Healthy No Bake Brownies (Taste Like Nutella + Sugar-Free Option)
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These healthy no bake brownies are rich, fudgy, and deeply chocolatey—with a flavor that tastes like Nutella, but made with simple, nourishing ingredients.
They’re naturally sweetened, completely grain-free, and come together in minutes—no oven required. Plus, you can easily make them sugar-free.
These brownies use a combination of sweeteners for the best texture and flavor. Coconut sugar and coconut nectar provide structure and richness, while a small amount of stevia enhances the sweetness without making them overly sugary.
If you follow a sugar-free (and often grain-free) diet like I do, you know it can be difficult to find delicious, easy-to-make, low-glycemic chocolate treats.
These decadent-tasting raw brownie bites are one of my favorite indulgences.
I can whip up a batch in almost no time, and then completely enjoy a decadent treat without worrying about blowing my anti-candida lifestyle. These confections are rich-tasting and dense, cloaked with an irresistible fudgy “frosting.”
Cut them as small as you like for a perfect little snack in the afternoon, or any time you just need that extra boost of chocolate in your life.
These brownies offer a double fudgy treat that’s reminiscent of Nutella in its chocolate-hazelnut glory.
Ingredients
Brownie Base
- walnuts (raw; halves and pieces)
- hazelnuts (raw or lightly toasted)
- coconut sugar (see notes for alternatives)
- salt
- raw cacao powder (carob can work as well)
- coconut nectar (see notes for alternatives)
- vanilla powder (or pure vanilla extract)
- pure stevia extract powder (to enhance sweetness; adjust to taste)
Fudge Topping
- coconut butter (not coconut oil; melted)
- hazelnuts (raw or lightly toasted)
- raw cacao powder (or carob powder)
- coconut sugar (see notes for alternatives)
- teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- salt
- pure stevia extract powder (to enhance sweetness; adjust to taste)
Directions
For the Brownies
- Line a square pan with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, process nuts, coconut sugar, and salt.
- Add cacao powder, coconut nectar, vanilla powder, and stevia. Process.
Scrape sides if necessary while processing. Take care not to over-process.
Turn brownie “dough” into pan and press down. Chill.
Fudge Topping
- Process coconut butter, hazelnuts, cacao powder, coconut sugar, and salt in a high-speed blender until the mixture liquefies.
- Add vanilla and stevia. Blend. Pour mixture over brownie layer. Chill. Cut to desired shape and store in fridge.
Recipe Notes
- You can use toasted nuts and cocoa powder instead of the raw cacao powder for a deeper flavor. You might want to add more sweetener in this case.
- You can substitute other nuts or seeds for the hazelnuts for a different flavor profile.
- Use 1/3 cup xylitol or another low-carb granulated sweetener instead of the coconut sugar in the brownies, and half glycerin, half water for the coconut nectar for a sugar-free option.
- Stevia alternatives: You can use 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) (or to taste) pure plain or vanilla liquid stevia (use only 2 teaspoons vanilla if using vanilla liquid stevia) for the powdered stevia in the brownies.
- Substitute 20-30 drops (or to taste) plain or vanilla liquid stevia for the powdered stevia in the fudge topping. Reduce the vanilla to only 1 teaspoon vanilla if using vanilla liquid stevia.
More No-Bake Healthy Treats
Try these too–you'll love them!
- Sugar-free Mounds Bars – so rich and chocolatey/coconutty!
- No-Bake Almond Joy Bars – one of our all-time favorite recipes.
- Bean Fudge – yes, I really do mean beans. A surprisingly yummy treat.
Healthy No Bake Brownies
Ingredients
For the Brownies
- 1 1/2 cups walnuts (raw; halves and pieces – about 170 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups hazelnuts (raw or lightly toasted – about 225 grams)
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (see alternatives in notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup raw cacao powder
- 1/3 cup coconut nectar (see low-carb option in notes)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla powder (or 5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
- 1/4 teaspoon pure stevia extract powder (optional; start with a pinch and taste)
For the Fudge Topping
- 1 cup coconut butter (not coconut oil; melted)
- 1 cup hazelnuts (raw or lightly toasted – about 140 grams)
- 1/4-1/3 cup raw cacao powder
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar (see alternatives in notes)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure stevia extract powder (optional; to taste)
Instructions
For the brownie:
- Line an 8.5 inch (21.5 cm) square pan with parchment paper. Set aside (for thicker brownies, recipe can be made in a loaf pan instead).
- In a food processor, process the walnuts, hazelnuts, coconut sugar, and salt until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cacao powder, coconut nectar, vanilla or vanilla powder, and stevia and process until the mixture begins to come together in a ball. If the dough is crumbly and won’t clump, add water 1 teaspoon at a time and pulse.
