These über-chocolatey almond pulp brownies are an easy and delicious way to use up almond pulp leftover from making nut milk. This reader-favorite almond pulp recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, and refined sugar-free to boot.
You might also like these cocoa-hemp nut pulp energy bites!
What to do with Almond Pulp?
The question every nut milk aficionado finds themselves asking is "what to do with all the pulp?" I've recently found myself in the same quandary. I make a batch of my favorite homemade vanilla maple almond milk or this almond cashew milk that I like in my green smoothies once a week.
The nut pulp quickly adds up.
Organic almonds and cashews aren't cheap. Tossing cups and cups of pulp into the compost every week feels a little like throwing wads of cash in the toilet. I managed to get the pulp down to more reasonable amounts by using a combination of cashews and almonds in the milk; since cashews are mostly fat, they have less fiber to leave behind.
But still, the nut pulp increases.
Many almond pulp recipes are of the raw vegan variety. During a previous nut milk phase, I tried making one of these – a layer cake comprised of nut pulp mixed with coconut oil, pureed dates, and flavorings. The recipe made about ten gallons of cake, with a soggy texture that I did not find delicious.
We reluctantly ate it until we never wanted to think about nut milk or raw cakes again.
Next I tried drying out the nut pulp, whizzing it in a coffee grinder, and baking it into cookies loaded with chocolate chips and spelt flour. But the drying/grinding process was tedious, and the recipe didn't use enough to really put a dent in the growing mountain of pulp.
Almond Pulp Recipes to the Rescue
I needed a solution, and decided that almond pulp brownies might be a good way to go, since they're mostly held together with eggs, sugar, and chocolate or cocoa powder. But most of the almond pulp brownie recipes I found were both raw and vegan, and I wasn't about to repeat the dreadful cake experience.
Luckily, a couple of recipes set me on the right path: these Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies from Detoxinista, and this Amazing Chocolate Cake from The Veggie Voyager. I took a stab at an almond pulp brownie recipe using ingredients I had on hand – unrefined sugar, eggs, cocoa powder, nut pulp, coconut oil, and salt.
They were some of the best brownies I've ever tasted – deeply chocolatey with a top note of coconut, and a melt-in-your-mouth texture reminiscent of flourless chocolate cake. (In fact, bake this in a round cake pan and serve wedges with whipped cream, and you'll have yourself one fancy-pants dessert.)
An Easy Almond Pulp Brownie Recipe
For this almond pulp recipe, I like to whip the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy, which gives the batter some lift; but I've also successfully made these brownies by simply whisking all the ingredients together. The nut pulp goes in damp – no drying or grinding necessary. It will keep refrigerated for up to a week, or you can freeze it for a month or two.
Despite my best efforts, the brownie tops refuse to form a pretty crust on top, but a flutter of cacao nibs disguises this fact, and also adds a habit-forming crunch. Or you can do as one commenter suggested and slather them with a layer of dairy-free chocolate ganache.
Despite tasting super rich and decadent, these almond pulp brownies are relatively healthy, being free of grains, gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. They're also paleo! Best of all, they use up almost a whole cup of almond pulp.
Of course, the best accompaniment to warm, chocolatey brownies is a tall glass of cool, fresh almond milk, so you may find yourself in a bit of a vicious cycle.
Or a virtuous cycle, depending.
More Almond Pulp Recipes:
- Make some nut milk first with my Vanilla Maple Almond Milk Recipe
- Almond Pulp Energy Bites with Chocolate and Hemp Seed
- Spelt Almond Pulp Chocolate Chip Cookies
More Paleo-Friendly Vegan Chocolate Desserts:
- Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Tahini Tart
- No-Bake Hazelnut Ganache Brownies {gluten-free, vegan, refined sugar-free}
- No-Bake Chocolate Cream Tart {vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free}
- Raw Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
- Vegan Chocolate Chile Coconut Milk Truffles
More Gluten-Free Chocolate Desserts:
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Almond Olive Oil Cake
- Gluten-Free Congo Bars
- Gluten-Free Blondies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Desserts Round-Up!
