These simple vegan brownies are moist, fudgy and beautifully textured. They are also SO easy to make. Serve with vegan cream or ice cream for a fabulous dessert.
Oh wow, these vegan brownies you guys! Fudgy, rich, decadent and everything a brownie should be.
Topped with vegan whipped cream and drizzled with melted chocolate because dessert.
The tops get all nice and shiny and cracked, which is just perfect for brownies don’t you think?
The best way to eat these brownies is with some vegan whipped cream or some delicious vegan ice cream. If you serve them nice and warm from the oven with cream or ice cream, well that’s even better!
Ingredient Notes
Cocoa powder. There is a lot of cocoa in this recipe, which gives it the extremely rich chocolate flavor.
White granulated sugar. To counter-balance lots of cocoa, you need more sugar, so don’t be shocked out of your little cotton socks by the fact of 2 cups of sugar. Every granule is put to good use to create the most delicious vegan brownies ever.
Instant coffee powder. For a little extra kick and to enhance the flavors I added a little instant coffee powder to the recipe as well. You don’t taste the coffee but it really ramps up the chocolate flavor.
Vegan buttermilk. We used homemade vegan buttermilk in this recipe. It’s ideally made with soy milk for a really rich and creamy version. However, it can also be made with almond milk.
Vegetable oil. This can be switched for canola oil. Melted coconut oil also works but can be harder to mix in since it’s a thick batter.
How To Make Easy Vegan Brownies
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare your vegan buttermilk by adding lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup line (you can also use almond milk for this step). Let it curdle.
- Add the vegan buttermilk to the mixing bowl along with oil and vanilla and mix into a batter.
- Transfer the batter to a 9×9 square baking dish (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper) and smooth down with the back of a spoon. Your batter will be very thick.
- Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clear. Moist crumbs are okay but wet batter is not. Mine took exactly 38 minutes but ovens differ.
- Cut into squares (9, 12 or 16 squares).
- And your brownies are ready to serve!
Make Them Gluten Free
If you’re keen to try a gluten-free version of these brownies, then check out our vegan gluten free brownies recipe.
Serving Suggestions
These brownies are delicious on their own but serving them warm with vegan whipped cream or vegan ice cream and drizzles of melted vegan chocolate is next level!
Storing Instructions
Leftovers keep very well at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a week. You can warm them up in the microwave and then serve.
You can also freeze them for up to 6 months!
More Vegan Chocolate Desserts
- Vegan Chocolate Brownies
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Pie
- Vegan Chocolate Truffles
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Homemade Vegan Chocolate
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Simple Vegan Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 cup Cocoa Powder (86g) Unsweetened
- 2 cups White Granulated Sugar (400g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Vegan Buttermilk (240ml) 1 Tbsp lemon juice + soy milk up to the 1 cup line
- 1 Tablespoon Instant Coffee Powder
- 1 cup Vegetable Oil (240ml) or Canola Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Serving (Optional):
- Vegan Whipped Cream
- Melted Vegan Chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray a 9×9 inch square baking dish with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sift all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding 1 Tablespoon lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line. Allow to sit for a minute to curdle.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, instant coffee powder, vegetable oil and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix in well.
- Pour the batter out into your prepared baking dish and smooth down with the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clear (moist crumbs are fine, wet batter is not). Mine took exactly 38 minutes but ovens will differ.
- Cut into squares (9, 12 or 16 squares) and serve with vegan whipped cream or vegan ice cream and drizzles of melted vegan chocolate.
Video
Notes
- Weigh your flour for accurate results or use the ‘spoon the level’ method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.
- You can make your vegan buttermilk with almond milk too if you prefer. It results in a thinner consistency but it still works.
- You can pretty much use any vegetable oil for these brownies or canola oil. If you are going to use coconut oil make sure it’s melted first.
- Nutritional information is for 1 Large Brownie (of 9) without additional toppings.
I am going to be making these brownies shortly and was wondering if a 1 for 1 gluten free flour would work. I see your other recipe for gluten free, but wanted to try this recipe.
Hi Julie, yes that should work great!
Leaving yet another comment to thank you for this recipe and share a little hack with other readers who want to use solid coconut oil! As you said, when using coconut oil the batter can be very hard and clumpy and nearly impossible to work with. I made this recipe for the third time and this time I added the buttermilk and vanilla extract first to the dry ingredients, and then the microwaved coconut oil, instead of adding the oil and the buttermilk all at once. This way I ended up with a wet mix, and it was much easier to incorporate the coconut oil. The oil sits on top of the batter so I had to whisk it for a while (but slowly and carefully!) until it was fully mixed in. The end result is the same, it just makes the batter much easier to handle and pour into the dish! It’s not an issue if you use a different liquid oil but I think the subtle coconut taste is absolutely delicious with chocolate. To me, texture-wise, these brownies are more like a dense chocolate cake than actual brownies (mine are a little bit fluffy and not fudgy) but they taste amazing anyway and I will definitely make them again! Thank you!
