These decadent, fudgy dark chocolate vegan brownies will quickly become your new favorite brownie recipe!
The best vegan brownies
You will love these decadent chocolate brownies, with no black beans, no tofu or dates, no butter or coconut flour, and no eggs.
I enjoy unusual ingredient brownies, and my Sweet Potato Brownies are super popular with readers. But sometimes you want a budget friendly, basic gooey brownie recipe with simple ingredients.
Sometimes you want a brownie recipe that doesn’t require ordering specialty ingredients on Amazon or making a trip out to Whole Foods.
And sometimes what you’re craving is the fudgy chocolate brownies you remember from childhood, just with better-for-you ingredients so you can indulge more often.
This is the ultimate best vegan brownie recipe for these occasions, with the stamp of approval from even hardcore carnivores!
Also make this Chocolate Mug Cake
Vegan brownie recipe video
Best brownie recipe I have ever made!!!
WENDY
*FEATURED READER COMMENT*
Can you make brownies without eggs?
The biggest challenge with vegan brownies is binding them together and adding moisture without the use of eggs or dairy.
Many of the vegan brownie recipes on the internet call for flax eggs, aquafaba, or ground chia seeds as an egg substitute. Others use silken tofu to add moisture.
These ingredients do work wonders in vegan baking, and I highly recommend you try them out sometime if you haven’t already. But not everyone has flaxmeal or chia seeds on hand when asked to make a last minute dessert for a party or for a vegan friend.
So today, I wanted to come up with a recipe that calls for only pantry staple ingredients and still yields chewy, moist, and sinfully rich chocolate brownies.
If you do feel adventurous, be sure to try my Black Bean Brownies.
They are the most popular gluten free and vegan recipe I’ve ever published, with over 3,000 reviews and 5 million shares across social media.
More vegan brownie recipes
Or if you want a decadent single serving chocolate brownie that can be made in the microwave in under five minutes, whip up this plant based Brownie in a Mug.
Can vegans eat brownies? As the above recipes prove, the answer is absolutely yes.
Dairy free chocolate brownie ingredients
The recipe calls for regular unsweetened cocoa powder, optional Dutch cocoa powder, flour, salt, water, sugar or unrefined coconut sugar, cornstarch, oil, baking powder, pure vanilla extract, and optional chocolate chips.
Cocoa powder – If you cannot find Dutch process cocoa, it is fine to use a full cup of regular unsweetened cocoa powder. However, for the most authentic boxed brownie flavor, I recommend including the Dutch cocoa if you can.
Flour – Spelt flour is my personal favorite for these vegan brownies. Gluten free or white all purpose flour or oat flour also work. Do not substitute coconut or almond flour here.
There is a sugar free and keto brownie recipe included in the recipe box below for those who wish to make paleo brownies with almond flour.
Oil – Vegetable oil, sunflower oil, or melted coconut oil are all good options for vegan baking. Substituting the oil with banana or applesauce is not recommended, because it will yield dense and gummy brownies that lack depth of flavor.
For oil free vegan brownies, make these Healthy Brownies
Topping ideas for vegan brownies
- The pictured brownies are topped with a scoop of Coconut Ice Cream.
- Or serve the chocolate fudge brownies plain or topped with sliced strawberries, cherries, or raspberry jam and Coconut Whipped Cream.
- You can also top them with store bought chocolate frosting (many brands are surprisingly vegan), plant based caramel, or Homemade Nutella.
- Finally, I love this easy chocolate ganache: 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave, and 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, melted. Stir ingredients together to form a thin sauce. Spread over the brownies, and refrigerate or freeze 20 minutes to set.
How to make vegan brownies
Step one: Whisk the water, oil, and vanilla extract. If using flaxmeal, whisk it in as well. Set aside.
Step two: Preheat the oven to 330 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a baking pan or line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. For thick brownies, use an eight inch pan. For thinner brownies, opt for a standard nine by thirteen inch baking pan.
Step three: In a large mixing bowl, stir all remaining ingredients very well. Then mix in the liquid ingredients to form a vegan brownie batter.
Step four: Use a spatula or spoon to smooth the chocolate batter into the prepared pan. Place the pan on the center rack of the oven, and bake for sixteen minutes. (Increase the cooking time to twenty four minutes for brownies in an eight inch pan.)
Step five: The vegan brownies should look under-baked when they come out of the oven. Let them cool, then refrigerate uncovered. They firm up after a few hours, and the flavor and texture are so much better the next day.
Step six: For freshness, store leftover brownies in the refrigerator, uncovered or very loosely covered the first night. Then fully cover the chocolate baked goods in an airtight container for up to four days.
You can also slice and freeze leftovers with a sheet of parchment paper in between layers of brownies so they do not stick together. Warm up or thaw before serving.
