It's my birthday! Bring this Flourless Plantain Skillet Brownie my way and let's celebrate. I crafted this decadent fudgy brownie just for my birthday. It's paleo, uses a handful of ingredients, and features plantains and chocolate (two of my loves)!
On top of that, it's vegan, nut free, sugar free, and fuss free. This is truly one of the easiest recipes in all of internet-land.
I use a super small skillet for this recipe, so it's perfect for two people. Especially if one of those two people doesn't like desserts of any kind and is happy to let the other person dig in and eat the whole skillet (thanks, Tjay)!
So. 27. Maybe I should feel older than I do? I still feel really freaking young. I moved out, went to college, got my degree, landed a great job, got married...and it's still sinking in that I'm an adult. Is that what adulting is all about? Just feeling like an impostor the whole time?
Anyway. I don't like to make a big deal out of my birthdays, especially not now. It's just another day—and I don't mean that in a negative way. I'm very content with my life. Why make a big ass deal out of one day over any other? Every damn day is worth celebrating. (Aside: this is a great attitude to have in life because you can throw a party for literally any reason. Pro tip!)
I'm keeping things low key for my birthday. My parents are passing through town so I'll get to see them. I'm having the in-laws and a few friends over tonight for pulled pork tacos with all the fixings (like pico de gallo and plantain tortillas). And yes, of course I'll be making this paleo plantain skillet brownie again as my own personal little birthday treat.
With the ever-growing list of plantain recipes on DoYouEvenPaleo, this is the plantain dessert we all knew would eventually happen. Fortunately it was totally worth the wait. With so few ingredients, I'm sure this will be my go-to when I just want a chocolate-packed dessert without a ton of leftovers. I almost always have sunflower seed butter or some other type of nut butter on hand!
Frankly, this skillet brownie turned out so well...it probably won't be the first paleo plantain dessert I come up with. So many possibilities!
Obviously, this is a skillet brownie so you'll need a skillet. I use a 5-6 inch skillet (I got mine at a garage sale and there is no visible brand name/label so I can't tell exactly what size it is), and you can get your own online. But if you don't want to fuss with a skillet, you could probably use a loaf pan or another small baking pan.
One last thing. On a whim, I tested to see if this recipe would work with a plantain that had been frozen. It totally works! I just had to thaw the plantain first, and the rest of the recipe was exactly the same. So if you have plantains on hand and they're all ripe but you aren't ready to make anything with them, just peel them, put them in a freezer safe zip-top bag, and freeze them. Done!
And now, on to this fudgy deliciousness. Dig in!
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Flourless Plantain Skillet Brownie
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: baked
Ingredients
- 1 ripe (yellow to yellow-brown) plantain
- ¾ cup sunflower seed butter (almond butter also works)
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut the ends off of the plantain. Slice the peel vertically down the plantain and remove the peel. Add the plantain, sunflower seed butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt to a high-powered blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. The batter will be thick! I use my Vitamix tamper to push everything down and make sure it's smooth. If you don't have a tamper for your blender, just stop the blender and scrape the sides periodically until everything is nice and smooth.
- Add melted coconut oil to a 6-inch cast iron skillet and swirl it around to oil the bottom. Scoop the batter out of the blender and add to the skillet. Push the batter to the sides of the skillet and smooth the top as best you can. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Top with coconut cream or dairy-free ice cream and DEVOUR.
Keywords: Flourless Plantain Skillet Brownie
Laurel says
Chelsea! This is GENOUS! It is speaking my language in so many ways. Chocolate.... sunflower seed butter... maple syrup... and something BRILLIANT like plantains to make the whole thing flourless and gluten free. In love.
Chelsea says
Thanks so much, Laurel! I appreciate you stopping by!
Tobi says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Can one substitute for Peanut butter as well?
Chelsea says
I think that would work! I find that sunflower seed butter puffs up a little more but any nut butter should work for the most part!