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
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Balls
Is cornflour the same as cornstarch? I’m in Australia and don’t think I’ve seen cornstarch. Thanks
Hi! In America they are two different things. But apparently, according to google, “cornstarch” in America is the same thing as “cornflour” in Australia. So the answer is that, if you’re buying it in Australia then yes you can sub cornflour. But for readers in America, cornflour and cornstarch are two different products. Super confusing!
These are the best vegan brownies. I served them to my little sister and she liked them too. Thank you.
I made these brownies for a friends birthday party who is vegan. It was the first time I made brownies without eggs and I didn’t know what to expect. These came out better than expected and my friend loved them!
These vegan brownies are like the best thing you will put in your mouth in your life. SERIOUSLY GOOD.
Tasty but they seemed very underbaked even after leaving them in the fridge overnight. The recipe says to bake at 330…is that correct? Was it supposed to be 350? Wondering if that may have been the problem
Hi! You can definitely do 350 for firmer/cakier brownies. We like ultra soft and fudge-like brownies so we use the lower temperature.
A little background… When I married my husband, I learned how to cook. I learned to make just about everything from scratch, from bread to egg noodles to even my own seasonings and alcohol. And my husband has always been very impressed with my food, but the one thing he said I couldn’t do was make brownies. “Not like grandma,” he said. “There’s a technique,” he said. “It HaS tO bE tAuGhT bY a GrAnDmA,” he said. Well, I called him at work today to tell him his grandma can sit down, because I did it. I made brownies that are way, way better than his grandma’s. I followed the recipe exactly, except that I used butter for the frosting instead of coconut oil, because he doesn’t like coconut. And I added a little bit of powdered sugar to the frosting because it tasted bitter and I panicked. But I am beyond elated right now. I’ve never had a single recipe from you go wrong, ever. Whether I follow them exactly or not, they always turn our great. So I confidently doubled this batch, but now I’m having regrets. They’re very dangerous to keep in the house. Katie, you are the awesome in the awesome sauce! You may have very well saved my marriage! LOL Thank you!!!
This made me so happy. Thank you!!
I’ve made these so many times for my daughter who is vegan, but this post really needs a ‘Jump to recipe’ feature. I don’t need to read the preamble again, don’t want to watch a video of how to make them – I just want the print recipe and to get on with it.
There was such happiness on Christmas Day when I put out the desserts and my daughter discovered that the brownies and the salted caramel ice cream were vegan so she had more options than the fruit platter. 🙂
Love the recipe and the versatility! I added a swirl of Lotus on top and it tasted amazing.
This makes us so happy, thank you for trying them!
I am not vegan or gf however my daughter is gf and 2 cousins are vegan, made these last week and used gf flour in a 8×8 pan and were great HOWEVER they had a heavy cocoa taste so I made a frosting using 1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
Almond vanilla milk as needed
Beat with beaters till smooth.
We all loved them and cousins who were vegan for over 5 years said best ever, I liked them too.
Thank you all so much for trying them!
My 7 year old is gluten, dairy and egg free, for his 7th birthday he requested brownies. I tried multiple brownie recipes that turned out Nothing like brownies. I should have started with CCK first! These rich and gooey, fudge like brownies were Awesome! I did an 8×8 with the chocolate chips! Thank you Katie!
This makes us so happy 🙂