After years of testing variations of this recipe, I finally cracked the code on the perfect triple chocolate vegan brownies. They’re everything you could possibly want in a brownie: they’re fudgy, chewy, deeply rich and chocolatey, and just overall addictive. If you were having trouble finding a show-stopping vegan brownie, look no further.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Brownies
- Robust, deep chocolatey flavor.
- The perfect dense, fudgy, chewy texture.
- Not an ounce of cakey-ness.
- That signature shiny, crinkly top that I used to achieve effortlessly with a boxed mix.
The Challenge with Vegan Brownies
Before going vegan, I was always a boxed mix brownie gal. Sure, I tried a handful of popular from-scratch recipes, but I never felt that the extra effort amounted to a better brownie than my favorite Ghirardelli boxed mix. And if it ain’t broke, why fix it? That was my thinking.
When I began my search for the perfect vegan brownie recipe, I kept running into the same two issues: they’d be too cakey, or too fudgy. In a traditional brownie, eggs serve two functions: they provide structure (protein content) and richness/density (egg yolks).
Many vegan brownie recipes would compensate for the lack of eggs with too much extra flour — resulting in a fluffy and cakey brownie lacking density and richness. On the opposite end of the spectrum, some recipes would be overly fudgy and gooey, to the point where they never really set or firmed up at room temperature.
This recipe finds the middle ground: a vegan brownie that’s fudgy and chocolatey but has actual structure (without being cakey).
Ingredients for The Perfect Vegan Brownies
- Vegan butter. Make sure to use the sticks for baking. The ones that come in a tub for spreading tend to contain more water. My go-to is the plant butter from Country Crock. I also love the Violife butter.
- Good dark or bittersweet chocolate. The quality of chocolate is hugely important! You can use your favorite dark/bittersweet chocolate bar; just give it a coarse chop to help it melt. Check out the recipe FAQ for more info on this.
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar. The addition of brown sugar gives the brownies more chew.
- Cocoa powder. For intense chocolate flavor.
- Soy milk. Adds liquid to the batter while also adding a little bit of protein for structure.
- Vanilla extract.
- All-purpose flour.
- Baking powder. Because we aren’t using eggs in our brownies, a little bit of baking powder gives just a slight lift without making the brownies too cakey.
- Salt. The right amount of salt is key to balance out the sweetness and bring out the chocolate flavor.
- Instant coffee (optional). This just complements the chocolate and makes the brownies taste even more rich.
- Chocolate chips. Optional but recommended! Fold in chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) into the batter.
How to Make Vegan Brownies
- Melt the chocolate, butter, and soy milk together in the microwave (or over a double-boiler).
- In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and create a well in the middle of the bowl.
- Add in your melted chocolate mixture along with vanilla extract and instant coffee and stir everything until about 80% combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips to finish mixing the batter.
- Spread the batter into a lined or greased 8×8″ pan.
- Bake till set, about 35 minutes.
- Allow the brownies to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes. Then you can carefully lift them out if you used parchment.
- Slice and enjoy!
👩🍳 Sarah’s Recipe Tips 📝
- Use both melted chocolate and cocoa powder. Vegan brownie recipes that only called for cocoa powder were always more cakey than I prefer. I like to use both melted baking chocolate (for dense and fudgy brownies) plus cocoa powder (to pack in the richest chocolate flavor).
- Wait to dig in! I know it’s tempting to dig in while they’re piping hot, but trust me on this one! Brownies continue to cook and firm up after they come out of the oven. After about 30 minutes you can use the parchment to lift the brownies carefully out of the pan, making it easier to get nice clean cuts.
Recipe FAQ
For the melted chocolate in the batter, I recommend a good dark or bittersweet chocolate (at least 65% cocoa).
My preferred baking chocolate is from Guittard: either one 6 ounce Bittersweet Baking Bar, about half a bag of the Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Wafers, or about 1 cup of the Extra Dark Chocolate Chips. You can use 6 oz of any good nondairy dark chocolate bar.
For the chocolate chips folded into the batter at the end, you can use either dark or semisweet to your preference. I like the semisweet chips from Trader Joe’s, Guittard, or Enjoy Life. You are also welcome to add in more chopped chocolate.
I haven’t personally tried it yet, but I have had really good luck with cookies and cakes using the all-purpose gluten-free flour blend from Bob’s Red Mill. I believe it would work in this brownie recipe.
I believe you could substitute in a neutral-flavored vegetable oil (such as sunflower oil or refined coconut oil) for the butter. Personally I recommend using vegan butter if you have it – the flavor is better.
Either kind will work in this recipe, though they will have slightly different flavors. I typically use natural cocoa powder simply because that is what I tend to keep in my pantry. A Dutch-process cocoa powder has been treated with an alkalizing agent so it will have a slightly darker color and slightly less bitterness.
Storing and Freezing
These vegan brownies can be stored in an airtight container right on the counter, but you can pop them in the fridge if you want them to last a few days longer. If you like your brownies warm, you can microwave leftovers for 10-15 seconds and they’ll be nice and gooey again!
To freeze your brownies, cut them up and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or plate. Allow them to freeze for about 1 hour, until frozen to the touch. Then transfer to an airtight food storage container. (Freezing them first keeps them from sticking together.) You can either wrap them individually in parchment paper or just make sure they’re not too close together in the container (or else they’ll freeze together). If you have to stack the brownies on top of each other, place a piece of parchment in between laters.
Triple Chocolate Vegan Brownies
Equipment
- 8×8" baking pan
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons vegan butter
- 4 oz dark chocolate at least 66% cocoa recommended; see notes
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup soy milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8×8" baking pan with parchment. (If you use a 9×9" pan the brownies will be thinner and may be done a few minutes earlier.)
- Melt chocolate and butter: If using a chocolate bar, give it a coarse chop to help it melt evenly. Add the dark chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl along with vegan butter and soy milk. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until the mixture is completely smooth and melted. (Alternatively, you can melt over a double boiler.)
- Mix dry ingredients: In a separate large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder. Whisk ingredients together until there are no lumps. (If the cocoa is very lumpy, sift it into the mixture.)
- Form the batter: Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the melted chocolate mixture. Add the vanilla extract and (optional) instant coffee and stir everything together until about 80% combined. Add in the chocolate chips and use a spatula to fold them in till there are no more dry streaks of flour in the batter.
- Bake: Pour batter into prepared baking pan and spread evenly with your spatula. Bake in preheated oven for 35-38 minutes, or until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan and the top is shiny and set. (If you used a 9×9" pan, begin checking for doneness about 10 minutes sooner.)
- Cool and slice: The brownies will be quite soft when you first take them out of the oven, so I highly recommend letting them cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes. By this time they should be firm enough to lift out of the pan using the parchment. Slice and enjoy.
- Leftovers: I find these are even better the next day. They firm up and become nice and fudgy, but the crackly crust stays crisp. Give them 10-15 seconds in the microwave if you want to enjoy the leftovers warm.
what kind of gran sugar – cane?
how long are they fresh for?
I have a brownie pan that is almost like a muffin pan but with squares (12) how long do you recommend baking?