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These Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies are rich and fudgy with a mint chocolate chip topping! This irresistible dessert is gluten-free, refined sugar-free + Paleo-friendly. You’ll never guess the healthy ingredient they contain.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! Are you doing anything fun to celebrate…or eating any festive green treats?! I sure hope so – and if you haven’t planned anything yet, I’m providing a holiday-centric recipe just in time for you to enjoy (or maybe late, depending on how you look at it).
Either way, these Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies are nothing short of outstanding whether they’re made for a celebration or just any old day…but they will make said any-old-day seem way more spectacular than usual. And the best part? They’re super secretly healthy.
My lovely roommate Ally tried one of these brownies before I gave her the rundown about them and remarked to me about how much she absolutely loved them. I excitedly asked her to guess what was in the minty filling to make them green. She guessed a slew of unhealthy things (to my delight) and only finally guessed when I told her it was the last thing she would probably ever guess/want in her brownies: spinach.
Yup! These brownies have spinach in them. Not enough that you taste spinach with your brownies, but enough to make the mint chocolate chip filling turn that pretty minty green color. I promise, if Ally didn’t guess, you’ll never know :)
Even though these Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies have a few different components. But, each part comes together quickly!
The chocolate brownies are incredibly rich and fudgy, which is just how I like my brownies to be. We make them with cocoa powder, not melted chocolate, so the brownie batter comes together super quickly. Err on the side of under-baking rather than over-baking – a gooey brownie is always better than a dry one!
Next up, make the creamy mint chocolate chip filling with coconut cream, maple syrup, mint extract, and fresh spinach for color. You’ll blend the ingredients until smooth. Then, you’ll pulse in dark chocolate to make the “chip” part of mint chocolate chip. Then spread that topping allll over the cooled brownies. Finally, you’ll top it all off with a quick mix of coconut oil, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and mint extract. Pour it over the mint filling and it hardens into a smooth and melty chocolate layer!
I’ve been eating one of these brownies to satisfy my chocolate craving pretty much every night since I made them and it’s going to be a sad day when they’re finally gone. Now get baking – you’ve got to eat your veggies! ;) Enjoy!
Want more gluten-free brownie recipes?
Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies (Paleo + GF)
Ingredients
For the brownies
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons, 130g coconut oil
- 1¼ cups coconut sugar
- ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons, 70g unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup almond flour
For the mint cream
- ¾ cup coconut cream, just the cream from the top – pour off any liquid in the bottom
- ½ cup fresh spinach or a unflavored greens powder
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon mint extract
- 1 ounce dark chocolate, chopped finely
For the chocolate topping
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon mint extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray; set pan aside.
- In a large bowl, combine melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and whisk until fully combined. Batter will be fully moistened and granular, sort of like sand.
- Add the vanilla extract and eggs. Stir until the batter is thick, shiny, and well blended. Add the almond flour and stir until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 22-25 minutes. Check with a toothpick – it should come out slightly moist with batter. Don’t overbake! Let brownies cool completely before topping with mint cream.
- In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients for mint filling except the chocolate shavings. Blend until completely smooth. Add the chocolate shavings and pulse to combine. Pour over cooled brownies and chill until firm.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and mint extract. Pour evenly over the mint filling. If the topping seems a little thick, reheat to thin it out or add a little bit of extra coconut oil until it’s a pourable consistency. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting into 16 squares. Keep refrigerated until just before serving, as the mint cream will soften quickly at room temperature.
- Brownies will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Yum! I like that these are colored green with spinach!
whaaaaa?? SPINACH?! omigosh I’m so intrigued!
Whoa… this is seriously amazing!! I have to try these brownies!! <3
Oh.my.goodness. I am OBSESSED with mint chocolate and cannot wait to try these!!
These were absolutely incredible! Even my husband who doesn’t follow a paleo eating lifestyle liked them. I’m making your almond joy brownies later this week!
So glad you and your husband enjoyed them, Danielle! Hope you love the almond joy brownies just as much.
My friend is allergic to coconut; can I replace the oil with butter and coconut sugar with regular sugar? Also, is the spinach necessary…? Thank you! =)
Yes you can replace all of them 1:1, and the spinach provides the color of the mint filling. I guess you could use green food coloring if you preferred, you really can’t taste the spinach though!
Thanks! Awesome ^_^ I just don’t really want to go about the extra spinach effort if it’s just for the coloring! Plus if a little piece or two gets through… Bleh. Haha. It just seems not worth the risk/effort, but I’m really glad you’re doing it over *real* food coloring! I really appreciate that. And thanks for the quick responses! =)
I wouldn’t say it requires any extra effort at all, since it’s all just blended together, but you do you! Enjoy.
Oh! The coconut cream… Do you think whipped whipping cream would work…? =/
Yes regular whipped cream will be fine!
I have a nut allergy so wondering what I could substitute for the almond flour?
They look so yummy I really want to try them!
Hi Andrea, you could try a GF flour baking mix or use oat flour. Enjoy!
Same amount of GF flour or Oat flour as the almond flour called for?
Hi Emily, yes use the same amount!
Hi Rachel! Can this be made with flax egg? I really want to make these, but am allergic to eggs. :(
Hi Kim – great question. I’ve found flax eggs don’t work super well in brownies. My recommendation would be to make this brownie recipe for the base (skip the almonds, almond chocolate + sea salt on top) and then top with the mint cream and chocolate from this recipe to get the same effect. Hope this helps and that you enjoy them!!
I am a great baker of 72 years. I’m trying to be responsive to my daughter in law’s desire for vegan baked goods. This recipe was an unmitigated disaster for me! The cream came out super runny even after two tries, throwing the first one out. I mixed the coconut cream up before measuring it. Was I suppose to just skim the cream off the top? It was way too runny. The second time I tried adding more spinach only to get runny and super green. I poured it over anyway. The chocolate topping turned out so thick there was no “pouring” it. It’s swirled around in the yucky green cream. I can’t imagine trying to serve these but after a lot of ingredient cost and time, we will. Sorry, but I’m either hopeless at baking vegan or this recipe doesn’t truly work.
Hi Cali, so sorry you had issues! You are supposed to just skim the cream off the top – adding in the liquid will make it far too runny, as you experienced. Adding extra spinach would also add a lot of extra moisture. This is a much older recipe, so it doesn’t have as much detail or tips as my current recipes do – I added some extra details and tips to the recipe to address some issues for the future, but so so sorry you had trouble. I know it’s super frustrating when recipes don’t turn out as they should, and I apologize you had that experience. I hope they still taste delicious, though!