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.
- 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.
- 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.
- You may also use dutch processed cocoa powder for slightly different results. They will be a little less fudgy, and darker in color.
Quick questions. If we substituted apple sauce for flax seed, how much apple sauce? Also, I used a 9 x 13 glass pan and baking in convection oven at 325 degrees F for 30 minutes. Does it matter in it is glass or metal? The brownies are in the oven now and can’t wait to taste them.
I’d say 1/2 cup applesauce. Glass versus metal makes them bake a bit differently, but both work. I usually use metal pans. Hope you enjoy them!
delicious recipe
These are the best vegan brownies for sure! Thank you!!! I add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts – have made already 4 times!
That’s so great!
can I use a 8×8 baking pan or a 9×13?
I would go for a 9×13 and bake them for less time, 25-30 minutes.
These are AMAZING!!! Seriously you are a wizard in the kitchen!! But I am wondering how do I store the brownies? Room temp or fridge?
I usually store them covered on my counter.
The batter was really thick and not pourable. There does not seem to be an easy way to check doneness and after 35 minutes they looked done but are practically raw after cooling. Next time I will do at least 40 minutes. Flavor is good though.
You can see in the video what it should look like. You have to spread it out in the pan, it’s not runny. There is not a real simple way because they will be very soft out of the oven, and cooling is needed. The brownies will firm up a ton as they cool, so I would just trust it. If you try to cut into them right away they will be very gooey. Wait 30 minutes or even an hour or two, they will be completely different. Hope that helps!
These are unreal! My batter was thicker & drier than the one in your video but once baked they came out perfectly. I don’t know why I decided to bake them at 10pm… going to dream about them all night!
Hi, I noticed that you recommend earth balance brand butter substitute and I’ve seen other vegan baked good recipes recommend this brand as well so I would love to give it a go – my question is, are you using salted or unsalted? I have always baked with unsalted (grew up using Fleishmann’s for recipes for my brother with dairy allergies) but have only found salted versions of any other brand of vegan butter. Are the stores I go to just not stocking unsalted baking sticks or are these recipes intended to be using salted butter?
Thanks so much for your help!
There are so many options these days, I do probably use Earth Balance the most often, but I use other brands as well. I always use the regular, salted version. They recently came out with unsalted which would be fine to use, but you may need to add a little salt to my recipes. The unsalted earth balance sticks can be hard to find, and like I said I think they are brand new. I take this into account when creating the recipes, since the “butter” is salted. Hope that makes sense and helps!
Hello! I dont have the correct pan size so I was wondering could I use a muffin pan? would this effect the temp. i need to set my oven?
Yes, that would work. They will probably need a bit less time in the oven, more like 20 minutes I think. Thanks!
Can I add chopped walnuts to this recipe? If so, how much, when and where?
Sure! Fold them in to the batter, before baking. I’d add about 3/4-1 cup.
Or is there a different flax egg recipe with flax meal? I’ve tried googling how to make a flax egg with with ground flax rather than flax meal in order to understand the measurements but all recipes say to use flax meal.
Can you advise what I’d need to do when using flax meal?
I’m not really sure what you mean, flax eggs are made by simply combining ground flaxseeds (also known as flax meal) with water. It thickens, but it does not get hard by any means. You can see what mine looks like in the video, if that helps.
My batter is crumbly and not liquidy. What did I do wrong? Can I pour in plant based milk to smooth it out?
It shouldn’t be crumbly, did you use coconut oil instead of vegan butter by chance? Sometimes coconut oil can get a little crumbly especially if it wasn’t warm. You could add a little plant milk and mix it in if you need to, just try not to add too much. Hope you enjoy them! I have a video that shows exactly how it should look when making the batter, if that helps.
Can I substitute with GF all purpose flour? I want to make these for my child’s class and would love to accommodate all the allergies.
Yes, it works quite well!
I was so tempted to try them that I took one while they were still hardening. They are the best brownies I have ever had. I substituted the flax for apple sauce. They are amazing. Will make again.
Thanks so much!!
How are you so good? ?? Every one of your recipes is genius. And so easy! Best chocolate cake I have ever eaten is from this website, blueberry muffins are perfection, and so are these brownies! I was skeptical at first because the batter was so thick, but they are heavenly. Our previous favorite recipe was from America’s Test Kitchen Vegan recipe book, but they are too oily. These are fudgy and rich without being oily. Only slight issue is that my flax seed is too coarsely ground, so it can be a little too assertive. Next time I will find a finer grind.
