Pumpkin and chocolate really do go together so well. Trust me. Or just try this gluten free pumpkin brownie recipe if you need hard evidence, or just because. It’ll be worth it either way!
My yummy concoction of mellow chocolate and creamy pumpkin is actually the perfect way to celebrate chillier nights and shorter days (remember: chocolate is fair game after dark!).
This recipe is perfect for days when you just can’t decide if you’ve got one foot into pumpkin season already or you just love brownies and want to mix it up a bit.
I mean, brownies: can one ever really have enough great gluten free brownie recipes? I have several great gluten free brownie recipes like this one — all of which we love — but this one is a cocoa base instead of melted chocolate and it’s a really fudgy-chewy brownie that’s great on its own, especially if you look in the cabinet and don’t have any squares of chocolate.
I typically always have cocoa on-hand, so this recipe is a big help when you have a chocolate craving but didn’t plan ahead with a grocery list! I’m not the only one who does that, am I?
And for me, pumpkin is fair game any time of year, but it’s more socially acceptable in the fall, if I’m honest.
So the pumpkin layer on top of the intensely chocolate brownie layer is the perfect counterpoint for an autumnal brownie.
It’s a lot like those yummy cream cheese brownie recipes with the swirl of sweet through the dense chocolate … only it’s pumpkin. (If you like this kind of combo, try my gluten free black bottom cupcakes recipe too!)
I even convinced my non-brownie-loving son to try these because he loves pumpkin pie and it really does almost taste like a slice of pie on top of a brownie.
Have I given you enough yummy reasons to make this treat? If not, here’s my elevator pitch: This gluten free pumpkin brownie offers luscious chocolate taste and chewy brownie texture, with a creamy, spicy pumpkin swirl through the middle, making just about everyone a happy brownie camper.
To get that pretty feathering through the top that makes everyone ooh and ah over your brownie technique, all you have to do is cut through the top of the batter with a butter knife. Go all the way down one side and back up the opposite direction … cutting through lengthwise and horizontally several times across.
Before you bake it, the batter should look something like this, but every pan is different:
There’s no right or wrong to it. You could even just put dollops of pumpkin on top of the brownie batter and call it a day. It’ll taste great either way!
After baking, it’s got this lovely feathered look to the top if you did use that technique.
And if you’re smart, you’ve lined your pan with oiled foil or parchment so all you have to do is pull up on the sides and out comes the entire tray of brownies ready to be sliced!
I recommend a pizza wheel or plastic knife for the neatest edges on your cut brownies (pro tip!).
So embrace the pumpkin — it’s fall already, y’all — and have your brownie too. Bring on the gluten free pumpkin brownies!
And one more thing: after you measure out the pumpkin for this recipe, you’ll just so happen to have exactly the amount you’ll need to make this goes-well-with-everything Gluten Free Pumpkin Cornbread! Convenient coincidence? You be the judge!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownie Recipe
Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownie Recipe
This gluten free pumpkin brownie offers luscious chocolate taste and chewy brownie texture, with a creamy, spicy pumpkin swirl through the middle, making just about everyone a happy brownie camper.
Ingredients
brownie ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa (Dutch-processed)
- 1 cup (135 grams) gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbs. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ cup mild oil like olive oil, sunflower oil, non-GMO canola oil or melted coconut oil
- ½ cup applesauce
- 2 eggs, mixed, or substitute
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
pumpkin layer ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 1/3 cup cream cheese, dairy or non-dairy like Go Veggie!™ or Tofutti® soy; Kite Hill® Almond; Green Valley Organics® lactose free
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg or substitute
- 3 Tbs. gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F. Line a 9x13x2 baking pan with parchment or oiled aluminum foil. Set aside.
- Whisk the dry ingredients for the brownie together in a small bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla extract. Once blended, stir in the dry ingredients and water and mix until smooth. Use either a hand mixer, stand mixer with paddle attachment or mix by hand.
- Spread the brownie batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Clean the mixing bowl and switch to the whisk attachment if using a stand mixer.
- Whisk all the pumpkin ingredients until smooth and any lumps have been incorporated.
- Spoon dollops of pumpkin batter on top of the brownie layer.
- Using a butter knife or spatula, cut through the pumpkin layer in lines, starting at one end of the pan and cutting a line all the way to the other end, and repeating across the whole pan.
- Turn the pan to repeat the process in a perpendicular direction. There is no right or wrong here: you can even just use the knife to draw swirly patterns instead. The deeper you cut through the batter with the knife, the deeper the pumpkin layer will be incorporated into the brownie. If you want more of a solid layer of pumpkin on top, don’t cut so deep.
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 65 minutes, or until the center is no longer jiggly and a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out with a few crumbs, but not wet.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, lift the parchment or foil with the brownies out of the pan to cut and serve. Use a pizza cutting wheel or plastic knife to cut brownies for cleanest cut.
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This is the perfect looking halloween treat! Love those swirls
Yes! I love making those swirls – so easy but looks so fancy!
~jules
Looks perfect for Halloween too.
Good idea! Of course, I could eat pumpkin all day every day, so I would be likely to agree that these would be great for Halloween, as well! 🙂
~jules
Sounds like the perfect fall treat Jules. Love that pumpkin and chocolate combo.
Thanks Nicole! It’s certainly a hit in our house!
~jules
Just made these this weekend and holy smokies they are delicious!! The height of them astounded me!! I used 4 egg whites for the brownie batter and 2 egg whites for the pumpkin batter since I can’t have egg yolks. I even added cinnamon frosting to them for added deliciousness!! Thanks Jules! Once again your flour gets the job done! Above and beyond!!
