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My Favorite (Vegan!) Brownies

by 71 Comments

Brownies are totally my thing.

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They were the first thing I baked on my own from scratch. They had walnuts and were topped with icing and I fell in love.


For about a four month period during 7th grade, I’d make at least two pans of brownies weekly for my friends. The situation was getting a little out of control, but hey, no one was complaining. Now, I try to fatten up my friends on a less continual, but still frequent basis. (If you’re on my jazz company, you know.)

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Besides being one of my favorite desserts to enjoy, brownies are the ideal baked good because they dirty only one bowl, take under an hour to make and serve, and can be pretty much endlessly customizable.

Also, chocolate.

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I don’t know exactly when I developed my own recipe, but my brownie-making instructions have been pinned to the kitchen bulletin board for years. This year, as a vegan, I had to make a couple substitutions to replace the eggs I used to use.

I definitely underestimated how much eggs matter.

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In one week, I made five pans of brownies before I found my perfect recipe. I loved the flavors of all the brownies, my only issue was consistency. Some were too fudgy, others too cakey. I had a batch that seemed perfect and then fell apart while I was trying to take pictures.

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It seemed like vegan brownies just weren’t happening off of my base recipe.

Luckily, subbing one egg with applesauce and the other with flaxseed meal did the trick. These brownies are fudgy, intensely chocolatey, and all-around delicious. What I love about these brownies is that they aren’t “vegan brownies”. They don’t have a ton of really strange ingredients nor are they necessarily health food. Raw brownies and black bean brownies are admittedly some of my favorite brownie variations, but it’s also nice to know that the original sugar, flour, and cocoa method can be veganized pretty easily.

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Easily enough that I make these far too often.

Or not often enough?

Make them and you decide!

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5.0 from 2 reviews
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My Favorite (Vegan!) Brownies
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8 large brownies
 
An easy one-bowl, vegan dessert recipe that requires less than an hour to make! These fudgy vegan brownies are a crowd pleaser, but equally good to demolish alone when you need a chocolate fix!
Ingredients
  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1¼ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup (=1 stick) vegan butter, melted
  • ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (=1 egg)
  • 1 tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 tbsp water (=1 egg)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup vegan chocolate, roughly chopped (or sub chocolate chips)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F and line a 4x6 (or 8x8 square pan for thinner brownies) with greased parchment paper.
  2. Combine water and flaxseed meal and set aside until gelatinous.
  3. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Stir in melted vegan butter, applesauce, sugar, and flax egg until well combined.
  5. Stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate chips and/or any other add-ins (nuts, candy, etc.).
  6. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire rack before serving.

 

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Comments

  12. Mir says

    Wow, you sure were dedicated to finding that perfect recipe! Love the pics, especially the giant fork going into the top one. I wish I had that fork!

    Reply

  14. Anna @ shenANNAgans says

    I love brownies, I want allllll the brownies in my belly. #sodangtasty
    It makes them even more allowable being vegan right? LOL!
    5 batches of Brownie, dang girl, thats committment.
    PS: If ya ever need a taste tester, Im available.
    Happy week to you Medha! 🙂

    Reply

  19. Eva @ Eva Bakes says

    It’s always great to have a vegan brownie recipe in your back pocket. This one looks great, and like you said, I’m so happy it doesn’t have “odd” ingredients. Bravo!

    Reply

  20. Taylor says

    These look AMAZING. I occasionally face the same brownie-conundrum as you! too fudgey/too cakey/not chocolate enough/too crumbly etc etc. I will be sure to try these out next!! thank you for the awesome recipe inspiration and ps. your pictures are incredible. Well done.

    Reply

  21. Annie @Maebells says

    Brownies are totally my thing too! Actually, it was our breakfast every Sunday morning. Until I was an adult I seriously thought that brownies were real breakfast food! ha! These look amazing!! I love how big and fluffy they are! And it is always good to have vegan recipes handy! Have you tried using coconut oil in place of butter in brownies? It gives it an amazing texture! 🙂

    Reply

    • Medha says

      Oooh I wish I had brownies for breakfast every day! I have used coconut oil frequently in brownies, but since there’s the oh so slightest coconut flavor left behind I figured I’d play it safe here with just vegan butter 🙂 Coconut oil is sooo delicious though!

      Reply

  23. Joyti says

    Vegan brownies? Totally bookmarking these to make later. They look just about perfect.

    And I vote “not make them nearly enough” because seriously, can you have too many brownies?

    Reply

  32. Allison says

    I LOVE brownies. They’re also one of the first things I learned to make. And then when I learned, I made them again and again… and again hehe. The addition of the applesauce makes ALL the difference in brownies for that density, plus, it makes you feel like you can eat more brownies! Love these! And the stack of brownies is so calling my name.

    Reply

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