Fudgy Vegan Brownies
These are the BEST vegan brownies. They’re easy to make, perfectly fudgy with a rich chocolate flavor and a gorgeous shiny, crackly crust we all love! A totally crowd pleasing and homemade recipe.
10 tries later and we finally have it. The perfect fudgy vegan brownies, completely from scratch! Seriously, these are so good you will never go back to a boxed brownie mix again.
Plus, they’re made without black beans or avocado, just good old fashioned brownie ingredients that you can’t even tell are vegan!
As I’ve been testing this recipe, I’ve done a whole lot of research into what gives a brownie it’s characteristic shiny crust and fudgy center.
There are a lot of theories out there. Some say it’s the sugar, some say chocolate, some say eggs, but I’ve tried so many things and many of them just didn’t work.
Until I tried one unique method: melting the sugar into a bit of water before adding it to the batter. This essentially creates (sort of) an eggless meringue which rises to the top of the brownies as they bake and give a crackly, shiny crust.
It works like a charm to get beautifully fudgy brownies. If you love this recipe and need more of a chocolate fix, try my vegan chocolate cake or vegan chocolate cupcakes.
How to make vegan brownies
In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 tbsp ground flax plus 5 tbsp of water. Set aside to thicken. You can also use 1/4 cup of applesauce in place of the flax if you’re worried about any weird flavor.
I’ve tried both methods and love them equally! Plus, a flax eggs and applesauce are much easier than aquafaba, which we don’t need here.
In a medium pot on the stove, add the sugar and water and whisk together. Heat over medium/low heat. Stir occasionally, but after about 5-10 minutes, the sugar should completely dissolve. You can see the two images below for reference.
Be sure you don’t add any extra water. The water will look somewhat cloudy, but you shouldn’t notice any clumps of sugar. This is key for the shiny crust!
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together all dry ingredients. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, give it a final whisk, then pour it into the dry ingredients.
Add all remaining wet ingredients, including the flax egg, and mix together with a wooden spoon until a batter forms. Careful not to overmix.
Fold in the chocolate chips if using. They’re optional, but they do help the crust get shinier.
Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips if desired. Transfer to an 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper to ensure the brownies come out of the pan easily.
If you only have a 9×9, that will work, but I generally recommend an 8×8 for brownies for the best results.
Bake for 35-45 minutes. About 38 was perfect in my oven, but all ovens are different. You’ll know they’re done when a toothpick comes out clean, but bake for longer if you don’t like a fudgy inside and prefer them more cake-like.
Remove from the oven, let cool, then slice into 16 squares & enjoy!
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What kind of cocoa powder should I use?
I’m not loyal to any one brand, but often buy the Whole Foods 365 cocoa powder. Hershey’s and Ghirardelli are all great options.
You can use dutch process or natural cocoa for this recipe. I do not recommend the Trader Joe’s cocoa powder as I do not think it has a rich enough flavor.
Which chocolate chips are best?
I’ve recently been loving the brand Guittard because they are made in a gluten-free facility (I love the semi-sweet chips), but Enjoy Life, Lily’s and Trader Joe’s all have great ones as well.
The chocolate chips are really optional in these vegan brownies, but I will say that the crust does get quite a bit shinier when you include them! Even just a few sprinkled on top makes a difference.
How to keep brownies moist
Honestly, you don’t need to worry with these ones! The method of dissolving the sugar into the water adds a lot of moisture to the brownies and they really should stay moist for several days.
Plus, we have the flax “eggs” and oil which will naturally add moisture to the brownies.
These vegan brownies will keep for 3-5 days in a container at room temperature. I like to warm them up in the microwave for a few seconds so they get gooey and fudgy, then serve with vanilla ice cream!
Pro tip for mixing the batter
Avoid using a whisk to stir the batter. This will force too much air into the batter and can change the final texture. A wooden spoon or rubber spatula is best!
Ingredients and swaps
FLOUR. I of course use gluten free all purpose flour for this recipe, but regular all purpose flour will work just as well if you are not gluten free.
Whatever you use, be sure you spoon and level the flour into your dry measuring cups, don’t scoop from the bag!
SUGAR. You can use another sugar like coconut sugar to make these refined sugar free, but the crust will not get as shiny as what is pictured.