SO happy you loved the recipe, Heidi! The cinnamon frosting sounds beyond delish — what a great idea!! Happy baking!
~jules
I am new to gluten free and have yet to bake anything. Besides no gluten, I am also dairy, soy and corn free ( plus some other vegetables) . I am not familiar with the substitutes you list for the cream cheese in the pumpkin portion. Would one of them work? Also, I will need to substitute for the baking powder ( I believe baking soda plus cream of tartar?).
What is the nutritional value?
How many calories
Alot of sugar,oil
Hi David,
I haven’t purchased any nutritional software to use on my site yet, but you could probably plug the ingredients into a free version on-line if you need to know. You can also lighten up recipes like this by replacing some of the oil with applesauce. Hope that helps!
~jules
can you use your brownie box mix for the brownie ingredients?
SLF
Hi Sandra, you can use my old mix, but you’ll need to use 2 packets since this bakes in a 9×13 pan. I’ll have my new gfJules Brownie Mix available early in 2015! Enjoy!
~jules
WOW! Amazingly delicious. One of my co-workers is also DF/GF and had to have the recipe too. Big hit. Thanks!
Fantastic to hear, Tracey! Thanks for letting me know and for sharing the recipe love!
~jules
Where do I find pumpkin puree? All I’ve ever seen is 100% pure pumpkin. Thanks.
Hi Micki,
Great question! Luckily, it’s an easy answer! Pumpkin puree is the same as 100% pure pumpkin. The key is just not to buy the pumpkin pie mix.
Hope that helps – enjoy the recipe!
~jules
The recipe doesn’t say what size can of pumpkin to use – is it the smaller 15 oz can or the larger 29 oz can? Thank you.
It’s the 15 oz can, Cheryl. Enjoy the recipe!!!
~jules
what other sweetener can I use in place of granulated sugar? I would like to use honey/maple syrup/brown rice syrup with some coconut sugar if possible. Thanks
Hi Dee, the rule with substituting granulated sugars for liquid syrups is generally to remove the same amount of liquid from the recipe when you make the substitution. It will also change the consistency of this recipe, but the taste should still be pleasing.
~jules
Made these today just as written – except I used regular cocoa. Came out delicious!! Batter came out a bit thick so I added another tablespoon of water. Shared some with a friend and she was happy.
Aren’t you sweet for sharing such deliciousness, Karen?
So glad you both enjoyed!
~jules
Just a note. When I printed out the recipe, the cooking temperature and the instructions to line a baking pan are not part of the print out. They just aren’t included under that. You might want to change that.
Thanks for the heads up about that, Karen – I’ll look into it!
~jules
Where do you buy Dutch Cocoa? What brand do you use?
Hi Kim, funny you should ask about cocoa, as I have bins of the stuff staring at me in my office right now! I’ve been perfecting my GF brownie mix, and you wouldn’t believe how many different types of cocoa there are out there! Most of the ones you’ll find in the stores (like Hershey’s) are un-Dutched. I hit my local health market and had a few more choices. Saco is a good one to try, and it’s GF. Look for cocoas that are darker, as they tend to have been treated with the alkaline process that is “Dutching.” This process reduces the acidity of natural cocoa and allows baking powder to do its job. I can tell you that in experimenting to create this recipe, I tried both Dutched and un-Dutched and it’s really up to your tastes which you’d prefer. The Dutched cocoas tend to be more mellow, but also have a deeper flavor without the bitter bite that sometimes accompanies un-Dutched cocoa.
~jules
What can be substituted for the applesauce? I have a family member that is allergic to apples. Thanks
Hi R Fry, you can use another 1/2 cup of oil. The applesauce ingredient was added to cut the fat in the brownies, but you can use oil in its place, or even 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, believe it or not! With the cocoa, you won’t taste much, if any pumpkin, in the brownie portion, but it will provide the moisture and stickiness you need in the recipe.
Hope that helps!
~jules
Something looks wrong about the amount of cocoa powder in this recipe. Is 2 cups correct?
Hi Selena, because this recipe makes a thick brownie in a 9×13 pan, the ingredients are doubled for a regular 8×8 recipe. So yes, two cups of cocoa is correct. Cocoa has many health benefits: depending on the brand, one cup can have 26 grams of dietary fiber and 16 grams of protein! As I said, this makes a lot of brownies, so the ingredient measurements may seem high — feel free to halve the recipe and baking in an 8×8 baking dish. Hope that helps!
~jules
Just checking, does the recipe call for TWO CUPS OF COCOA?
Hi Joyce, thanks for writing in. As I described for Selena, this recipe makes a thick brownie in a 9×13 pan, the ingredients are doubled for a regular 8×8 recipe. So yes, two cups of cocoa is correct, but feel free to halve the recipe and baking in an 8×8 baking dish, if you’d rather. Cocoa has many health benefits: depending on the brand, one cup can have 26 grams of dietary fiber and 16 grams of protein! As I said, this makes a lot of brownies, so the ingredient measurements may seem high because of that. I hope that answers your question!
~jules
These look good. 2 cups of cocoa??? Seems like twice the amount.
Hi Charlotte, it probably seems like twice the amount because the entire recipe is doubled from a typical 8×8 pan of brownies. The recipe makes a lot! Feel free to halve the recipe, if you’d rather, and bake it in an 8×8 pan. Also see my comments to Joyce and Selena about the nutritional benefits of more cocoa!
~jules