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The BEST vegan brownies! Fudgy & chocolatey
Brownies – how much I adore you! When I am craving chocolate I am first thinking about brownies. But I don’t mean the regular store bought brownies, which almost make your teeth fall out because of all the refined sugar they contain, I am talking about healthy homemade brownies which taste like the real deal but don’t contain tons of fat, eggs, and refined sugar. They surely must be fudgy, chocolatey, rich, gooey, moist and delicious to satisfy my taste buds. Extra bonus if they are gluten free and also low in fat. If you think that’s not possible, hold on and check out my best vegan brownies recipe below. They even contain a secret ingredient which is pretty unique as I haven’t seen it before in any brownies in the www!
Vegan brownies with a secret ingredient!
These fudgy best vegan brownies are so much healthier than store-bought brownies since they contain a healthy secret ingredient. This secret ingredient won’t be very secret anymore as I will reveal it in a second but I am sure you will never guess what it is. Most people might think I added black beans, but nope. The secret main ingredient is canned peas! Yes, sweet peas, not sweet potatoes. You might ask why sweet peas – is this lady crazy or what?!
Well to be totally honest with you, I was going to make black bean brownies one day but then I noticed that I don’t have any black beans in my pantry, so I grabbed the sweet peas and made sweet pea brownies. Also, since I like to experiment in the kitchen, I thought, ok let’s try it out, either this recipe will turn out into the best vegan brownies or the worst ones, haha. And I really don’t regret trying it out since the recipe turned out into the best vegan brownies I ever made. They are even more chocolatey than my previous favorite, my Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies.
To sum it up, these sweet pea brownies are:
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Refined sugar-free
- Low in fat
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Nut-free
- Grain free
- Fudgy
- Chocolatey
- Gooey
- Rich
- Moist
- Delicious
- Easy to make
- Rich in protein
Top these best vegan brownies with even more chocolate
Well, these brownies are already very chocolatey, but you can never have enough chocolate in your life, right? So let’s top these delicious fudgy brownies with a creamy chocolate spread which tastes like buttercream! It’s made from peanut flour, cocoa powder, coconut oil, maple syrup, and water. It’s the creme de la creme on top of these best vegan brownies.
Don’t wait too long, make them today
Go and make my best vegan brownies now to combat any chocolate cravings. Seriously they are so easy and fast to make in 6 simple steps and require only a few ingredients. When I posted a teaser of these fudgy brownies on my Instagram account @elavegan people went so crazy about them and many asked for the recipe. So here they are, my delicious sweet pea brownies. Please let me know if you give my recipe a try, I am sure you will love my best vegan brownies as much as I do.
The best vegan brownies | sweet pea brownies
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar (100 g) - see notes
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp cocoa powder (50 g)
- 1/4 cup coconut flour (33 g) - see notes
- 2 tbsp flax seeds ground OR chia seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Wet ingredients:
- 2 15 oz cans sweet peas (500 g - after being drained and rinsed) - see notes
- 1/3 cup maple syrup (or any other liquid sweetener like agave) (80 ml / 110 g)
- 1/4 cup coconut milk canned (60 ml)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil melted (30 ml / 28 g)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate cream:
- 3 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder (21 g)
- 3 tbsp peanut flour (24 g) - see recipe notes
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (60 ml / 80 g)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil (28 g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp of water
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Put the dry ingredients in a big bowl and stir until there are no clumps
- Blend the sweet peas with all wet ingredients in your food processor
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture is combined. If the batter is too thick add a splash of plant milk. If it's too runny add a tbsp of coconut flour
- Line a brownies mold with parchment paper or grease it with a little bit of coconut oil. My mold measures 7 x 11 inches (18 x 28 cm)
- Bake in the oven at 390 degrees F (200 degrees C) for about 50 minutes (it can take longer, depending on your oven and the mold you use) or until a toothpick comes out almost clean (can still be sticky but not liquid). Check after 40 minutes with a toothpick. Don't overcook the brownies!
