The best ever homemade Vegan Brownies made with almond butter, whole wheat flour, and sweetened with coconut sugar! Rich, ultra chocolatey, chewy brownie perfection.
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR with these ultimate vegan brownies.
You know that feeling you get when you find your missing earring on the floor or a stranger tells you your hair looks superb or you finally clean your shower? These brownies are like all those things happening at once by some strange cosmic coincidence of foodgasmness.
I've been trying to make the perfect vegan brownies recipe for a hot minute now. Eggs are key ingredients to most brownies like my healthy brownies with almond flour, so this was no easy task.
I knew I wanted to use some wholesome goodies like you hopefully have in the pantry already like almond butter (the drippy kind!), whole wheat pastry flour (which I use in absolutely everything from pancakes and muffins to these here brownies), coconut oil, and coconut sugar.
A recipe for fabulousless!
It's hard to write so many words about these brownies when they leave ya so SPEECHLESS.
Alas, this is a food blog with oodles of words. These vegan brownies are everything you'd hope for a brownie to be: moist, ultra chocolatey, sweet but not too sweet, rich but not too rich, chewy, fudgy but not too fudgy, and just straight up unbelievably SCRUMPTIOUS.
You've never guess these were made with healthier ingredients, I swear. And while we're not eating Brussels sprouts here, they're definitely a wee bit healthier.
My favorite way to eat them (because let's be real, no one is gonna have just one) is warmed in the microwave for like eight seconds (just so the chocolate chips can get back to their best melty life) and topped with vanilla ice cream. My life is complete after that first bite.
Let's delve more into the dirty details!
What kind of flour should I use for vegan brownies?
I've been on a real kick with whole wheat pastry flour because it's so nice and light and less "wheaty" tasting; but for my gluten-free friends, I'd recommend using a 1:1 all purpose GF baking flour.
I haven't tried these with almond or cassava or tigernut or cassava or green banana or coconut or cashew flour SO if you do, leave a comment because I know I'll 100% get asked if that can be used instead. I wish I was a recipe wizard with all the answers!! But I'm just an expert brownie eater.
What's the secret to bringing out the chocolate flavor?
I use these instant espresso granules and I don't recommend skipping this ingredient because it really enhances the chocolate flavor. I bought mine at Whole Foods.
These are meat-and-potatoes-boyfriend-who-doesnt-even-love-brownies approved, which is important considering the fact that I've really never met a brownie I didn't like (except when they clearly aren't chocolatey enough; and that only happened once).
Soooo what I'm sayin' is that I'm easy to please in the brownie arena. But Mr. I Don't Love Brownies isn't. He's a tough cookie. And he loved them. He said "wow" like three and a half times mid-bite.
I feel like I won the recipe lottery with these gems. Please make them and please share them with the people you love most.
If you have any leftovers, that is.
Print
Healthy Vegan Brownies with Almond Butter
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The ultimate recipe for Vegan Brownies! Rich, ultra chocolatey perfection to satisfy those classic brownie cravings.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup creamy almond butter
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp instant espresso or instant coffee granules
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Kosher salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8x8 inch square baking dish with foil or parchment paper.
- Stir together flax and water in a small bowl. Set aside to thicken for 10 minutes.
- Place coconut oil in a small bowl and melt in microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add almond butter, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, and melted coconut oil. Whisk until smooth. Add flax mixture and whisk again until combined.
- Add cocoa powder and slowly whisk until shiny, scraping down the sides as needed. Gently spoon flour into measuring cup without packing and level off with a knife. Add flour, espresso powder, and salt to mixing bowl. Use a rubber spatula to fold in flour, stopping once the flour is incorporated. It will seem thicker than normal brownie batter (see third picture). Gently fold in chocolate chips.
- Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth with spatula. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool before slicing. Sprinkle with salt before serving if desired. Store brownies in an air-container on the counter.
Kelly says
Amazing! I used brown sugar instead of coconut and it worked great.
Alexis Joseph says
Wonderful, thanks Kelly!!
