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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These are so easy to made and so delicious! Thank you for that recipe I’ll definitely make it for family during the Holidays!
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One more question, could you swap out the choc chips in the batter for chopped hazelnuts?
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Yes that should be fine!
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Could I use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil?
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That should be fine, just make sure it is refined coconut oil so there is no coconut flavor!
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Thanks for this! These are the BEST vegan brownies I’ve made, and I’ve tried quite a few recipes. The one change I made was that I used 5 T of aquafaba instead of the flax eggs or applesauce (I don’t like flax eggs, and I was out of applesauce.) The aquafaba worked perfectly. Loved the crackly top, the fudginess, the flavor—the brownies were A-1! Thanks again.
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Perfect! So good to know the aquafaba works well.
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How much water do I use to dissolve the sugar
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It’s in the ingredient list- 1/2 cup!
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Made this last week with applesauce. Omg!!! Sooooo rich and chocolatey!!! Probably will be my favorite vegan dessert for a while!!
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So happy to hear that, thank you Rosanne!
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Can you use whole wheat flour?
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I can’t test that, so I can’t really say! I’d suggest sticking with all purpose for best results.
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Thank you for coming up with this recipe! My son has several severe food allergies including flax and we have been trying so many vegan brownie recipes that never pan out. This is the closest we have gotten to traditional brownies and he has finally been able to have some and loved them!
I do have a question, after putting the chocolate chips into the mix they all melted from the sugar and water mixture being hot still. What do you do for the chocolate chips to not melt before being baked? Am I missing something?
Thank you!-
You can try letting the sugar mixture cool slightly before adding it to the batter!
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I had no clue brownies made with just cocoa powder (I didn’t have any chocolate chips) could be this fudgy. I used apple sauce and gluten AP flour. The sugar water trick is genius the texture of the crust/top is phenomenal chewy with a bite. Inside soft and fudgy. With this recipe under my belt, will truly never need boxed brownies again this was way better and only the one extra step of heating the sugar water.
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Thank you Harmony, just made my day!
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I tested out this recipe as I am not familiar with vegan baking and I have both vegan and gluten intolerant people coming for tea soon and this seems a good recipe to suit both. It went down very well at a family gathering and I was very impressed with the result. My only question, can I freeze these?
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Yes, freezing should work well! Let them cool completely, slice and store in a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months.
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Can I use granulated cane sugar? Thanks. Can’t wait to try this recipe
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Yes! Just make sure it is very finely ground.
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Thanks. I will try these tonight.
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WOW!!! I just became gluten free two months ago and I am baking like crazy to find similar recipes that I am used to… as well as friends who loved my desserts prior to becoming gluten free. This brownie recipe is amazing!!! Absolutely delish!!! Gooey, sweet and no after taste!!! I made it just as the recipe indicated with the milled flax seed instead of egg and gluten free flour. I don’t own an 8×8 pan but used my trusty 7.5x 12.5 and although the brownies are not as thick… they are still FANTASTIC!!! Thank you!!!
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Thank you, Kelee! So happy you enjoyed these.
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I’ve tried so many recipes from Google and social media but we’ve finally found our winner! These turned out PERFECT! First time my husband tried one and couldn’t tell if it was vegan or not. THANK YOU. This is our new go-to.
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Thanks so much Melissa!
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Sorry, the comment I left below was meant for the 3 ingredient oatmeal cookie. Not the brownies. I had the wrong page up. Do not know how to edit or erase that earlier comment.
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Hi, I do not have a 3 ingredient oatmeal cookie recipe.
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I baked this Brownie using Apple Sauce, it turned out delicious but next time I will bake for 25 minutes. I baked for 30 minutes and it is alittle cakey but no one complained. It was devoured.😋
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These were delicious, thanks for the recipe! Fyi the chips still melted even when added last, because the sugar mixture heated up the dry ingredients. Still fine though. Maybe if the chips are refrigerated first they wouldn’t melt as much.
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This is a great brownie recipe! I have made it in many different variations now and they have all turned out wonderful! It’s just important to note that NOT all dominos sugar is vegan. Only a few of their factories do not use bone char in their sugar. The best thing to do is make sure you buy ORGANIC sugar so there is no bone char included.
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