There are more recipe for vegan brownies today than there were when I originally posted this recipe, but I’m keeping it here because it still gets good reviews. It’s also made with every day ingredients found in most kitchens. That is, you don’t need egg replacers, soy milk, soy cream cheese, hemp….just basic items like flour, water, sugar, coconut and oil.
The trick with these vegan brownies is that you take half cup of the flour, boil it with the flour and make a gooey paste that gets incorporated into the brownies. It adds texture and body and acts as a binder.
Since they’re so fudge-y, it’s best not to cut the vegan brownies right away. Let them cool completely and if you have time, chill them.
Vegan Brownies
2 cups all purpose flour (255 grams)
1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 cup vegan approved chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 inch square pan with non-stick foil (Release) or parchment paper
Measure out 1/2 cup of the flour and place it in a saucepan with the water (1 cup). Whisk flour and water together over medium heat until mixture becomes thick and gluey. Set it aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, thoroughly stir together both sugars, salt, cocoa powder and baking powder. Add oil and vanilla and stir until well mixed. Add gluey flour mixture and stir until incorporated, then stir in remaining 1 ½ cups of flour. If using, add nuts and chocolate chips.
Spread mixture in the pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until brownies appear set. Let cool completely and chill. Lift from pan and cut into squares.
Anna
Thanks for the review!!
DR
Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe!! My vegan friend was so excited, she hadn’t had brownies in years due to allergies! Totally satisfied that craving! Ths
Anna
Sorry it didn’t work for you. Wish I could figure out the variables that gave you such bad results — there are always crazy variables.
This is one of my older recipes and having made it several times, I think I’ll add a note that says to refrigerate. It’s not critical, but it really helps develop the texture.
DH
I tried this- exactly following the recipe, I cooked for 30 minutes as it was not done at 25 minutes, although it turns out it wasn’t done at 30 minutes either! I tried the cooked corner of the brownie, but it was so bad, I had to rinse out my mouth!!! I thought that paste might be a great egg replacer, but I am staying well clear from now on!
On a completely separate note, I love the best ever yellow cupcake recipe featured on your blog- it really is the best!
Joy
Do you think this recipe would work in a 9 x 13 pan? I don’t have a 9-in. square pan, but am interested in trying this recipe. 🙂
Ashley
i just made half of this recipe as an experiment and half of it was gone within 10 mins outta the oven!! i added chopped dark chocolate and underbaked it ever so slightly, the result was Heaven.ly. it was warm and so rich and gooey, with melted chocolate in every bite. i threw some of it in the freezer, took a bite after 1 hour, and i was in chocolate heaven again. thank you so much for this awesome awesome recipe. you made a recently-turned vegan with a huge sweet tooth very very happy today.
Anna
Marie, that would be my guess. I think it just helps give the brownies extra bulk.
Marie
Purely out of curiosity – what’s the purpose of the paste? To fully hydrate the flour with the water? It’s very intriguing.
Laurel
Do you know if I used whole wheat flour, how much I would use?
Anna
Hi Bethany! Thanks for the review. Did you make any changes or substitutions? Mine are never that incredibly rich. Their brownie-like and satisfying, but not gooey. Sounds like something went wrong. Feel free to email me if you want to troubleshoot :).
bethany
these are ridiculously rich! i had to bake them for a lot longer than 25 minutes, and they were still all gooey in the center.
Anna
Yes, natural is the non-Dutched. However, I think Dutch chocolate will work just as well in terms of leavening because the recipe uses baking powder and brown sugar, which both add enough acid to the recipe to counteract the non-acidity of the Dutch process cocoa. Let me know how it goes with Dutched. If it works, I’ll take out the “natural” in Italics.
LisaE
Anna, these are right up my alley. Does natural cocoa refer to non-Dutched process cocoa? (Normally I only keep the Dutched kind around.)