These 6-ingredient fudgy no-bake brownies are vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and easy to make. They are a healthy snack or dessert, perfect for kids and a great alternative to store-bought chocolate candy.
Healthy Vegan Brownies!
After sharing my recipes for Sweet Potato Brownies and my Best Vegan Brownies, I decided to make these healthy no-bake brownies with dates.
They aren’t fully raw, that’s why I don’t call them raw vegan brownies, but you can actually make them fully raw (continue reading to learn how).
You will love these brownies because they are:
- Easy to make with simple ingredients.
- So much healthier than store-bought brownies or candy bars.
- Freezer friendly, perfect as a snack or quick dessert.
- Vegan (eggless, dairy-free), gluten-free, grain-free, and refined sugar-free.
Only 6 Simple Ingredients!
These no-bake brownies contain only 6 ingredients, which are:
- Dates – you can use any dried fruit of choice, e.g. dried figs.
- Flax seeds – these vegan brownies contain a good amount of flax seeds which are good sources of many nutrients. Their health benefits are mainly due to their content of omega-3 fats, lignans and fiber.
- Cacao powder – or use cocoa powder. Dutch processed is less bitter.
- Peanut flour – you can use almond flour (ground almonds) instead of peanut flour to make almond flour brownies. I tried it and it turned out great as well. Actually, any ground nuts or seeds would work as well. Some examples are ground walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, etc. However, I really love how these healthy brownies turned out with peanut flour (powdered peanut butter aka PB2), the taste is amazing. You can buy it in most big supermarkets in the US, or order it from Amazon.
- Vanilla extract – you can use real vanilla for the best result.
- Agave syrup – or maple syrup (for the glaze). Any other liquid sweetener like date syrup is fine too.
For the full ingredients list, measurements, complete recipe method, and nutritional information, please read the recipe card below.
How To Make No-Bake Brownies?
- Grind the flax seeds in an electric spice/coffee grinder or blender until it’s flour. You can also use 65 g of store-bought GROUND flax seeds but make sure the flax meal is fresh.
- Process all dry ingredients in a food processor, then add the dates and vanilla extract and blend until the dough sticks together when you press it between your fingers. It might take a while until the dough comes together. If it’s still too dry after some minutes add a few additional dates or a little of maple syrup or raw agave syrup. The dates should be very soft and juicy. If they aren’t moist soak them in warm water until they are soft.
- Line a 5-inch square baking pan or similar size (double the recipe if using an 8-inch baking pan) with parchment paper and leave about a 2-inch overhang on both sides. Grease the paper with a little oil.
- Transfer the brownie dough into the pan and press it down firmly.
- To make the glaze, just combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix everything together with a whisk.
- Pour the glaze over the brownie dough, spread it, and put the pan into the freezer for about 1 hour to firm up.
- Cut the brownies into squares by using a sharp knife, and enjoy!
Low-Fat Vegan Chocolate Glaze
Brownies are delicious, but brownies with a chocolate glaze are even better. I made a super simple and low-fat vegan chocolate glaze which is so delicious!
If you don’t want to make your own chocolate glaze, you can simply melt dairy-free chocolate chips, but they contain of course more fat.
How To Store these brownies?
This recipe makes just a small batch, however, you can double the recipe and store-leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Can you freeze these brownies? Yes, you can! The brownie bites are freezer friendly (freeze for up to 3 months). I always make sure to keep a batch in the freezer, so that I never run out of brownies when the chocolate craving kicks in. Simply thaw them at room temperature for 20-30 minutes, then enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- You can make these brownies raw vegan by using raw agave syrup instead of maple syrup, vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract, raw cacao powder instead of cocoa powder and almond flour (ground almonds) instead of peanut flour (powdered peanut butter).
- You can skip the powdered peanut butter in the chocolate glaze and try using 1 1/2 – 2 tbsp of regular peanut butter (or any other nut/seed butter).
- These vegan brownies can be neatly transported in a bento box or lunch box.
Other Vegan Brownie Recipes:
- Vegan Zucchini Brownies
- Flourless Brownies
- Vegan Black Bean Brownies
- Cheesecake Brownies
- Caramel Chocolate Brownies
These no-bake brownies are super easy and fast to make and I cannot wait to hear if you love them as much as I do. If you try out my recipe, please leave a comment below and tag me with @elavegan #elavegan on Instagram and/or Facebook.