A liquid sweetener like maple syrup will not work here. For best results, I recommend a finely ground white sugar.
FLAX EGGS. You can use flax eggs or apple sauce here, but I prefer the texture of the flax eggs. A flax egg is simple a mixture of ground flax seeds and water.
You may also like…
- Vegan Caramel Sauce
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Blondies
- Vegan Funfetti Blondies
- Vegan S’mores Bars
- Chocolate Mug Cake
- Flourless Brownies
Leave a comment and rating below if you try this recipe and let us know how it turns out! Be sure to follow on instagram for more recipes.
Best Fudgy Vegan Brownies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet:
- 1 ½ cups very finely ground granulated sugar the brand Domino is best
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed OR 5 tbsp apple sauce
- 5 tablespoons water for the flax, separate from the sugar water
- ½ cup oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Dry:
- ¾ cup cocoa powder sifted if clumpy
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour I used gluten free, but regular works too
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 tbsp ground flax with 5 tbsp water. Set aside to thicken. Skip this step if using the apple sauce.
- Some people notice a flavor when using the flax (I never have this issue) so if that worries you, stick to the applesauce. The texture will be slightly different, but still delicious.
- In a medium pot on the stove, add the sugar and water and whisk together. Heat over medium/low heat. Stir occasionally, but after about 5-10 minutes, the sugar should completely dissolve.
- Be sure you don’t add any extra water. The water will look somewhat cloudy, but you shouldn’t notice any clumps of sugar. This is key for the shiny crust!
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together all dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips if using (we’ll add these later).
- Some people notice a flavor when using the flax (I never have this issue) so if that worries you, stick to the applesauce. The texture will be slightly different, but still delicious.
- Once the sugar has completely dissolved, give it a final whisk, then pour it into the dry ingredients.
- Add all remaining wet ingredients, including the flax eggs once thickened or the applesauce and mix together with a wooden spoon r rubber spatula until a batter forms. Careful not to over mix, stir just until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips if using. They’re optional, but they do help the top get shinier and add a richer chocolate flavor.
- Transfer to an 8×8 baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake for 35-42 minutes. about 38 was perfect in my oven, but check with a toothpick. Bake for longer if you don’t like a fudgy inside and shorter if you want them really fudgy.
- Remove from the oven, let cool completely, then slice around the edges of the pan and lift out the brownies using the parchment paper. Slice into 16 squares & enjoy! The longer you let cool, the easier/cleaner the cut will be.
Notes
Comments
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Extremely dry and doesn’t even taste like a brownie. Was honestly really disappointed with this recipe! I followed the recipe perfectly too:(
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These definitely should not be dry! Did you measure the flour properly? Your oven may be a bit strong so you may want to try a shorter baking time.
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These came out great. I followed the recipe using the flax seed and gluten free flour, which I could not tell at all. They taste like any other brownies. I added the chocolate chips and baked them for about 30 minutes because my oven works too well sometimes and I wanted them fudgy.
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Love it, thanks Michelle!
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SO GOOD! I made these last night. Recipe was easy to follow and the extra helpful tips worked great. Brownies came out moist and delicious and you can barely tell there’s any difference between these and normal brownies!!
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Thank you, Jillian! So glad you loved these.
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The taste is great! But I think I did something wrong… the center is still batter. I even did 45 minutes… any idea what I might have done wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Did you make any subs here? The temperature of your oven may be a little off, you can try baking at 375.
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Hello. I made these today. I followed exact recipe. But I don’t understand why the sides became extremely hard. And they didn’t rise as much. Other than that everyone loved them. The middle texture was good.
Can you please tell me what did I do wrong. Thanks for your wonderful recipe-
What kind of pan did you use? Did the center seem over baked at all or just the edges?
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Hi there! These sound great and I want to make them for our Super Bowl party. I have two questions. Have you ever heard that regular sugar is not vegan because they process it with bone char? I understood that organic granulated sugar is vegan, though. Also, do you think that aquafaba can be used as the egg replacement?
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Yes, some sugar is processed with bone char, so double check the brand you’re using! Aquafaba should be fine, but I haven’t tried that myself.
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Thank you for your speedy reply! I’m about to make them now and doubling the recipe.
