This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
These vegan brownies are truly the best. Fudgy and gooey in the middle with the crackly tops, they are easy to make and use simple ingredients!
Love vegan desserts? Try vegan chocolate chip cookies, vegan blondies, and vegan cookie dough.
These brownies are proof that vegan desserts can taste like the real thing.
After months of recipe testing, I’ve developed what has been awarded as the best vegan brownies you’ll ever eat. They have crackly tops, gooey centers, crisp and ever-so-slightly cakey edges, and pools of melty chocolate throughout.
Trust me, this vegan brownie recipe is such a keeper, even non-vegans are OBSESSED.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Perfect texture. Gooey, chewy, and loaded with tons of chocolate chips.
- One bowl. Everything is made in one bowl, so clean-up is a freeze.
- No strange ingredients. No milk or milk substitutes are needed, including soy or almond milk. Also, no black beans, chickpeas, or sneaky ingredients that should NOT belong in desserts.
Ingredients needed
Unlike other vegan dessert recipes, these ones use simple pantry staple ingredients and nothing hard to find. Here is what you’ll need:
- Flax Eggs– The best egg substitute to use for these brownies.
- Black Coffee- My secret ingredient! Coffee brings out the chocolate flavor, with no taste of coffee at all.
- Chocolate Chips- Skip the expensive store-bought kind and make your own vegan chocolate chips.
- Coconut Sugar- To sweeten the brownies and give them gorgeous crackly tops! White or brown sugar also works.
- Vegan Butter– Be sure to use good quality vegan butter, preferably from a stick. Vegan butter from a stick contains less added water, which yields a better brownie texture. I adore Miyokos butter which seriously could have me fooled for the real thing. You can also use vegan margarine.
- Vanilla Extract- A must for any good brownie recipe!
- All-Purpose Flour- Also known as plain flour, I used gluten-free all-purpose flour, to keep these brownies gluten-free, too.
- Cocoa Powder- Unsweetened and natural cocoa powder. Dutch processed cocoa will also work but sometimes can affect if the tops become crackly.
- Baking Powder- Leavening agent to help the brownies rise.
- Salt- Just a pinch to bring out the natural sweetness.
How to make vegan 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 the flax egg. Start by preparing the flax egg by combining the ground flaxseed with the brewed coffee. Let it sit for 10 minutes for a gel to form.
Step 2- Make the batter. Next, melt the chocolate, either in the microwave or using a small saucepan over the stove. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, melted chocolate, and prepared flax eggs and whisk well, until combined and glossy. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined. If you like, fold through more chocolate chips.
Step 3- Bake. Now, transfer the batter into a greased square pan. Bake the brownies for 27-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out mostly clean. Remove the brownies from the oven and let them cool completely, before slicing and serving.
Tips to make the best recipe
- Do not over-mix the batter. There’s often the fear that brownies may turn out crumbly, and the number one reason for that is mixing the batter a little too thoroughly. You want the ingredients to be ‘just’ combined- Enough that no extra flour or sugar remains.
- Avoid over-baking the brownies as they continue to cook as they are cooling in the pan.
- For ultra gooey brownies, remove them around the 30-minute mark. If you’d prefer more chewy vegan brownies, keep them closer to 35 minutes.
- For easy removal, keep an inch of extra parchment paper/baking paper hanging over the sides. Once your brownies are ready to cut, simply remove themfrom the pan and slice.
Dietary swaps and substitutions
These brownies are super forgiving, and can easily be adapted for various diets or ingredient swaps.
- Make it gluten-free. Swap out the flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour that has added xanthan gum.
- Cut the sugar. Use a sugar substitute, like a brown sugar substitute. You can use swap out the chocolate chips for sugar free chocolate chips.
- Add frosting. A simple 2 ingredient frosting or, for a healthy twist, a healthy frosting.
- Use different egg substitutes. Flax eggs work best, but you can also try one of these egg substitutes for baking.
- Add mix-ins. Fold through some chopped walnuts, vegan white chocolate, or even candy bits.
Storage instructions
To Store: Store leftovers in the refrigerator, to ensure they remain fresh. They are super gooey and fudgy, so the chilled temperature will ensure they don’t spoil.
To Freeze: Wrap them in parchment paper individually, and place them in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer. They will keep well frozen for up to 6 months.
