This really is the Best Ever Vegan Brownies Recipe! Fudgy, gooey, perfect squares of chocolate that cut easily and are easy to make. You’ll never buy a boxed brownie mix again!
In the last two days, I’ve made three batches of vegan brownies. That’s right, three. A few weeks ago, I tried some other recipes I was playing around with. All in an attempt to create the most perfect vegan brownies recipe in the world. It has been such a struggle you guys! (And yes I have a freezer FULL of brownies)
All of the recipes were edible (I mean, come on, it’s chocolate people!), but NOT the brownie perfection I was looking for. Either they were too fudgy, or too cake-like (my biggest peeve). Or one batch that cooked fine on the outside but wouldn’t fully cook near the middle.
I had to do some serious brownie research, read about ingredients, what makes a brownie cake-like, what makes them more fudgy, how to create the right balance for what I was looking for, and then think about the best vegan swaps for the result I wanted to achieve.
Finally, just a few days ago, I made one more batch of vegan brownies, after carefully creating the recipe on paper. I was SO excited as the batter tasted incredible, and after baking they looked good in the pan. Still having doubts, I let them cool a bit and then removed them from the pan and sliced them slowly.
When I looked inside and took the first bite, I knew, I had finally created the PERFECT Vegan Brownies Recipe! They are thick and hold together when you slice them. Fudgy, but not overly so, chewy, rich, ooey-gooey and full of chocolatey goodness. No one would guess they’re vegan!
What kind of chocolate chips should I use for vegan brownies recipe?
I used Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chips because they happen to be vegan and are quite inexpensive. It can be difficult to find chocolate chips that don’t contain dairy, so just check the ingredients list. Enjoy Life is a good brand and you can order them on Amazon. You can also use your favorite chocolate bar and chop it into pieces.
What kind of cocoa powder should I use?
I used Trader Joe’s unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe, Hershey’s unsweetened is also a good option. I would not recommend you use a dutch cocoa powder, as you will get different results.
What is the best way to cut brownies?
If you are making vegan brownies for a party or to serve to others, it’s important to follow a couple of steps to get really nicely cut brownies. This is true whether they are vegan brownies or not!
It is helpful to line your pan with parchment paper that hangs out the sides for easy removal. After baking, let the brownies cool off for 15 minutes in the pan, then lift them out of the pan with the parchment paper and let cool 15-30 minutes more on a cooling rack. The longer you let them cool, the easier and cleaner cutting will be.
To cut, use a big, heavy knife. Run it under hot water for 30 seconds, dry it quickly and cut the brownies. Clean off the knife in between cuts, and you will have clean brownie squares.
If you like this vegan brownies recipe, you may also want to check out these “best” dessert recipes:
Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you make this recipe, let me know how it goes! Rate it, leave a comment and tag a photo @noracooksvegan on Instagram or find me on Facebook. Enjoy!
Best Ever Vegan Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons ground flax
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegan butter (earth balance brand), melted *see instructions
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips OR roughly chopped chocolate pieces
Instructions
- Make the flax eggs by stirring the ground flax and water in a small bowl. Set aside to thicken. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 7 x 11 pan with parchment paper.
- Melt the vegan butter (earth balance brand preferred), and measure 1/2 cup. I do this by microwaving the vegan butter in a glass measuring cup, in 30 second intervals, until melted.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted vegan butter and sugars together. Add the flax eggs and vanilla, whisk until evenly combined.
- Over the same large bowl, sift in the flour and cocoa powder. Add the salt and baking powder and stir with a large wooden spoon until just combined, do not over mix.Â
- Fold in half of the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with a spoon or your hands. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top of the batter.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. The brownies may still be bubbling and not look done, but they will firm up a lot as they cool.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then pull the brownies out, using the parchment paper and let cool for another 15-30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Video
Notes
- To sift, either use a sifter or a fine mesh strainer also works.
- Coconut oil does not work very well in place of the vegan butter; it makes them very oily so I don't recommend it. You could sub applesauce for the vegan butter if you are oil free.
- If you don't want the brownies as sweet, it is perfectly okay to reduce the sugar, even to 1 cup. They will still turn out well, just not as sweet.Â
- When you initially take the brownies out of the oven, they will appear underdone and soft, but give them time to cool. They are even better the next day; fudgy and rich. These are NOT cake-like brownies.Â
- You may also use dutch processed cocoa powder for slightly different results. They will be a little less fudgy, and darker in color.
Okay so I made these again this time I didn’t use my kitchen aid mixer and mixed it all by hand and it came out more of a brownie \ cake batter consistency and they cooked more cake like ! I also used regular cocoa instead of the dark chocolate Dutch and either way this recipe is addicting !!!
I’m glad they’re good!! Thanks for the comment!
These are fabulous! Lacking an 11×7 pan, I used a 9″ round cake pan, and 35 minutes bake time. Batter definitely not pourable, so I smoothed flat with a spatula. Thanks for this awesome recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you like it!
absolutely delicious!!!!!!
Thanks!
Halfed the recipe just in case but regretted it at first bite! This will be my go to from here on out!
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for the comment!
Excellent!
I used white whole wheat flour, coconut and Demerara sugars, cut the recipe in half and made 8 individual brownies using a cupcake tin, baking for 22 minutes.Â
They came out beautifully, with crispy edges and gooey centers. Brava!!
