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.
Do you think I could substitute cacao powder for cocoa powder and achieve the same texture? I don’t mind if they are slightly more bitter, but I don’t want to alter the amazing texture you’ve created here. If you think that will change things too much, I will just hold off and order some cocoa!
Yes, I believe that will work just fine. Thanks!
Thank you so much much for sharing this brownie recipe it really is the best I’ve ever made. I only had 1/4th of a cup of chocolate chips left and they still are delicious.
It’s great when I can lick the bowl clean because it has no eggs!Yay
Thank you so much for sharing this brownie recipe it really is the best I ever made. I had only a quarter cup of chocolate chips left in my pantry and still they are be delicious. Thanks to you and and many other vegans I can finally cook with confidence. We are one!
Instead of using cocoa powder I used a chocolate unsweetened baking bar. They turned out super moist and chewy! Will be making again!
What size pan do you recommend using if I’m only making 8 brownies?
I’d use an 8 inch pan when cutting the recipe in half, but also don’t bake them as long as they will be a bit thinner than the usual recipe. Probably 25-30 minutes is all they will need.
Hi! Planning to make these to post to a friend during lockdown, do you know roughly how long they keep for? Thanks!
At room temperature I would say just about 2-3 days. In the refrigerator an extra day or two. They can also be frozen!
Thank you! These are insanely delicious and will be my go to brownie recipe from now on!
That’s so great to hear!!
What kind of brown sugar did you use as the majority of them aren’t vegan?
I use a variety, if you want to make absolutely sure it’s vegan then choose organic.
made it with oil instead of butter and didn’t work out at all. the texture made them inedible. so I don’t recommend it
These win….vegan or not. So ooey, gooey and ridiculously chocolately.
Froze half of them and simply put in microwave for 20 seconds and added scoops of ice cream. So damn good.
Thanks!!
Can I use aquafaba instead of flax eggs? I have a can of chick peas but no flax. Of so what quantity would you recommend I use please? Looking forward to trying it out thank you!
Oh I also have chia seeds if I can use them instead what quantity would I use? I’m new to plant based, sorry for all the questions, learning as I go. Thank you
I would only use ground up chia seeds (you probably don’t want whole chia seeds in your brownies), but you could use the same amount, mixed with water. Thanks!
I would recommend chia seeds over aquafaba but I haven’t tried either myself so I can’t guarantee it will work the same.
Hi Nora!! Planning on making these tomorrow so I’m hoping you can answer this as soon as possible haha.
If I were to add oat milk to this recipe and whisk it with the vanilla extract and flax eggs would it do any damage to the recipe???
Thanks in advance :)!!
I don’t think it would much matter, unless you add a lot, in which case they will end up cakey and quite different than what they should be. Hope that helps and you enjoy the brownies!
I didn’t see the reviews ahead of time, and put mine in an 8×8 pan. Any recommendations on how long to bake? So far I’ve let it bake for 48 minutes and it’s still super runny in the middle
That’s a really long time, I’m afraid they are going to burn and become super hard if you let them bake for so long. They firm up a ton as they cool, and even though they will be extra fudgy in the middle, they will be fine once cooled.
This really is the best brownie recipe. Good luck not eating the whole batch yourself!
Has anyone tried this with bevel margarine ? Wondering your thoughts ?
Hi, will oil instead of butter work?? since is melted butter I assume that it will work but just in case
It will work okay, but they will be a bit greasier .
I made this recipe today with some changes and they were very good! For flax egg I used 3T flax + 1T chia, for water used iced coffee, halved the sugar, gluten-free flour, and halved chocolate chips. I thought they were plenty sweet, but I also like dark chocolate. Will definitely make again.
Brownies came out not fudgy at all 🙁 The batter was very very thick. Crumbly, a bit dry, brownies. Strange cause usually all the recipes from this website come out perfect 🙁 The brownies taste good but no fudgyness.
That’s pretty odd! As you can see from the 230+ comments, these brownies are very fudgy and definitely not dry. I’m guessing you made a substitution, used a different size pan or something else? Hopefully we can figure out what went wrong so you can enjoy the brownies as they should be!
I have been trying out some vegan brownie recipes and had yet to find the right one!!
I made yours and they are absolutely delicious and very gooey, but the edges are very crispy and the bottoms very oily. I wonder if you could advise me why this might be. I have used all the same ingredients listed but did I convert the ingredient amounts for an 8” x 8” tin. Half way through it looked great…flat and even but before I took them out of the oven they’d sunk. I could pull the really crispy risen edges off at the end to make it flat again but obviously this ruins the look.
I really want to get these right because the gooeyness and flavour were fab!!
Thanks so much! Okay, so the reason the edges got too crispy and the bottoms were oily likely has to do with converting the recipe amounts for a different sized pan. Brownies can be picky, and with these I would suggest following the ingredient amounts as written, instead of cutting them. They work best in a 7×11 inch pan, but I would actually go for a 9×13 size instead of a 8×8. If you have a 9×13 inch pan, use that but cut the baking time down to only about 30 minutes. Hope that helps!
Great!! Thanks for that…I will try them again and let you know how it goes!!
I’m out of vegan butter and quarantining after traveling. Can I sub vegan butter with coconut oil?
It works quite well, yes!
can the batter be frozen and then thawed out to bake?
Hmmm I’m really not sure if that would work, sorry! The brownies can be frozen after baking though. It might be fine, I just haven’t tried it so I don’t know.
These actually are the best vegan brownies ever.. Can’t believe how gooey and soft they came out, still with that delicious crinkle on top! Thank you for bringing this into my life! I added white ‘choc’ chips in too which I found in my local supermarket (Sainsburys for any UK readers) which were a lovely addition.
Oh how delightful! I haven’t been able to find vegan white chocolate here, but I’m working on a recipe. 🙂 I’m so glad you love the brownies, thank you!
You did it! These came out like an actual brownie (taste & texture), and I even used gluten free flour (Pilsbury brand if anyone is intereste). I have been making gluten free, vegan desserts for 9 years now, and I have tried many many brownie recipes. Some turned out good, but they were not browie-like, and of course some turned out disastrous. This one is a keeper. Also, thank you for the note on not using Dutch cocoa.
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for the comment!
Could Bobs Red Mill Egg replacer be used instead of the flax eggs?
I think it would probably work, but I haven’t tried it. Thanks!
I made them tonight with half apple sauce (1/2 cup) and half Bob’s Mill egg replacer (2tbsp replacer + 4 tbsp water) – worked awesome!!
That is great to hear, thank you!
these brownies were delicious! all of my roommates (who aren’t vegan!) loved them! thanks 🙂
You’re welcome!