Yazmin T. Avinante says
I have made these twice and love the taste and texture, but mine had air bubbles in them...almost like they fried a little when they baked. But I do love the simplicity of the ingredients and the healthy version of it. Plus, love that i didnt have to sacrifice an egg that i can save for Breakfast or almond flour that i have run out of during this stay-at-home quarantine because of the covid-19. The only thing i changed, because i didnt have it, was use spelt flour. I did notice a very weird change of the liquid mixture once i added the flax egg, it turned sort of like a bread dough consistency, and although the recipe says "whisk" the dry ingredients in after that, i saw that impossible and kinda confusing cause it had to be folded or mixed with a spatula and could not be "whisked". So i was like did i do this wrong or what happened? Anywho, i was able to fold the mixture till combined, and man was it an arm workout. Lol!!! It still turned out yummy! Just dont really like the weird air bubbles in it, and was kinda oily. Maybe the spelt flour? Or did i over mix? What do u think? Any suggestions? Regardless, thank you for the yummy and healthy recipe. Still came out yummy! Please let me know tho!
Alexis Joseph says
Thanks for your thoughts, Yazmin. Whisking helps incorporate the cocoa powder and then you can switch to a rubber spatula to stir in the flour. Was your almond butter drippy or hard? Mine was the drippy kind. I have not heard of the air bubble issue but over mixing is never good since it over-develops the gluten. I'd say mix until you don't see any more flour and you should be all set!
Meredith says
SO good! Just made these and used what I had on hand-PB and canola oil instead of almond butter and coconut oil. Still turned out delish!
Alexis Joseph says
How fabulous! Now I want to make them with peanut butter!!
Alexis says
Thank you SO much for letting me know. I just updated my recipe plugin and it looks like some recipes didn’t covert. Looking into the issue now so hold tight! You may be able to find the recipe if search it pinterest!
Kathy says
Alexis, Thanks for sharing! Instant espresso is not a good idea, I'd like to use fresh coffee. And if you make the brownie for kids, Using decaf coffee is always good for them.
Angie says
What should I use if I don’t have pastry flour?
Alexis says
All purpose or oat flour works!
Ghazal says
These look amazing!! Will they work with almond or coconut flour??
Alexis says
Thanks! Def not coconut flour. Almond flour may work but I haven't tried it so I can't vouch for the results, sorry! If you need GF, I'd suggest a GF all purpose flour to be safe 🙂
Alexis says
Oh wow so glad they work with oat flour! Thanks for letting me know! You can never go wrong with coffee and chocolate 🙂
Denise says
I've made these three times already... with varying amounts of almond butter -- can't go wrong with almond butter and cocoa powder -- more the better! It's always turns out good... Tried with oat flour, just added a shot of espresso. Making these with banana flour next!
Neha says
I tried them the first time with almond flour and they were out of this world. The best gooey brownies I have had. About to make a second batch; using peanut butter today since I ran out of almond butter.
Alexis says
Awesome!! Would love to hear how they turn out with PB 🙂
Alexis says
They’re actually a lot less fudgy than those thanks to more flour, less oil, etc. Enjoy!
Nina says
These are so similar to Beaming Baker's "Best Vegan Brownies," and taste similar too, drippy creamy almond butter and coconut sugar and flax egg and whole wheat and vanilla make it indeed decadent --- no wonder they're the "BEST!" SO good!!! Love it with her almond butter frosting, too! LOVE vegan brownies and thanks for sharing!
Med says
I followed the recipe exactly...but they just taste like flaxseed...
nice consistency though
Sally says
Really really good!
Alexis says
You made my day! Love that instant coffee worked, too.
Molly Summerton says
Havent been disappointed with ANY recipe on here so far. These brownies are AMAZING and literally had everything in my house. I used instant coffee granules instead of the expresso powder just because it was all I had. Will def. be making these again
Ardelaine G says
Made these for a potluck for work tomorrow, waiting for them in the oven right now, but I stole a little taste of the batter..... I KNOW they are gonna be good!
Thanks, Alexis!