No-Bake Brownies
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- 3/4 cup (130 g) dates soft and moist ones (see notes)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean
Dry ingredients:
- 1/3 heaped cup (65 g) flax seeds
- 1/4 heaped cup (30 g) cocoa powder or raw cacao powder
- 4 tbsp (32 g) powdered peanut butter or almond flour (ground almonds)
- 1 Pinch of salt
Low-fat chocolate glaze:
- 1/4 cup (80 g) maple syrup or raw agave syrup
- 3 tbsp (24 g) powdered peanut butter (see notes)
- 3 tbsp (18 g) cocoa powder
Instructions
- Watch the video in the post for visual instructions.Grind the flax seeds in an electric spice/coffee grinder or blender until it's flour. You can also use 65 g of store-bought GROUND flax seeds but make sure the flax meal is fresh.
- Process all dry ingredients in a food processor, then add the dates and vanilla extract and blend until the dough sticks together when you press it between your fingers. It might take a while until the dough comes together. If it's still too dry after some minutes add a few additional dates or a little maple syrup or raw agave syrup. The dates should be very soft and juicy. If they aren't moist soak them in warm water until they are soft.
- Line a 5-inch square baking pan (double the recipe if you have an 8-inch baking pan) with parchment paper and leave about a 2-inch overhang on both sides. Grease the paper with a little oil.
- Transfer the brownie dough into the pan and press it down firmly.
- To make the glaze, just combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix everything together with a whisk.
- Pour the glaze over the brownie dough and put the pan into the freezer for about 1 hour to set.
- Cut into 16 equal brownie bites and enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- If the dates aren't soft/moist enough I highly recommend soaking them in (warm) water until they are soft.
- You can skip the powdered peanut butter in the chocolate glaze and use 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp of regular peanut butter (or any other nut/seed butter). However, I would recommend adding more cocoa powder otherwise the glaze might be too runny.
- The Nutrition Facts are for one serving if you cut the batch into 16 brownie bites. Calculation includes the low-fat glaze (made with powdered peanut butter).
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Amanda
I made these and they’re delicious! They will definitely satisfy any chocolate craving!
Ela
Thank you very much, Amanda! I am so happy you liked my raw brownies 🙂
Carriw
Thank you foe aharing your beautiful website and wonderful recipes with ua! Keep up the fantastic work!
Ela
Thank you so much for your support 🙂
Dee | Green Smoothie Gourmet
These look so awesome Ela, there aren’t really enough words in the English language! And so excited you added nutritional stats, that’s so helpful, thank you! Dee xx
Ela
Thank you so much for your support, my friend! Have a wonderful day, Dee 🙂
Toni
(..) i’m not such a talented baker.*
Ela
Haha, I bet you are ❤️
Toni
Simple, healthy and delicious. That’s the fact. The Brownies was successful by my first try, and seriously I’m such not a talented baker. Usually my mom is a little bit skeptical about vegan food and she love them! Recommendable!! Love Toni ❤️
Ela
Thanks so much for your feedback Toni! I am happy you liked my recipe and your mom too, that’s such a nice compliment. ❤️
Jess
They look so fudgy and delicious Ela! Such a great recipe!
Ela
Thank you, Jess, so sweet of you to stop by 🙂
Cass
Hi! Looks terrific! 🙂 I’m confused with the recipe though and not sure of the flax ingredient. The recipe says whole flax seeds but the link to Amazon product shows ground flax seeds , (flax seed meal?), and I’m not sure which one to use. Looks so delicious, just bought pb flour and can’t wait to try it!
Thank you for sharing this recipe ! 🙂
Ela
Hi, Cass, did you see the recipe instructions? Number 1 says: “Grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder (or food processor) until they turn into a powder”. 😉
You can also use ground flax seeds (flax meal) however it’s always best to buy whole flax seeds and grind them into flax meal because this way you get FRESH flax meal which isn’t rancid (flax meal goes rancid pretty fast). Hope this clarifies your question. 🙂 Let me know how the brownies turned out.
Ela
PS: I will modify the Amazon link to avoid confusion. 🙂
Regina
Wow!!! Have to try these *-*
Ela
Thank you, Regina! You will find the German recipe here: https://elavegan.com/de/rohkost-brownies-vegan-glutenfrei-gesund/ 🙂
Nadia
Oh wow Ela! These brownies look so fudgy and rich! Wish I could reach out and grab one right now 😀
Ela
Thank you, Nadia! I wish I could share them with you. Have a great weekend 🙂
Jackie
These brownies are epicly amazing. I can’t get enough. I used crunchy peanuts butter in the glaze for a bit of crunch. I’m loving them!!
