Fudgy Vegan Gluten-Free Brownies
These Vegan Gluten-Free Brownies have a 10 minute prep time and are better than a box mix! They are naturally sweetened, dairy-free, super-rich, fudgy, and so satisfying.
Where are my brownie fans at??? At my house, we are major chocolate lovers, and few things get as many compliments as a good fudgy brownie. When I made these vegan and gluten-free cookie dough brownies recently, they disappeared quickly.
The best compliment? I brought this batch of vegan gluten-free brownies over to my aunt’s house when we were celebrating my grandma’s birthday and they got DEVOURED. Being that the only people there who are gluten-free or vegan are my dad and I, this is a high compliment! My teenage cousins told me they were wonderfully soft, fudgy, and absolutely delicious – just the way a good brownie should be.
What’s in these brownies?!
- Unsweetened Chocolate: this helps keep these brownies SUPER rich and chocolatey. Using semisweet or bittersweet chocolate will give you a sweeter brownie.
- Coconut Oil: I prefer using refined coconut oil so there is no coconut flavor
- Maple Syrup: keeps these brownies SO soft!
- Coconut Sugar: for a little extra sweetness.
- Nut or Seed Butter: use whichever your favorite is! This adds richness and fudginess. I used raw cashew butter for the ones in the photos. Peanut butter would be delicious for peanut butter brownies!
- Flax Egg: to help the brownies bind and hold together.
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Flour: you don’t need a ton! Most other gluten-free flours should work here but avoid super-absorbent coconut flour.
- Cacao Powder: cacao or cocoa powder will work here.
- Baking Soda + Salt
- Chocolate Chips
How to make vegan brownies:
Thankfully, these brownies are super quick and simple to make, and just require a few steps until you’re impatiently waiting for them to come out of the oven. (P.S. full recipe with measurements is below in the recipe card!)
First up, mix up your flax egg so it’s ready for you when you need it. Then preheat the oven and line your pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
Melt together the unsweetened chocolate and coconut oil. Once it’s melted, whisk in your maple syrup, coconut sugar, and your nut butter of choice. You should have a thick, shiny, fudgy mixture.
Add in the flax egg and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Fold in the almond flour, cacao powder, salt, and baking soda until just mixed, and then mix in your chocolate chips.
Spread evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 18 to 22 minutes. If your oven tends to run hot, err on the side of under-baking rather than over-baking for the fudgiest brownies. A toothpick should come out with a few bits of brownie attached, but it shouldn’t be wet.
Let cool completely if you’re patient for the easiest cuts. If you don’t care about clean cuts, dig right in and serve however you’d like. These are FABULOUS with a scoop of vegan ice cream or coconut cream. Enjoy!!
Tips for the BEST vegan brownies!
- Don’t over-bake!!! this is the number one delicious brownie killer. As soon as the brownies start to dry out, they lose their fudginess. If your oven tends to cook quickly or run hot, be sure to check on these a bit early so they don’t dry out.
- Use high-quality chocolate and cacao powder. These ingredients help us have the richest, most chocolatey brownies.
- Use parchment paper to help remove your brownies from the pan! No more messy cuts.
- Double the recipe and bake in a 9×13″ pan if you’re baking for a bigger group.
How to store and freeze brownies
To Store: I keep these vegan brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for the first two days. They’ll keep in the fridge as well for ultra-fudgy brownies for about 1 week.
To Freeze: these brownies will keep well in the freezer for up to 6 months. To ensure they stay the freshest, I recommend keeping them separated by layers of parchment so they don’t stick together, and keep them in an airtight container or a freezer-safe zip bag.
Want more gluten-free brownie recipes?!
Print
Vegan Gluten-Free Brownies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 16 brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Vegan Gluten-Free Fudge Brownies have a 10 minute prep time and are better than a box mix! They are naturally sweetened, dairy-free, super-rich, fudgy, and satisfying.
Ingredients
- 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 3 tablespoons (38g) coconut oil
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- ½ cup (128g) creamy natural nut or seed butter of choice, I used cashew butter
- 1.5 flax eggs, 1.5 tablespoons flax meal + 4 tablespoons water, whisk and let set for 10 minutes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (32g) blanched almond flour
- ⅓ cup (30g) cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8” baking pan with parchment and lightly grease.
- Put the unsweetened chocolate and coconut oil in a large glass bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, and repeat until the chocolate and coconut oil are completely melted and smooth. Add the maple syrup, coconut sugar, and nut butter. Whisk until completely combined.
- Add flax egg and vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined.
- Add the almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder to the chocolate mixture and once it’s stirred in, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a few crumbs are attached when a toothpick is inserted into the center, but it’s not too wet.
- Let cool completely before cutting and serving. I like to place them in the fridge overnight before cutting for a cleaner cut.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
I can’t have almonds; what’s a good sub for almond flour in this recipe?