Alexis says
THEY’RE THE BEST!! Enjoy 🙂
Kaylie | Healthy Hacks says
Fiberful, fudgy brownies are like the answer to all my prayers, hopes, dreams, and wishes. Brownies are nust the best!! ?
Alexis says
Heck yes!!
Diana says
5 stars!?
Diana says
Just wanted to say thank you. I think it’s first receipt ever I’m writing a review. The brownies came out delicious!! Amazing recipe, easy to follow and cook. Thank you?
Alexis says
I’m so glad, thanks so much for letting me know!
Alexis says
If you would be so kind as to leave a star rating on the recipe, I’d be so grateful!
Lucy says
Woah, this looks incredible, thank you very much! <3 I was wondering if there would be any substitute for almond butter that could work well in these brownies? Like ground almond flour + a bit of oil/ plant milk or something? I'm a student and almond butter is reaaaally expensive where I live... I'm so sad to not be able to make these incredibly good looking babies because of that! Lots of love & chocolate
Alexis says
Yay! You can use peanut butter instead 🙂
Kimberly says
Beautiful! I'm adding this to my to-do list. Thanks for sharing.
MangaHere says
I am definitely making these this week, and hiding them away in my fridge or freezer. Nothing like a cookie dough bite to get you through the week! Thanks!
Alexis says
So glad!!!
Michelle says
these are fricken dreamyyyyyyyyy. cannot wait to make them again
The Foodie Journey says
They look incredibly soft and moist ! The addition of espresso makes it even more perfect...
MacleanNash says
Made these yesterday! My boyfriend and I love them!
I didn't have almond butter unfortunately, so I used peanut butter! Final product was great!
Thank you so much for sharing this!
Alexis says
Oh nice!! I have to try them with peanut butter!
MacleanNash says
I made these again this weekend because my partner couldn't stop talking about them!
The only thing I did differently was, once they were out of the oven and cooled slightly, I topped them with ~1/4 chocolate chips so it was like an easy icing and then a bit of salt.
They turned out perfectly and are now a fave in our household!
Thank you - again!
Meghan says
I absolutely loved the raspberry version that you posted a couple of weeks ago, so I'm expecting that I'll love these even more! Thanks for sharing!
Alexis says
Can’t wait to hear what you think! These ones are my absolute fave.
Joanie Anderson says
Can you give us the blueberry lemon muffin recipe you mentioned earlier in the week?
Thanks.
Alexis says
It’ll be posted mid to late March so stay tuned 🙂
Meah Konstanzer says
Need these! With some ice cream on top of course 😉 . I'm thinking mint chocolate chip.
xxMeah
Alexis says
It’ll be posted mid to late March so stay tuned 🙂
jordan @ dancing for donuts says
YAY!!!!! i've been waiting for these since your last post - they look so incredible and i love that the ingredients list isn't 8 miles long. thank you for sharing!!
david colina says
Ridiculous. Ridic-town. Chronicals of Ridic. So good! Thanks Jeff for saving me some
Kori says
These look amazing!! While Matt and I don't follow a vegan eating pattern/lifestyle, I love incorporating them into our lives!
Hannah says
I love how simple and easy these are! can't wait to try them 🙂
Jenna says
Can I use espresso verses espresso powder? 🙂 I’ve been waiting for this recipe since seeing your story the other night!!
Alexis says
Ummm I'm not sure, I haven't tried it! Worth a shot 🙂
Rachel says
Hello Alexis I am looking for the exact recipe for your flourless peanut butter vegan brownies... I can’t find it on the page about them only a short video with the ingredients but not the measure measurements. They look fabulous and I would love to make them. Is there any way you could direct me to the exact recipe, or email it to me? Thank you so much!!
Alexis says
Thank you SO much for letting me know. I just updated my recipe plugin and it looks like some recipes didn’t covert. Looking into the issue now so hold tight! You may be able to find the recipe if search it pinterest!
Alexis says
Hey Rachel, the issue has been fixed and you'll now see the recipe!
Dylan Miles says
These are MAGICAL. Omg.