Healthy two-bite brownies

I have not been this excited about a recipe in a long time! I am OBSESSED with these two-bite chocolate mint quinoa brownies. They are fudgy, rich, easy to make, school lunch box safe, and best of all, pretty darn healthy! I added a little bit of mint extract, but you can easily omit it if you or someone in your home is not a big mint fan. 

The Secret Ingredient

The secret ingredient in this recipe that makes these two-bite brownies healthy is quinoa. While I often use quinoa interchangeably with bulgur, farro, rice, and other grains, it is not actually a grain but a grain-like seed originating from South America. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also healthy too! 

One cup of quinoa contains over 8 grams of protein, as opposed to 5 grams in brown rice. Plus, it’s a good source of nutrients like manganese, magnesium, and copper. Win, win, win!

How to Cook Quinoa

I cook quinoa in basically the same way I cook rice. I rinse the raw quinoa, and then in a pot, I will add 1 ¾ cup of water for every 1 cup of quinoa. 

Once you’ve measured both the water and the quinoa using the ration above, I follow these easy steps:  

• Combine the quinoa and water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat. Simmer for 15 minutes. 
• Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit, covered for 10 minutes more.
• Then, remove the lid and fluff with a fork! 

Let’s Breakdown the Ingredients!

These two-bite brownies are the perfect treat, they’re healthy, chocolatey and well round delicious dessert. And to make them even better, they are only made with 7 ingredients! 

To make these oh-so chocolatey bite-sized brownies, they are made with both cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Cocoa powder is a more natural form of chocolate that adds a wonderful chocolate flavour. The chocolate chip adds an additional texture of chocolate to every bite! 

The eggs add protein to this delicious dessert, but it also helps allow the mini muffins to rise. Along with the eggs, the baking powder is used to get the batter to rise in the oven for a more fluffy texture. 

It is important to use canola oil as it does not add an additional taste to the muffins and lets the chocolate flavours shine through. Vanilla extract is also used to enhance the flavours in the recipe. 

The last two ingredients in the recipe are sugar and milk. Sugar adds the kick of sweetness to the brownie, while the milk helps combine both wet and dry ingredients to make the batter.

Mini Muffin Tins

If you have followed my recipes for a while, you know I love silicone muffin tins (and if this is your first time here, you might want to also check out my DIY Starbucks Egg Bites which I also use a silicone muffin tin). I find using these moulds makes life and cleaning up so much easier, no sticking, easy cleaning!

The muffin tins I use are the Trudeau brand, not sponsored, just what I use! 

Large Muffin Tins of Brownie Pans

I have not done it, but this batter would definitely work using larger muffin tins or even a brownie pan. I would adjust the cooking time closer to 23-25 minutes or until you can poke with a wooden skewer and it comes out 90% clean.

Storage & Freezing

I store these two-bite brownies in an airtight container in the fridge, and they will stay fresh for 7 days. Also, they freeze amazingly well, and you can defrost them in the microwave or just let them sit out on the counter overnight!