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These vegan chocolate brownies are easy to make and have a fudgy, deliciously rich centre that is sprinkled throughout with dark chocolate chips. They’re truly the best vegan brownies you’ll ever try!
If you’ve come in search of the perfect easy vegan brownies then you’ve come to the right place. They’ve got a smooth, glossy top with a fudgy, slightly chewy interior that holds its shape whilst staying moist.
Cocoa powder and 70% dark chocolate are used to give these brownies a rich chocolatey flavour, with extra chocolate chips stirred in to give lovely melty bits when served warm, or a bit of bite when served cold.
These little squares of chocolatey goodness store incredibly well and can even be frozen – giving you a quick and easy treat on hand when you need a sweet fix.
Quick links:
Why you’ll love these vegan chocolate brownies
They’re fudgy and chewy. These brownies have been through a rigorous testing process to make sure they’re the perfect fudgy consistency. Using a mix of caster sugar and soft light brown sugar, along with ground almonds, gives these chocolate brownies structure with a gorgeously chewy interior that stays fudgy, moist and delicious for several days.
The rich chocolatey flavour. Using both cocoa powder and melted chocolate in the brownie batter gives the intense and rich chocolate flavour that you expect in a brownie. I recommend using a 70% dark chocolate for ultimate depth of flavour – pick a good quality one that you enjoy eating rather than baking chocolate for the best results. Coffee granules are also added (don’t worry you can’t taste the coffee!) to intensify the chocolate flavour.
They last well and can be frozen. Whilst these brownies are at their best on day 1 and 2, they still taste fantastic on day 3 when stored in an airtight container, and they retain their fudginess. They can also be frozen after slicing and stored in an airtight container – I like to eat them straight from the freezer but alternatively you can defrost them at room temperature before serving.
How to make these vegan chocolate brownies
First up – gather together all of your ingredients.
Stir together the flour, ground almonds, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. I recommend sifting in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder to remove any lumps.
Set a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt together the dark chocolate, margarine, dairy free milk and coffee granules. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water and stir the ingredients occasionally until melted and glossy.
Make sure the sugar is completely lump free then add it to the bowl of melted dark chocolate along with the vanilla. Stir together, still over the pan of hot water, until the mixture is glossy and the sugar dissolved.
Add the sugar and chocolate mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir together.
Let the brownie batter cool a little and then add the chocolate chips and stir together.
Smooth the batter out in a lined 20cm square baking tin and sprinkle over a few more chocolate chips for good measure. This is the baking tin that I use (affiliate link).
Bake for 32-37 minutes in an oven preheated to 150°C fan (170°C conventional / 325°F / gas mark 3) until a knife or skewer inserted into the centre comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs (but not liquid batter). Cool in the tin completely before cutting into squares.
Top tips
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Sift the dry ingredients: Make sure to sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder to get rid of any lumps. Alternatively you can press out any lumps once the dry ingredients are in the bowl but this will be more time consuming.
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Make sure your sugar is completely lump free: Some brown sugars can be quite lumpy straight from the packet. It’s important to make sure your sugars are completely lump-free before adding them to the melted chocolate. You can do this by getting your hands in the bowl of sugar and rubbing any lumps between your fingers to get rid of them. Leaving the sugar lumpy and not dissolving it properly in the melted chocolate can result in a lumpy top to the brownies that isn’t glossy.
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Melt your chocolate gently: Chocolate that is heated too quickly or burned can seize which means that it splits and goes grainy. If this happens you won’t be able to use it. To avoid this warm the chocolate gently, make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the simmering water in the pan underneath and keep the hob at a temperature just high enough for the water to lightly simmer, rather than a full boil.
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Mix lightly: When you add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix just enough to combine. Don’t overmix or beat the mixture as this can affect the texture of the brownies (and all baked goods in fact).
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Don’t overbake your brownies: An overbaked brownie will lose its fudginess and can end up dry and cakey so be sure to test your brownies 5 minute before you think they’ll be done. They should take 32-37 minutes (I find 35 minutes to be perfect in a fan oven) so test them at 30 minutes by sticking a skewer or small knife into the centre.
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If the skewer comes out covered in wet batter then give the brownies another 4-5 minutes before testing again.
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If the skewer comes out with some wet batter, test them again after 2 minutes.
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If the skewer comes out with moist crumbs rather than wet batter then the brownies are done. It’s better to slightly underbake brownies than to overbake them.
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Cool the brownies completely before slicing: Brownies firm up as they cool. If you try to slice them whilst they are still warm, you will likely end up with a gooey mess! I like to leave the pan at room temperature until it’s cooled down a bit (30 minutes or so) and then transfer it to the fridge for at least another 30 minutes. Check that the brownies feel cool to the touch and if so, transfer them to a chopping board and slice them into squares using a large, sharp knife.