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this nut pulp brownie recipe, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Baked Almond Pulp Brownies {Paleo, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, Refined Sugar-Free}
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
For the brownies:
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups coconut sugar, maple sugar, or brown sugar (7 ounces / 200 grams)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup extra-virgin coconut oil (4 ounces / 110 grams)
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed moist almond pulp or other nut pulp (6 ounces / 170 grams)
- 1 cup cocoa powder (preferably dutch-processed, though natural or raw will work, too) (3.25 ounces / 90 grams)
- 2-3 tablespoons cacao nibs (optional)
Instructions
Make the brownies:
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF (175ºC). Line the bottom and sides of an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the eggs, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Meanwhile, gently melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan set over a medium-low flame. Add the nut pulp and stir to combine. Continue to heat, stirring frequently, until the nut pulp mixture is warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. (This prevents the batter from seizing up when all the ingredients are added.)
- Turn the mixer to low, and add the nut pulp mixture, stirring just to combine. Sift the cocoa powder over the egg mixture and mix on low until just combined; the batter will deflate a lot.
- Spread the batter in the lined pan, sprinkle with the cacao nibs, and bake until the brownies are matte on top, slightly puffed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging, 15-20 minutes. Don't overbake.
- Let cool completely, then lift the brownie out of the pan and cut into 16 squares. The brownies keep well, airtight at room temperature, for up to three days.
Notes
Nutrition
Hermawaty Susanto says
Wow thats a wonderful brownies, I replaced, the muscovado sugar with palm sugar and changed the VCO with peanut oil and put dates slices into the brownise. Thank you for sharing.
Matt says
I love the flavour, but mine turned out more fluffy like cake than dense like a brownie. What can I do to make them more dense? Less egg? More oil? Shorter cook time? I checked after 15 minutes and they were still liquid. I checked again after 5 more minutes and they were fully cooked yet still moist. Any tips are appreciated!
Alanna says
Hi Matt, I'm wondering how dry your almond pulp was? I'd wager that more moisture=cakier brownies. That said, mine are always more delicate than typical fudgy brownies, but still fairly dense as you can see from the pics. :)
Matt says
The almond was quite wet. It went straight into the freezer and then defrosted in the fridge before I made them. I'm thinking I over cooked. I have more left so I'm going to try again with a shorter cook time.
Alanna says
Aha! Ok, give that almond pulp a good squeeze in a nut milk bag to get it as dry as possible first and I think you'll be happier with the finished texture. You can also spread the pulp on a baking sheet and dry it out in a low oven, as some commenters have done. Let me know how it goes!
DS says
Hi do you know if I could substitute carob powder for cocoa powder? How would it taste?
Melissa says
These brownies are AMAZING!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe, and giving me a great way to use up some of this nut pulp...any excuse to make brownies ;)
Jess says
I love these brownies! Made them in the Kitchenaid with my toddler this morning :-)
Jess says
Wow, thank you for your sharing, I slightly changed the recipe, I added 1/3 less sugar than yours, 1/5 less cocoa powder, 90 g virgin coconut oil, 3 eggs, 200 g almond pulp. I baked 35 mins. I found it also very nice. Anyway, thank you very much. You inspired me a lot.
AC says
Thank you so much for the recipe. Great to use up the almond pulp. Thanks as well for the consideration of writing options for degrees Celsius and measurements by weight in grams. I cook with a Thermomix, so weights in recipes is awesome (and hard to come by). I was a bit naughty and spooned some out to eat as a hot dessert straight from the oven. Amazing. The rest will cool down for slicing like the recipe recommends.
Amy says
The best brownies ever!! I make a batch of cashew or almond milk ever week and was tired of the 2 recipes that I have been using for leftover pulp. I have been making them with cashew pulp but plan on making them with almond pulp soon. They taste so good frozen too. I have chopped the brownies into smaller pieces and stirred into coconut milk ice cream for an extra special treat :) Your photography is beautiful! Thank you so much!!
Nadia says
Yeay, I finally made these.. With slightly less coconut sugar (just 10 gr less), and less cocoa powder, i used butter instead of coconut oil as I don't have them. My kids say they're good but a bit too bitter. I use dutch cocoa.. I will cut down the sugar and cocoa powder next time. I think the texture hold up quite nicely for gluten free baked goods. I also baked them much longer, because when i check on 24min, the center was not done yet. Finally i take them out at 34 min. So glad i can use up the pulp.. Thanks for the great recipe ^^
Ellie says
These are in the oven right now and they smell divine! I used brown coconut sugar instead of white, and basically cut the recipe into 3/4. So only 3 eggs, 2/3 cup sugar and cacao powder, and a little less coconut oil. I used a full cup of the hazelnut pulp (I made hazelnut milk yesterday and that’s what made me find your recipe! I was trying to figure out what to do with the pulp!), packed. I will let you know how mine turn out!
