Favorite Vegan Brownies
These vegan brownies are indulgent, fudgy, chewy, and gooey in all the right places and studded with chocolate chunks. They are my favorite chocolate brownie recipe!
Good old-fashioned, moist, and fudgy brownies made from scratch have landed a spot in the ever-expanding collection of vegan dessert recipes!
Rich and decadent, without being overly sweet, these classic homemade vegan brownies are completely dairy-free, egg-free, healthy-ish, and downright delicious! Easy to make, you can whip up a batch in about 45 minutes.
They’re pretty much fail-proof too. I have made 4 batches of these vegan brownies over the last few days (with minor tweaks here and there), and the whole family loved them all!
Ingredient Notes
It only takes a few simple ingredients to make my favorite vegan brownies.
Here is everything you will need, plus ideas for substituting ingredients:
- Flour – I used white whole wheat flour here, but all-purpose, spelt or whole wheat pastry flour would also work. Make these vegan brownies gluten-free by using all-purpose GF flour.
- Cocoa Powder – Seek out cocoa powder with no additives, it should 100% cocoa powder. Dutch or natural cocoa is fine, and raw cacao powder is great too! Dutched cocoa is treated with alkaline giving it a deep dark chocolate color and milder taste, while both natural cocoa and raw cacao are free from any processing and lighter in color.
- Sugar – Use pure cane sugar, white or brown, or coconut sugar (I used the latter because it’s not as sweet as other sugars and has a caramely flavor). If you prefer sweeter brownies, use pure cane sugars.
- Baking Powder – If you don’t have baking powder on hand, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda will be fine.
- Non-Dairy Butter – I use Miyoko’s butter, it’s my favorite. I’ve used light flavored olive oil (as shown above), but any neutral oil will work. For oil-free vegan brownies, unsweetened applesauce is terrific (although they may be a little more cakey)!
- Flax Eggs – I love this handy bag of flax meal from Bob’s Red Mill (Target carries it a little cheaper, sorry Bob!), it makes having flax meal on hand for flax eggs whenever I need them.
- Vanilla – And finally, a dose of vanilla takes just about anything chocolatey over the top!
And for extra brownie love, add chunks of dark chocolate before baking and course sea salt after. It makes for gooey chocolate studded vegan brownie with just the right touch of salt to complement the subtle sweetness. Complete perfection!
How To Make Vegan Brownies
(Note – The full printable recipe is at the bottom of this post)
- Mix: Mix the wet ingredients until combined, add the dry ingredients, mix again as shown above.
- Pour: Pour brownie batter into a prepared 8 x 8 baking dish. Top with optional chocolate chunks as shown below.
- Bake: Place in center of the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.
While you’re waiting for the brownies to bake, enjoy scraping every bit of batter off the side of the bowl!
Tips For Success!
- Use quality ingredients! With only a handful of ingredients, sourcing the best will make for the ultimate vegan chocolate brownies.
- Let flax eggs set. Make sure your flax eggs have time to set, at least 10 minutes, before using.
- Give your brownies wings. It helps to line your pan with parchment paper. Leave an overhang on the sides to create handles. This way, when your brownies are done, you simply lift by the overhang to pull out the brownies. I use these pre-cut sheets and cut one in half and placed crossed on each other, it fits perfectly in an 8 x 8.
- Ensure oven in hot. Wait for the oven to be completely preheated before adding the brownies, placing them in the center of the oven for even baking. Baking time will vary from oven to oven, so use your best judgement.
How To Store
- Counter: Store leftover brownies in an airtight container at room temperature on the counter for 3 – 4 days.
- Refrigerator: They will stay fresh longer if stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Freezer: These vegan brownies freeze beautifully for up to 2 – 3 months. The best to freeze brownies is to let them cool completely, cut them into squares and individually wrap them in saran wrap. Let them thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter for a few hours before serving.
Serving Suggestions
These are a gooey, fudgy vegan brownie that’s a true crowd-pleaser. They are perfect for parties, potlucks, or just because you deserve to treat yourself to something wonderful!
Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy these brownies:
- Serve as is.
- Serve with a side of coconut whipped cream or non-dairy vanilla ice cream.
- They’re also great with a tall glass of ice cold no-dairy milk or hot cup of coffee!
More Vegan Chocolate Recipes!
- Supreme Black Bean Brownies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chia Pudding
- Chocolate Cherry Smoothie
- See all vegan chocolate recipes on TSV!
