Sourdough Brownies with Protein
Deeply chocolatey and fudgy Sourdough Brownies with Protein, there is no compromising on flavour here. Yet you get 4-5g protein with each. A hint of sourdough tang, to balance the sweetness and rye flour, to add moisture. These are utterly irresistible.
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Why You Will Love This
Hi, I’m Sonja and I’m a Brownie addict.
Honestly, counting the brownie versions I’ve made over the years is basically impossible. And that’s while I only started making them for about 16 years, when I moved to Paris and encountered these perfect fudgy squares at pretty much every corner.
Living in Ireland since about 15 years, while you find brownies here, most are not as fudgy and perfect as the ones in France, and I was spoiled by that time. Clearly I had to make my own. As so often when I’m not quite happy with what I find in the shops.
Healthified. Slightly.
And I sure did find fantastic versions, but since I lost 70lb within a year, I’m trying to adapt every recipe I make into an at least slightly healthier version. Be it by swapping parts of the fat or sugar for healthier alternatives or adding protein powder and wholewheat.
Don’t get me wrong, these are not “diet” food or entirely healthy. I mean we are making brownies here. And if we do, we might as well do it right. After all, *points up* perfect Parisian brownies are my inspiration. Not going to settle for any less here.
Use your sourdough discard and bananas
Even better, you get to use some of your sourdough discard for more flavour. Here I do all of the above. And yet, these are still perfect.
Oh and banana. Not sure about you, but since I’m weird and only like to eat mine while green, I always have some in various stages of ripeness lying around that I like using up. And while I didn’t want the full on banana bread hit, one in this recipe makes for a great source of moisture, fudginess and fruit sugars, limiting the amount of refined sugar needed.
The Ingredients
- My idea of “perfect” starts with dark chocolate. And cocoa powder. The good unsweetened, dark stuff. Please don’t use drinking chocolate powder!
- I’m using a fair bit of chocolate here. Half melted with butter; the other half roughly chopped.
- However I’m replacing any vegetable oil you might find in many recipes with a banana (not the butter, mind you. We want all the flavour). Only one, I don’t want strong banana flavour. Just sweetness and moisture we usually get from butter and sugar.
- Eggs. 3 of them. A bit of sourdough discard, as it adds lovely tang and more nutrition. Don’t worry, we won’t give it time to rise, so it won’t make the brownies spongy. A bit of kosher salt, to balance all the sweetness and lift the chocolate flavour. One or two (depending on preference) teaspoons of instant espresso powder, again supporting the dark chocolate. You won’t taste coffee here. Vanilla essence for balance.
- And the protein. In form of dark chocolate whey protein powder from my favourite (unsponsored and unaffiliated) “MyProtein” range. And because the protein powder and banana add sweetness, we can use a little less sugar than usual. Not a lot less. There is still plenty in this recipe. Proper Brownies, as I said.
The Process
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line a brownie tin* (mine is 9x13in) with parchment paper.
Mix Eggs, Sugar and Protein Powder
I mixed the eggs here with a stand mixer* until foamy, adding the sugar slowly, so it could dissolve.
The Protein Powder and sourdough gets mixed into the wet ingredients, to have it properly dissolved, avoiding any grainy feel you might find in some recipes with protein powder. Unless you are using a vegan powder…I’m not giving any guarantees with that stuff, sorry.
Mash the banana and add to the batter.
At this point, you’ll want to eat the chocolaty fluff you made with a spoon. I would say resist, but who am I to tell you what to enjoy? Just be careful because it’s raw eggs. If they are very fresh, you’ll be fine.
Melt Chocolate
Now the rest of the preparation is pretty simple, so I’ll have you just follow the recipe below. Just melt half the chocolate with butter, chop the rest, so you can have both deep chocolate flavour and melted chunks in your Sourdough Brownies with Protein.
Fold in the Remaining Ingredients
Add the remaining ingredients and gently fold them until no flour streaks remain. Don’t overmix, or your brownies will get tough as the gluten will develop.
In the end, lick the bowl. You know you want to! *discreetly wipes a bit of brownie batter off her nose*
Bake
Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the centre is still moist, but you start seeing cracks on the top in the corners.
And whatever you do: Don’t over-bake them. No clean toothpick tests with Brownies. You’ll want there to be fudgy chocolate.
Meal Prep
Honestly, if my freezer doesn’t contain at least 4 emergency brownies, I get a bit panicky!
Sourdough Brownies with Protein can be stored in an airtight container for about 4 days. Or in the fridge for 6, if you like them a bit firmer.
They also freeze really well, so you always have brownies for your cravings or unexpected guests. Let them come to room temperature for a few hours or, for the impatient among us (or those who like our brownies warm) heat them in the oven or air fryer for extra crispy crust and melted chocolate.
Looking for other sourdough discard ideas with protein?
The most popular recipe: Sourdough Protein Pancakes with Wholewheat
Firm fall favourite: Sourdough Pumpkin Waffles with Protein
Great use for bananas: Sourdough Chocolate Banana Bread with Rye and Protein
My personal favourite pancake: Sourdough Buttermilk Protein Pancakes
For more dessert recipes with protein (and super low calories) check these:
my Strawberry Protein Mousse Pie.
Or the slightly more adventurous Sourdough Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Black Garlic.
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot.
Sourdough Brownies with Protein
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer or
- 1 Baking tin Mine was 9×13 and has a very practical lid
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Butter + 2 tbsp
- 1 cup dark chocolate + 2 tbsp, roughly chopped, divided.
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup caster sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1-2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 2 scoops protein powder I used “MyProtein” dark chocolate
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 banana ripe, mashed
- ½ cup sourdough discard
- ¼ cup rye flour +1 tbsp. Substitute white if you don’t have rye
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line a brownie tin (mine is 9x13in) with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, combine half of chopped dark chocolate and butter. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until the mixture is smooth and well combined. Allow it to cool slightly.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar, using a stand or hand mixer, until they are light and fluffy. Add the salt and espresso powder. Mix in the protein powder until no lumps are left. There should be no sugar grains to feel at this point, otherwise keep mixing. Add the vanilla.
- Stir the mashed banana and sourdough discard together in a big bowl.
- Add the rye flour and cocoa powder.
- Gradually add the egg-protein mixture to the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter and chocolate. Gently fold and stir until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Fold the remaining chopped dark chocolate into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the centre is still moist, but you start seeing cracks on the top in the corners.
- Once baked, remove the brownies from the oven and let them cool in the pan on a wire rack.
- Once completely cooled (if you can resists that long. I never can), carefully lift the brownies out of the pan using the parchment paper and transfer them to a cutting board.
Notes
Nutrition
These were absolutely delicious! They will be in my brownie rotation. Thank you for the recipe!
I am totally crazy for these brownies. They’re a fabulous chocolatey treat with lots of nutritious ingredients. So pretty guilt free 🙂
So good! Trying to incorporate more protein into my diet and this did the trick. Loved adding the espresso powder too.
Well this makes the treats feel less guilty when you eat them. I don’t know of a single person that does not love brownies. Always a hit.
What a fabulous brownie recipe!! Great depth of flavor and so moist and yummy.