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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I made these, but I’m not sure what I did wrong because the batter became so thick that I could barely stir it.The only thing I substituted was coconut sugar. Any thoughts on what happened? I’d really like to give it another shot because I’m vegan and I’ve been craving brownies
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What kind of flour did you use and how did you measure it? Did you dissolve the coconut sugar in the water?
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Yes, I dissolved the sugar and I used King Arthur gluten-free flour.
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I would try it with the Bob’s Red Mill GF all purpose baking flour which is what I used here. Be sure to spoon and level the flour into the measuring cups. What cocoa powder are you using?
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I used the Ghirardelli cocoa powder. I’ll try it with the different flour, fingers crossed!!
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Fabulous recipe. Made this and brought them to a meeting and to a family dinner and they disappeared. Going to make this again.
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We’ve recently switched to a plant based diet, attempting to use ingredients that are as close to being unprocessed as possible. But, my husband is craving fudgy brownies, and who can blame him? I’m planning on using date sugar, oat milk dark chocolate chips and organic cacao powder, and would prefer to use whole wheat pastry flour rather than regular unbleached flour. Will these substitutions work? The brownies don’t have to be shiny on top as long as they’re delicious, and this recipe sounds great.
Thanks so much.
Thank you.-
This recipe was carefully crafted to use the ingredients listed, so any sub is always a risk. If you decide to give that a try though, let me know how it turns out!
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The only thing about this recipe that gives me pause is the amount of sugar. I routinely cut the amount of sugar in cookies and brownies in half, but there’s no way to do that with this recipe. I add 2 tablespoons of instant espresso powder to temper the sweetness, but would appreciate some advice on how to reduce the sugar itself. I realize the sugar syrup makes the top crispy and the inside fudgy, but would prefer another way to create the same texture. Otherwise, my family and friends love these brownies! I use half natural cocoa and half black cocoa for special flavor.
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You can definitely still cut back on the sugar here! That shouldn’t be a problem.
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I double the recipe and bake it for 50-55 minutes in a 13″ X 9″ pan, lined with parchment paper. Because I use applesauce instead of flaxseed eggs, I bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean, to make sure the inside is properly cooked. I also add 1/4 cup of instant espresso powder to enhance the chocolate and cut the sweetness.
Everyone at my chronic pain clinic loves these, even the folks who aren’t vegan! I usually use 1/2 the sugar in most cookie recipes, but haven’t tried to do that with this one. That’s why I add the instant espresso powder, which is just right.
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Just made this and it came out so gooey and fudgy looking! thank you for the recipe! I baked it for 37 minutes and it was perfect!
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Thank you, Carrie!
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These are amazing. We discovered them when our friends made this recipe for us, and we devoured the entire pan in a day. Then we made it ourselves and it came out great again.
We want to make them for a party this weekend…. If we do a double batch in a 9×13, what would the time be? 50 minutes?-
Yes, that sounds about right! Just keep an eye on them and test as you go. Glad you love these!
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If I make these 2x what size pan would I require?
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You can do a 9×13, but increase the baking time!
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The brownies were great! Everyone loved them and asked for more. The top was beautiful and consistency is perfect.
I made some changes in the recipe: I didn’t cook the sugar and water, I swapped half the sugar for brown sugar. I used coffee/expresso decotion instead of water. I swapped flax seeds for sunflower seeds.
One thing- the brownies may be/look dry just after baking but they turn out great(moist and fudging consistency, darker color) after leaving for some time
Oh, and I added walnuts/almonds too
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This is the first time I’ve baked vegan brownies.
Due to available ingredients I made these brownies with the following substitutions:
Psyllium husk instead of flax seed Extra virgin olive oil instead of veggie oil
Omitted vanilla extract
Cooked only for about 32 mins
They turned out absolutely incredible and right on the cusp of gooey to dry.
Thanks for a great, simple recipe, I will be using again! -
Instead of using water with the flax, could you use coffee being it is said coffee enhances the chocolate?
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Yes, you can use brewed coffee with the flax instead of water!
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The best oooey and gooey brownies! Yes, it has sugar but so what…enjoy them!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
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Can this be made oil free by using applesauce?
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You can try subbing half of the oil for apple sauce, but removing all of it will alter the flavor and texture.
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Hi, thank you for the recipe. Can I use coconut oil?
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Yes, should be fine!
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Do I need to add the flax seed if I have a gluten free flour with xantham gum in it?
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Yes! The flax or apple sauce replaces eggs.
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Thank you for your response. I tried these today and they came out great. I did use a different type of sugar, which also had some shine to it. I also added the baking powder to make it more cake like, that’s probably why they weren’t as moist. Next time, I will try it without the baking powder.
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These are absolutely incredible!! I made them with applesauce and they were just perfect. The texture was both cakey and fudgey, and they looked beautiful. They even lasted for days without getting stale!
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Thank you, Tracy!
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