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.
I made these at work and the mix just bubbled in the oven but didn’t bake. Took it out of it in the fridge to cool and it hardened somewhat but its just a stretchy gooey mess? Where did I go wrong?
Did you make any substitutions at all? They shouldn’t be that gooey at all, so something must have gone wrong. Hopefully I can help you figure out what happened.
Made these tonight and they came out great! I’m so pleased as I’m new to vegan baking and prior to these I have had a few disasters.
I popped in a tablespoon of decaff
ground coffee as well as everything else as it really ups the chocolate flavour!
I baked these for 40 minutes and they came out a bit overcooked around the edges so next time I will bake for 35 minutes and they should be perfect. Thanks for my first vegan baking success!!
You’re welcome!
Can you freeze these?
Yes, they can be frozen.
Hi, I am a beginner in baking and its my first trying to bake a vegan brownie. Appreciate if you could advise me on what I should do to make the top of the vegan brownie cripsy? Thanks!
Hi there! These are more rich and fudgy, they don’t really get a crispy topping, but I have another recipe, Chewy Vegan Brownies, that get a really nice crispy top and edges, if that’s more what you are looking for. They are both good, just different. 🙂 Thank you!
My husband enjoys it! Thanks for your sharing!
Made these for an office holiday party and everybody loved them. Definitely great for chocolate lovers. Couldn’t find a 7×11 pan, used a 9×12. Came out a tad thinner (no big deal) only baked for 36 mins and they were perfect. Recipe is easy and simple to follow. Thanks !!
Glad you enjoyed, thanks!
Hi Nora.
Is there a good substitute for the vegan butter you use? I live in Australia and cannot locate a “baking” type vegan butter. The closest thing here would be vegetable shortening or dairy-free spread/margarine.
I am preparing the sweets for a wedding in a couple of week which will have a few vegan guests. These brownies look absolutely delicious, and look like they would be a hit with vegan and non-vegan alike.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Let’s see… Do you have something called Nuttelex? I think someone told me once they used that instead of the brand I use and it worked well. I think a dairy free margarine would be your best bet. Coconut oil does work, though I felt like it made the brownies a bit greasier. I hope that helps!
Thank you very much for your quick reply! Yes, we do have have Nuttelex, including a “buttery” variety.
I will do a test run tomorrow with it and see how I go.
Thank you for your help.
That would probably be perfect then! I hope it goes well, let me know how they turn out. 🙂
Hi Nora
The brownies are awesome! Dense but not too fudgey. Very rich and moreish. The Nuttelex seems to have done the trick. I waited until the batch was quite cool , and they sliced up nicely.
Will be definitely serving these with some minced up strawberries in orange and mint syrup.
Thanks for the tip. Absolutely terrific recipe!
Great Robert! I’m so glad the Nuttelex worked. Love the serving ideas! I’m so happy the recipe worked out for you.
Can I use Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer in place of the flax and water? Can’t wait to try these!!
I’ve never tried it but I imagine it would work just fine! Good luck! Hope you get your brownie fix. 🙂
my kids are allergic to flax. What other binder can I use?
Applesauce would likely work. You could try using 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce. Or ground chia seeds instead of the flax if they can have those.
Should be renamed just best brownies ever. Even better the next day. I am so happy to have found this recipe and looking forward to trying many more.
🙂 Thanks Cheryl, I’m so happy you enjoyed the brownies. I agree, these are the best brownies ever, vegan or not.
Sooo good. Best brownies ever. And easy to make too!
I couldn’t find any 7 by 11 pans. What would be the cool time for an 8 by 8? Assuming I didn’t overfill it!
I think they should be okay, maybe just more fudgy in the middle especially! I would let them cool for about an hour, then slice them.
These brownies are truly amazing!!! I couldn’t believe they were vegan! YAY! I’ll make them again!
So glad you think so, too! They are so rich and delicious!
I haven’t try them yet … but I made your chocolate cake and it was a big success. I’m wondering if I can put gluten free flour instead of regular flour. I’m looking for gluten free vegan brownies full of flavour. Thank you
I still haven’t tested it, but a few people have reported to me that it worked with an all purpose gluten free flour, so hopefully it will for you! Thank you!
the first lot I cooked were fine although I used greaseproof and the stuck ive just tried a second lot, so I tried to get parchment paper but couldn’t find it so I used bacofoil non-stick baking paper they turned out more gooi and oily on the top not sure if it was the paper or the vitalite spread or if I got the measurements wrong 1 cup of flour = 4ous and two thirds of a cup of spread = just over 5 ouns when I tried to work it out
I’m not familiar with vitalite spread, is that a vegan butter? I always use earth balance brand, so you may get different results with a different brand of vegan butter. Some are more oily than others. 1 cup of flour equals 4 1/4 oz. Also, these brownies should cool for about 30 minutes or longer before cutting and eating, they will set up nicely. They are quite fudgy, but they shouldn’t be too greasy or oily so that may be the brand of butter you used. Hope that helps!
Vitalite is a UK vegan spread and its quite runny. Asda sainsburys and tescos own baking blocks are vegan and work much better. As do stork blocks.
can I use stevia instead of white sugar as 1 cup of white sugar equals 8 ouns and it seems a lot of sugar along with the brown sugar 1 and a half tea spoons stevia equals 1 cup will it work or will it spoil the recipe
You could certainly try it but I have never cooked with stevia so I really can’t say. I don’t like the flavor of stevia, but if you don’t mind it it might work just fine for you. These brownies are quite indulgent and sweet, feel free to cut the sugar in half if you want as well.
