These vegan brownies will change your mind about trying a healthier brownie option. This is a super moist and soft dessert with a secret ingredient and plenty of chocolaty goodness involved. These healthy brownies will satisfy any hankering or craving that your sweet tooth is begging for.
Fudgy Brownies
I love to focus on eating vegan and healthy when it comes to any recipe, including desserts, like these eggless Zucchini Brownies, these Sweet Potato Brownies, or these No-Bake Brownies. I haven’t found a recipe yet that couldn’t easily be made vegan and still taste just as delicious as the traditional version.
This time, when I set out to make a coconut flour brownie that tasted like the traditional fudgy brownies, I thought I had my hands full. However, it turned out to be easier than I expected.
I know, I know, you’ve probably been burned in the past with someone claiming they had fudgy vegan brownies without eggs. However, I’m serious about these being the best healthy brownies that I made so far. I am not one to sacrifice on taste when it comes to my food and I’m definitely picky when it comes to texture as well. So, believe me, when I say, these dairy-free brownies won’t be a disappointment to your taste buds.
Thousands of people on Instagram and Pinterest are raving about these vegan gluten free brownies, and I hope you’ll also give them a try.
The ‘Secret’ Ingredient!
As mentioned before, these vegan brownies 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 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 noticed that I didn’t have black beans in my pantry, so I grabbed the 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 vegan brownie recipe will turn out into the best ever vegan brownies or the worst ones I ever made”, haha.
And I really don’t regret trying it out since the recipe turned out to be absolutely epic. The brownies are even more chocolaty than these Cheesecake Brownies.
How To Make Vegan Brownies?
Seriously, these healthy brownies are so easy and fast to make in 6 simple steps and require only a few ingredients.
- Add all dry ingredients to a big mixing bowl and stir until there are no clumps.
- Blend the sweet peas with all other wet ingredients in a blender.
- Pour the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until the mixture is combined. But don’t over mix. If the batter is too thick, add a little plant-based milk. If it’s too runny, add about a tablespoon of coconut flour.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper (with an overhang on all sides, for easy removal) or grease it with a little coconut oil. The size of my pan is 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 size of your pan, or until a toothpick, inserted into the center comes out almost clean (it can still be sticky but not wet). Check after 40 minutes with a toothpick. The brownies will still look slightly undercooked but don’t worry as they will firm up in the refrigerator.
- To make the chocolate glaze, simply add all ingredients to a small bowl and stir well with a whisk. Spread the chocolate cream on top of the brownies once cooled. Cut into bars with a large, sharp knife. Enjoy!
Vegan Chocolate Glaze
Well, these chocolate squares are already very chocolaty, but you can never have enough chocolate in your life, right? That’s why I topped these delicious fudgy brownies with a creamy chocolate spread which tastes like buttercream!
I made it with powdered peanut butter, cocoa powder, coconut oil, maple syrup, and water. It’s the vegan creme de la creme on top of these healthy brownies.
How To Store Brownies
Storing brownies is pretty straight forward. You’ve got a few options so you’re not limited. Also, they taste even better on day 2! Below are a few ways you can store these low calorie brownies.
On the counter – As long as your brownies are in an airtight container, they will do just fine either on the counter, in the pantry, or just in a cool, dark, place for a few days. If they’re somewhere too hot, condensation will build up and cause moisture, making them mold quicker. Therefore, I recommend storing them in the refrigerator.
In the fridge – If you want your brownies to keep a little longer, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge. You may want to pull them out a few minutes before consuming, so they will be closer to room temp and easier to eat.
Can you freeze brownies? – You bet you can! It’s important that the brownies are in an airtight container when placed in the freezer. It’s also a great idea to separate them by wax paper, so they don’t freeze together. Let them come to room temperature on their own if possible – they have a better outcome going this route.
Helpful Tips and Variations
- How to cut brownies? – The best way to get a nice clean cut when slicing them up is by using a plastic knife. I know, it sounds crazy, but it works. If you don’t want to use plastic, you can use a serrated knife dipped in hot water.
- Skip the chocolate cream – Even though I recommend not skipping the cream, but if you prefer these gluten free brownies without the glaze, that’s perfectly fine. If you would like something to still go on the top, simply add some dairy-free chocolate chips.
- Coconut flour substitute – When it comes to this recipe, there truly is no equal when it comes to coconut flour. If you absolutely must, almond flour and other nut flours will be fine, but you’ll want to add at least a half cup more than you did with the coconut flour.