- To make the chocolate cream, just put all ingredients in a small bowl and stir well with a whisk. Pour the cream on top of the brownies once they cool down. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
Love the chocolate ganache on top! And your secret ingredient is so clever!
Thank you so much Nisha, you are so kind to say this. Have a beautiful day ❤️
Gorgeous post Ela! I love the how-to photos, and peas! So interesting, thank you sweetie for sharing. Going to send this off into Pinterest now too! Dee xx
Awww Dee! You are such a sweetheart. Thank you so much for your kind comment, it made my day. And thanks for the Pin!! Much love ❤️
These look amazing, cant wait to try. Is it ok if the coconut milk is reduced fat or does it have to be full fat?
Thank you very much Ali! Yes you can use light coconut milk but I bet the brownies tastes a bit better/more rich with regular coconut milk. Let me know if you try it out. 🙂
Interesting! Who would have know. My mouth is watering in all these pictures. I will try it when I finally get my oven.
Thank you so much Geraldine! I can’t wait to hear if you liked them. Much love ❤️
Omg never would have guessed peas! Need to try this they look so delicious I don’t think I will be able to sleep now I’m craving these! Thanks for the recipe
Haha thank you so much for your sweet comment. I hope you can still sleep tonight so that you have enough energy to make my recipe tomorrow. 😛 Enjoy them ❤️
Please, is it possible substituted the flaxes seeds and sweet pea for others?
You can use chia seeds instead of flax seeds and black beans instead of peas. Why don’t you want to use peas? They are available in every supermarket right beside the beans. 🙂
I just made these! Firstly, if you have a cheap food processor, you’re better off using a blender for the peas. Otherwise you’re going to end up with greenish batter and teensy pea chunks. Secondly, these took WAY long to cook for me, like 1.5 hours long. But they are delicious! You can’t taste the peas at all, they are super ooey gooey, and go wonderful with some vegan ice cream atop. I added some melted extra dark chocolate to the batter because I have a chocolate problem.
Thank you very much for your feedback. I am really glad you tried out my recipe. I have a very cheap food processor and didn’t experience any problems. They took so long to cook? I made them twice already and both times they came out just perfect after 50 minutes. I guess it really depends on the oven and the mold. What was the consistency of the batter? Was it thick or thin? I am sure they taste incredible with the extra dark chocolate and some ice cream on top. Great idea! So happy you enjoyed them. ????
I love these brownies! I made your recipe yesterday and they turned out so fudgy and moist. They took about an hour to cook. I already ate three of them and I can’t get enough lol. Thx for this great recipe. Xoxo Francesca
Hi Francesca, thanks a lot for your comment. It makes me so happy that you like my brownies. Also I totally understand that it’s hard to stop eating them, lol. ???? Enjoy them ❤️
Thank you!
You are welcome ❤️
Hello Ella my name is Master Hari teach kung fu and yoga here in Birmingham , I am vegan and for years have not ate any brownies and when I came across your recipe I was do happy and excited. I just want to ask you one question. Have you got you making this on video and put on you tube . Would be so good for people like me to see you make it step by step . , thank you for sharing this great recipe anyway
Hi Master Hari! I haven’t started making YT videos yet, I would love to make them but didn’t find any time yet. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. These brownies are very easy to make even without video, I hope you will like them. If you have any further questions, just ask. 🙂
Super tolles Rezept und richtig originell mit den Erbsen! Ich liebe so “alternative” Rezepte! Sehr lecker… weiter so 🙂
Vielen lieben Dank für deinen lieben Kommentar, Laura. Es freut mich sehr, dass dir die Brownies gut geschmeckt haben. ????
These brownies were AMAZING!! I made them for my friends without telling them they were vegan/gluten free- and they said they were the perfect brownie and were shocked when I told them what was in them. No joke. The ganache is especially delicious. Also, these were even better the second day. Definitely will be making these again for a healthier natural alternative for brownies!!
