These Healthy Greek Yogurt Brownies with Chocolate Ganache are so fudgy and delicious that no one ever suspects they’re healthy!
I know I have shared so {SO} many brownie recipes with you all…but what can I say?! Brownies are my absolute favorite dessert ever! Serve them to me warm with a scoop of dairy-free chocolate peanut butter ice cream melting on top and you will win my heart. No matter what dietary restrictions you may have…I promise there is a delicious brownie recipe on my site for you! (more on this later).
If these Heathy Greek Yogurt Brownies had a slogan it would be…”healthier brownies for not-so-healthy eaters.” Every single person I have made these for has done nothing but rave about their fudgy, chocolatey goodness! No one suspected even for a millisecond that they were remotely good for them.
We entertain people a lot because of my husband’s job. On top of that, every Friday night we have a group of friends over to eat dinner and study the bible together! I love making friends feel welcome in my home! Seriously, it warms my heart when someone goes into the fridge to get a drink, grabs a serving spoon from the utensil drawer, or digs through my pantry to find the cheerios for their picky toddler without asking for permission.
Ritch and I call these our “fridge friends.” You know the ones I’m talking about…and our Friday night group totally falls into this category. We’re like one giant family eating together having an amazing time. I love Fridays!
These Healthy Greek Yogurt Brownies are my go-to dessert recipe when I’m short on time but still want to make a delicious treat for guests! They are easy to whip up…which is perfect for nights when you’re entertaining and have many other dishes to prepare!
These Heathy Greek Yogurt Brownies are gluten-free & grain-free and are high in protein…but you would never know it by tasting them!
Healthy Greek Yogurt Brownies: Substitutions
There are two flour options you can use in this recipe:
Almond flour is what I recommend using! I found that using almond flour yields a denser, fudgier, chewier brownie! However, I know some people have nut allergies. Oat flour is an acceptable substitution that still yields an irresistibly fudgy and chocolatey brownie that’s gluten-free! I have also used plain-old regular all-purpose flour AND gluten-free all-purpose flour with great results.
Butter: to make these dairy free substitute coconut oil!
Vanilla Greek Yogurt: I know Greek yogurt isn’t dairy free. Trust me. But if dairy is something you try to avoid, there are many wonderful dairy-free Greek yogurt varieties on the market! I highly recommend this Vanilla Greek Yogurt from So Delicious, which is made with coconut milk! Important note: I usually use this vanilla honey Greek yogurt, which has a touch of sweetness to it. If you use plain Greek yogurt you will likely need to increase the amount of coconut sugar in this recipe to keep it from being tangy.
Coconut sugar. Any granulated sugar works well in this recipe!
Feel free to omit the ganache all together, these brownies hold up perfectly on their own. However, if you want an extra layer of fudgy goodness, then the ganache won’t disappoint.
Heavy Cream. in order for the ganache to set up a rich and creamy dairy product needs to be used. I have had great success with heavy cream and half & half. For a dairy-free version use full-fat coconut cream or dairy-free creamer.
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Healthy Greek Yogurt Brownies
These Healthy Greek Yogurt Brownies are lightened up but still irresistibly fudgy and decadent!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup almond flour or oat four*
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½ cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped (4 oz)
- 2 TBS butter or coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup Vanilla Greek yogurt**
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ to ½ cup chocolate chips to mix in
Chocolate Ganache:
- ½ cup 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream or coconut cream, or half & half
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees grease a 9x9” baking pan and set aside.
- Mix almond flour, cocoa powder and sea salt in a small bowl; set aside.
- Melt chocolate & coconut oil/butter together in the microwave. Mix until completely melted.
- Mix in sugar, Greek yogurt and vanilla.
- Mix in eggs, one at a time until the batter is completely smooth.
- Add dry ingredients, whisk until just incorporated.
- Add chocolate chips!
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is just barely set and the edges are slightly pulling away from the sides of the pan. (20 = gooier brownies)
- When brownies are finished baking, place the pan on a wire rack and cool.
Make the Ganache:
- While the brownies are baking, make the ganache.
- Add heavy cream to a small saucepan and warm over medium-high heat until it just begins to bubble. Do NOT let it boil.
- Turn off heat and whisk in chopped chocolate and vanilla until the mixture is dark and smooth.