- Powdered peanut butter substitute – If you don’t want to use powdered peanut butter, or you’re having trouble finding it, you can use cocoa powder instead. You’ll just need to double the cocoa powder and nix the water or use regular peanut butter.
If you end up giving these healthy brownies a try, please leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan – I love seeing those remakes!
If you love chocolate, you should definitely also try out these delicious vegan chocolate cake and brownie recipes:
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Vegan Lava Cake
- Flourless Brownies
- Caramel Chocolate Brownies
- Vegan Chocolate Pie
Healthy Vegan Brownies
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 3/4 cup (100 g) coconut sugar (*see notes)
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (50 g) cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup (33 g) coconut flour (*see notes)
- 2 tbsp ground flax seeds OR chia seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Wet ingredients:
- 2 (15 oz) cans (500 g) sweet peas drained and rinsed (*see notes)
- 1/3 cup (110 g) maple syrup (or any other liquid sweetener)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) coconut milk canned
- 2 tbsp (28 g) coconut oil melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate glaze:
- 3 1/2 tbsp (21 g) cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp (24 g) powdered peanut butter (*see notes)
- 1/4 cup (80 g) maple syrup
- 2 tbsp (28 g) coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp of water
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- I recommend measuring the ingredients in grams on a kitchen scale.
- Add the dry ingredients to a big bowl and stir until there are no clumps.
- Blend the sweet peas with all other wet ingredients in your food processor or blender.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture is combined. If the batter is too thick add a splash of plant-based milk. If it's too runny add a tbsp of coconut flour.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper (with an overhang on all sides, for easy removal) or grease it with a little coconut oil. My pan 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 pan you use) or until a toothpick comes out almost clean (it can still be sticky but not wet). Check after 40 minutes with a toothpick. The brownies will still look slightly undercooked but don't worry as they will firm up in the refrigerator.
- To make the chocolate glaze, simply put all ingredients to a small bowl and stir well with a whisk. Spread the cream on top of the cooled brownies. Slice into squares with a large, sharp knife. Enjoy!
- They taste even better on day 2! Store them covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can freeze leftovers!
Notes
Video Of The Recipe
- You can use 1/2 cup (100 g) of brown sugar or any other granulated sweetener instead of coconut sugar.
- You shouldn't replace the coconut flour as it's unique and very absorbent. However, if you really want to use a different flour (like almond flour) then use at least 1/2 cup more of it but I highly recommend using coconut flour.
- I use this brand of peanut flour/powdered peanut butter. You can skip it and use 7 tbsp of cocoa powder and leave out the water (as the peanut flour absorbs a lot of liquid). Or use regular peanut butter.
- I am using canned sweet peas which are labeled as "sweet peas" but some brands might be labeled as "small/young peas".
- You can also skip the chocolate glaze and bake the brownies with dairy-free chocolate chips on top
- Recipe makes 12 brownies. Nutrition facts are for one brownie WITH the chocolate glaze.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
This is my first time baking the brownies. I am cooking them in a glass 9×13 pan at 390 degrees. They’ve been in the oven 30 minutes and the entire top is cracked in all directions. I tested with a toothpick to see if they are over cooked but the toothpick came out slightly wet. Is the cracking to be expected with this recipe?
Yes, there will be some cracks. You can see it in the video and on the 2nd photo in the post. 🙂
Really good brownies. What would you recommend to use instead of peas ( I can’t tolerate them)? Thanks!
Hi, you could use black beans. 🙂
Hi Ela.
I would like to ask about the baking powder and soda. Do I really need to add those ingredients as the brownie is anyway wet and heavy? Thank you.
Hey Paulina, I never tried it, but you can probably also leave them out! 🙂
hey! Can I make it from buying and cooking sweet peas or it’s better if they’re canned? thanks!
Hi Matilde, I used canned ones that were sweetened, but cooking them from scratch should be fine too. 🙂
This recipe was very good, but the coconut flavor was very strong, overpowering the chocolate. What can I do to remedy that next time? Thank you!
Hi Alice, you can use any other dairy-free milk, and just add 1 tablespoon more oil. 🙂
I’m so grateful I found this recipe! I had to use almond flour and followed the directions in the notes to add 1/2 cup more. Also, I accidentally only used 1 1/2 cans of sweet peas. I haven’t even made the frosting yet but the brownies turned out so great so far! On day 1, I do NOT taste the peas and neither did my mom. I’m looking forward to sharing it with my bf to see if he can taste the peas at all.
