Brownies with sweet potato added for sugar reduction.
Adobe Stock Image.
Why Consider a Lower-Added-Sugar Brownie Recipe?
Diabetes is a major health concern in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 11.6% of the US population have diabetes and it is estimated that 22% of adults with diabetes are undiagnosed.
Living with diabetes can cause long term health problems that are often related to high blood sugar levels.
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes occurs when the blood sugar in the human body is too high. The body has a response mechanism to balance out most things in our bodies.
How Does the Body Use Sugar for Energy?
In a healthy body, after you ingest a sugary food item such as a brownie, your body breaks it down in your mouth and stomach and slowly releases it into your small intestine to be absorbed.
Foods with high sugar and low fiber can be especially problematic because without any fiber to slow the absorption process down, the sugar enters the blood stream fast. A fast spike of sugar in the blood alerts your pancreas to release the hormone insulin. Think of insulin as a key to the doors of your muscles. Once insulin connects with the doorknob, the door opens and allows the sugar to go into your muscles to be used as energy.
There are two types of Diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2.
What Is Type 1 Diabetes?
With type 1 Diabetes, the pancreas is not producing enough insulin to maintain blood sugar levels. In this case, insulin must be injected, and diet must be monitored more carefully.
What Is Type 2 Diabetes?
With Type 2 Diabetes, the pancreas is producing enough insulin, but the body is not responding appropriately. In other terms, the “doors” are not opening and allowing the sugar to go into the muscles. In this case, diet and exercise are the recommended treatments.
Why Make Sweet Treats at Home?
To manage diabetes, diet has to be monitored.
One way, you can make a eat healthier while still enjoying a delicious treat is by making your sweet treat at home. That way you have some control of the added sugar.
How Do Sweet Potato Brownies Compare With Packaged Brownies?
If brownies are on your favorites list for sweet treats, you can make a recipe that substitute some of the refined sugars with sweet potatoes.
Pictured below are the nutrition facts for two different brownie mixes. One is a traditional mix from the grocery store and the other is a home recipe for brownies that incorporates sweet potatoes.
Making your own brownie mix is a good way to control added sugars.
Liliana Flores, ©2026, Clemson Extension
Nutrition Facts for homemade Sweet Potato Brownies
Liliana Flores, ©2026, Clemson Extension
What to Know About Homemade Sweet Potato Brownies
Comparing Homemade and Packaged Brownies
As you can see the Homemade Sweet Potato Brownie significantly cuts down calories and added sugar compared to a pre-mix brownie recipe.
Flavor and Ingredient Options
You might be thinking “ew” at the thought of adding sweet potatoes to brownies. I want to reassure you that you can’t even taste it!
I suggest playing around with the sugar amount to make it more to your liking.
I recommend adding nuts such as chopped up pecans or almonds to make it more flavorful and add more nutrients (protein/healthy fats).
You can also substitute the dark chocolate chips to regular milk chocolate as well.
Homemade Sweet Potato Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
3 eggs
Cooked sweet potato
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp flour
1 cup of sugar
3 tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp of salt
½ cup of chocolate chips
Prepare the Sweet Potato
- Bake or air fry 1 large sweet potato (about 18 minutes at 350°F in an air fryer).
- Cool and peel.
Mix the Wet Ingredients
Mix wet ingredients until smooth.
- 3 eggs
- Cooked sweet potato
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Add the Dry Ingredients
Add dry ingredients to the wet mix.
- 6 tbsp flour
- 1 cup of sugar
- 3 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp of salt
- ½ cup of chocolate chips (dark chocolate was used for the original recipe)
Bake and Cool the Brownies
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bake brownies for 35 minutes.
- Let it cool for 15 minutes before cutting into it.
Sources and Further Reading
Diabetes Statistics
World Health Organization: Diabetes
