These Vegan Brownies are so fudgey, everyone loves them, no matter the dietary preference. Just a few simple ingredients (almond butter, maple syrup, and cocoa powder), and you’ll have a small pan of vegan brownies for two!
A brownie is supposed to be: dense, fudgy, and chewy, all at once. Nothing like fluffy cake.
But what about vegan brownies? These meet all of the same qualification even though they’re made with just almond butter, maple syrup, and cocoa powder. It sounds ridiculous, and it sounds like it wouldn’t work. But it does.
I based the recipe off of this one, and so I can tell you that while I used regular flour with gluten, you can absolutely sub your favorite gluten-free flour. Try oat flour or any brown rice flour that you might have leftover from my small-batch vegan chocolate chip cookies.
Vegan Brownies Ingredients
- Cocoa Powder. One-third cup of unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Almond Butter. Three-quarters of a cup of almond butter. It’s best to
- Maple Syrup. The only sweetener for these vegan brownies is 1/2 cup of real maple syrup. Make sure that it’s real maple syrup, and not a corn syrup derivative or the brownies won’t set properly.
- Coconut Oil. Just one tablespoon of coconut oil helps make these super fudge-like.
- Flour. It’s easy to make these gluten free, because the recipe only requires 3 tablespoons of flour. If you’re using real flour, be sure to stir it in very well to active the gluten. Activating the gluten makes for chewy brownies. If you use gluten-free flour, simply stir in the flour until no streaks remain.
- Baking Soda. One-half teaspoon of baking soda. You’ll also need a pinch of salt to balance the flavors.
- Chocolate Chips. To keep these brownies vegan, chop up a 3-ounce vegan chocolate bar, or use 1/4 cup of vegan chocolate chips.
How to Make Vegan Brownies
Prep – Preheat the oven to 325, and line a 9×5″ bread loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving extra on the ends so that you can easily lift out your brownies when they’re done.
In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, almond butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Stir well, and then microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir to blend well.
Add the flour, baking soda and salt, and stir for about 50 strokes to blend very well. (If you’re using gluten-free flour, you don’t have to stir this much. Just stir until well-mixed).
Pour the mixture into the pan, and top with the chopped chocolate bar.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool completely, and then chill in the fridge for best results.
Tips for perfection:
- Use a standard 9-inch bread loaf pan (how I always make small-batch brownies), and you can get 2 large or 4 small brownies from this recipe.
- Chop up a vegan chocolate bar to sprinkle on top. This is the critical step that makes them transcend past tasting slightly too much like almond butter. Don’t forget the chocolate on top!
- Chill the brownies in the fridge when they are done. They cut the most evenly if they’re well-chilled. You could dig in right away, though they will be slightly messy.
- I have not tested this recipe in a larger pan, I’m sorry! My whole vibe is small-batch recipes, so if I were to scale down a recipe and scale it back up, that would make me feel a little crazy 🙂
How to Store
- Room Temperature – Once you are done, you can store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Refrigerator – Because I think these taste best when you chill brownies before slicing, it’s not a bad idea to keep them in the refrigerator too.
- Freeze – If you want to freeze the brownies, do not cut them up. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap again with foil. You can freeze up to 4 months. When you are ready to eat, thaw at room temperature before cutting into squares.
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Total Time
45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup almond butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or gluten-free brown rice flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 3-ounce vegan chocolate bar, chopped (or vegan chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325, and line a 9×5″ bread loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving extra on the ends so that you can easily lift out your brownies when they’re done.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, almond butter, maple syrup and coconut oil. Stir well, and then microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds.
- Remove from the microwave and stir to blend well.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt, and stir for about 50 strokes to blend very well. (If you’re using gluten free flour, you don’t have to stir this much. Just stir until well-mixed).
- Pour the mixture into the pan, and top with the chopped chocolate bar.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, let cool completely, and then chill in the fridge for best results. They cut the most evenly if they’re well-chilled. You could dig in right away, though they will be slightly messy.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 311Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 109mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 4gSugar: 19gProtein: 7g