Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies are just as delicious as they are beautiful! Chocolate and peanut butter come together in these decadent, fudgy treats.
Chocolate + peanut butter is a match made in heaven if you ask me, and in brownies? Simply incredible. You will have trouble not eating the whole pan!
The best part about this recipe is how easy they are to make. I probably tested it 8 times before I found a winner. You see, I wanted to make them really simple to make, in 1 bowl and with easy to find ingredients. Not an easy task!
These brownies are made in 1 bowl, and include both dairy free chocolate chips AND cocoa powder for ultra chocolate fudginess. The peanut butter swirl is easy to make as well. Let’s do this!
How to make vegan peanut butter brownies
(This is an overview with photos, the full recipe is at the bottom of the post)
Get out a large microwave safe bowl, that is big enough to contain all the ingredients but also fit in your microwave. I have a glass bowl that works perfectly. Add the chocolate chips, vegan butter (or coconut oil) and cocoa powder. Melt in 30 second intervals until smooth.
Now stir in the vanilla and sugar.
Pour in the soy milk and stir it in as well.
Now add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl.
Stir with a large spoon until just combined. Don’t over mix. Fold in optional additional chocolate chips, if desired.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan (8 by 8 inch). You can either wipe out the bowl to keep this recipe truly 1 bowl, or use a smaller bowl to make the peanut butter swirl. Stir together the peanut butter, melted vegan butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth, then drop spoonfuls on top of the brownies.
Swirl, using a butter knife. I drag the knife one way, then the other way, until pretty swirls are formed. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until they appear mostly set. They will be gooey if you cut them right away, especially in the middle, so I recommend you cool them completely before cutting. I know this is hard! But your brownies will be better for it.
Want more chocolate peanut butter desserts?
- Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
- Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips (3.5oz)
- 1/3 cup vegan butter OR coconut oil
- 1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup soy milk
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup additional chocolate chips, optional
Peanut Butter Swirl
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter*
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 by 8 inch baking pan.
- In a large microwave safe bowl, add the chocolate chips, vegan butter (or coconut oil) and cocoa. Melt in the microwave in 30 second increments until mostly melted, and stir well at each interval. It took me 1 minute and 30 seconds. It should be completely melted and smooth.
- Stir in the vanilla and sugar, then stir in the soy milk until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl with the chocolate mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Fold in extra chocolate chips, if desired.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, evenly.
- Make the peanut butter swirl: In a medium bowl, stir together the peanut butter, melted vegan butter, powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Drop spoonfuls of the peanut butter mixture on top of the brownies, then swirl it with a butter knife.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. For best results, let the brownies cool completely before cutting. You can stick them in the refrigerator to speed up the process. If you cut them immediately they will be very gooey in the middle, but if you let them cool they will be just perfect. Enjoy!
Notes
- For best results, use regular creamy peanut butter that doesn't need to be stirred before using. Natural peanut butter can be very inconsistent and either too thick or too runny to work well.
- I tested these with coconut oil and liked the vegan butter version better, but it does work fine.
- You can substitute another non-dairy milk for the soy milk if desired. Even water will work!
- For gluten free, use a gluten free flour mix instead of the all purpose flour.
- Peanut allergy? Try almond butter or even tahini.
I love your brownie recipes! But I’m having trouble with the bottom layer coming out a little too tough, while the rest of it is soft, even slightly under cooked. I bake on center rack. Should I try a lower temp/longer time? They’re almost perfect but I must be doing something wrong
Yes, maybe lower the temp a little and bake longer. That sounds like your oven is burning the bottom, so maybe it runs a bit hot. Hope that helps!
Absolutely the best brownies ever!
loved this recipe. it was easy and delicious. I made it last weekend and am making it again tomorrow (thursday).
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for the comment!
I’ve made these three times now and everyone loves them! My only note would be to add another tablespoon of butter to the peanut butter mixture so it’s easier to swirl into the brownie batter. DO NOT overbake. Trust the process! Thanks Nora!
You’re welcome!!
Taste Amazing!
Worked first time. Used Oat milk rather than soya and the peanut butter didn’t swirl so well but they tasted so good no-one minded.
Absolutely amazing! Have made these at least 4 times and it’s always a hit
Wow, that’s so great to hear!!
These didn’t turn out like expected but will try and make them again because they were good. The peanut butter mixture was hard and could have been pressed in a pan and made fudge. When I baked it the edges were very well done but the middle was under done. I will try it again with another kind of peanut butter and maybe warm the mixture for better mixing.
Omg, these are so good! Made them twice but cannot for the life of me figure out how to make the swirls pretty on top. I spooned the pb on top in a pattern but when I try to swirl it..yikes. lol!
I just use a butter knife to swirl it in, nothing fancy. 🙂 Just like the photos, spoon it on top, then gently drag the knife one side several times, then do the same from the other side.
These brownies are SO delicious! Thanks for this! 🙂
You’re so welcome!!!
I forgot the butter in the peanut butter mix ?
I made these and they are amazing but I think I did something wrong with the PB swirl. It was super thick and once I bakes it really crumbly.
Any ideas what I may have done wrong? Thanks
I wonder if you used a natural peanut butter? It works best with the regular peanut butter that doesn’t need stirring. Natural makes the mixture thicker and drier. That’s my guess!