FAQs
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Can I use a different size baking pan? I recommend using a 20cm (8”) square baking pan (ideally with a loose base) like this one. I would not recommend using a different size pan as this will affect the cooking time.
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How should I store these brownies? Once sliced, pop them in an airtight container and consume within 3 days. Alternatively store them in an airtight container in the freezer and then defrost them at room temperature.
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Can these vegan brownies be made gluten free? This recipe has not yet been tested with gluten free flour. After near to 30 tests to get to brownie perfection I wouldn’t recommend making any ingredient substitutions or changes to the recipe method as I could not guarantee the recipe will work if you do! Even the slightest ingredient change can affect the brownies. That being said – if you do test them with gluten free flour before I do, please do let me know in the comments below how you got on.
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Loved these vegan chocolate brownies? Here are some more delicious vegan sweet treats to try
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Looking for brownies’ little sister the blondie? These Raspberry and White Chocolate Blondies are a firm favourite on Pinterest!
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If you’re after some more freezer-friendly sweet treats it doesn’t get much better than these Healthy Millionaire’s Shortbread. They’re made with wholesome, healthy ingredients but taste very naughty indeed – and they can be eaten straight from the freezer.
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If you’re looking for a bakery-style vegan cookie, look no further than these Triple Chocolate Cookies. Described by many a non-vegan as ‘the best cookies I’ve ever eaten’ they go down a storm!
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These Biscoff Billionaire’s Shortbread don’t last long in our house – with a layer of buttery vegan shortbread, topped with cinnamon-infused Biscoff spread and finished with a glossy dark chocolate top.
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Lighten things up with this fresh and fruity Lemon and Raspberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream – one of the most popular recipes from the blog with our Instagram community.
I hope you LOVE this recipe for fudgy vegan chocolate brownies! Share this recipe with someone you think will love it and don’t forget to tag @aveganvisit on social media when you try out the recipe – I absolutely love seeing your re-creations! Enjoy 🙂 x
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below – this provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. If you want more delicious vegan recipes be sure to subscribe to the A Vegan Visit newsletter and join the AVV community on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Tiktok.
The Video Recipe:
The Fudgy Vegan Chocolate Brownies Recipe:
Fudgy Vegan Chocolate Brownies (That You Can Freeze!)
Ingredients
- 110 g self raising flour
- 60 g cocoa powder
- 60 g ground almonds
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 220 g 70% dark chocolate chips (or roughly chopped dark chocolate*)
- 100 g dairy free margarine
- 60 ml dairy free milk** (almond milk works well)
- ¾ tsp instant coffee granules
- 125 g caster sugar
- 125 g soft light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Equipment
- 20cm Square Baking Tin (with a removable base)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150°C fan (170°C conventional / 325°F / gas mark 3). Line a 20cm square baking tin with non-stick parchment paper.
- In a large bowl stir together the flour, cocoa powder, ground almonds, baking powder and salt until combined.110 g self raising flour, 60 g cocoa powder, 60 g ground almonds, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- Note: I recommend sifting the flour, cocoa and baking powder if they have lumps in them, or alternatively rubbing any lumps out once the mixture is in the bowl.
- Put a saucepan on the hob with a small amount of water in it and bring this to a gentle simmer. Place a large bowl over the top of the saucepan, without the base of the bowl touching the simmering water, to create a ‘bain-marie’.
- Add 110g of the chocolate to the bowl along with the margarine, dairy free milk and coffee granules and stir frequently, until everything is melted and fully combined.220 g 70% dark chocolate chips, 100 g dairy free margarine, 60 ml dairy free milk**, 3/4 tsp instant coffee granules
- Make sure that the sugar is completely lump free*** and then stir it into the melted chocolate mixture along with the vanilla. Keep the saucepan on the heat for a minute or two whilst you stir the sugar into the chocolate so that it fully dissolves and the mixture ends up glossy.
- Pour the melted chocolate and sugar mixture into the flour and cocoa mixture and stir it together to form your brownie batter.
- Leave the brownie batter to cool slightly for a few minutes before adding the remaining 110g chocolate chips and stirring them in.
- Transfer the brownie batter to the lined baking tin, smooth it out to the edges and bake for 32 - 37 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs (but not lots of liquid batter).
- Note: I find 35 minutes to be about perfect for a fudgy brownie but I recommend testing them at 30 minutes to be on the safe side - if the skewer comes out with lots of liquid batter on it give them another 5 minutes, if it comes out with a small amount of batter on, test it again after 2 minutes.
- Allow the brownies to cool in the tin for 30 minutes and then transfer the baking tin to the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour to make sure they are fully cooled before transferring them to a chopping board and cutting them into squares.
- Note: Putting the brownies in the fridge before cutting will make them easier to cut up but you don’t need to store them in the fridge after this - instead store them in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Tara
Hi, I’m Tara! I’m taking you on a trip around the world in vegan cuisine and bringing the world’s most delicious dishes to your kitchen.