Ellie says
Update: they were so good I couldn’t wait for them to cool down all the way. While they were still hot I added some paleo chocolate chunks (not a lot, just about a tablespoon) and let them melt. They were a bit crumbly, but I didn’t really mind! They were also moist and delicious! It’s my first time cooking with coconut sugar (brown coconut sugar in my case) and I was pleased! I normally bake with maple syrup or honey! I thought the salt was delicious, but some people might find it too salty for their tastes. Thanks for sharing the recipe! They tasted just like Nutella with a bit of salt thrown in!
Alanna says
So glad you like them! I can imagine how perfect hazelnut flour would taste - yum!
Morgan says
Could maple syrup be substituted for the sugar? If so, any idea of how much would be needed? Or if any other changes to amount of ingredients or baking time would be required? Many thanks x
Alanna says
I think the batter will be very wet if you use maple syrup, but you could use maple sugar and it would probably not need any other changes! Let me know if you experiment!
Janet says
Thank you, thank you, thank you! We've tried several different recipes for using up our nut pulp and this is THE BEST! Okay...it's chocolate, and sugar, so probably not great for the waistline, but so good. I used regular oil and an 8x8 pan. It took a good bit longer than 20 minutes, but that could be due to a lot of different factors. But it doesn't matter.....these are yummy! I'll be making them again, but likely taking them into work rather than keeping them at home. Just the husband and me and already half the pan is gone!
Thank you again for your creative genius!
Alanna says
I'm so glad you like the recipe - thanks a bunch for the note! At least they're full of fiber from the nut pulp and antioxidants in the chocolate, right? ;)
Katlin says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just started making my own almond milk and felt guilty tossing the pulp. I topped my brownies with shredded coconut instead of the cacao nibs. Turned out delicious!
Alanna says
Aw yay!! I'm so glad you liked them!
Amanda says
These are absolutely amazing.
Yum.
claudia says
All I can say is Yum. Didn't have a stand up mixer so used the whisk attachment of my immersion blender. No nibs. Even so they are so delicious. If you like chocolate then you are in for a treat. Thanks for the recipe! These may be my go to for pot lucks/birthday. Think would be great with ganache on top..
Alanna says
I'm so glad they were a hit! I LOVE the idea of putting ganache on top. I'll add that suggestion into the recipe - genius!
Dagmar says
Best use for the almond pulp so far!! These are delish! Cant wait to keep making them! Thank you!!
Alanna says
Yay, I'm so glad you liked them! Thanks a bunch for the rating and note. :)
Jennifer says
I love these brownies. I have tried a couple of other almond pulp recipes, but I keep coming back to these. I do freeze them because we can’t eat them within the recommended time period. Then I defrost one at a time to savor at my leisure.
Lida says
Hello, thank you for sharing this recipe. Have you ever tried it with coconut pulp? Do you think it might work ?
Thank you.
Alanna says
I haven't and I'm not sure it will work given that coconut flour is so much more absorbent than other nut flours. If you try it you might want to start with half the amount of pulp. Please let me know if you experiment!
Alix says
Excited to taste these. Ours are baking in the oven
Marzia Stefani says
Thank you so much baked these today and I am so glad I did they are fabulous
Alanna says
I'm so glad!
Hemp Ma says
We've made these brownies several times now and love them!
Our favorite way to make them is actually replacing the eggs with flax eggs and adding 1/2tsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda. They turn out so much more moist and pair super well with a cup of vanilla almond milk! The first time I made them I had no eggs and was deliciously surprised by how well they turned out. I've since made them with eggs and my kids and I all decided to stick with the flax eggs for this recipe.
Thanks for the recipe inspiration! It has been added to our favorites!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Oh wow, that's fascinating and so good to know. Thank you for sharing!
Jasmine says
How’s this dairy free with eggs in it? Is there an egg substitute for this?
Hannah says
Hi Jasmine! Dairy refers to milk products specifically, so eggs are technically dairy free. I would recommend using two flax or chia eggs, and then two eggs' worth of a powdered egg replacer that contains a raising agent.
Caroline Brown says
Hi!
I am new to the Almond Milk pulp leftovers. I just tried the Detoxinista's recipe and like it. This one uses more almond milk. I like that. I am going to try it. Question: why arent you using any Baking Soda? Doesn't that make it rise a bit?
I am also going to add 1/4 cup of ground flax seed and decrease sugar and oil. I am sure it will come out great.
Thank you for your response. I will let you know how it comes out.
