as this shortest, yet somehow longest month of the year draws to a close, i wanted to revisit my hands down favorite pairing- chocolate + tahini! these salted tahini olive oil brownies were originally part of another dessert- a brownie pie I have yet to get up on the blog. after getting lots of messages from people who made the pie, the one comment that kept popping up was how much they loved the brownie filling! i really love when i get feedback from you guys!!
after working on an olive oil cake recipe, i knew i wanted to work in olive oil instead of brown butter. once i decided i was going to go dairy free, i also wanted to work in a way to make these grain free, as well! after a few failed attempts with some delicious, but truly strange looking brownies, i finally landed on this combination of ingredients. with no leavening agents in these brownies and only eggs to give a little rise, these brownies stay pretty flat. they reminded me more of a warm piece of fudge more than a dense cake. they’re chewy, chocolate-y, sweet, nutty and a little salty. they are with out a doubt one of the biggest surprises to come out of my oven this year. while im normally team, “gimme all the dairy and gluten,” i find myself reaching for this recipe more and more. i hope you love them, too!
a few tips…
- olive oil- this keeps the brownies incredibly moist, while also keeping them dairy free. since olive oil is one of the main ingredients in these brownies, make sure its one you would love to eat alone. while i love using olive oil in this, if needed, you could also try refined coconut oil (unless you like the taste of coconut) or another vegetable oil
- tahini- this is another main ingredient in these brownies, but i know some of you aren’t really on board with tahini just yet. (don’t worry, i’ll convince you one day) if you don’t want to use tahini, or just can’t find tahini where you live, you can sub with any nut or seed butter. my biggest suggestion is that it be minimally processed and easily stirred.
- eggs- these are pretty essential to the structure of the brownies. i would not recommend using flax eggs in place of regular eggs for this recipe
- sugar-this is needed to keep the structure of the brownies. if you’d like to try using a substitute sugar, i would go with one that states its an equal swap for regular and brown sugar. i would NOT recommend using a liquid sweetener in place of the granules of sugar in the brownie batter
- flaky salt- this is a bit of a personal preference, but if you’ve never had a salted brownie, much less one with tahini, you should really add the salt. if you aren’t able for dietary reasons, omit the finishing topping of salt- they’re still really delicious!
salted tahini swirled olive oil brownies
Equipment
- 8" square cake pan
- parchment paper
- medium sauce pan
Ingredients
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 1/2 c tahini, well stirred, divided (1/3 c + 3 tbsp)
- 1/2 c roughly chopped chocolate (75g)
- 1/2 c sugar, divided (110g)
- 1/2 c brown sugar (110g)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 c dutch process cocao powder
- 3 tbsp almond flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 c chocolate chips
- 1-2 tsp flaky salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F, line pan with parchment paper, leaving 2" excess on at least two sides (for easy release).Whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a small sauce pan, melt chocolate, tahini and olive oil. Once melted and glossy, remove from heat. Cool to room temperature (about 10 minutes). While chocolate mixture is cooling, place eggs and sugar into a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat eggs and sugar for 4-5 minutes. Add vanilla, beating until well combined. Beat in cooled chocolate mixture until well combined. Whisk in dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Scoop even scoops of brownie into prepared pan. Press brownie evenly into corners. Using an offset spatula, smooth brownie batter across the pan. Mix together 3 tbsp tahini with 1 tbsp sugar (or liquid sweetener of choice) until well combined. Scatter 5-6 scoops of sweetened tahini on top of brownie batter. Using a toothpick, create swirls of tahini through the brownie batter.
- Bake at 350 F for 22-26 minutes. Cool in pan on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. Cool an additional 20-30 minutes on cooling rack. Top with flaky salt, slice and enjoy!
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Looks amazing! The recipe doesn’t clarify how much tahini goes into the first part (where it is melted with chocolate). I assume from later use of 3 Tbsp, that first amount is .5 cup minus 3T, which is 5T I believe?