Thanks for your reply Nora – I’m having the brownies now after being refrigerated and they are now amazing. Still very gooey in the middle but able to cut into sort-of slice shapes. I’ll maybe cook them a bit longer next time. I also added half a teaspoon of espresso to the batter by the way just to bring out the chocolate flavour. Do you think I could substitute some of the chocolate chips for walnuts? Thank you, these have been so successful after my many previous failed vegan brownie recipes before 🙂
These turned out quite good. Had to bake them for 45 mins. Next time I might add some chopped nuts too. I will refrigerate them overnight and see if they firm up a bit tomorrow. Overall happy with the result so thank you 🙂
I’m glad Priya! These brownies need a while to set, and will appear undercooked when they are done. Hope you enjoy them!
What kind of oven do you have??
Is the EB measurement pre-melted or post-melted? Thank you 🙂
The measurement is for post-melted earth balance vegan butter.
Is the measurement of MELTED EB or PRE melted EB?
I clarified in the instructions (see #2) that it is for melted EB. This gives a more accurate measurement, since not everyone has access to the earth balance buttery sticks.
These really are the softest, fudgiest brownies. So glad I came across this recipe while trying to find an easy brownie recipe.
Yay! I’m glad you did, too!
Hi Nora,
I was wondering how much oil should I use if I try to make the recipe with a canola one, for example, instead of the vegan butter as I can’t find it 🙁
Thanks!
I haven’t tried it with canola oil, but I have used coconut oil and it worked quite well. I would use the same amount of canola oil as you would the vegan butter. Hope you enjoy the brownies!
Could I use almond flour instead of regular flour?!
You could try it, but they may be very wet. If you do, I would use maybe half as much vegan butter. I’m not sure it would work because I haven’t tested it though!
Could coconut oil be used in lieu of the butter? Or do you think that would alter the taste too much (in addition to possibly changing the texture)? I am new to the vegan baking game but very excited to try these. Thank you for sharing!
Hi! I have used coconut oil with decent results, but I would use less, about 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup. They will be a bit more oily and greasy, as is usually the case with coconut oil. It works though! Good luck, hope you enjoy them!
Yes, you definitely want to lower amount for coconut oil 🙁 I made these with 2/3 c coconut oil and they were way way greasy 🙁
Hands down my favorite brownies rn. Used everything as it is except for chia seeds inplace of flax seeds and it turned out perfect. It was crispy on the top and fudgy inside. Loved it. Gonna stick to this recipe from now on. Didnt add chocolate chips as i didnt have any available but next time ill try. Thanks for a lovely recipe Nora ☺☺
Thanks Susan! I’m so glad you agree! 😉 Good to know it works with chia seeds in place of the flax. Thanks so much for letting me know and leaving this review!
ok, these look great!!! making them today (or this week)! so, i know i looked for a vegan brownie, but do you think regular butter would work too? my son has a dairy allergy but can have it when it’s baked in the oven for 30 minutes. so i was thinking of trying that with these as i’m trying to give him more dairy to get him used to it. but wanted a vegan recipe because he is also allergic to eggs. 🙁
also…have you ever tried these with whole wheat?
I’m sure it would work the same way Amanda. I haven’t tried them with whole wheat but I don’t think it would make too big of a difference!
Made these tonight…they were perfect! EXCEPT I FORGOT THE SALT!! 🙁 🙁 🙁 I didn’t think it would matter too much but you can definitely tell. But the consistency and overall flavor otherwise is so good!!! I did use regular butter and it turned out great! I will try it WITH salt next time! haha! And after that I’ll try subbing the whole wheat pastry flour. Thanks for a great recipe!
LOL shoot! Well I’m glad they were good otherwise! 🙂
I used the cup of apple sauce instead of earth balance, used self-raising flour and only one cup of granulated sugar. They turned out great! Fudgy but not as gooey (probably because they didn’t have oil in them) like dense chocolate cake with crisp outer.
I’m so glad that the brownies worked with just applesauce and less sugar for you! Thanks for sharing.
Nora, I tried the recipe with whole wheat tonight and they were so yummy!!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them!
I made these with browned butter and they were terrific!. I’ve been searching for an eggless brownie recipe that is similar to Alice Medrich’s cocoa brownies because I have a grandkid with an egg allergy. This is the best one I’ve tried! Thanks!
OMG, these look absolutely amazing!! Now, after all that work, any idea what I can substitute for the Earth Balance? It’s pure oil and we don’t use any oil… bummer! I suppose there’s nothing that’s going to give them that moisture… banana’s? Applesauce? More flax? Zucchini?Thanks so much… these look amazing!
Thanks Nancy! They are so amazing. 🙂 As far as substituting for the earth balance, I haven’t personally tried a non-oil option, BUT you could try applesauce. I would just sub 1 cup applesauce for the oil. Or almond butter might work but it will change the flavor. 🙂
Is the butter amount before or after melting?
After melting.
Avocado??
Not this recipe, but I’ve found plenty of other avocado/almond butter-replacing butter vegan brownie recipes online. Other vegan food bloggers such as Beaming Baker (almond butter) and Gimme Some Oven (avocado), etc… I like Nora Cooks, since I often purchase the ingredients she often uses in bulk prior and so I always have them on hand.
I used vegan buttermilk (soya milk + lemonade juice) and it tasted way better than using vegan butter, I also used chia seeds mixed with water to mimic egg and combined the two mixtures before adding it to the dry ingredients and it came is wonderful!
How much soya milk did you use? Have you tried the original recipe and how did yours compare? I’m visiting my parents and I don’t think I can get my hands on vegan butter 🙁
Pam, coconut oil is a pretty good substitute for the vegan butter, if you can find it. Hope that helps!
This is no lie. These are the best! And thanks for the tips on cutting.