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.
Wow, of all of the brownies I’ve ever made, vegan or not, these have the best flavor! My husband isn’t really a brownie person, but he kept saying how good these are.
The chewy texture is excellent and the brownies baked perfectly in a 9×11 glass pan for 30 min. The only issue I had is that the bottoms were pretty greasy. I’m guessing this may be because I used the stick form of Earth Balance and you may have used the spread when developing the recipe. (You might want to specify the preferred form in the ingredient list.) Next time I’ll probably subtract a tablespoon or two of butter if I use the sticks.
Other than that, this recipe is spot on. Thanks so much for putting this out into the world!
You think they’ll taste the same using GF flour?
Not exactly the same but pretty darn good! Many have made them gluten free with success.
HI! I am guessing that the pan size is in inches??
Thanks!!
Yes.
Best brownies ever!
Thanks!
Can you taste the flax in these brownies?
I don’t taste it, but some people say they do. The key is using ground flax with no whole flaxseeds.
I make this recipe often and these are by far the best brownies I’ve ever had! In fact, I made a batch tonight and added some orange zest… they were incredible! Thank you for providing such amazing vegan recipes ?❤️
You’re welcome!
These were so good! Tried them out as I’m looking for a recipe for vegan friends and first time round I keep going back for more :). They’re not as sweet as usual non-vegan brownies I make but I like that actually! If you were looking for something sweeter could always add a bit more sugar. The texture is amazing- switched the ground flax for chia seeds and it worked just fine as well.
Best brownies ever!!!
For some reason right out of the oven I could totally taste the flaxseed which wasn’t good, but after leaving them to cool overnight and tasting they are SO good and doesn’t have that taste anymore. Perfectly fudgy and chocolatey. Amazing texture. THANK YOU!
You’re welcome!
Nora,
I have made quite a few of your recipes now, or have gotten ideas from your recipes, and have really enjoyed everything! I am an avid cook of 40 years, and have been vegan for over 15 years.
Your website is great, and seems to be my go-to whenI am searching for something new. Thank you for sharing with us!
That’s so great! Thanks for the comment!
Delicious used half sugar suggested No honey
Vegan
Approved recipe thanks for sharing
You’re welcome!
So, I needed a brownie to crumble into my vegan rocky road ice cream, and I’m so glad I decided to go with this recipe. Listen, I love brownies more than any baked good, and these are pretty incredible. I’m not going to lie I’m not even vegan, but this may be one of my new favorite brownie recipes. 10/10! I did go ahead and bake them in a 9×13 pan for 30 mins ( thanks to someone in the comments!)
Hi! I’ve made these before and they turned out lovely except the batter was not enough to spread evenly on my 7×11 tin, I ended up making half a pan (used dividers) which gave me probably almost twice thicker than yours. I’d like to do them again but for the whole tin so ai’m going to try double the quantities. Any heads ups?
There should be enough batter to spread it out, using a spatula or your hands. If you get to doubling or using a smaller pan you do have to adjust baking times, and you risk the bottoms or top burning while the middle may not get cooked as well as it should. But you can try it! I would just try to spread it out better in the 7×11.
The only negative thing about these brownies is that I can’t stop eating them! They are seriously so delicious that I eat them too fast! I didn’t eat brownies for the first three years of being vegan because I couldn’t find a good simple recipe. A vegan friend sent me this one, and now I’m hooked! Everyone loves them too, vegan or not. 10/10 recommend!
That’s so great to hear!
Really, really good. I am in Australia so I couldn’t get the exact ingredients. I used Nutellex buttery, Lindt 70% dark chocolate , and Plaistowe Dutch pressed cocoa (because that’s what I had in the cupboard!). Chewy and delicious. I’m taking to them to my vegan friend’s place and I think they will pass the test!
These along with your vegan cupcake and frosting recipes are all so amazing. I am baking vegan treats for a project in high school and I’m making my own recipes. Your vegan recipes have been such an amazing inspiration and help to me. Thank you 🙂
You’re welcome!
I only have a 9X9 pan. How long do you suggest I bake them?
Probably about 40-45 minutes. They might be a bit more gooey in the middle.
Thank you for this recipe, Nora! ?
I baked these today and everyone’s enjoyed them. I did have to add more water, around 10 – 15ml. And had to bake them for an extra 10 mins on gas mark 4 as the middle was still quite liquid after 45mins.
I’ve been wanting to find a treat that I can bake for my sister and her partner for Christmas and these are perfect!
I’m so glad to hear that!
The thick consistency of the batter had me concerned, but they turned out heavenly. Super crunchy edges, fudge-like and gooey in the center. Amazing!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you!
Hi Nora! I have made these brownies and they are undoubtedly sooo delicious! However, I’m coming across a few small issues. I’m in the UK and I put my oven temperature at 160 degrees Celsius because I have a fan oven. When I take the brownies out, the edges are slightly burnt and crispy and are also risen. The middle is sunken and soft and gooey. I’ve just been chopping off the crispy bits but it wastes quite a lot of brownie. I’m wondering what you recommend so that I don’t have crispy raised edges? Thank you so much! P.s. I’m following the recipe and pan size to a T and haven’t made any substitutions. Thanks! Also – would you recommend using the cup or the metric measurements as more accurate?
Hi Rachel! I’m not very familiar with fan ovens, but I do know that only translates to 320 degrees F which is quite a bit lower than 350. It sounds to me like they aren’t baking properly in your oven. Make sure to bake them in the very center of the oven for best results (otherwise, parts can burn while the middle remains uncooked). And increase the temperature. Also, make sure to use the correct size pan. You can use another pan, but you have to adjust the baking time. It calls for a 7×11 inch pan, which I find works best. I always bake using cup measurements, but metric should work as well. Thanks, hope that helps!