Hi Garland! Thank you for asking. Yes, it should be 1/2 c – 3 tbsp, making the brownie filling amount 5tbsp or roughly, 1/3c. I’ll get this clarification on the recipe today. Thanks!!
Hi Megan. Can you clarify if you use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar? These look so delicious!
I use a generic brown sugar from Trader Joe’s, so I never think to state a difference! I would say it’s light brown sugar. so, for this recipe use a light brown sugar
Thank you Megan. Made them last night and they were delicious! I added a tsp of instant espresso powder to the chocolate/olive oil mix, a little trick that Maida Heatter always talked about. The espresso doesn’t make it taste like coffee or mocha, just enhances the chocolate-ness. I do have a question about the directions. You list the sugar as 1/2 c, divided, but no specifications as to divided into any measurements. I took it to mean 1/2 c sugar with 1 tablespoon taken out to be added to the tahini swirl? Was that correct?
Thank you for making them! Yes, I love the addition of the espresso powder! You are correct with the division of the sugar, the 1 tbsp would be part of the 1/2c divided. I could probably specify in the notes section for more clarity.
These look amazing! Can you clarify unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate. Thank you!
Hi Finley! For this I believe I used 70% chocolate bar- so bittersweet. If you like less sweetness/darker flavor go for 90% or higher. My best guidance is to make sure it’s a good quality chocolate you’d enjoy eating alone.
can you use regular flour instead of almond flour?
Yes! It’s really more to give it some texture. With adding regular flour it would have a bit more rise, but it shouldn’t alter the flavor too much
These are amazing! Thanks for the recepie, we already made it twice and it was a real treat. Second time added some Halva and pretzels on top.
I LOVE the addition of the halva and pretzels!! Will definitely have to give that a go. Thank you for making them ( twice!!)
thank you for the kind words! so glad you enjoyed the brownies!
It’s written that we need 1-2 tbsp of salt. I’m assuming it should be tsp instead.?
Hi Jabbar! Correct, 1-2 tsp. . Its for topping purposes only, so go with what you prefer. Although, 2 tbsp salt is a lot of salt!
These brownies are wonderful, Megan! My new “go-to” brownie recipe 😋
That is amazing! Thank you, connor! So happy to hear how much you like them
Since you don’t recommend flax, can you recommend another egg substitute?
Hi Jess! Since the eggs act as the only “rising agent” in the brownies it’s a difficult ingredient to fully replace. Are you looking to keep the brownies grain free or simply gluten free? Let me know what your preference/dietary need is and I’ll try to recommend the best replacement.
Hi! Just pulled these out of the oven, and if the taste of the batter is any indication they are going to be incredible! Had some questions (which I only realized in the midst of making the recipe so I had to wing it) – you don’t say at what speed and to what end I should beat the eggs and sugar – for example is it until is foamy? Or doubles In volume? Hard to know what I was aiming for when I don’t even know at what speed. Same for the baking time – only specifies 22-26 mins. Bake until moist crumbs are on tester? Or because this is gluten free and likely a more wet/moist brownie would that already be overbaked? Please give some more specific guidance – I love your recipes and can’t wait to try making more, but it would be nice if there wasn’t as much guesswork…
Hi Nitza,
Thanks for the feedback. The mixing speed for the eggs should be medium 4-5 minutes. Eggs and sugar should double in volume.
For the baking time, the edges should be set and a tester inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs. Start testing at the earlier time of the baking window.
Hope this helps! Don’t hesitate to ask any further questions.
Megan I have always seen recipes with Tahini but did not dare, thanks to this recipe I felt the challenge and OMG are they delicious! Thank you
Chiqui! You totally made my day! I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe. Happy to help spread the tahini love!
These were top 3 brownies I’ve made ever – so freaken delicious. I’ve tried multiple other recipes from other sites and wasn’t impressed. Megan’s brownie recipe though, a must try 🙂 Will be making again
Thanks for the review Johnny! These are such a favorite at my house. So glad you enjoyed them, too!