Get ready for the richest, fudgiest brownies you've ever had ... and they're totally vegan! They're super easy to make too!
I'm a lifelong chocoholic, and chocolate desserts are my absolute favorites. And brownies are basically the ultimate chocolate dessert.
So, as you may have guessed, I don't mess around when it comes to brownies. These vegan brownies are nothing short of amazing. Rich. Thick. So fudgy. They're amazing on their own, or topped with a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream, or even chocolate ice cream and hot fudge, if you're really crazy like that.
They're also really easy to make, and most of the ingredients are pantry staples. Whip up a batch next time a chocolate craving hits!
Tip: If you prefer just a touch of chocolate in your dessert bars, try my cookie butter blondies or vegan chocolate chip cookie bars instead!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Water.
- Ground flaxseeds. We'll be mixing these with the water to create a flax egg, which is one of my favorite vegan egg substitutes for baking.
- Flour. The recipe calls for all-purpose wheat flour, also known as white flour. Other varieties of flour may work, but I haven't tried them, so I can't say for sure if they will.
- Cocoa powder. Make sure it's unsweetened!
- Salt.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan. Non-organic sugar is often processed using animal bone char.
- Brown sugar. You'll want to use organic brown sugar as well.
- Vanilla extract.
- Vegan butter. Most grocery stores carry vegan butter in the refrigerated section, right near the regular butter. Earth Balance, Miyoko's, and Melt are a few popular brands you'll probably see.
- Vegan chocolate chips. These add bursts of extra chocolaty goodness, but you can leave them out if you prefer or just don't have them on hand. I used Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels, which are vegan and available in lots of grocery stores.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Begin by making your flax egg. Stir the water and ground flaxseeds together in a large mixing bowl, then let the mixture sit for a few minutes to gel.
While the flax mixture sits, whisk your flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Now set this mixture aside.
Grab an electric mixer. Beat the sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla into your flax egg. Keep going for about a minute, until the mixture becomes slightly frothy.
Now beat melted vegan butter into the flax mixture. It might not mix in fully, and that's just fine!
Beat the dry ingredients into the flax mixture, adding a bit at a time and beating each addition in at low speed.
Continue until all of the dry ingredient mixture has been added to wet ingredients.
Now fold the chocolate chips into the brownie batter by hand.
Transfer the batter to a parchment paper-lined square baking pan. Smooth the batter out and pop the pan it the oven.
Bake the brownies until they feel set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let them cool completely before removing them from the pan and slicing them.
Shelf-Life & Storage
Homemade vegan brownies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about five days, in the fridge for about eight days, or in the freezer for about three months.
More Vegan Chocolate Desserts
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📖 Recipe
Super Fudgy Vegan Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup organic granulated sugar
- 1 cup organic brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup vegan butter, melted
- 1 (9 ounce/225 gram) bag vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Grease the sides of an 8 x 8 inch baking pan, then line the bottom and two opposite sides with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving an inch or two of overhang.
- Stir the water and ground flaxseeds together in a large mixing bowl. Let the mixture sit for at least five minutes, to gel.
- While the flax mixture sits, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Set this aside for now.
- Add the sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla to the bowl with the flax mixture. Use an electric mixer at high speed to beat the ingredients together for about 1 minute, until the mixture becomes slightly foamy.
- Add the melted butter and briefly beat it into the flax mixture.
- Begin adding the flour mixture to the bowl with the flax mixture, adding about a third at a time, and beating each addition in at low speed just until fully incorporated.
- Fold the chocolate chips into the batter by hand.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake the brownies for 45 to 55 minutes, until the top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack and let the brownies cool completely.
- Remove the brownies from the pan by gently pulling up on the excess parchment paper hanging over the pan.
- Slice the brownies and serve.
Notes
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I made these today and recommend a less cocoa powder and do not grease if using parchment paper. The brownies turned out too rich and oily. They also took longer to bake because 300 is to too low. So I had to bake for longer and the extra oil made the bottom hard.
The instructions only tell you to grease the sides of the pan - not the bottom.
I’m newer to vegan baking and never know which type of cocoa to use when a recipe does not specify. Dies it mean Dutch(ed) cocoa or “plain”? How are they different and when do you use each?
Many thanks!!
You'd use plain unless Dutch cocoa is specified - so use plain for this recipe! Dutch cocoa is alkalized, so it has a milder flavor. It sometimes works as a substitute for plain cocoa powder, but will give the dish a different flavor. It'll be missing that little bit of bitterness you normally get with chocolate.
question: can i use self raising flour instead of all purpose flour in this recipe?
I wouldn't recommend it. Self rising flour has baking powder, so the texture will probably be off.
I'm impressed. It was quite delicious! The first part (vegan butter, sugar and melted chips)makes a great ganache for a vegan cake. This recipe is a keeper!
I made these about 30 seconds after opening the email. They are very good! Very rich! Excellent brownie taste. I added pecans. My batter didn’t end up as thick as pictured. Maybe too much liquid? Vegan butter get too warm/too liquid? Next time I’ll go for a more fudgy texture.it appears to be a pretty forgiving recipe.
I made these this morning and had a similar problem I am wondering about the 300 degrees baking temperature. I baked mine an hour and the toothpick was still dripping with liquid when I test at 45, 55, etc minutes. I finally raised the temp to 350 and cooked an additional 10 minutes. They're still cooling. So, we'll see.
Weeeelllll.... I totally screwed up something. I usually have very good luck with Alissa's recipes but this one was a bomb. The dough was raw in the center.