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Grain-Free Hazelnut Brownies

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Super rich, fudgey, and packed with incredible ingredients, these Grain-Free Hazelnut Brownies are a brownie game-changer. You’re going to fall in love these grain-free brownies and swoon over how simple they are to make. These are the best paleo brownies.

Looking for more grain free recipes? You’ll love my Grain Free Banana Bars. If you’re a fan of pumpkin you’ll want to check out my Paleo Pumpkin Bars.

four Grain-Free Hazelnut Brownies stackedPALEO BROWNIES

Have you ever tried a Ferrero Rocher? If you don’t know what I am talking about Ferrero Rochers are little chocolate hazelnut balls of deliciousness. They were one of my favorite candies until going gluten-free. I wish they’d make them gluten-free. I absolutely love the combination of chocolate and hazelnuts, especially when the hazelnuts are hazelnut flour.

These grain-free brownies remind me so much of them, and I’m not complaining about it. I love how quick this paleo brownie recipe pulls together and a fresh grain-free hazelnut brownie out of the oven is moan-worthy.

top down view of brownies in a pan next to a butter knife

Hazelnut Flour

Hazelnut flour is hazelnuts ground up into a flour, similar to almond flour or coconut flour. It’s very rich in flavor and typically works best if you mix hazelnut flour with other flours when baking. Hazel nut meal is another for of hazelnut flour, just not as finely ground.

I’ve been craving chocolate and hazelnuts like mad lately. I’d reach for the Nutella, but that could be dangerous – I’d eat too much. We’ve been making more grain-free recipes lately and I’ve been having fun with hazelnut flour and hazelnut meal.

These Grain-Free Hazelnut Brownies are one of the first recipes I’ve made with hazelnut flour, and they are amazing. I actually use a combination of hazelnut flour and almond flour, otherwise the hazelnut flour flavor is a bit too overpowering for my taste. You can use hazelnut meal in this brownie recipe.

What can I use instead of hazelnut flour

If you don’t use hazelnut flour then they wont be hazelnut brownies but you can use all almond flour if you want. Also, you can use hazelnut meal. These grain-free brownies will still rock your taste buds.

a collage of six photos showing the steps how to make paleo brownies

How to make paleo brownies

  1. In a large microwave safe bowl, heat oil and 4 oz. of chocolate chunks for 30 seconds at a time until melted (about 60 seconds total). You can also heat the oil and chocolate over a pan of boiling water to melt it.
  2. Add sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs and mix until well incorporated.
  3. Stir in the hazelnut and almond flours just until combined.
  4. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of chocolate chunks and stir until combined.
  5. Spoon the brownie batter into the pan and spread until even.
  6. Bake as directed.

These numbered steps showing how to make paleo brownies match the numbered photos above. They are for illustration purposes only. See the printable recipe card below.

You can buy hazelnut flour (or meal) at the store but it’s usually super expensive, in my opinion. To save money and ensure that my hazelnut flour is fresh for these Grain-Free Hazelnut Brownies, I bought hazelnuts and made my own flour out of them.

How to make hazelnut flour

Hazelnuts are about half the prize of hazelnut flour. Simply put 1 cup of hazelnuts at a time into your blender or food processor and blend until the hazelnuts are chopped into a fine meal.Don’t over-blend though or you’ll end up with hazelnut butter (which is still delicious, it just wont work for this Grain-Free Hazelnut Brownie recipe).

 

This Grain-Free Hazelnut Brownie recipe only uses one bowl, and is ready to pop in the oven in less than 5 minutes. The center of each brownie is super fudgey while the tops are slightly crispy and have a nice little surface crinkle to them. These paleo brownies are simple to make.

I used chocolate chunks in this paleo brownie recipe but you can use chocolate chips or leave them out all together.

Grain-Free Hazelnut Brownies stacked on a white plate

Hazelnuts can be strong in flavor. I found that a combination of almond meal/flour and hazelnut meal or hazelnut flour provided the best overall flavor. You can use all hazelnut flour if you want, but they will be really hazelnut-y.

Can’t do hazelnuts? No problem. Sharon from What the Fork Food Blog has a recipe for super Fudgy Gluten Free Brownies. If you don’t need to eat paleo, you might like my Gluten Free Brownies.

If you make these paleo brownies please come back and let me know what you thought. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments and I will get back to you.

Yield: 16 brownies

Grain-Free Hazelnut Brownies - Paleo Brownies

stack of four gluten free hazelnut brownies

Super rich, fudgey, and packed with incredible ingredients, these Grain-Free Hazelnut Brownies are a brownie game-changer. This is a easy recipe for paleo brownies.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 32 minutes
Total Time 37 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch metal baking pan; set aside.
  2. In a large microwave safe bowl, heat oil and 4 oz. of chocolate chunks for 30 seconds at a time until melted (about 60 seconds total). You can also heat the oil and chocolate over a pan of boiling water to melt it.
  3. Add sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs and mix until well incorporated.
  4. Stir in the hazelnut and almond flours just until combined.
  5. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of chocolate chunks and stir until combined.
  6. Spoon the brownie batter into the pan and spread until even.
  7. Bake for 32-34 minutes or until the center is set.
  8. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting.
  9. Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1 brownie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 261Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 23mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 2gSugar: 16gProtein: 4g
© Chrystal
Cuisine: American / Category: Desserts
a pinterest pin with four brownies stacked with the words grain-free gluten-free hazelnut brownies at the top

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Sorry Brandy, I don’t – it really depends on the dark chocolate you use. You can pop the ingredients into a calorie calculator and include your favorite dark chocolate to get a good estimate.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  4. These do look spectacular Crystal! Although I can’t eat them, I’ll be sharing with my grain-free, nut loving friends. 🙂

    Reply

  5. I am so in love with that Rodelle vanilla now – especially the paste – yum! These brownies look like the perfect way to use it Chrystal. So wonderful the way you incorporated hazelnut flour.

    Reply

  7. I totally remember those chocolates, looking so fancy in the gold wrapping! These brownies look amazing and I love that they’re grainless!

    Reply

  10. I’m confused about the chocolate measurements. Why 4 oz to melt and then 3/4 cup (instead of 6 oz) to mix in? These sound delicious, but I want to make sure I’m not getting the measurements wrong.

    Reply

    • Hi Linda,
      So sorry that the instructions are confusing for you. The 3/4 cup of chocolate chunks is an add-in at the end. It doesn’t have to be exact, and you don’t have to add them, its more for extra chocolate/fudgey-ness.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  11. Hi Chrystal,
    I am here as you suggested. Can I use half cup maple syrup instead of sugar or more? Thx again for your wonderful recipes.

    Reply

  14. I might be missing something, but when do you add in the sugar? I followed the directions and then realized I hadn’t added in the sugar. I ended up pulling it out of the baking pan and mixing it in and then putting it back in the pan and. baking. I’m hoping these turn out.

    Reply

  15. These look amazing and delicious! I plan to make these this coming week. Quick question – did you bake these at high altitude or closer to sea level? I am asking because the bake time varies with altitude. I really want to nail these brownies and show my family that grain-free goods can be delicious.

    Reply

  16. Can we use only hazelnut flour? Or, do we need some kind of additional flour- almond or all-purpose? I am planning to order hazelnut flour.

    Reply

  17. Could I substitute cocoa powder (Hershey’s cocoa) instead of the chocolate chunks? If so how much?

    Reply

    • Hi Barbara,
      I haven’t tried it with only cocoa. The melted chocolate plays an important roll in this recipe. Sorry I can’t be more help.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

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