Thanks so much for the great comment!
Fantastic!!!
These were so good. I am not vegan but I have always wanted to compare these to regular brownies. They are a little different but these are amazing!!
Thanks!!
This brownies are so delicious! I’ve tried a few different recipes but the consistency is never right. These were everything I wanted, definitely NOT cakey which in my opinion is the way to go with brownies! I did add walnuts because I’m pretty sure walnuts were made specifically for brownies lol. The milk I used was oat milk as well. Thank you for this recipe!
I love walnuts in brownies, too! Though my family all hate it lol. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Hi there, I am really excited to make my brownies today! I have a 4D fan oven.. please can you advise what temperature I should set my oven if it is different to yours? Fan ovens are super powerful so wanted to double check.
I’m honestly not sure, I think fan ovens are supposed to cook things very evenly and nicely, so I don’t see why it would be a problem unless the temperature runs differently. I would bake them at 350 degrees, unless the oven came with instructions on adjusting baking temperatures or something I’m not aware of. Thanks, hope they turn out!
One of the best brownie recipes I’ve found vegan or not. Chewy chocolate goodness.
Thanks!
The recipe tastes delicious but mine don’t seem to have firmed up properly even after cooling, did I do something wrong? (Not that I kind gooey brownies but these are still practically runny)
I wonder if you made any substitutions? Like using almond flour instead of white flour? They should not be runny at all, gooey yes especially right away but once they cool you should be able to pick one up in your hand without it falling apart.
I didn’t substitute anything, I followed the recipe as it‘s written. I’m not much of a baker so maybe the pan I used is wrong or I over-mixed it. I’m also working with a halogen (electric) oven which complicates things.
This is the first time I’ve written a recipe review, but I feel compelled to do so, likely because I’ve eaten too many of these brownies and am experiencing a level of motivation that is both foreign and slightly terrifying.
These are the world’s best brownies, vegan or non. Do not bother making other brownies. Just make these. There’s not much else to say about that.
My real motivation for writing this review is that I’d like to share some cautionary advice to anyone who, like me, does not have children/is only casually familiar with a child’s tolerance for sugar and cocoa. I made these for my friends and their child, who happens to be my favourite four-year-old. We ate dinner around 6:30 and had brownies immediately after. Then I was the captive audience of a breakdancing showcase, I took part in some sort of Lego battle I still don’t quite understand, I reluctantly danced to Sandstorm (in its entirety), and I was given a lecture on death (if you pass away, you’re gone forever!). Although I remember a lot of very loud close-talking, most of this part of the evening is a blur.
As my friends took turns trying to get their cackling, slurring, farting (to be fair, this had nothing to do with the brownies) son to bed, I sat on the couch and apologized to whichever parent was within earshot. Eventually, he seemed to settle in, and we all breathed sighs of relief. As soon as enough time had passed that guards were down, he snuck back in the room to grace us with a harmonica solo that can only be described as grotesque and life-shortening. This startled me enough that I proceeded to have giggle fits through the whole episode of Fargo we were attempting to watch (my own sugar high certainly played a part in this as well). The child’s father ate a second brownie and abruptly stated that he might as well run for a seat as an MP because “anyone can do it.”
The child’s mother only tried a bite of a brownie and lost respect for all of us. I am no longer allowed to bring baking to this child.
Again, these are the world’s best brownies.
Hahahaha that is hilarious (though maybe not so much for the parents!) and thanks for sharing! I’m so glad you love the brownies!
Honestly, I too can’t stand “cake” brownies. I followed this recipe just as it said and they are THE BEST BROWNIES…END OF STORY!!!!!!
Thanks!
Hello! I’m making these right now and it turns out I don’t have a full cup of flour… I probably have .83c. Should I sub some gluten free flour, more cocoa powder? Any suggestion is much appreciated!
Sorry I didn’t get to your comment until now! I would sub gluten free flour if you have it, or even more cocoa powder.
Hi can I substitute flax seed for banana ?
You might be able to, but I haven’t tested it. Perhaps about 1/2 cup mashed banana.
These were the best brownies I have ever made! They turned out just as promised. Thank you!
You’re welcome!