Great! Thanks for sharing Charlotte! 🙂
Excellent recipe! Can I Double the recipe? If so what size pan would you recommend? Thank you!
Hi Nihal, it should be fine to double the recipe but I think the pan size would then need to be 10×15. You could try 9×13 but the baking time would need to be increased as the brownies would be thicker.
These look great and so easy to make. Do you think I can use brown sugar instead of white? And for the oil, I only buy olive oil and coconut oil, I’m wondering if any of those 2 would work or if they would leave a strange taste. Would coconut oil make the brownies fudgier maybe?
Hi Charlotte, either of those options works well! Melt the coconut oil first if you’re using that. I have also made these with olive oil and loved the result but it should be a mild tasting olive oil. Brown sugar should also be fine.
Hey, thanks for your answer! I tried these brownies twice now with brown sugar and coconut oil (melted first) and they taste great, but the batter was solid, I couldn’t pour it onto the tray. I thought maybe there was too much flour so the second time I used less (I don’t have a kitchen scale), and it wasn’t as solid as the first time but still way too hard to pour onto the tray. So I put it in a glass dish in the oven for a few seconds, and it gave the batter th right consistency. Do you think my measurements are not accurate? Or I wonder if it could be because the coconut oil goes cold and hardens everything when it comes into contact with the rest of the ingredients and the cold milk? I’ll try with a kitchen scale next time but I wonder if that’s the problem or if it’s the temperature. Really want this recipe to work because it tastes amazing and is so easy to make!
Hi Charlotte, yes that always happens with coconut oil, it makes the batter SUPER thick, but that’s not an issue at all, you just spoon it into the dish and spread it out with a spoon. If you want a pourable batter you would need to use a different oil like the olive oil as mentioned before.
Hello again,
These look great!
Would you freeze after baking? And how would you go about defrosting and reheating?
Thank you!
Yes you would freeze after baking. Make sure they’re completely cooled first. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then bring to room temperature on the counter. If you want to heat them then the microwave works great for reheating them. 🙂
Sorry to bug you, but one more question. I LOVED these brownies. They did fall apart a bit. Should I add flax seed and extra water and if so, how much? Just to hold them together a bit more.
Again, thanks for your time!
Hi Deb, I wouldn’t advise changing the recipe at all, I would recommend to either weigh the flour or use the ‘spoon and level’ method (spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife) so that you don’t accidentally use too much. And then also wait for them to cool completely before cutting them. They shouldn’t fall apart at all. 🙂
Guilty!
I ate them before they cooled. Will keep you posted if I have any more problems. Will make a batch right now. Thanks for your input. Love your site!
Fantastic! And like an idiot, I almost forgot the sugar!!! I know better but cut them while still warm. Much better and denser if you wait. Next time will make them earlier. What would happen if you did 1 c white sugar and one cup brown?
You nailed it again Alison. As always….thanks….and keep ’em coming!!!!!
Hi Deb, so glad you enjoyed them! You could do that with the sugar without any issue!
I was wondering if you have used dutch cocoa powder for this recipe before and what the results were?
Hi Lia, I always use natural cocoa powder not dutch process. It can make a difference so I would recommend sticking to natural unsweetened.
Thanks so much for your response! What kind of natural unsweetened cocoa powder do you use?
Hershey’s is a good one.
Hi Alison,
Tried this the other day and it was fabulous!!
I wonder, is there a way to convert this recipe into a blondie? Omit cocoa powder and increase the flour amount perhaps?? Would it be too flourly?
Your advice would be most appreciated!
Thanks again for this recipe 🙂
Hi Kevin, so glad you enjoyed the brownies! I’m not sure about adjusting them for blondies (though making some blondies is on my list and will be happening soon!), I would probably try increasing the flour first and then see how that goes and see from there if any other adjustments are needed. 🙂
These are simply delicious! Put it this way, I was only going to have 1 slice once they cooled down, I’ve now had my 3rd… lol. I can’t believe I’ve finally found THE vegan brownie recipe. I used extra virgin olive oil for the oil and added 1 cup chopped walnuts. I might add a little more cocoa next time (1/4 cup?) to give it an even richer dark chocolate flavour. But honestly, these are so good, thank you Alison for the recipe!
So happy to hear that Jenny! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