of day.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Afternoon tea, Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: aip, apple, brownies, carob, constipation, gluten-free, high fiber, paleo

Servings: 9 servings

Calories: 215kcal

Author: Megan

Cost: $5

Equipment

• baking dish or small pan for brownies, similar to 8x8", or a bit smaller for thicker brownies
• parchment paper optional, for lining your baking dish
• mixing bowl
• electric handheld mixer or similar; also okay to mix by hand
• oven

Ingredients

• 1 cup apple peeled and grated to measure, 5.3 ounces or 150 grams grated apple
• 1 cup oat flour OR for Paleo, AIP: 1 cup tiger nut flour

  (For oat flour, I grind my own in my coffee grinder, until fine, from rolled oats.)

• ¾ cup coconut sugar
• ⅔ cup carob powder roasted
• ⅓ cup coconut oil melted and cooled (For VAD, use butter.)
• ⅓ cup milk of choice, I like to use oat milk for GF and coconut milk for Paleo/AIP.
• 6 Tablespoons water
• ¼ cup chickpea flour , organic and sprouted, if possible or another favorite GF flour like buckwheat OR for Paleo, AIP: green banana flour (if you prefer, I think it will work to sub this for more tiger nut flour)
• 2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds for GF and Vegan versions OR for AIP and VAD: use gelatin
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda sifted
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking pan with small amount of grease and parchment paper. Set aside.
• In large mixing bowl, combine these dry ingredients:

  For GF and VAD version -- oat flour, chickpea flour (or other preferred GF flour, such as sorghum or buckwheat), coconut sugar, carob, baking soda and sea salt.

  For AIP, Paleo version -- tiger nut flour, green banana flour, coconut sugar, carob, baking soda and sea salt.
  
• In Pyrex measuring cup or small mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients (with flax/gelatin) in this order: milk, water, then sprinkle in flax/gelatin, and stir with a fork. Then stir in grated apple and melted fat.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Use handheld electric mixer to combine, first on low speed and then up to medium speed, until combined well, without over-mixing, about 45 to 60 seconds. (The oat flour version looks like the photo below. See the Notes section [under the recipe] for the remaining Paleo AIP process photos.)
  
• Scrape batter into prepared pan, and smooth out the top surface a bit, but it won't be totally smooth. (For Paleo, AIP version, the batter is a lot thicker. So, wet your fingers lightly with water, and pat the dough into place until spread out and flat. See process photo in Notes section below.)
  
• Bake in preheated oven 35 minutes, until puffed, pulling away from the sides of the pan slightly and cracked around the outer two inches, but less cracked in the center.
  
• Cool fully before cutting into squares.
  

Notes

Here's how the Paleo AIP version of the recipe looks:

Process photos, Paleo AIP batter:

This brownie batter is thick, so you'll wet your fingers lightly, repeatedly, to pat it into place in the baking dish before baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 215kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 185mg | Potassium: 182mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 1mg

High in fiber

Apple Carob Brownies can even be used for constipation, although they won’t have a laxative effect for normal healthy bodies. It’s just the right amount of fiber that so many of us need for daily detox.

Freely give these to kids, eat them yourself, and enjoy healthy ingredients with improved digestion.

You can Pin Apple Carob Brownies here:

More similar Gluten-free baked goods you’ll love:

• Paleo, AIP, Vegan Strawberry Muffins
• Berry Crumble Bars (Paleo, Vegan)
• Paleo, Vegan, VAD Carob Muffins
• AIP Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Muffins
• Paleo AIP Chocolate Caramel Mug Cake (made with carob)