Vegan Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup water (240g)
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (15g)
- 2/3 cup oil (130g)
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (80g)
- 1 cup flour (120g) (spelt, white, all purpose gluten free, or oat flour. Or make flourless Keto Brownies)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (90g)
- 2/3 cup white sugar (135g)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch or ground flax seeds (16g)
- 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk the first 3 ingredients, then set aside. (If using flax, whisk it in as well.) Preheat oven to 330F. Grease a 9×13 pan, or an 8×8 pan for thick brownies, or line with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, stir all remaining ingredients. Then stir in the liquid ingredients to form a brownie batter. Smooth evenly into the pan. Bake 18 minutes, or 24 minutes if using an 8×8 pan. The brownies should look underdone when they come out. Let cool, then refrigerate uncovered (or very loosely covered). They start to firm up after a few hours and are nice and sliceable by the next day. The brownies are richer and sweeter the next day as well. After the first day, refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to three months.If desired, top with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting or one of the vegan brownie topping ideas included above.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Easy Vegan Chocolate Recipes
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These look great! Would adding protein powder make them dry?
I haven’t ever tried, but you can definitely experiment! Be sure to report back if you do.
I made this with hemp protein powder this evening. I replaced the flour with hemp powder. The batter was a bit thin and it took a long time to cook. It was a very delicate brownie (would have been great with some vegan ice cream!). All-in-all, a great experiment. I suggest you give it a try!
Wow, I am seriously impressed. I started making these before I read the whole paragraph of instructions and I felt dismayed when it said I would have to refrigerate before eating and that they would taste better the next day. I have no idea what any brownies have tasted like the next day!!!! I also was not looking for a vegan recipe, just something easy and fast that I could substitute ground oatmeal instead of the flour, and something I had ingredients for so I wouldn’t have to run to a store. I wanted to put eggs in but I resisted the urge and really trusted: ) Happy I did!
I did not refrigerate before trying them and they are good! Soft but really good. I used homemade almond milk. I didn’t strain it because I didn’t think it would matter (but I did use a small Vitamix, its only redeeming feature is that it blends really well). I can taste the almond milk in the brownies but it tastes good. I also used ground coconut and ground oatmeal instead of spelt. I added chocolate chips because my cocoa powder is quite bitter. And I added walnuts on top. Oh and I used all coconut sugar (1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup). Next time I’ll experiment with other sugars like monkfruit and date sugar.
Thank you for this great recipe! I will definitely make it again. I’m going to get or make some applesauce so I can try your other brownie recipes.
Hi Marilyn. I’m hoping to try this recipe too. It’s my first time to venture into using flours other than AP. For the spelt replacement, did you use half coconut and half oat flour? 🙂 I have (store bought) coconut flour here and I can ground oats, will that do?
A little pastry trick to get the bitterness out of cocoa powder is to pour boiling water over it and soak for a few minutes, then use it in your recipe. You can also add very hot coffee and it will do the same thing, but intensify the chocolate flavor! Just enough liquid to make it wet is all you need.
Awesome! These brownies look absolutely delicious! Love that they’re vegan, but don’t require tons of crazy ingredients! 🙂
I opened your website as part of my morning ritual & I jumped up & made these brownies as soon as your homepage loaded!! they’re in the oven right now & I’m soo excited to see how they turn out! I made your kid approved cake yesterday & your chocolate obsession cake from your cookbook the day before! I’m actually obsessed with your blog & recipes if you haven’t noticed ? I’m such a big fan of you & I’ve lossed count of how many of your recipes I’ve made! Keep up the great work, Katie! ?
Thank you so much for making them! I hope they turned out well!!
They turned out wonderful! your recipes never disappoint. It was extremely waiting for them to set in the fridge overnight, but it was sooo worth it! Just had them for breakfast?
What type of oil did you use for these brownies?
You can use canola or vegetable or melted coconut oil. Or even sunflower oil.
These were amazing! I added chopped walnuts to this recipe.
These look amazing! Just in time to make these for the long weekend!
yummieeeee love this recipe!
Much love
http://thehappyvegangirl.com
I appreciate this recipe so much because I’m allergic to soy and so many recipes call for it. It’s always exciting to find recipes I can eat on vegan and vegetarian websites 🙂
Hi Katie! I don’t have coconut oil on hand and I’m not a big fan of coconut in general. Do you have a suggestion of what I can use instead to make the icing? Thanks!
You can just use melted chocolate chips. That’s what I used.
Can i use something else than the oil?
What types of unrefined sugar would be okay to use? Stevia is difficult for me to digest, and I’m not quite sure what constitutes as an “unrefined sugar.” Thank you!
Unrefined sugar is just regular cane sugar that is less processed. Examples are date sugar, coconut sugar, raw sugar, turbinado sugar, muscovado sugar, maple sugar, sucanat, and demerara sugar. Liquid unrefined sugars include maple syrup, honey, brown rice syrup, etc. but I would just use one of the dry unrefined sugars that I listed first. (:
Cane sugar is sucrose, whereas fruit sugars are mostly glucose and fructose which don’t spike your blood glucose as much as sucrose.
Date sugar, coconut sugar, maple sugar are largely fructose whereas muscovado, demerera and raw cane sugar are sucrose.
Syrups affect the consistency of the bake.
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol (that’s a chemistry term, it won’t make you drunk!) And doesn’t affect blood glucose levels. It’s mmade from birch sap.
Yay for a beanless brownie! These look so moist (sorry) and perfect! Can’t wait to try them out 🙂