Ela
Thanks so much Jackie! I am really glad you liked my no bake brownies. Crunchy peanut butter sounds amazing as well 🙂
Ashley Diana
I wish I had these in front of me right now! Looks so tasty- going to try these very soon!
Ela
Thank you so much Ashley! 🙂
Yani
Hi Ela..The brownie look amazing!! My mouth watering just by looking at your photo. Planning on making it soon. Btw for the glaze, can i use raw honey instead of maple syrup?
Thank you…
Ela
Hello Yani, yes that should work as well. I hope you will like my no bake brownies. 🙂
Paula (plantifultaste)
This recipe is amazing! Thank you Ela! These brownies are super delicious- So simple and quick! I keep them in the freezer, so I always have them prepared as a snack.
Ela
I am so glad to hear that Paula! Thanks for your great feedback 🙂
Mel
Those brownies are so yummy! And they’re so fast and easy to make, I love it! The pure glaze is also very good but togehther with the ‘dough’ it’s just perfect ????. But my electric blender hadn’t made it so smooth and ‘sticky’, have you any tips?
Ela
Thanks for your great feedback, Mel. Did you use a blender or food processor? I used a very cheap food processor (Ninja) and it made the dough pretty smooth. You just need to make sure to blend long enough until the dough gets more sticky or even add an additional date. 🙂
Mel
I used a blender, but with the extra date or a drop of coconutoil it worked out very well. Thank you.
Ela
I am glad to hear that, Mel 🙂
debbie marden
Being vegan—and recently GF—has really put a damper on my sweet tooth. These brownies are a deliciously decadent godsend. Thank you!
Ela
I am glad to hear that, Debbie. Thank you very much 🙂
Bianca Zapatka
These brownies look so super delicious Ela!
Makes me so hungry 😀
Ela
Thank you, Bianca! You should give them a go, they are so yummy. 🙂 Have a great day.
Žana
Made the brownies and they were amazing! Thanks for recipe, my dear ????
Ela
Thank you very much Žana, I am thrilled you also loved my no bake brownies. They looked so amazing on your Instagram account! 🙂
Sveta
Ela, this is amazing! I follow you on instagram for quite a while, but I’ve never cooked from you blog. Until now. And I can’t say how happy I am that this was my first recipe! I store this deliciousness in the freezer, and when I want something sweet, I just take 1 piece (ok, 2), put banana on top and enjoy ???? Thank you:)
Ela
Hello Sveta, thanks so much for your lovely feedback. I am really glad that you tried these no bake brownies from my blog and that you love them as much as I do. I also store mine in the freezer, it’s so convenient to take them out 5-10 minutes before I want to eat them. Great idea to put banana slices on top, I love the combo banana and chocolate. 🙂
Luna
I’ve just made these brownies and they’re really wonderful! Thanks! I love them because there are just a few ingredients needed and because they don’t have to be baked! And I love that they’re completely flourless! Mine don’t look quite so good like in the picture and it’s such a small amount but I was surprised how little I could eat because they’re quite nourishing, and very delicious indeed!
Ela
I am pleased you liked the brownies, Luna, and I agree they are very nourishing. 🙂 It would be awesome if you could also leave a star rating for the recipe. Thanks so much! 🙂
Nina
I made those brownies on friday and they are delicious. I made double portion. My god this is so sweet and goes great with icecream ????
Thank you
Ela
Thank you very much, Nina! I am happy you loved my raw brownies. And yes, with ice cream, that sounds so good! 🙂
Sonja
Hey Ela!
Auch ich habe das Rezept ausprobiert und die Brownies sind wirklich sehr, sehr gut. Vielen Dank an dich fürs Teilen. Bei mir hatten die brownies einen leichten Bananengeschmack, das hat meine ganze Familie gesagt, obwohl ja gar keine Banane enthalten ist. Uns hat es nicht gestört, da wir alle Banane mögen. Aber mich inteeessiert, ob das bei dir auch so war?
Ela
Hallo Sonja, es freut mich sehr, dass dir/euch mein Rezept so gut geschmeckt hat. Das mit dem Bananengeschmack finde ich allerdings sehr interessant, davon habe ich wirklich nichts geschmeckt und ich habe die Brownies nun schon einige Male gemacht. 🙂 PS: Hast du gesehen, dass ich auch auf Deutsch blogge? Ich frage nur, weil du hier auf der englischen Seite kommentierst und nicht bei dem deutschen Blogpost 😉