If you try these easy vegan brownies, please let us know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintFAVORITE VEGAN BROWNIES
This vegan brownie recipe is the only no-fail recipe you’ll ever need! Perfect gooey brownies, incredibly fudgy, super easy to make and downright indulgent!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 9, 1 brownie per serving 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: mix, bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113g) non-dairy butter, applesauce or light flavored olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups (282g) sugar (organic pure cane or coconut)
- 3 flax eggs (see instructions)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125g) flour (all-purpose, spelt, whole wheat, or gluten free all-purpose)
- 2/3 cup (65g) cocoa/cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- generous pinch of salt
- 2 oz. dark chocolate bar, chopped
- coarse salt, for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line and 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper, or lightly grease with oil. If using a 9 x 13 baking dish, see recipe instructions below.
Flax egg: In a small bowl, combine 3 heaped tablespoons flaxseed meal with 1/2 cup water or unsweetened non-dairy milk. Let rest for 10 minutes to thicken.
Mix: In a medium size mixing bowl, add the 1/2 cup butter/oil/applesauce and sugar, mix well. Add in the flax eggs and vanilla, mix again. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, mix well to combine. May take a minute or so to completely become mixed.
Pour: Pour brownie batter into the center of the prepared baking dish. Spread to the edges as needed. Optionally top with chopped chunks of dark chocolate or vegan chocolate chips.
Bake: Place in the center of the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.
Cool: Let cool in the baking dish. If you used parchment paper, after 5 – 10 minutes, lift the edges and move the brownies to a wire rack to cool.
Store: Keep loosely covered on the counter for up to 4 – 5 days. They keep longer in the refrigerator, up to 2 weeks.
Notes
My favorite butter is Miyoko’s Butter, it is a little more expensive, but it’s quality. I’ve also made these with light flavored olive oil (as shown here) and applesauce with great success! Note, using applesauce may make the brownies more cake-like.
I find that organic pure cane sugar is much sweeter than coconut sugar. If you’re looking for sweeter brownies, definitely stick with pure cane sugar.
If using applesauce, these are low-fat brownies.
Recipe for 13×9 baking dish:
- 3/4 cup (169g) non-dairy butter, applesauce, or light flavored olive oil
- 2 cups (396g) sugar (organic pure cane or coconut)
- 5 heaped tablespoons flaxseed meal + 3/4 cup water or non-dairy milk (for flax eggs)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) flour (all-purpose, spelt, whole wheat, or gluten-free all-purpose)
- 1 cup (84g) cocoa/cacao powder
- 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
- generous pinch of salt
- 3 oz. dark chocolate bar, chopped
- coarse salt, for garnish
Bake for 40 – 45 minutes.
Making conversions? I recommend double-checking the King Arthur Ingredient Weight Chart for your specific ingredients.
Keywords: vegan brownies
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These brownies are delicious!!!! I have a friend who is not only vegan, but has dietary restrictions due to health concerns (she’s gluten-free, soy-free, etc.). I was looking for a dessert recipe that would fit her needs, and this is a winner! I made it with gluten-free flour, and I also added some walnuts. No one would ever guess it’s vegan, or gluten-free for that matter. Flax eggs are brilliant! My only problem was that I overbaked them. Usually a recipe will say to test with a toothpick, but since these directions only indicated to bake for 25-30 minutes, I was unsure how “done” they should be. When I checked the middle after 30 minutes, it was still quite wet, so I left them in longer. But other than that, they turned out terrific. This is now my go-to recipe for brownies.
★★★★★
I make these brownies often. Last time I used eggs instead of flax eggs and I have to say they were not as good as using flax eggs. The recipe exactly as written is perfect. I am celiac so use gf flour. They are perfectly delicious. This is the best brownie recipe by far and I’ve tried many. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hello do you have to use flax eggs? Please let me know asap
I have not tried this recipe with any replacement for flax eggs, so I can’t say how it would be without them or using a substitute. You can experiment using unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana in its place, using at least 1/2 cup and no more than 2/3 cup. They should still be pretty fudge and delicious. I hope that helps, and we would love to know how it goes!
I’m not vegan, but had a customer request vegan brownies a couple years ago. I found this recipe to be absolutely wonderful! It’s a fast, easy, and simple recipe, and the results are delicious! I have made it many times since for my own family.
★★★★★
I reduced sugar by a tiny bit but will cut 1/2 if I make them again. They were too crumbly so I’m not sure I will make them again. But I do appreciate your focus on vegan dishes. Thank you!
Yum! I made de original recipe using whole wheat flour, Earth Balance butter and pretty much same measurements except less sugar, and the taste was on point! The only problem is that it came out a bit too dry and sticky.. any suggestions to make it a bit more moist? Not sure if I did anything wrong. Thank you!
★★★★
So glad the flavor was good, but sorry you didn’t care for the texture. Not sure what could’ve happened in your case, but I do hope you try again!