Hi Nora,
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! Is the word “video” under the instructions in the recipe above a link? It isn’t clickable for me. Took me a couple of Google searches just now to find a short video you did and I saw that my batter was definitely thicker than yours. I usually measure flour by weight, but since your recipe isn’t written that way, I did the “fluff, sprinkle sweep” method to measure a cup. I used organic unsweetened natural cocoa powder (from my local coop). I don’t have a 7 x 11 rectangular pan, so used a 7 x 11 slightly oval one. I did add a tiny bit of non dairy milk, maybe 1-2 tbsp to try to loosen the batter when it became almost like bread dough and I was worried that I couldn’t “pour” it into the pan as per your instructions. They still were tasty. Just not fudgy. That was probably a good thing cuz if they were fudgy, I would have eaten more than 1. Thanks again for your help!
The video starts playing automatically as you scroll down, hope that helps! I’m not sure what the “fluff, sprinkle sweep” method is, but I generally spoon flour into a measuring cup, not shaking it down at all, then level it off with a knife. Adding milk will change the outcome, I have tried it and they become drier and more cake like, so I would avoid that if possible. You do have to work a little to mix the batter, but it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. The dough is rather thick and may seem almost dry I suppose, but when they bake they get super fudgy. Hope you have better luck next time if you try again!
I had to laugh when the instructions said “pour into the batter into the prepared pan”. The mixture was so dense, closer to bread dough than a batter it was very hard to stir and definitely not pourable. I had to spread /press the “batter” into the pan with a silicone spatula. Although these were tasty, they were not fudgy at all. They were closer to cake than fudge. I used 4 tbsp golden flax seeds that I ground and mixed with 1/2 cup of water and the 1/2 cup of melted Earth Balance. I was short about 1/8 cup of cocoa powder, and was worried that they be too fudgy because my dry ingredients would be a little less. They were plenty chocolate-y, just not the fudgy browies I was looking forward to, Baked for 35 minutes at 350. I have 2 oven thermometers so I know oven temp was OK. Any ideas why they weren’t fudgy?
Hi Ellen! Did you watch the video of me making the brownies? I follow the recipe exactly so you can see just what it should look like, and I’ve made them a thousand times, every time the process looks the same. The batter should be thick, it’s not cake batter that is thin and easy to stir and pour. As you can see in the video, I have to stir quite a bit and certainly have to spread the batter evenly in the pan. It’s hard to say what went wrong without being there, did you measure the flour correctly? What kind of cocoa powder did you use (dark tends to make the batter thicker)? What size pan did you use? If you used a larger pan, such as a 9×13, they likely would dry out baking them for that long, the recipe calls for a 7×11. Did you make any substitutions at all? Hopefully we can figure out what went wrong, because as you can see from the 230 + ratings on this recipe, they are pretty well loved and enjoyed. Thanks!
I was out of vegan butter used cocoa butter. They turned out amazing. Batter was quite thick though. I would like them less sweet so next time I am using only one cup.9f sugar.
Thanks, great to know that cocoa butter worked. It would make the batter even thicker than when using vegan butter, so keep that in mind.
There were AMAZING! I used Bob’s egg replacer and oat milk butter (I always have earth balance but was out). A day later and they are so fudgy perfect still. Thank you!!!
I’m so glad to hear they worked well using Bob’s egg replacer, I haven’t tried that. Thanks!
These turned out great! I cooked for 30 minutes in a 9×13 glass pan as I saw suggested in the comments. I added just a little less sugar than called for – with so many chocolate chips I think I definitely could have reduced the sugar even more. Next time I’ll probably add fewer chocolate chips, maybe 3/4 cup instead of one whole cup between the inside and top of the brownies.
They turned out soo fudgy and rich! I don’t think I have had real brownies (only those black bean ones) since I became vegan around 10 years ago! I’ve been missing out! I live alone, so I’m going to try freezing these. Are there any specific tips for freezing? Or just put in a zip-top bag in the freezer once cool? Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Rebecca! I just freeze them cut, in a freezer friendly container or bag, and pull one out when I want. Let it thaw a little or warm and eat. 🙂
Please don’t take my comment the wrong way, but isn’t 2 cups of sugar to a cup of flour and a cup of cocoa powder a bit excessive? I thought we were supposed to be cutting down on sugar. I will make this recipe and use some substitutes for the sugar. I mean you could use things like dates, maple syrup etc). I know these are still sugars, but we all need to cut down especially white sugar. As humans, we have got used to too high levels of sugar and we should do something about it.
I know people are vegan for many different reasons, but there must be a health element to it surely?
I was just wondering if you could encourage reducing sugar in cakes.
Cheers
Jon
Hi Jon. You are correct that people are vegan for different reasons, and I’m not here to judge. If you are cutting back on sugar, I get it, and I can assure you that you will find an endless supply of sugar free or low sugar vegan recipes by a quick google search. There are many websites devoted to that sort of thing, but that’s not generally what you find from me. And honestly, for me at this point in my life, I have found that if I allow myself a delicious dessert on a regular basis, I don’t actually want much of it. I eat plenty of veggies, beans, whole grains, etc but if I restrict myself to NO dessert, or a not-so-good-tasting black bean brownie, I will eat a ton of them, instead of the one delicious sugar filled one. Just my two cents! I’ll be continuing to make amazing vegan desserts that no one can tell are free of animal products. 🙂