- Stop and scrape the sides if necessary while processing. Take care not to over-process.
- The mixture should be moist enough to stick together when pinched, but not wet.
- Turn the brownie “dough” into the pan and press down firmly with hands or a stiff spatula so that the mixture is dense with no air bubbles. Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the fudge topping.
For the fudge topping:
- Place the coconut butter, hazelnuts, cacao powder, coconut sugar, and salt in a high-speed blender. Push the mixture toward the blades, using the tamper (or other blending mechanism) and blend until the mixture liquefies, about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the vanilla extract and stevia. Blend again.
- Pour the mixture over the brownie dough in the pan.
- Return to the refrigerator until the fudge is set–about one hour.
- Using the parchment paper as a sling, pull out the brownie and place it on a cutting board.
- Cut into 1-inch (4-cm) squares and store, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- The no bake brownies can be kept covered in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days. They may be frozen. Simply defrost, covered, in the refrigerator overnight.
Notes
- Brownie layer: Replace the 1/3 cup coconut sugar with 1/3 cup granulated monk fruit sweetener (erythritol-based). Replace the 1/3 cup coconut nectar with 3 tablespoons vegetable glycerin plus 3 tablespoons water.
- Fudge topping: Replace the 1/4 cup coconut sugar with 1/4 cup granulated monk fruit sweetener (erythritol-based). (No other changes needed.)
- Brownie layer: Use 1/2 teaspoon plain or vanilla liquid stevia (or to taste) instead of powdered stevia. If using vanilla liquid stevia, use only 2 teaspoons vanilla extract in the brownie layer.
- Fudge topping: Use 20–30 drops plain or vanilla liquid stevia (or to taste) instead of powdered stevia. If using vanilla liquid stevia, use only 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in the topping.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Would LOVE to hear what you think about these easy raw no-bake brownies.
Ricki Heller is a holistic nutritionist and anti-candida crusader turned writing coach.
Is there something else that can substitute stevia , I don’t like the taste of stevia.
There are a bunch of options above the recipe in the notes section – I did just update it a bit and will do more later. LMK if that helps and enjoy!
I want the recipe on that brown
Were you able to see it?
Could you please explain the difference between Stevia extract (of which you use 3 scoops) and Stevia powder (only 1/4 teaspoon)? So these are both dry forms? And why are they listed separately? I’ve got dry stevia extract with a tiny little scoop and liquid stevia drops I dispense with a dropper. These look great but I don’t want to make a mistake and end up wasting ingredients! Thanks!
Thanks for pointing that out. I just adjusted the post as they are one and the same. They are listed separately as they are suggested subs for the other sweeteners. I hope that helps!
Thank you!
These look amazing- great photo work too! I am adding these to my “to-make” list….thanks for sharing. I look forward to reading more from your website!
Thanks much! Nice to “meet” you!
These look so good! Thanks so much for linking up to Gluten Free Wednesdays. We really appreciate it. Could you please add a link to Gluten Free Wednesdays in your post.Thanks!
Hi Lynn – I think my son must have overlooked it. I am so sorry- we’ll be more careful. He’s adding the link in now. We’ve had a bunch of personal crises going on and things have been just crazy.
Your recipe looks delicious. I am a huge chocoholic so I will definitely have to try these. FYI: the ingredient list reads “pure plain” as an ingredient instead of saying pure plain stevia. Thanks for posting such wonderful recipes.
Thanks for the headsup. My blog has been having issues and the words and text have been getting mucked up – I fixed it and hope it’s done for good. I’m making a big blog move in the next few days that hopefully will take care of this sort of thing.
Oddly enough, I didn’t even like chocolate until I was 30! I got into it, because dark chocolate became an easy dairy-free sweet hit to find whenever we were out. I mean, I need a sweet fix!
As a vanilla girl for so long, I have trouble labeling myself as a chocoholic, but the bite of raspberry-infused dark chocolate that I just had (at 8am) begs to differ 🙂 I”m still not a true fan of fluffy chocolate things (like cake), but like anything dense – straight chocolate, fudge, or treats like these! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I’ve loved it FOREVER! You are lucky!
Thanks so much, Alisa – it’s always so nice to hear from you!
uh…what is coconut nectar? what is coconut sugar? what is coconut butter? are there substitions which can be made?
I don’t have a vitamixer to whip this stuff up myself….
HI there. Interesting name you have :). There are links to the coconut nectar and sugar in the recipe – are you able to see them? You can see substitutes listed in the ingredients list as well- let me know if you need more help. Thanks!
All of Ricki’s recipes look amazing!
I agree – she’s like my candida hero!!!