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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
Hi. I have a question…one and a half CUPS of cocoa powder? Is this correct? I’ve never seen a recipe in which the volume of cocoa powder is very nearly equal to the volume of the rest of the dry ingredients combined….
That is correct 🙂
I have try n it taste super delicious.. Really love it.. Thanks for recipe
Crazy good (without adding chocolate chips). Definitely needs to go in the fridge to firm up as mentioned. And to the cynics, yes, the cocoa powder amount is correct 🙂
I have to admit tasting these straight out of the oven, I didn’t think these brownies were anything special BUT 12-24 hours in the fridge really helps them set. Don’t skip out on the chocolate! They are indeed fudgy and sweet, even though I subbed maple syrup for honey and only used half and didn’t use granulated sweetener.
Yum! These are full of chocolate, but I don’t think are necessarily healthy! Sugar, eggs and I used butter because coconut oil in baking just really misses the mark for me. I did use 2 flax eggs and 2 regular eggs. The puddles of chocolate made due to chopped chocolate bar are sublime. I highly recommend making these to satiate your chocolate craving! They are that rich!
Is the recipe correct on the amount of cocoa powder – 1 1/2 cups? Seems out of proportion to the slightly over half cup of oat flour.
It sure is, keeps them fudgy!
Easy to make and produced fudgey decadent brownies! I used cocoa flavoured peanut butter for half the Peanut butter requirement for extra chocolate flavour (not that it needed it) :p
My kids and I just put these brownies in the oven. I’m trying to get my family to enjoy eating foods with different flours in them. My kids are excited to try them. I let the kids make these themselves.
Ahh I love that 🙂
Hi
I want to make this recipe but first I want to verify if there’s no mistake with this recipe
The amount of cocoa powder seems a lot compared to the oat flour !
Also the quantity of the maple syrup with the granulated sugar are a lot together.. should we should choose or its both quantity? Thanks
No, there is not and yes, both sweeteners must be used.
Hello, I would really like to try your recipe but unfortunately I am allergic to peanuts so I would like to know what replacement I could use instead?
Thanks
Hi there- You can use smooth and drippy almond butter or sunflower seed butter.
I can’t have oats. Could I use a different kind of flour?
Not that I’ve tried, feel free to experiment and see
Can you use unsweetened apple sauce?
I don’t see why not!
Can I use PB powder mixed with water instead of smooth but butter?
I’ve only tried the recipe as written. Feel free to experiment and see!
First time I made these I used banana and it was great. Second time I used pumpkin and they were definately not sweet enough. I think next time I will do 1 banana and 2/3 cup pumpkin so I get the nutritional benefits of pumpkin and a little sweetness from the banana.