Hi C! These have only been tested as written, but another nut or seed flour (like cashew flour and sunflower seed flour) would likely work, as would oat flour! Going to do an oat flour test and will update the recipe with that as an optional sub after I’ve done that :)
Amazing recipe, my entire family loved it! I subbed honey for the maple syrup since I was out. Perfectly fudgey!
So glad they were a hit!! Thanks so much for the feedback :)
Saw this on IG and immediately had to make them! They’re fresh out of the oven and smell heavenly! This recipe was too easy to whip up with stuff from my pantry so bonus points for being able to skip a special shopping trip for ingredients. Would highly recommend, I’m positive these will taste amazing once cooled, but the batter was phenomenal. ;)
So glad you’re loving them Anna :) enjoy!!!
These brownies are FANTASTIC! Literally some of the best I have made (and I’ve tried a lotttt of recipes). They are super fudgy and have a very deep chocolate flavor. Thanks for another winner, Rachel!
This makes me so happy! Thanks Vanessa :)
Hi! I know these are meant to be vegan but can I easily use a regular egg?
Also, can I use monk fruit instead of coconut sugar?
Hi Michele, I haven’t tried with a regular egg, but if you’re not vegan, this brownie recipe is a well-tested gluten-free brownie that uses eggs! I don’t use monk fruit but you’re welcome to try – I’d use a 1:1 version rather than the concentrate.
Hi,
Is there something that would be a good substitute in place of the coconut oil, as I’m needing to eliminate saturated fat and cholesterol? Thank you!
– C
Hi C, any other oil like avocado oil will also work!
These are super fudgy and delicious. My husband even loves them and he is a very picky dessert eater! Thanks for the recipe!
Woohoo, love to hear it!! So glad it was a hit, Ashley.
Please dont be mad. Love your recipes.Can I use egg . Want to try this soo much but dont have flax meal here.Plus we’re on a lockdown area for covid. Can I use eggs. If so how much egg?. Please forgive me for asking this on a vegan cook blog.
Anisah
Hi Anisah, yes you can use one egg in place of the flax egg here!!
These sound delicious! What brand of unsweetened chocolate do you recommend?
Hi Cheryl, whichever I have on hand, usually. Eating Evolved and Rasa are usually what I have, but any good quality unsweetened chocolate works well.
What kind of unsweetened chocolate do you use? I’m looking for a dairy free option.
Hi Heidi, all unsweetened chocolate is dairy-free – the only ingredient should be 100% cacao.
Just tried this recipe and it was SOOO good I put mine in the fridge overnight and they for ultra fudgey!
Woohoo!! So glad you’re loving them Sidney :)
Can we use agave syrup instead of maple syrup in recipe ?
Hi Deepali, that should be just fine!
Planning to make this for my son’s glutton and dairy-free girlfriend! I have Carob Powder on hand-can I sub it for the Cacao?? Thank you!
Yes that should work well, though I haven’t tried it!
these are delicious! soft, rich and chocolatey, and slightly gooey. will definitely make them again!
So glad you loved them!!
Any substitute to maple syrup n nut butter ?
You could use any liquid sweetener in place of the maple syrup, like honey, agave, etc. For the nut butter, a seed butter like sunflower seed butter would also work.
Hi!
I was so excited to try this recipe and had all the ingredients in my pantry, and followed the method exactly like you outlined. Unfortunately the brownies came out extremely dry and crumbly. Would appreciate your input, thanks!
Hi Aafiya, is there any chance they were overbaked or the oven was running at too high of a temperature? It’s important to keep an eye on them to make sure they’re removed from the oven while they’re still a little gooey and soft.
The oven was preheated to 350 degrees Celsius as the recipe noted. I will try this recipe again and let you know how they turned out!
These tasted amazing, but mine were REALLY crumbly. Do you have recommendations of what I could improve? The flavor is on point so I’d like to try again (I don’t THINK they were over-baked, I did the appropriate range and they weren’t underbaked). Thank you!
Hi Caroline! Sorry to hear that – was your nut butter super dry or was the almond flour not super fine? Or were any changes made to the recipe? Also, were they cooled completely when you were trying to cut them? Sometimes letting them set in the fridge can help them set too to make cutting easier!
I wanna try this with Tahini, you think it would work?
Yes you can use tahini as the seed butter in this recipe.
Why are my brownies falling apart?
Without more information, I have no idea. Did you change anything about the recipe? Cut them too soon? Use a super coarse almond flour? Refrigerating them can help them stay together well.
Oh my gosh, these are amazing! I am currently gluten, dairy, egg, and refined sugar free and it has been HARD. These brownies made it so much easier! Thank you!
Woohoo! So glad you’re loving them, Rebekah.