Yay, that sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing your subs with us. 🙂
Die Brownies sind göttlich genial,
Ich habe kleine Änderungen vorgenommen. Weniger Kokosöl, aufgetaute TK Erbsen roh statt aus der Dose und in der Glasur 60 g eingeweichte Cashewkerne statt Erdnussbutter.
Schmeckt so wie man sich Brownies wünscht.
Hammermäßig, danke fürs Rezept
Komisch, mein Kommentar hat sich verändert, teilweise Kauderwelsch….
Das klingt doch super! Ich freue mich, dass sie dir geschmeckt haben. 🙂
LG, Ela
Hi! Could you recommend a substitute for canned coconut milk? It’s really expensive where I live.
Hi Tess, you can use any other dairy-free milk, and just add 1 tablespoon more oil.
I made mine with Sweet Potatoes and added protein powder (soy isolate) and it was soooo gooooood!!! I’ll use this as a base recipe for other brownie recipes (the possibilities are endless!) I couldn’t be bothered making a glaze so I just topped it up with choco chips.
Happy to hear that, Mel! 🙂
I wonder if pigeon peas would work in lieu of the sweet peas….seeing that chick peas or black beans may be used.. It might remove some of the sweetness for those who find this recipe overly sweet. I am going to give the sweet pea version a go this afternoon. I have to go out and find “coconut flour first. I will let you know if it is a success.
It might work as well, Leslie. I hope you will like the brownies. 🙂
Hello Ela!
I did this recipe and it was amazing, thank you so much for sharing your talent. I found your blog because my baby has APLV and I can’t eat milk, eggs or soy, so you are saving me! I just want to thank you!
Blessings
I am glad you liked these brownies and I’m happy to hear that my recipes are helpful. 🙂
I made them last night and they were absolutely delicious. I used frozen peas, didnt cook it though. ALso used Raw cacao powder hence it was tasting bitter. Next time will adjust the sweetner. One question, can we use dessicated coconut powder instead of coconut flour? And in that case would we omit the oil completely?
Hello! I am so glad they turned out delicious. I am not sure if desiccated coconut powder would work. Coconut flour is mainly fiber and absorbs a lot of liquid which desiccated coconut powder won’t do, therefore, I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe. 🙂
I made these today and they came out just PERFECT! <3 So fudgy, moist and chocolaty! Following some previous comments I added 150g of soaked dates+some leftover water to the wet mix instead of the syrup and used erythrol instead of the sugar. I imagine the texture would be slightly different with the syrup but it's still amazing, really. It's the best "bean based" brownie I've ever head!
Thank you Ela for yet another great recipe! 🙂
Yay! That makes me so happy, Sylwia! Thanks for your fantastic feedback. 🙂
Hi ????
I don’t have Cocoa powder. I have organic raw cacao powder. Dies that work ? Thanks in advance
Hi! The taste is more bitter, so you might need to use more sweetener. 🙂
Thanks ????. I Made then last night. I used frozen peas (cooked them and drained them ) you can’t Taste them at all ( My husband doesn’t like peas and he ate 2 big pieces and he did not even notice ????) I used 1 cup of dates instead of coconut sugar … and for the glaze I used almond butter instead of the powdered peanut and omitted the water and follow the rest of the instructions but just used half of the ingredients.
Delicious ???? thanks ela ❤️
Yay, that’s awesome! I am so glad they turned out delicious! So interesting that you used frozen peas. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
You mentioned you substituted dates in lieu of coconut sugar. Did you soak the Dates in water, or just blend the Dates with 1/4 cup water?
Hi Ela! I’m a huge fan of your blog and this recipe looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it. Unfortunately, in my country we don’t have sweet peas in the market, I’ve tried them abroad so I really know that we don’t have them. Could them be replaced for another pea? What would you recommend? Thank you ????
Hi Carolina, you can use chickpeas or black beans. 🙂
I’ve turned into my family’s best cook overnight…thanks to you. This brownie tastes even better with time. I totally loved making these!!! and my husband couldn’t compliment me enough. Can’t take the credit though, these are incredible Michaela! Thank you so so much.
Fantastic.
Aww, that’s amazing! I am so glad these were a success! 🙂