- Remove from warm burner and let cool slightly. The ganache thickens as it cools.
Putting it together:
- Once the ganache is slightly cooled, pour it over your cooling brownies.
- Let the ganache firm up at room temperature or place in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
- Remove from refrigerator, cut and serve at room temperature, or serve cold!
Recipe Notes
*I prefer almond flour because it yields an even fudgier brownie. I have used both flours with great success! **Please do not try using regular yogurt. The thickness of Greek yogurt makes these brownies fudgy and chewy. I tried regular yogurt and was not happy with the results. Store in the refrigerator and warm in the microwave for 15 seconds to restore the fresh-from-the-oven taste!
*Notes: Nutrition information is calculated for 16 brownies without ganache.
Ok…now lets talk brownies! I have more brownie recipes in my arsenal than I can count. Here are brownie recipes for the different folks in your life:
Black Bean Brownies for your friends who enjoy healthy, gluten-free desserts that are low in calories. These are super fudgy and delicious with zero guilt! (They’re also nut-free)! However, someone who is wise to your cunning healthy ways might recognize that these are not normal brownies and turn up their {stubborn} nose at them. Everyone in my family loves these!
Fudgy Paleo Brownies are a winner all around. They are unbelievably gooey, insanely fudgy, and crazy healthy! They are paleo AND vegan so you could make these for just about anyone and you’d have an absolute winner on your hands. This makes a small batch too…so you can enjoy a little without worrying about over-indulging…or you can double the recipe to share with friends!
Vegan Black Bean Brownies are for chocolate peanut butter veggie lovers everywhere. So delicious!
Don’t forget to serve your brownies with some Paleo Vanilla Ice cream, or loaded with this Vegan Peanut Butter Frosting (my favorite thing ever)!
What is your favorite dessert ever?
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Wonder if I could sub in a non-dairy yogurt? I keep meaning to try it, but I”m not sure if it will turn out the same!
Hey Amanda I actually discuss that in the post! I recommend So Delicious Non-Dairy Greek Yogurt (made with coconut milk)! Make sure it’s a Greek yogurt substitute and not a regular yogurt substitute!
Can you ever go wrong with brownies?!?! These look so good!
Also, I’m totally stealing the term “fridge friends” as that is the PERFECT way to describe it! We have friends who just slot right in and feel totally at home – and it’s the same for us at their homes too!
Kristy from Southern In Law recently posted…Recipe: Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites (Gluten Free & Vegan!)
Never ever! Brownies are always a good idea! YES! I stole it from a sermon I heard once so it’s not my original material! LOL! 😉
Yes, please! These are my kind of brownies!
Lindsay Cotter recently posted…Nourishing Paleo Warm Breakfast Salad
Oh yes, please! This is my kind of dessert – indulgent but still wholesome. Pinned and can’t wait to make it!
I love desserts I can feel great about eating! (Means we can eat more right?!) 😉
These look so delicious! I could go for one right now!
Taylor Kiser recently posted…Pizza Bites with only 5 Ingredients
These look so delicious and I love baking with Greek yogurt! Can’t wait to try!
These look delicious! I’ll admit, the last time I made brownies, the mix came out of a box 😛 All of you food bloggers impress me with your awesome kitchen skills!
RFC recently posted…2016 Copperhead 20K Beer Relay Recap
Oh man! Ditch the box sister! Homemade brownies are SOOOO easy! Please try making them from scratch (this recipe or any other you find on the web) and let me know how it goes!!!
I seriously want to reach through the screen and grab that stack of fudgy deliciousness! Brownies for breakfast are ok, right? YUM!
These are TOTALLY acceptable for breakfast!
I love that you have dinner parties every Friday, how wonderful! These look phenomenal- so fudgy and delicious! As the author of “The Greek Yogurt Diet”, I’m so excited to see Greek yogurt featured here 🙂
Sonali- The Foodie Physician recently posted…Dining with the Doc: Savory Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins (Gluten Free)
We really have a blast! I have built-in guinea pigs to make lots of treats for! 😉 I usually make these brownies as a “back up” if I’ve tried something a little outside of the norm! 😉 Yay for Greek yogurt! It’s so healthy and versatile!
These look so dense and chewy!
Thank you Paige! They are definitely dense, fudgy, and chewy! The only way to eat brownies, right?!
