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
I noticed you have two vegan brownie recipes; one with milk and one with water. Is one an updated version? Do you prefer one recipe over the other? The sweet potato brownies and chocolate pudding are new favorites for me as I work to eat healthier versions of my most loved homemade desserts. Thank you, Katie!
Hi! This is the updated version of the vegan brownie recipe but we do also have a similar older recipe (tinder brownies) that makes deeper brownies and they are equally good!
Hi there! If you double this recipe and bake it in a 9×13 pan, will this produce thicker brownies and how long should those cook? I need to make several batches for a large group of people and I wanted to check before getting started. Thanks!
How long can i freeze this brownies uncut or baked directly in a aluminium foil tray?
Hi, sorry we have never tried freezing before cutting.
I made this recipe with two substitutions and two additions. I used Raw Organic Cacao Powder for all the chocolate, I substituted Arrow Root for Corn Starch and I added chopped walnuts and a chopped up Dark Chocolate bar instead of chocolate chips. I used a square glass baking dish that was slightly larger than 8″x8″, so I baked at 330 degrees for 24 minutes, cooled then refrigerated. When I cut into these brownies, it was apparent that the mix was NOT completely cooked in the center. I live at 6500 feet elevation and there needs to be some alteration of temperature or timing or both. I put the dish into the microwave at HIGH for 8 minutes and when inserting a toothpick it came out clean, so once cooled, I again refrigerated the brownies. The texture upon cutting these brownies was OK, but they were not chocolatey enough nor sweet enough. So I think I will add more Cacao powder and add some Stevia to enhance the sweetness. I’m not sure if I should bake longer at 330 degrees, so I will have to experiment next time. Maybe using a larger dish would make the brownies shorter/thinner and perhaps they would cook more thoroughly. I just wanted high altitude bakers to beware that this recipe may take some tweaking to get it just right.
I’m going to make these for work and I was wondering if I could use bananas to substitute the eggs, instead of cornstarch/flax? Bananas are used in pancakes instead of eggs so I’m hoping this will work. Fingers crossed I don’t mess it up lol!
Sorry we have not tried so really can’t say. Be sure to report back if you try!
I did and they turned out a bit gooey, they were more like fudge, but still very tasty!!
These brownies hit my right in my sweet tooth! I followed the instructions exactly and they’re other worldly. I used a 9x 9, took them out of the oven at EXACTLY 16 minutes and they’re perfection! I have ADHD so there was no way in hell these were gonna be refrigerated overnight. I dove in when they were completely cooled and I can assure you, these brownies will be baked over and over again! Best part? I always have these ingredients in my pantry!
Thank you for trying them!
Is it possible to use all Dutch process cocoa in this recipe, or is the regular cocoa necessary for helping the baking powder to leaven or to improve flavor? Thanks!
Made these, popped them in the oven… and realized I forgot the cornstarch. 😅 Will they still be good? Or have I forgotten the magic ingredient?
Didn’t expect much because I’m not vegan, but I was blown away at how good this vegan brownie recipe tastes. You’d never know!
I used GF AP flour and subbed out half the oil with applesauce. They still came out good, just more cakey rather than fudgy. But great option for a bit less fat!
PS. The above version can be cut and eaten right out of the oven. Because, come on Katie, who besides you has the willpower to put them in the fridge overnight without eating?! 😁