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, Becca! This is so clever of you to not tell your friends that the brownies are vegan and gluten free before they tasted them. And it makes me so happy that they loved them. ???? I also agree that they taste even better on day 2. Thank you once again ❤️
These were delicious! I followed the recipe exactly, but added a teaspoon of chocolate extract to the dough and the frosting. I ate half the pan in 2 days because they were so good and I froze the rest and am eating them as a frozen treat. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hey Melany, thank you so much for your feedback. I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed my recipe. Chocolate extract sounds very delicious, great idea!! ????
Made these the other day and they were so good! I fed them to my boyfriend and roommate and they were both blown away by the undetectable secret ingredient. If you try to take them out of the pan too soon, they will crumble a little bit(or at least mine did). But after letting them cool they were the perfect consistency. They were also really amazing after refrigerating and eating them the next day. I will definitely be making these again!
Hey Megan, thank you very much for your feedback. I am glad you and your boyfriend + roommate enjoyed my recipe. I also noticed that the brownies taste best on the second day. ????
Hello Eva,
This recipe looks soooo yummyyyyy! 🙂 I would like to try it out, but I only have frozen peas! :p What could I possibly do? Just boiling them in water will do the trick?
Thank you in advance! 🙂
Hi Gabriela, yes this could work! Just boil them long enough in water until they are very soft. You can also add some sugar (or any other sweetener as the canned ones often contain sugar). Let me know how the brownies turned out 🙂
Hi there! Thanks so much for posting this recipe! Can I substitute maple syrup and the coconut flour for anything else? My local supermarkets don’t have them ☹️
Hi Christina, you can you use any liquid sweetener like agave syrup or sugar cane syrup etc instead of maple syrup. It’s difficult to sub the coconut flour though because it is extremely absorbent. I would suggest to use almond flour but you definitely need more of it, I would say 1/2 cup of almond flour. I never tried out the recipe with a different flour than coconut flour but my suggestion is to either use 1/2 cup of a different flour (like almond flour) or you need to reduce the liquid in the recipe. Hope this helps. Let me know how the brownies turned out. 🙂
When she means best she really means best brownies. These are absolutely perfect! Not too much sugar but they are really sweet. Perfect for chocolate craving. I used peanut butter because I didn’t have powedered pb. And brown rice struo instead of maple. Came out perfect but I suggest you check them. You don’t taste the peas at all.
Hi Kay, thank you for your feedback. I am glad you like my brownies as much as I do. Good to hear that regular peanut butter worked too! 🙂
This recipe is just amazing! I really love it, because these brownies are so yummyy and fudgyy! ????
My whole family was surprised when I told them that the main ingredient is peas. Me too, but the brownies are truly fantastic!
Besides I want to thank you for your inspiration, your effort and your beautiful pictures! Your blog and your Instagram account are very motivating for me (and others) to start a vegan life. It shows how various a plant-based life can be and makes me think about the motives of this kind of nutrition.
Thanks a lot! ????????????
Hi Angelina, thank you very much for your wonderful feedback. I am thrilled that you enjoyed my brownie recipe and your family too. 🙂 I feel very flattered to hear that my blog and my Instagram account is inspiring. Ich danke dir ganz herzlich für deine lieben Worte ????
I am really short of words! I didn’t expect this outcome at all! These brownies aren’t just the best vegan brownies, but the best brownies I’ve made, period!! Genius creation and use of sweet peas. I followed the recipe almost exactly – I subsituted peanut powder with hazelnut powder instead (couldn’t find peanut). I also only had to leave ny brownies in the oven for 40 minutes because the oven I used was super strong! SO GOOD. They were fed to carnivores and they could not believe they were vegan. They were gone within 1 hour 🙂 will make them again!!
Luiza!! Thank you!! I really appreciate your feedback so much. How awesome that you subsituted peanut powder with hazelnut powder, that’s genius. I actually never heard of hazelnut powder, but I will google it in a minute. And so cool that also your non-vegan friends enjoyed them, that makes me really happy. 🙂
Richtig richtig gutes Rezept! Machen süchtig die Dinger! ????
