These low carb slow cooker brownies have a very special ingredient. You won’t believe what they are made with! This post is sponsored by Jade Asian Greens.
I am not really one to try to trick my kids into eating healthy foods. Mostly I just plonk their meals down in front of them and tell that’s what they are getting. Yes, I do take small preferences or serious dislikes into account. One kid won’t eat avocados, another detests tomatoes, and none of them are particularly keen on eggplant, so I won’t force these things on them. Having outgrown numerous childhood food dislikes myself, I know that they will eventually come around as long as I keep putting the good stuff in front of them. I now have two kids who willing eat Brussels sprouts and mushrooms, so I know my approach works.
But sometimes I am presented with a challenge to use an unusual ingredient in a whole new way. Given that to many eyes I use a lot of unusual ingredients on a daily basis, I am always up for the challenge. This time, I was presented with a vegetable and asked if I could find a way to work it into a dessert recipe. This is probably not an ingredient you’ve ever EVER thought about putting into a dessert. Whereas zucchini, carrots, and avocado are fairly common in desserts, and spinach and kale are now joining in on the dessert fun, this vegetable is pretty firmly in the savoury category in most people’s minds.
But as it bears some similarity to spinach and kale so it got me thinking about how to use it in brownies. I thought I could use this particular green to add moisture and get a great fudge-y texture. I mentioned it to my son (having no designs on hiding it from him) and the look on his face was priceless. Even though he actually likes this vegetable, he clearly thought it was not a good idea.
But I tried anyway and was rewarded with some of the fudgiest low carb brownies I’ve ever made. I made them in my slow cooker for an extra twist and every single person in my family loved them, even the boy with the funny look on his face. They could be made so fudgy and undercooked that you have to scoop them out with a spoon (like a pudding cake) or you can let them cook a little longer and firm up. They are divine with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Now I know I’ve been very cryptic here and you are dying to find out what veggie is hidden in this brownie, so hop on over to Jade Asian Greens to check out my Super Fudgy Slow Cooker Brownies!
Low Carb Fudgy Slow Cooker Brownies
Nutrition: Serves 8
Food energy: 235kcal
Total fat: 20.82g
Calories from fat: 187
Cholesterol: 46mg
Carbohydrate: 10.33g
Total dietary fiber: 5.09g
Protein: 6.68g
Many thanks to Jade Asian Greens for partnering with me to bring you these deliciously decadent slow cooker brownies! Follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
Crystal J Steen says
Is this recipe still available anywhere? I don’t think that the company is still in business or their website doesn’t work.
Carolyn says
Thanks for letting me know! I will cut and paste here. To be honest, I think this one needs re-working because it’s a bit odd to have bok choy in brownies. Would be great with shredded zucchini, though!
Carolyn says
This is all I could find in my notes. I can’t even find the old Word Doc. Basically, steam the bok choy and then squeeze out the moisture, as you would for zucchini. Grease the insert of a 6 quart slow cooker.
1 package baby bok choy (remove leaves, chop, steam with 2 tbsp water)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup Swerve
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips
Low for 3 hours
Yvonne van der Westhuizen says
Can I replace bok choi with zucchini and how much would I then use.
Always looking for low carb recipes in the slow cooker.
Carolyn says
Sure, that should work.
Adena says
So I just finished making these and my husband and I devoured them! I made them according to the instructions, except I subbed cinnamon for the espresso powder…. I didn’t have any, plus I love the way cinnamon brings out the chocolate flavor, too. I topped the brownies with your caramel sauce from your twix thumbprint cookies, plus the halo top ice cream and some homemade whipped cream! Mmmmmm… Thanks again for another wonderful recipe!
Carolyn says
Glad you liked them!
Mary says
So wanted to like these, but….epic fail! (A) followed all instructions and slow cooked it for 4 hr until it pulled away from edges and tester came out clean. (B) cooled it in pan (C) texture is not cakey but rather moist and slimy but not in an undercooked way. Just light and slimy with no hint of sticky-gooey. (D) tastes “green” from the greens “duh” but not in a pleasant way. So sorry but will not make this recipe again. 🙁
Heather says
Im really wanting to try this recipe but got some bok choy from a farmers market and they are small but wanted to know how much does a packet of the Jade weigh. This would help me a lot.
Carolyn says
There is no standard weight on the bags. But it’s about 3 cups of the stems, sliced.
Kapu says
I got the Halo Top ice cream. Now I just need to make the brownies. I drive 40 mins for this ice cream.
Carolyn says
Wow, that’s dedication. You will love it!
LINIA says
Have lots of allergies, …… Hoping you have substitutes for coconut products and nut flours—will hemp oil work or hempseed flour do fine?
Carolyn says
Actually try sunflower seed flour. And any oil will do.
E. Karan says
Wondering if I can try by baking them in the oven as I dont have a slow cooker….perhaps @325 for 30 min??
Carolyn says
I don’t think they will take 30 minutes. Start watching them at about 15.
Maya @ Wholesome Yum says
Wow, what a great idea! I definitely think bok choy would work well here – like you said, the same way zucchini or kale does. Very creative!
Jade Asian Greens says
Carolyn,
Thank you for your creativity in using our baby bok choy to create an amazing dessert! This is the first time we know that someone has made dessert using baby bok choy, so we are thrilled!
Julie says
“1 (5 count) package Jade Asian Greens Baby Shanghai Bok Choy ”
What does this translate to if buying bok choy from the farmer’s market? Never heard of the above . Is it fresh? Frozen?
Carolyn says
The above is simply their pre-packaged fresh. So 5 small baby bok choy (make sure it’s baby bok choy, not mature bok choy) would work.
Heidi Huff says
Why wouldn’t mature bok choy work? I mean, obviously you wouldn’t five of those. But would it still work if you got the 3 cups amount suggested on another comment?
Carolyn says
I think it should work fine, as long as you cook it long enough to break down the fibers. I think that’s the main difference between baby and mature.
nicole says
I know this is supposed to be about the bok choy but if I don’t have any at home at the moment is there a possible substitute? I really want to make these right now! I have spinach! I have lettuce!…but no bok choy. 🙁
As always, I love your talent and appreciate how generous you are sharing your creations.
Carolyn says
Hmmmm…It’s the stems from the bok choy and not the leaves so I am not sure spinach would work here. If you do try it, make sure to drain it pretty well after cooking.
Catherine says
Looks sooo good!
Sharon says
Can they be made in the oven if needed? At what temp?
Thanks, sounds so good!
Carolyn says
I think they could be but they will be more dry so keep an eye on them. Maybe even cover the pan with foil. Do 325 for 10 minutes and then check on them every few minutes after that.
AZ@...And a Dash of Cinnamon says
I’m a huge fan of super fudgy brownies, love the sneaky addition of veggies!
Kelly says
Wow! Pretty impressive! I can see why your son made a face when you told him your secret ingredient! I have only ever used this in a stir fry.
When the recipe says to cut the leaves and use the stems, how far are you cutting down generally speaking?
Side note we do okra like this to thicken soups and stews naturally and it works amazingly well.
Thanks for another great low carb recipe! Making your coconut cheesecake this weekend!
Carolyn says
I cut off almost all of the green leaf but tried to keep the stem intact. So I would cut to where the stem started to get thinner and then trim a little more of the leaves off around the sides of the stem I was keeping.
Kelly says
Thank you!