This is a great recipe! I used rice milk and gluten free flour. Since my peanut butter mixture was pretty thick, I added some rice milk and a 1/2 tsp of vanilla to help it spread better. And I put extra chocolate chips in the batter because brownies without chocolate chips are just sad in my opinion 🙂 Thank you Nora!
You’re so welcome! Glad they came out great!
YUMMY!
Had so many vegan baking disasters recently, but these were delicious and so easy to make! I used salted caramel hot chocolate powder (as a substitute for cocoa powder) and used less sugar – it worked a treat! The peanut butter was too thick to swirl, but it was fab anyway just not so pretty… Will be making again!
So glad they were good!
I used Justin’s PB which is pretty thick and when I added the powder sugar it made it even thicker and difficult to swirl into the brownie mixture. Can the powder sugar be omitted?
Sure, or just add less powdered sugar.
Can u use unsweetened cocoa powder instead of the Dutch cocoa powder? Trying to use ingredients I have at home.
Yes, that’s not a problem at all.
I made these today! Very yummy. I messed up on the peanut butter part. I did one table spoon peanut butter 1/2 cup vegan butter. Once I realized I really didn’t feel like fixing it so I kept adding peanut butter Trying to fix it. Anyway the brownies part was awesome but I’ll have to remake the right way lol. My boyfriend still loved it so I guess I didn’t mess up that bad. Amazing heated up with since vegan vanilla ice cream
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed them anyways, and I hope you make them again!
Could you use coconut sugar instead of granulated sugar?
You could for slightly different results. It will work though.
Delicious and easy to make!!!
That’s so great!
Made this in an effort to combat corona virus stay at home order frustrations and it definitely helped. They are fudgy, not too sweet, perfect balance of chocolate. Used unsweetened almond milk and heated up pb and butter in microwave (skimmed over recipe so please forgive if that’s the original instructions). So good, thanks!
You’re welcome!
Is it possible to ommit to chocolate chips at all and just stick to cacao powder? Thank you!
Yes you can leave them out.
I’m excited to try this and the red velvet cc, the chick pea pot
etc etc!! Whoop!
Tasted great however, when I went to cut them up (after cooling properly) the brownies fell apart:-(
Do you think by baking them in a Pyrex may have caused the problem? Also, in your other brownie recipes you use parchment paper. I regret not using it cause they stuck to the glass.
Hmm it may have been the pyrex glass dish, I always use metal ones for brownies. You could use parchment paper, I just greased the pan instead. It sounds like they weren’t baked enough.
Whoa, so delicious! My only comment is about the peanut butter swirl–mine ended up pretty solid so it did not swirl very much at all. Still perfectly tasty, but not very pretty. I used homemade peanut butter and made sure it was liquid, but the powdered sugar made it too solid. Any suggestions for next time? Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownies! Yes, it was probably your homemade peanut butter unfortunately. I use the creamy, regular kind from the store. You could just swirl in the peanut butter without adding any powdered sugar, that would work but of course the peanut butter swirl would not be sweet. You can also try adding less powdered sugar, and don’t over mix it with the peanut butter. Or use a bit more melted vegan butter if possible to thin it out. Thanks!
The same thing happened to me. They tasted good but the peanut butter was too dry to swirl. I used Whole Foods creamy organic peanut butter which is more oily so I thought for sure it would have worked. I made them twice and added a little almond milk the second time and it was still solid. I’ll use more butter next time.
I used a metal pan with baking spray and let them cool for an hour and a half. They fell apart a little so next time, I will try putting them in the fridge as you suggested.
I love the one bowl factor – so easy!
Happened to me too – I used a high protein “smunchy” PB – So I added canola oil util I got to swirl-able consistency (~1 tbsp).
Same thing happened to me with creamy peanut butter from the store (Woodstock organic creamy). This peanut butter is so creamy is practically poured into the bowl. I think maybe less powdered sugar next time ?
Yum – they look simply delicious – I’m going to try them tomorrow – I think I’ll go with vegan butter rather than coconut oil. I use Earth’s Balance which seems to work pretty well – looking forward to them!
These look absolutely amazing! Do you any any suggestions for heating without a microwave?
Sure, simply melt the chocolate chips, vegan butter and cocoa in a small pot on low heat until smooth. Then carry on with the rest of the recipe. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks!
I gave this 5 stars because I tasted the brownie batter before I cooked it and o.m.gosh it was sooo tasty. So good and I used Vegan butter. Miyoko’s vegan butter…the gold star standard of vegan butter, in my humble opinion.So I know It would have turned out perfect if I had used regular, all purpose flour. I am new to gluten free baking so I’m always aware it might not come out exactly right. I’m still working on understanding the right mix. So, mine came out done around all the edges but sunken in and undercooked in the middle. Every part of it tastes fantastic though! I may go back and do this in baby steps…1st perfecting the Brownie before I add the peanut butter part. Thank you!
I also love Miyoko’s brand, it’s so tasty! I usually have good luck using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour, but it does change the texture of brownies, cakes, cookies for sure. This is likely the reason for your sunken middle. That being said, the middle should be a bit underdone when you take them out, but like I say in the recipe let them cool all the way, even stick them in the refrigerator, and watch what happens. They should be perfectly fudgy and delicious when you cut them. So you maybe just need to wait a bit. Thank you!
In your 8 attempts did you try almond milk instead of soy? Soy products tend to upset my stomach so I limit the amount or avoid it but I always have unsweetened almond milk on hand.
Yes, almond milk works just fine. As well as any other non-dairy milk, it really doesn’t matter here.