Vielen Dank Markus! Freut mich sehr, dass dir meine Brownies schmecken 🙂
Hi Ela, deine Brownies sind der absolute Oberhammer. ???? Sie sind so… matschig, schokoladig und lecker. Ein Traum ???? Alle waren begeistert und ich werde sie nun mindestens 1 mal im Monat machen. Morgen werden sich meine Arbeitskollegen freuen. Meine Familie war schon hin und weg. Vielen vielen dank . LG Riana
Wow Riana, was für ein tolles Feedback. Ich freue mich wirklich unheimlich, dass dir und deiner Familie meine Brownies geschmeckt haben. Das macht mich gerade wirklich super happy ????????
Hi
Thanks for the recipe
I don’t have coconut flower can I use ote flower?
Hi Eve, like mentioned in the recipe notes: “You shouldn’t sub the coconut flour as it’s unique and very absorbent. However if you really want to use a different flour (like almond flour or oat flour) then use at least 1/2 a cup of that different flour but I highly recommend to use coconut flour.” Hope this helps 🙂
These are the best brownies ever!! I made this recipe and everyone in my family loved it, even though they are not vegan. They turned out so moist and fudgy!! I followed the recipe exactly as it is!! Definitely you need to try it cause you don’t know what you’re missing! Thank you Ela for this recipe ????
Awww thank you so much my dear! Makes me super happy that you like my brownies. 🙂 And how amazing that your family loved them as well. Big hug to you ????
I made these yesterday and they turned out great!! I used two cans of Sueur brand sweet peas and made it in a nutribullet. I tasted the batter and thought it was a little undersweetened so I added two packets of stevia powder. It baked for about 50 minutes and was still gooey but I took them out anyway and they eventually firmed up. The glaze is an absolute must for rounding out the chocolate flavor. Overall a 5/5 recipe that I totally recommend!!!
Wow thanks a lot for your amazing feedback. Makes me so happy that you like my vegan brownies and that glaze on top! I love it so much as well 🙂
I cannot believe how delicious these are! They actually taste like brownies! This is such a creative recipe. Did you create it? Thank you!
Thank you so much Leah! Very happy you like my vegan brownies. Yes of course, I create all my recipes 🙂
Wonderful! You have a real talent. Do you have the nutrition facts for your recipes?
Thanks for your compliment! Yes I have the nutrition facts in some older recipes, but not in all, as it’s quite a lot of work to calculate everything. You can check out Cronometer.com it’s amazing to check out the nutrition facts. 🙂
looks lovely:)! Is it possible to substitute all the sugar and maple syrup with dates? (or date paste – mixed with water)? and what do you think could be the best amount for that replacement?
Hey Karolina, yes I think you could totally use dates. I don’t use them so often in my recipes as they are very expensive here. Try to use 3/4 cup of dates instead of 3/4 cup coconut sugar and 1/4 to 1/3 cup of date paste instead of 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Please don’t forget to report back 🙂
Hi. I need to work around a number of food allergies. This brownie recipe hits many of them (egg free; dairy free; gluten free; nut free), but I also have to worry about my son’s peanut allergy. What do you recommend as a substitute for the peanut flour in the chocolate cream? Thank you!
Hi Alenka, I will copy and paste what I wrote in the recipe notes: “I use this brand of peanut flour. You can skip it and use 7 tbsp of cocoa powder and leave out the water (as the peanut flour makes the mixture thicker)”
Omg ???????? this was amazing! You cannot taste the peas in them at all! One way to feed my toddlers peas ???????????????? Taste better than the real thing! I forgot to put the peanut powder in the ganache but it still tasted super delicious! I didn’t have a brownie tin tray so I used a muffin tray. Was ok but I’ll definitely be buying one cause I’ll be making this all the time. Thanks lovely amazing lady for this recipe ❤️
Thank you so much for your awesome feedback Nesrin! ???? I am so happy you liked my brownies and your kids too, that’s really wonderful ❤️❤️❤️
Hi Ela, I’m a new semi-vegan who is interested in learning more vegan recipes! I’m excited to try this recipe this weekend for the 4th of July holiday. Quick question – are these OK to leave out or should they be refrigerated? I want to be sure they don’t go bad and since I’m new to a lot of the vegan ingredients, would appreciate any insight in storage. Thank you! Liz
Hi Liz, I would say it’s better to refrigerate them, I always do. I hope you will like my brownies. 🙂
Is there any way to replace the sweet peas?
