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 am not a full Vegan but I can appreciate the recipes that the Vegan community comes up with. My fiance asked me last night to make him brownies and I knew we didnt have eggs or butter (we’ve got to go grocery shopping! ) and I felt terrible telling him I couldn’t unless one of us wanted to go that late to grab eggs and butter. So this morning it hit me! Of course I didnt HAVE to use butter and egg to make yummy brownies. I just had to find a vegan substitute recipe ( and NOT tell him they are vegan. He is a hardcore carnivore). This recipe is going to make him happy because he’ll have brownies and I’ll be happy because he’s happy AND I didnt have to leave the house (: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
P.S THEY ARE SO DARN DELISH!!!!
Should I refrigerator these immediately after baking?
I always let them cool a half hour first
These are the best brownies I’ve ever made! I’ve made many unhealthy brownies before filled with sugar and unhealthy ingredients, but somehow these brownies were 100 times better! These were chewy, moist, and super chocolatey. I used stevia instead of sugar, and I used almond milk as my choice of milk-which made these turn out extra smooth and creamy. I baked these for 18 minuets instead just because I like my brownies a little crispy, but it’s really up to you. I highly recommend these brownies because I didn’t know how these would be, but this unexpectedly turned out to be my favourite brownie recipe ever Huge thumbs up!
Hi Katie! If you weren’t famous and across several continents,we could be soul sisters. People like you make me wonder why none of my friends have blogs about chocolate and hence permanent desserts in their freezer! I’m such a chocolate addict and it’s the one thing I would wilfully hide from my 4 year old son so I wouldn’t have to share ;p thank you for this blog. Although. I’m not vegan, my chocolate desserts better be, considering how much I am capable of devouring! Just an idea -from where I am, India, we have something called palm sugar. Not sure if you are familiar with it. Can it be a substitute to any sweetener mentioned? Its sweet and we do mix it with milk and health drinks but the taste is vastly different though!
It absolutely can! Anywhere her recipes call for granulated sugar or sugar of choice or sweetener of choice 🙂
Hi Katie!!! Can i use oatmeal flour instead??
You can definitely experiment. Be sure to report back if you do!
Do you think I could use all maple syrup or agave for sweetener? Do you think if I bake it a bit longer and add an extra bit of cornstarch to hold it together, it would work?
Nothing “healthy” about these brownies. Just sayin. I take exception to the “more healthy vegan desserts” statement following the brownies. Vegans get heart attacks and strokes, TOO. Even RAW vegans by eating entirely too much oil and omega 6 with no omega 3.
Best brownies ever, said by non vegans!!! Amazing recipe, cant wait to do it again!
I made lots of changes and they still turned out amazing. I subbed the flour with 1/4 each coconut, millet, tapioca and oat flour plus 1 tbsp cornstarch. I didn’t had any cocoa powder nor plain milk so I used the same amount (in grams) of carob, and chocolate soy milk. I halved the amount of oil and used more milk instead. Finally, I used 2 tbsp brown sugar plus 2 1/2 tbsp of stevia baking blend, and added apple sauce for the bulk.
I made these exactly how the recipe calls, excluding only the icing, and put them in the freezer about an hour after making them. I took them out a few hours later and they are more of a fudge consistency rather than brownie. I’m new to veganism and i’m kind of disappointed since others in these comments had great results. :/
You just have to let them cool first, and then fridge overnight only loosely covered and they firm up!