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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Made these tonight and LOVE the flavor, but they came out really cake-y. Any tips on what I may have done wrong?
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Weird! They definitely shouldn’t be cakey since there are no leavening agents, but my first suggestion would be to decrease the bake time by at least 5 minutes. If that doesn’t help, you can decrease the amount of flour by 2-4 tablespoons.
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Made these for a mixed vegan, gluten free & no-special-dietary-needs crowd. Everyone loved them! Great texture, deep chocolate flavor. This will be my new go-to recipe!
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How would it taste if I left out the chocolate chips? I don’t have vegan chocolate chips. I do have carob however, do you know how that tastes as a substitute?
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No, you can leave them out! Just use the cocoa powder as usual in the recipe and leave out the chocolate chips.
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I love how lovely they make the house smell while in the oven. Living in high altitude has made it hard for me to bake and this recipe is perfect and oOooOh sooo good! Thank you 😊
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Nothing beats the smell of brownies!
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Can I use coconut flour for this recipe?
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No, there are no flour subs here!
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This was a hit with friends! So fudgy and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
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In step 6 is says “ Add all remaining wet ingredients, including the flax eggs”…is eggs just an included typo? Just want to be sure!
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The “flex egg” is the mixture you make with the flax seeds and water. No typo!
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I made the brownie with flour and taste is good, but very dense. I put the chocolate chips in with the dry so when I added the warm sugar, maybe it melted them into the mixture? Is there something I could pour over like a sugar syrup to help soften it?
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You want to add the chocolate chips to the batter after you mix in all the other dry ingredients. That will prevent them from melting and getting dense.
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Hey,
Just trying the recipe and getting a little confused with a couple of things. So I want to make more, so I’ve tripled the recipie. Do I now use 15 tbsp of water to mix the flax seeds as I’ve tripled it? And also are these 5tbsp out of the measured water or extra, the mix seems very liquid and runny. Also the choc chips don’t fold in as the sugar water is very hot, they just melt? Help please? Thank you so much
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The water for the flax seed mixture is different from the water that you dissolve the sugar in. The flax seed and water mixture will thicken as it sits. You do not fold in the chocolate chips until after all of the dry ingredients have been added, so they will not melt. What pan are you planning to bake these in if you’re tripling? I generally speaking would not recommend that.
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Has anyone tried raw cocoa powder instead of cacao? This recipe looks perfect and can’t wait to try it!
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Cacao powder is going to be more bitter, but you can definitely try!
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Thanks. I’ll give it a go. Curious to how long these last? I’m baking them and was planning to cut them ahead of time, to last for school lunches. Will that make them go dry? Thanks!
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Excuse my last comment, I now know they last for 3-5 days, I think I was overthinking if they’d stay fresh because I haven’t made it before.
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They should start pretty fresh if stored properly!
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I’m in love with this recipe!! I’ve always preferred box mix brownies over homemade (basically the only thing I’ve never preferred homemade,) because of that shiny top, but I always hated the ingredients in them. Now with egg and dairy allergies in our house, finding good brownies has been nearly impossible. This recipe is PERFECT. Nothing is “weird” about it, and I love that the ingredients are simple and it’s so easy. As someone who loves to bake, adjusting to our toddler’s many allergies has been really hard for me. This recipe may have reignited my love for baking! Thank you!
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That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you Kelsee!
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Amazing brownies!!
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Could I bake these in muffin tins? Would they still come out moist and fudgey?
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I shouldn’t tried that but it should work! You’ll need to decrease the bake time though
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I could eat these every day.
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The water that you put together with the sugar…is it 1/2 cup in addition to the 5 tbsp you put with flax seed or whatever is left?
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You need 1/2 cup for the sugar, then an additional 5 tbsp for the flax mixture.
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WOWWW this is the first successful vegan brownie I have ever made. The sugar thing was definitely the trick. I preferred it without the chocolate chips but I’m sure it would be just as good with a different brand. THANK U for creating this masterpiece 😙 ^ chefs kiss
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