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These are quite honestly the best brownies I’ve tasted – even in comparison to non vegan. The ratio and timing was important, as I found they were dry one time from not following something in the recipe directly. They’re dense and moist. Highly recommend
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Makes me so happy! Thank you, Emma!
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Incredible! I have never written a review for online for literally anything before but these brownies are SO GOOD that I can’t help but share how much I love this recipe. Thank you for this, since we just became vegan, it’s comforting to know that great recipes exist so that making this dietary switch is not a hardship at all. Very chocolatey and fudgy! I used caster sugar because I had some left over and it worked great!
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Thank you, Tina! So happy you found something you love!
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I just made these tonight because they were so simple and I had all the things on hand besides chocolate chips. These are delicious! The texture is just like that of a non vegan brownie which is difficult to achieve. Without the chocolate chips it’s less on the sweet side, it’s an incredibly rich fudgey brownie, I made a vegan vanilla buttercream and I think it really balanced the richness of the chocolate with the sweetness of the buttercream! I cannot recommend this recipe enough!
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Oh love the idea of the buttercream! I’ll have to try that, thanks Lilah!
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I’m not sure why this has such great reviews. I baked them for 30 minutes over the time and they are not done at all. It’s looks like melty rubber. The directions are confusing and very poorly written.
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I’m sorry you didn’t have success with this recipe! Can you explain what is confusing about the directions?
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I made these following the recipe to a t, and they turned out the most lovely perfect texture with a shiny crackly top. However, the taste was so awful that I had to throw out the entire batch. I’m positive that the taste (very fishy taste) was due to the flax, I think I used a brand of flax that must’ve been very high in Omega 3. So it’s not any fault with the recipe! My question is: has anyone had success making these with the Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer instead of the flax egg? Thank you Claire for the wonderful recipe, I can’t wait to try it again without the flax!
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There should be no fishy taste! What brand of flax did you use? Was it just pure ground flax or was something added? The bob’s egg replacer should be fine!
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I made these brownies tonight and enjoyed them! I wonder if Lili used Earth Balance vegan butter sticks. I’m asking because I tried to make croissants with those before, and when I switched the butter, the Earth Balance made my croissants taste fishy! I think that might be due to the omega-3s.
I’ve made many recipes with flax and have never encountered a fishy taste. However, if the flax used wasn’t super fresh or contained some omega-3 additives, that could have affected the flavor.
As for the brownies, I used bittersweet chocolate chips, and they turned out great! I might make a glaze to drizzle on top for some added sweetness (next time, I might try semi-sweet chocolate chips). I used applesauce as an egg replacer since I had some in the fridge, and it worked very well. The brownies were nice and fudgy!
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Earth Balance butter should never taste fishy! I suggest flax that is just plain without any additives.
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I’m trying new recipes for my health…I have cancer…
One question, can I substitute the finely granulated sugar – Domino brand- for regular sugar, is it the same??? It doesn’t change the recipe?-
Any white granulated sugar is fine here! Domino is just very finely ground so it works really well, but another brand is fine.
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Just a question before I try (hoping third time luck as have tried 2 other recipies and they haven’t worked!) Is your oven temperature for a baking oven or fan oven – usually temp reduced for a fan oven but as you haven’t referenced which then I’m not sure what to do
Thankyou!
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Baking! Convection would be the “fan” oven setting, so just regular baking oven.
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Thankyou!!
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WOWZA. 2nd time making these as written-a triumph. I cannot believe the sugar trick. I could never get crinkly top brownies and these DID IT! Perfectly gooey but solid. No one could tell or question if vegan. Rich chocolate flavor. Simple to follow easy to enjoy! So thankful for this recipe!
Baking notes:
– I did use Bob’s Gluten-free flour and as long as I am not in a pinch, I am sticking with it since it worked so well.
– Cocoa-I used both dark dutch and regular – both worked just different flavor profiles (will try with espresso or cinnamon in it some time.)
– I DID have to keep mine in a little longer but only around 5 minutes. (45 first time, 48 2nd)
-Rec to take out of pan after a couple hours, cool overnight at min before cuttingThank you for sharing you wonderful human!!! Xo
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Thank you, Sara! So glad you loved these!
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Can this do without the chocolate chips?
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Yes, that’s fine!
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Thank you! Also can I use melted vegan butter instead of the oil?
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Yes, that will work!
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