Well the main ingredient is sweet peas so if you replace them with e.g. chickpeas, black beans or white beans you basically change the complete recipe. You can try it out, but the result will be of course different 🙂
These are easily the best vegan brownies EVER!
Super easy and super delicious, even non-vegan will like these a lot.
I am so happy you like my brownies! Thanks for your amazing feedback, Max 🙂
This recipe looks amazing Ela! I need to try it ASAP. Love the peas in there such a good idea!!
Thank you very much Francesca! Please report back if you try out my vegan brownies 🙂
Hi Ela!
Urg, these brownies looks sooo delish !! I’m gonna try and make them today 🙂 Is is ok to use frozen peas? Thanks for the inspiration!
Best, Matilda.
Hi Matilda, I would suggest to put the frozen peas in a pan/skillet first and cook them for a few minutes. I never tried this recipe with frozen peas but it should work fine if you cook them first. Please let me know how the recipe turned out. 🙂
I made these for my husband’s Birthday. They turned out fantastic. I baked in a ceramic pan and needed a little extra bake time. The frosting is REALLY delicious. What I like best is that it stays creamy (most frosting gets dried out on surface after being exposed to air for a while). I will def use the frosting on other cake recipes as well! Also thanks for answering my baking questions while in process ????
Thank you, Lindsay, I am really glad the brownies turned out delicious. I love the frosting so much as well, so fluffy and yummy. PS: You are welcome, I am very happy I was able to assist you. Thanks for your great feedback 🙂
So amazing!!! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe , these did not last long in my house.
That’s awesome Jena, I am glad you liked my vegan brownies 🙂
I am so happy that I found you and your lovely receipes. I would like to try all of them in my kitchen. I also have vegan cafe at Antalya / Turkey. . I hope we can mret some day. I would like to invite you to Antalya also. We have very beautiful beaches. Greetings from Antalya
Thank you very much, Ozlem! How kind of you to invite me to Antalya. Should I ever consider to visit Turkey, I will definitely let you know. 🙂
Hi Ela, these look delicious! As I can’t get peanut flour where I live, I was wondering if you can simply make a ‘powder’ from raw peanuts in a food processor, or alternatively use a different kind of flour in its place such as almond flour (or again, ground almonds)? Thanks!
Hi Caroline, no that won’t work. The store-bought peanut flour is defatted, it’s completely powdery and it turns into “peanut butter” when you mix it with water or e.g. maple syrup. I would suggest to use creamy almond butter instead of the peanut flour and leave out the water. If the mixture turns out too thin then simply add more cocoa powder. Hope this helps. PS: I would recommend you to order peanut flour online, it’s such an amazing product. 🙂
Made this brownie for a sunday treat, and wow, what an amazing cake! It was SO delicious!! I will defintly make this again. – And that was also a great thing, it was so easy to make! Absolutly loved it???? Thank you so much for all the receipes you put out on your blog, Ela! Keep up the good work!
Lots of love from Victoria⭐
Thank you so much for your amazing comment, Victoria! I am really glad the brownies turned out delicious. Lots of love ????
I had to check your recipe out after seeing your pic Ela :)what a lovely blog! A really well made recipe, I’m just sad I don’t have all the ingredients at home right now ???? Could I use frozen peas do you think (defrosted of course) thanks and again, lovely work!
