These are the perfect vegan brownies! They have no added oil and are wholegrain, making them a healthy treat for dessert or a snack. The brownies are sweet and fudgy and get chewier as they stand. And they are super chocolatey!
You might also like these recipes for vegan breakfast brownies and vegan low-carb brownies.
These are the most scrumptious and fudgy vegan brownies you'll ever make and eat, guaranteed, and they're both whole wheat and oil free.
I posted this vegan brownie recipe more than 10 years ago, and it soon became a family favorite as well as a favorite for several readers who wrote to say they had made it and loved it.
It still amazes me that healthy vegan brownies with no added oil can turn out so delicious, and these are not just delicious--they are mindblowingly so. You can put away your vegan butter and vegetable oil and coconut oil while making these. Although keep in mind that they are oil-free but not fat-free, because they do contain walnuts and flax eggs made with flaxmeal, but those are healthy fats.
There's also a good amount of healthfulness here from the whole wheat and natural sugars, making these brownies pretty outrageously good for you.
I have made a couple of tweaks to this vegan brownie recipe since I last posted it. I upped the amount of maple syrup from two tablespoons to four, because I now have a little one and his sweet tooth to please. Use less if you want to, and you'll still get a great-tasting brownie. You can also just use all maple syrup instead of the sugar.
Even with more maple syrup, these vegan chocolate brownies are not cloyingly sweet. If you want an additional hit of chocolate, stir ½ cup of bittersweet chocolate chips in the batter.
The brownies themselves are fudgy when you eat them rightaway, and get chewier as they stand. They make the perfect snack, so be sure to pack one -- or two -- in your child's lunchbox or your own. Then come back and tell me if these aren't the best vegan brownies you ever made and ate!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Oil-free, yet moist and tender.
- Delicious without being cloyingly sweet. This'll become one of your favorite vegan brownie recipes, if not THE favorite.
- Made with whole wheat.
- They're super chocolatey and you can make them even more so!
- Kids'll love them. You can even bake these homemade vegan brownies together for some family fun together.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup flour. I used whole wheat pastry flour in this recipe, which I love here. But you can substitute unbleached all purpose flour or use a mix of half all purpose and half whole wheat flour. (For brownies made with gluten free flour check out this vegan gluten free brownies recipe. It's absolutely yummy!)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Try and use Dutch process cocoa powder.
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules. This is optional, but coffee really enhances the chocolate flavor.
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup sugar. Use any sugar, including turbinado sugar or cane sugar or brown sugar.
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp flaxmeal (whisked with 3 tablespoon water to make one flax egg)
- ½ cup walnuts (lightly toasted and coarsely chopped). Or, for even more chocolatey flavor, stir in half cup vegan chocolate chips. Or add an equal amount of peanut butter chips, which would be awesome!
- Chocolate sprinkles (optional)
How to make vegan brownies
- Prepare the baking pan: Prepare an 8 X 8-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Leave an overhang on each side of the pan so you can easily lift the brownies out after they are baked. Spray the parchment or foil with non-stick cooking spray.
- Sift dry ingredients: This includes the flour, coffee, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Sift into a mixing bowl and set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients: In another large mixing bowl mix the maple syrup, water, sugar, flaxmeal mixture, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until well mixed.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients: Add the flour-cocoa mixture to this in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition using a ladle or spatula.
- Stir in the walnuts. The batter will be really thick but that's fine.
- Pour batter into prepared pan: Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread evenly in the pan. At this point, you can sprinkle some chocolate sprinkles over the top for a nice finish.
- Bake the vegan brownies: Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool thoroughly. Cool the brownies on a rack. Once they are cool lift the brownies from the pan using the foil overhang as handles, and cut into squares. If you didn't use chocolate sprinkles, you can dust on powdered sugar for a pretty finish.
Try these vegan dessert recipes next
- Vegan Chocolate Oreo Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
- Chocolate Cherry Muffins
- Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe card
Vegan Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup flour (whole wheat pastry flour or can sub with unbleached all purpose flour or a mixture of half whole wheat and half APF)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cocoa powder (try and use Dutch cocoa powder)
- 2 teaspoon instant coffee granules (optional, but coffee really enhances the chocolate flavor)
- 4 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon water
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon flaxmeal (whisked with 3 tablespoon water to make one flax egg)
- ½ cup walnuts (lightly toasted and coarsely chopped)
- Chocolate sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Sift all the dry ingredients, including the flour, coffee, cocoa, baking soda and salt, into a bowl and set aside.
- In another bowl mix together the maple syrup, water, sugar, flaxmeal mixture, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until well mixed.
- Add the flour-cocoa mixture to this in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition using a ladle or spatula.
- Stir in the walnuts. The batter will be really thick.
- Prepare an 8 X 8-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Leave an overhang on each side of the pan so you can easily lift the brownies out after they are baked. Spray the parchment or foil with non-stick cooking spray.
- Pour the batter in and, using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread evenly in the pan. At this point, you can sprinkle some chocolate sprinkles over the top for a nice finish.
- Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool thoroughly on a rack. Lift out the brownies using the foil overhang as handles, and cut into squares. If you didn't use chocolate sprinkles, you can dust on some powdered sugar for a pretty finish.
Nutrition Information
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Karina
I’m excited to try this recipe - looks amazing! If I were to replace sugar with all maple syrup, how much would I use? TIA!
Vaishali
You could sub with three-fourths the maple syrup as the sugar, then taste the batter and add more if needed.
Ann L.
Lovely recipe! I made them mostly as written and the texture is great. Slightly chewy with a somewhat crunchy top! Perfection! I did not have chocolate sprinkles so I ground up a few pieces of a dark chocolate bar and sprinkled that overtop with a few more pecans. Almost like they are lightly frosted! The only changes I made were subbing pecans for walnuts and using decaf coffee grounds. I may use slightly less sugar next time. I see that you upped your maple syrup in a rewrite so I may take it back to your original 2 instead of 4 Tablespoons. Thank you! I will definitely be making these again,