Oh wow! These look lovely! And I love that they use almond or oat flour. Seems like you did a ton of testing to nail them too. I’m a little jealous of your “fridge friends!” Sounds wonderful!!!
so much fudgy perfection here! Pinned!
rachel @ athleticavocado recently posted…Pancake Mix Blueberry Banana Bread {Gluten-Free + Vegan!}
Ohhhh what an amazing recipe! These look so good and I love how you’ve tested them with so many variations to find the best way. Can I have brownies for breakfast. 🙂
These look AMAZING and gooey! YUM 😀
Edye recently posted…Home Style Egg Scramble Feat. Pete And Gerry’s Eggs + Giveaway
Hi!!! These look so fudgy and delicious! I love how you tried them with different flours and yogurt to get the best kind. So good!
You got me at healthy brownies. I love brownies a lot and I am sure I have tried those on the naughty side. 😀 These sound amazing!
I just made these and they are so bitter! I don’t like them very much, maybe because I am a sweet tooth or maybe not but is there a way to make them less bitter but still be healthy?
Hey Catherine! I am so sorry that you didn’t enjoy this recipe! I have made it more times than I can count and they have never turned out bitter! Here are a few thoughts…1) did you make any substitutions in the recipe? 2) Did you use Vanilla Greek yogurt? If you use regular Greek yogurt they turn out very tangy! 3) Did you use unsweetened chocolate instead of bittersweet? If none of these apply to you, here are some suggestions to make them sweeter (and less bitter): 1) use milk chocolate instead of bittersweet. 2) decrease the amount of cocoa powder to 2 TBS. 3) Increase the amount of sugar to 3/4 cup! I’m really interested to hear your feedback!
These look even better than your Paleo ones I just looked at! Can’t wait to try! Anyone know the calorie count?😃
Hey Deanna! Totally honest I think the paleo ones are better! 😉 But for folks who like regular old brownies I’d definitely choose these! 😉 I’m sorry I do not know the calorie count!
I just made these brownies following this recipe but couldn’t get my hands on almond flour so tried coconut flour instead and I’m so shocked at how amazing they have turned out! They are yummy!
Hey Sophie! I’m so glad they turned out for you! However, for the future please be very careful with coconut flour! It absorbs significantly more liquid than other gluten-free flours, especially Almond flour! I am so grateful they turned out super delicious though!
I love the look of these but with 1/2 a cup of sugar I definitely wouldn’t say they are healthy
Do you know how many calories would be in these?
Oh my, the texture of these seriously has me drooling. Why you gotta do this to me at 8 am?!! hahaha…I’ll have to go check out your vegan brownies now.
YUM! These look amazing. Love that they have greek yogurt in them! We pretty much always have these ingredients on hand, so I’ll have to try it out!
I love when a dessert looks and feels so decadent but happens to secretly be way better for you than you think! Plus…chocolate 🙂
Holy fudgy! 😀 Love that they’re even better for you too! The best of both worlds.
It makes my heart SOOO happy to entertain people too, and I could imagine the experience at your home being sooo warm and inviting. All the delicious brownies, sweet children, and warm joyful atmosphere; I can definitely imagine it.
Seriously drooling over here! These look just FABULOUS. And that chocolate ganache— I am such a sucker for that. Can’t wait to try!
I’m a SUCKER for chocolate ganache. YUM!!!
Oh my, these look SO fudgy and delicious! Those teeth marks are absolutely enticing – adding this to my must make list!
Hi, do you mean 1/2 cup plus 4 oz of chocolate?
Hey Candace! I mean 1/2 cup chopped chocolate…which is equivalent to 4 oz! I am sorry I recently changed the way my recipes are displayed and I am working through all of them to be sure there are no errors due to the switch like that! I fixed the recipe!
Thanks for getting back to me! I’m making them right now 🙂
Made these the other day—halved the recipe, used regular flour and plain greek yogurt because that’s all I had and they were DELICIOUS!! We could not believe how fudgy and rich they were with such little butter. Thank you for such a great and adaptable recipe!
These turned out so yummy. I subbed agave for the sugar.
My house smells so good right now…made these brownies but substituted the sugar with Stevie and added more bittersweet choco chips.They are cooling now so I really can’t wait to dive in with some coffee for a late night treat.