Alanna says
Hi Caroline,
Those are great questions! I don't use baking soda because whipping the eggs with the sugar fluffs up the brownies enough. But if you want to try adding leavening after you test them once, by all means give it a try and see what happens! Let me know how it works with the ground flax and less sugar and oil. I hope you enjoy them!
Jess says
These are amazing! I made them with leftover macadamia nut pulp and the came out really well. Love the crunch of the cacao nibs on top. I did have to bake mine for closer to 35 minutes, but that may be because I used a different nut pulp. Either way, thank you!
Britney Grover says
I never comment on things, but these brownies are the best thing I've ever had and, to be honest, one of the great joys in my life right now! That sounds like an exaggeration but as a mom of a 2yo it's amazing to be able to sit down in the evening and slowly savor one of these melt-in-your-mouth, deeply chocolatey brownies. I follow the recipe exactly but embrace the coconut flavor and top with shredded unsweetened coconut. Thank you so much for this amazing treat.
Alanna says
I'm sooooo glad you love these brownies! I can imagine how essential it is to have time (and chocolatey treats) to yourself after wrangling a toddler all day long. Shredded coconut on top sounds absolutely delightful. I'll have to try that next time!
Jay says
These are fantastic!!!!!!! Thank you so much for publishing the recipe! Just baked a slightly modified version today and they turned out just perfect and are the best brownies I have tried so far.
(Used cashew pulp - a bit more than in the recipe, palm sugar mixed with a bit of coconut syrup - amount reduced slightly, added a bit of expresso powder. Turned out very light and moist at the same time, a bit bitter due of the type of cocoa used.)
Alanna says
I'm *so* glad you love the recipe! Thanks for sharing your recipe tweaks, that all sounds delicious!
Jessica says
I have been trying all sorts of pulp recipes to try to use up my growing stash of pulp, so completely related to your struggle on this front! Now that I’ve made these, I’m HOOKED! So delish!
Only thing is mine were baked through but wouldn’t really hold a shape when cut. Maybe my pulp was too wet to start?
Alanna says
I'm so glad you liked the recipe and that it helped you use up your pulp stash! Though I'm sorry they didn't hold together well when cut. The moisture in the nut pulp could definitely be the culprit. Please let me know if you try the recipe again with drier pulp! It should be dry enough to crumble, like in the first photo. I'll add some more detail to the recipe!
Jessica says
I made a second batch (for the neighbors, this time) and used drier pulp, with better results. Yay!
Next time I’m curious to try swapping in some coconut sugar or maybe just reducing the sugar a bit and seeing how that goes.
So so happy I found this recipe!!!! Thank you!
Alanna says
Oh I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks for giving it another try and reporting back. I think you could definitely reduce the sugar to suit your taste!
William Fulton says
Trying this keto style with Allulose instead of raw sugar. This is pretty much the only substitution I needed to make. It takes a bit more Allulose since it is only 70% as sweet as sugar so just a little more than a 1 1/2 cups Allulose. I topped these with my favorite nut, pecans! Great recipe! Total baking time in an 8x8 pan was around 43 minutes with this change.
Alanna says
Brilliant!! Thank you so much for sharing your keto adaptation, I know that will be helpful to other folks as well!
Claire says
I'm a little late to the party, but I do have one question. I've been drying my nut pulp, grinding it up, and storing it in the cupboard. Would you suggest I wet it a bit to use it in this recipe? Thanks!
Alanna says
Hi Claire, I'm glad folks are still finding their way to this favorite recipe! Hmmmm that's a good question. I'm kind of curious how it would turn out if you used your dry nut pulp as a dry ingredient and added it with the cocoa powder. I *think* the eggs and sugar would provide enough moisture, you would just shorten the baking time as needed. Otherwise you can absolutely add some water or nut milk to the pulp to get it to that clay-like consistency. Please let me know what you try!
Anezka says
These are probably the best brownies I've ever eaten which says a lot because I consider myself a bit of a brownie connoisseur ;) They have a PERFECT texture being gooey yet chewy at the same time! I substituted coconut oil for sunflower oil and used slightly less sugar! I was a bit worried since some of the pulp had almond chunks in it but this made the brownies even better as they had a slight bite to them! Highly recommend these!!!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm so glad you loved them! Thanks a bunch for the sweet note!
Kristina Miller says
Since there is a shortage of eggs, can you recommend a substitute for the eggs?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw that's a great question. Since this recipe uses a lot of eggs, they would be tricky to substitute. But you could try my no-bake brownies - different vibe but so delicious!