I’m so glad you liked them!! Thanks for the comment!
The brownies turned out wonderful!! I just substituted the water for the flaxseed for coffee, and added a couple tbsp of water at the end to make the overall batter a little runnier since the batter was more compact than the one in the video. They were also ready in 30 minutes only. Smelled heavenly and tasted amazing! Thank u 🙂
You’re welcome!!! So glad they were good!
Hi Nora- can I substitute with gluten free flour?
I believe many people have done this with good results. I have used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour and it works quite well here.
These came out amazing! I didn’t have any ground flax. So I replaced it with 4 teaspoons ground chia seeds with 12 tablespoons of water. Â
I’m so glad they came out amazing!!
These are amazing and I will be making these over and over again . Since my batter was definitely thick like most people said I used parchment paper ontop to help flatten and spread through out my pan . I can’t stop eating these ?
I’m so glad they were amazing!!
I made this tonight! Best vegan brownies ever! Thanks for the recipe. My batter was pretty dense before it went to the baking pan, but it turned out good!
I’m so glad you liked them!!
Please help! I’m making these right now, but I accidentally added all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl instead of just the sugars. Will this completely ruin the brownies if I add the butter, flax eggs, and vanilla to the already combined dry ingredients?
I’m not sure how they will turn out honestly! When you mix the melted vegan butter and sugars together, it helps the sugar melt first before being mixed and cooked. They might turn out okay, but it’s hard for me to say as I’ve never done it that way, sorry!
Made these yesterday and I agree that they are certainly the BEST vegan brownies!
I was a little worried at first because the batter turned out so much more dense than in your video, however, after being baked for 30 minutes, they came out perfect! These are certainly going to be my go-to brownies from now on.
That’s so great to hear!! Thanks for the comment!
Hey, I’m really keen on making these brownies, but I’m out of vegan butter. Would vegetable oil or a dairy free coconut yogurt work as a replacement?
Either of those would likely work, oil would work better. Hope that helps!
I used vegetable oil, and it worked great– slightly oily on the bottom, but not bothersome at all. I used mini-chocolate chips and it filled out the cup too much, I think. I might cut the chocolate chips in half next time, or try nuts. Thanks for the beautiful vegan recipe!
I’m so glad it worked, thank you!
I would rate these brownies 5 stars, but I switched some ingredients out since I didn’t have everything on hand and I don’t think it would be fair to others who want to make these and are looking to the comments for reviews on this recipe. I used Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer (4 tbsp, just like the flax egg in this recipe and 8 tbsp of water which does equal 1/2c), I didnt have brown sugar so I mixed regular organic sugar with a tbsp of maple syrup. I also didn’t have vanilla, so I replaced it with a tbsp of rum. They came out super moist and gooey, really really good. My only issue is that the batter was on the thicker side, and as I was trying to mix it all together, it was very dry, so I added some almond milk to loosen it up. It definitely wasn’t loose enough to pour out of the bowl and into the pan though. I think that and me switching some ingredients around is what caused it to sink in the center while cooking. It was nice and puffed at first, but as soon as I took it out, it sank. The edges also cooked a lot faster than the center and ended up burning a bit.
Lovely brownies, instead of water, may I use almond milk?
Yes, that would work.
Me and my little sister used cacao instead of cocoa and it turned out awesome thank you so much for such a great recipe!
You’re so welcome!!
easy to make and delicious!! my pan was bigger than called for so i made 1 1/2 the recipe and it worked great.
I’m so glad to hear it worked out great and was delicious!!
While my desserts never look exactly as lovely as yours, this one turned out very rich and delicious!Â
That’s so great to hear!!
My husband is not a chocolate lover but he LOVED this recipe. It’s so good I’m making it again this weekend!
That’s so great to hear!!
not sure why it’s only showing 2 stars, tried hitting 5…
I made these over the weekend and they were amazing! I substituted the flour for chickpea flour which made them gluten free and added a bit of protein! I also used the applesauce instead of oil and was very happy with the results! So yummy!Â
I’m so glad they were good!!
If I could give this 10 stars I would! This is THE best vegan brownie recipe, followed it to the T and my entire family absolutely loves them, even though they looked super undone when I took them out of the oven and I was contemplating sticking it back into the oven for a bit but im glad I didn’t and I let them cool overnight before cutting them! I can’t even believe they are vegan – they are SO good.
One question though, how do I prevent the caving in the middle of the pan from happening and encourage an even rise? I used a glass pan that is 7 x 10. Thank you for this recipe I see myself using this recipe for years to come!
Thank you! I’m so glad your entire family loved them! They are absolutely better once they cool in my opinion. They will always be a bit fudgier in the middle, but using a metal pan will work better. I don’t prefer glass when making brownies or cakes. You could even use a 9×13 inch metal baking pan for thinner brownies.
Can you use cacao powder instead ?
Sure!
I just made these and they turned out amazingly well! I added two scoops of vegan protein powder to mine! Thank you for the recipe!!
You’re so welcome! Glad you liked them!!
Made this yesterday, it was amazing! Didn’t have a brownie tray so i made it in a cake tin. So delicious, thank you for the recipe!
You’re so welcome!!
Can I use an 8×8 pan? If so, how many minutes should they be in the oven?Â
Yes, you can. They might need an extra 5 minutes in the oven, but not much more than that.