Thank you so much for checking out my blog, Sara! Yes, frozen, defrosted peas should work as well, even though I never tried it yet. Let me know if you give it a go 😀
Liebe Ela, das Rezept klingt so toll und ich würde es gerne ausprobieren. Jedoch frage ich mich was sweet peas sind? Junge Erbsen? Oder wie lässt sich das ins deutsche übersetzen? Bei Google fand ich nichts nützliches. Viele liebe Grüße aus Berlin, Sophia 😀
Hallo Sophia, ja das sind junge Erbsen. Aber warum schaust du eigentlich beim englischen Rezept? Ich blogge doch auch auf Deutsch. 🙂 https://elavegan.com/de/die-besten-brownies-vegan-glutenfrei/
Hello Ela
I just want to start by saying that I was never a vegan, and only until recently I basically ate what ever I wanted. But my health took a bit of a turn.. and now more then ever I really started to become aware of what I am puting in my body, not just to “eat” but to feed my body with nutritious foods. One day I found you on instagram and you just inspired me.. looking for something sweet but that could also be on the healthier side, I decided to make these brownies for my family and I. Everyone was alittle bit skeptical, not only did my family and I went for second but they were asking me to make more! Best brownies I have ever made.. thank you for showing me that being vegan is possible!!!!
Wow, your comment made me really happy, Ashley! Thanks so much for your incredible Feedback 🙂
Hi Ela.
This is my first comment in your blog.
When I found this recipe, first of all I was so surprised, ” brownie with sweet peas???” . But after that I remembered that in my country, we use sweet peas for desserts to make “anko” , sweet beans paste, so I said “why not!”.
So I made this today.
What a delicious brownie!!! Even there are no butter no chocolat, it is very moist. It is a real brownie!!!
Normally when I eat a brownie, it stay long time in my stomach but contrary this brownie digests very well.
My husband and my daughter really liked it and I am so happy to discover your blog and this wonderful recipe .
The next time when I make a brownie, it is surely with this recipe and also I will soon try your another recipe definitely.
Thank you so much Ela!
Hello Mei! Thank you so much for your amazing feedback. I am so happy that you and your family loved my brownies. And thanks for telling me about “anko”, I read it’s a dessert from Japan, that’s so interesting. Thank you once again for your great comment 🙂
I should share my experience since it isn’t represented in these reviews – these brownies absolutely tasted like peas. That’s not an insult! They taste like the most chocolatey fudgy brownie peas, but the taste is still there. I thought maybe it was just me since I saw them get mixed in, but my bf and friends said there was something “off” and asked me what “crazy thing” I had included this time (I obviously love experimenting with these types of recipes! ????) I think it’s important to put this out there to prepare future makers of the recipe for the idea that their taste buds might pick up on that element like mine did!
Also, for the record, the frosting was delicious and everyone in my circle loved the sweet potato brownie recipe on this site!!
Hey Lex! Which kind of peas did you use? Canned sweet peas or frozen peas? I think this might make a difference. I made the recipe many times (since it’s my favorite!) and never tasted the peas, to be honest, and so many of my friends love them too. Also, the feedback on Instagram (where I have a huge following) and Pinterest have been nothing but positive. ????
I used canned peas and followed the recipe exactly! Who knows why the experience was different?!
(I love your site and appreciate your recipes very much! )
I used canned for mine and could taste it. I could taste the peas, but my friend couldn’t tell.
Hi Ela,
LOVE your recipes. Love that so many of them are baby friendly too!
Quick question, could you use puréed pumpkin instead of peas? I’d love to use peas but I have some puréed pumpkin lying in my fridge that I’d love to use up, this recipe sounds perfect for that!
How much puréed pumpkin would I need? I have a regular sized can of it.
Also, would frozen peas work? If so, how many cups?
Thank you!
Hello! I think puréed pumpkin could work! I would use the whole can. Also, I never tried frozen peas, so I cannot tell you if it will work. 🙂
Tried these out tonight – I tried using a blender for less mess but the pea mix turned out a bit stringy :/ Had some parts where the pea were tasteable in the brownies. Maybe will try blending everything in the food processor (i.e. adding dry to wet in the food processor). the edges turned out just like a brownie edge, though. SO Good. Husband wasn’t a fan of the taste,not sure why. He said the coconut was too strong and not chewy enough. Fudgy, maybe, but he likes more chewy (personal pref).
Will make again, can’t beat that higher protein for a brownie! I loved them with the ganashe but don’t think I would without it. I added a bit more maple syrup cause they weren’t sweet enough, batter wise, for my taste. Good work!
Thanks for your feedback, Emily! 🙂
These brownies look great but canned peas contain sugar and the recipe says refined sugar free. ????