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These oatmeal brownies are soft, fudgy, and layered with chocolate flavor and whole grains. They’re fiber-packed and naturally sweetened.
Love having dessert for breakfast? Try my oatmeal breakfast bars, protein cinnamon rolls, strawberry oatmeal bars, and cinnamon roll baked oatmeal next.
If you’ve been dying to have brownies for breakfast, now’s your chance.
My oat flour brownies look and taste like real brownies, but looks can be deceiving. Hidden inside soft and fudgy brownies lie enough protein, fiber, and whole grains to keep you full all morning long.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- They taste exactly like brownies. If you’ve had my brownie baked oatmeal before, that’ll give you an idea of what to expect. If anything, these oat brownies are even more chewy and soft.
- They’re great for meal prep. Make a double batch and freeze the extras for when you need a grab-and-go breakfast… or have a sugar craving.
- Easy to modify. Add some fun mix-ins or swap the oil for applesauce. I’ll be sure to give you plenty of suggestions later on.
- Diet-friendly. With no effort at all, these oat flour brownies are gluten-free and easy to make vegan!
Ingredients needed
- Oat flour. Use store-bought or homemade oat flour made from rolled oats. Make sure the consistency is extremely fine so the brownies don’t dry out. Use certified gluten-free oat flour if needed.
- Cocoa powder. I used Dutch processed cocoa powder as I find it has the best chocolate flavor. Use a good quality brand; it makes all the difference!
- Sweetener. I used coconut sugar, but white sugar, brown sugar, or a sugar-free sweetener can all be used interchangeably.
- Peanut butter. A foolproof swap for butter that adds flavor and gives the brownies a gooey texture. Use smooth, drippy peanut butter with no added sugar or salt.
- Maple syrup. Adds sweetness and moisture.
- Coconut oil. Gives the brownies a lovely sheen and skips the need for butter.
- Eggs OR flax eggs. Use either room temperature eggs or flax eggs, which you can make by combining three tablespoons of water with one tablespoon of flax seeds.
- Semi sweet chocolate chips. Optional but recommended to give an extra boost of chocolate. Use vegan chocolate chips if needed.
- Salt. Just a pinch of salt to amplify the other ingredients.
How to make oatmeal brownies
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
Step 2- Mix the wet and dry ingredients. In a small bowl, combine oat flour, cocoa powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and sweetener. Add the eggs to the wet ingredients and whisk well.
Step 3- Combine. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until combined. Sprinkle with chocolate chips if using. Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared pan.
Step 4- Bake. Bake the brownies for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Let cool in the pan completely before slicing.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Blend your oat flour VERY finely. If you’re making homemade oat flour, make sure it’s finely blended. If big clumps of oats remain, you’ll get dry and crumbly brownies.
- Avoid overbaking the brownies. They’ll continue to cook as they cool, so take them out of the oven the second a toothpick comes out barely clean.
- Wait for the brownies to cool completely. When I tried to slice them when they were slightly warm, they were more likely to crumble and fall apart.
Variations
- Swap the peanut butter. Use any type of nut butter, like almond butter or cashew butter. For a nut-free recipe, use sunflower seed butter.
- Cut the fat. If you don’t mind the oatmeal brownies being more cake-like, you can swap the coconut oil for unsweetened applesauce. If you do, reduce the bake time to 25-30 minutes.
- Switch up the mix-ins. Try chopped nuts, white chocolate chips, or fresh raspberries.
Storage instructions
To store: Store leftover oat brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
To freeze: Transfer cooled oatmeal brownies to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to six months.
More healthy brownies to try
Oatmeal Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp oat flour
- 1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup peanut butter smooth and creamy
- 3/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup granulated sweetener of choice brown, coconut, or sugar free subs
- 4 large eggs
- 1-2 cups chocolate chopped, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, add your oat flour, cocoa powder, and salt, and mix well. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together your peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and granulated sweetener of choice. Whisk together until combined and glossy. Add your eggs and whisk well.
- Combine your wet and dry ingredients and mix together until just combined. Fold through your chocolate, if using them. Transfer the brownie batter into the lined pan.
- Bake the brownies for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean from the center. Let cool in the pan completely, before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published September 2020, updated and republished August 2024
WOW! These look, and sound, delicious. 🙂
Thanks so much 🙂
Awesome recipe with the protein powder. I’ve always wanted to incorporate protein powder into my breakfast and now I can. Wasn’t sure about brownies for breakfast but definitely gives me a kick in the morning! Thanks for sharing!
You are so welcome- Thanks for the feedback, John!
Love your blog but the share buttons on right side BLOCK YOUR WORDS and pictures-soo annoying!!! Please try to fix-you are not only site that has this-just place the FB , Pinterest buttons somewhere else !!!
Hi Michele- I’m so sorry about that- I’ll let my designer work on it! 🙂
Would this work with Great Lakes beef gelatin?
Hi Laurie! I’ve never tried it with that but let me know how it turns out 🙂
What’s considered a scoop of protein powder? The protein powder I have indicates 1/4 cup as a serving. Can’t wait to try these!
Hi Alex! All of mine are between 32-35 grams 🙂
How long to bake? Not in my recipe!!!!?
Hi Kim! It’s listed in the directions, around 20 minutes, or until fully cooked through 🙂
Well, these were just fudgy and delightful! Thanks for sharing!
These look amazing! I’m going to have to make these one day…do you know if you’ll still get the same result if you use avocado instead of the nut butter?
Hi Victoria- I’m going to be experimenting with it and I’ll let you know 🙂
What is best? Bananas, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, or a mix of all of them? I made bananas and didn’t love it, but I think I don’t particularly like when bananas and chocolate are baked together.
Hi Meaghan! I prefer bananas for it’s natural sweetness, but i’d say pumpkin would be next 🙂
My breakfast this morning is inspired by this recipe. Thank you for the great idea!
You are so welcome, Christine! 🙂