More vegan desserts to try
Fudgy Vegan Brownies
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 6 tablespoon brewed coffee can use for water
- 2 cup vegan chocolate chips divided
- 1 cup coconut sugar * See notes
- 6 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour can use gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a square pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Prepare your flax egg by combining your ground flaxseed with your brewed (chilled) coffee. Let it sit for 10 minutes, to form a gel.
- In a microwave-safe bowl or stovetop, melt one cup of chocolate chips of choice. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your vegan butter and coconut sugar, and whisk well. Add in your prepared flax eggs, melted chocolate, vanilla, and almond extract, and mix well, until glossy.
- Sift through your flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Fold through the remaining chocolate chips.
- Transfer your brownie batter into the lined pan. Bake your brownies for 27-30 minutes.
- Remove brownies from the oven and let cool completely, before slicing into 12 pieces.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published February 2020, updated March 2024
15 out of 10!!!! Way to go!! When I bake these in India, folks who have travelled overseas tell me they haven’t tasted such good vegan brownies anywhere!! Grateful and God bless!!
Almond extract is mentioned in the directions but not listed in the ingredients. How much did you use?
1/2 teaspoon and it is optional 😉
I needed to make a vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free dessert for an event. I tested this recipe a few times to make sure it would be excellent. (How often do you have to eat away from home and they don’t have food you can eat, let alone anything actually delicious?) My 4th batch was by far the best! I tried variations of some made with real eggs, (just for myself because I can have eggs and I love brownies) some with coconut sugar, some with the flax eggs and white sugar. The batch I made with flax eggs and white sugar was so bad that I threw it away. I think I didn’t mix in the flour and dry ingredients enough, and the flax just didn’t work for me. This last time, I used Bob’s Red Mill egg substitute and used mostly coconut sugar and they turned out so amazing!!! I’m very thankful for this recipe and I am sure I will make it many times in the future.
Hi! The ingredient list has vanilla but instructions say add vanilla and almond extract? Can you explain?
Can’t wait to try these!
Either works 🙂
Wow!! These brownies were better than boxed brownies! I wasn’t sure at first if this would work with the flax eggs but you can’t even tell they are vegan. They are the best ever! I was wondering if Almond Flour would work in the place of regular flour?
Flavor is amazing! However I turned these into pure chocolate fudge. Where can I troubleshoot 😅
Oh my gosh, I absolutely love these brownies! Thick and rich, and so satisfying! Even my non-vegan friends love them.
best vegan brownies I’ve ever made.
Could you please tell me the size of the pan?? Thank you!!
8-inch pan!
These brownies were a HIT!! I was torn between two vegan brownie recipes and your recipe spoke to me the loudest. I followed the recipe to the letter; except I used cacao powder and sprinkled the top with a bit of Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener for decoration. I’m not a coffee drinker anymore; however I really liked the hint of coffee taste with the chocolate. Yum! I will definitely make these again. I brought the brownies to a dinner party later that evening. My friend and her husband happily kept the leftovers. They were kind enough to sent me home with one. 🙂 I’m so glad I trusted my gut.
These are amazing and a huge hit with everyone who has tried them! I used soy milk in place of the coffee, just vanilla not almond extract and castor sugar instead of coconut sugar and they turned out amazing. Thank you for the amazing recipe!
This was my first time baking vegan anything and wow, these brownies are amazing!! I made these for graduation, my instructor is vegan and wanted to include him in the celebration. I had several people ask for the recipe.
How much almond extract for the brownie recipe?
1/4 teaspoon 🙂
Can I just leave out the coffee since this is for my toddler and he sure doesn’t need any additional energy!
Absolutely!
Hi! What do you think about using coffee for flavour but leaving out the flax seeds and using x2 eggs instead…thoughts?
I haven’t tried but you are welcome to experiment and see!
Hi, Arman.
I tried it with almond flour, turned out softy gooey, more like a chocolate pudding than brownie 😂. Maybe will try with gluten-free flour with added xanthan gum next time.
Quick question – do I need to melt the butter/margarine?
Hi Diana! This recipe doesn’t call for almond flour and isn’t even a recommended substitute so I’m not surprised it didn’t work 🙂 The butter should be softened but doesn’t need to be melted.