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
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe, as always!
What would u feel about the date syrup as a replacement for agave/maple?
Thanks! Yes, date syrup could work too. It’s probably not so sweet though. 🙂
This was the first gluten free, vegan anything I’ve ever made. I’m trying to eat a little healthier and I have a big sweet tooth. I must admit I was sceptical, but these brownies are seriously delicious! Damn!
So glad you liked them! Thanks so much for your feedback, Kim 🙂
I just made this for my husband’s birthday cake!
I think it seems special enough.
I tasted the topping and I think he will enjoy it! I used some almond butter instead of peanut flour.
I’m not sure I will fit 34 candles on it, however LOL
Aww, that’s so sweet of you! Happy birthday to your hubby 🙂
It was really delicious ????
So much better than any raw cake I have ever tasted.
He loved it.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipes.
Yay, that makes me so happy! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Hello! Would you be able to use stevia in place of maple syrup and dates by chance?
Hi Melissa, I am afraid this is not possible since dates are basically the main ingredient of these no-bake brownies.
I made this Brownies tonight. They are literally AMAZING???? Everybody in my family loved them and in couple of minutes they were all gone.
Can wait to try more your recipes Ela! You are a Star ????????????
Aww, thank you!! I am so glad to hear that you loved my brownie recipe, Cinzia
these are INCREDIBLE!!! my family LOVED them!!!! they are packed with wonderful ingredients and i swapped a few out and added a few in. Thank you so much! I stumbled across this, and made it right away!!! I will be checking more of your recipes out!! This is decadent!
Amazing!!! It makes me so happy that you love my no bake brownies! Thank you so much for letting me know 🙂
These brownies were so delicious and easy to make!!!!! I used almond flour instead of peanut flour as I had some leftover but they still tasted amazing! ????????????
Thank you very much for your feedback, Melissa. Yes, I also like them with almond flour!
The best vegan brownies I’ve ever made!! Thank you so much Ela for the recipe, they are delicious! My whole family loved them too (who don’t usually enjoy my healthy deserts)! They combine really well together so they arent crumbly, rather they are so soft and ‘creamy’ like. Adding green peas is such a great way to get vegetables into the diet especially for kids as you can’t taste them! Thanks again Ela ????????
Thank you so much for your feedback, Tayla. You commented in the wrong brownie blog post though, this one is the “no-bake brownies recipe” 😀 The ones you made are here: https://elavegan.com/best-vegan-brownies-recipe-gluten-free/ 🙂
I LOVE this recipe, although i didn’t have all the ingredients and altered it a bit, these turned it amazingly delicious as decadent!!! Healthy, guilt – free, VEGAN deliciousness!!! Thank you, Ela, for sharing. <3
Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Michelle! Really glad the brownies turned out amazing, even though you altered the recipe a little bit 🙂
Thanks for posting, Ela. I tried this recipe for the first time this evening. These were very tasty, especially the glaze. My hubby and I enjoyed them! I substituted oat flour for nut flour in the dough. I also used a mini chopper rather than a food processor. The mix never really went from powder to dough (even with an extra date), but I added a tbsp or two of water and molded it into a dough. I’m not sure whether the water changed the taste. Maybe I’ll have to try a hand mixer or blender next time.
Hello Judy. You shouldn’t have added water, it definitely changes the taste. Have your dates been soft and gooey or dry? Mine were very soft and gooey. If they are too dry, you can soak them in warm water for a few hours. I have made the recipe multiple times and the brownies always came out super gooey, moist and delicious and I use the cheapest food processor which is available on Amazon. I always make sure to blend long enough. The longer you blend the more will the dough stick together. Hope you will try them again soon and that my tips are helpful.
I recently became vegan, so I’ve been trying out new recipes. I was so surprised how the recipe goes in the food processor from a flour to a dough! I love the taste and texture, for the frosting I used almond butter and tasted amazing. Thank you so much Ela!
Great news, Marina! So happy you became vegan and tried out my recipe. Thanks for your kind comment 🙂
I just made these today! They are wonderful. Easy and healthy!! My 14 month old loves them! And I don’t feel bad giving them to her because they are healthy ❤❤❤
Hey Mellaney! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback. It makes me so happy that you and your 14-month-old love my raw vegan brownies. Much love to you and her 🙂
I am IN LOVE with these brownies! Hands down, the best I ever had! And sooo easy to make, I already made them 5 times 🙂 The hardest part is not eating all of them 🙂
Thank you so much for the amazing recipe <3
Wow, 5 times? That’s really amazing! Thanks so much for this great feedback, Maja!! 🙂
This is certainly THE best recipe for brownie bites out there! I made these with coconut flour, because my husband dislikes peanut butter combined with chocolate, and they are still more than amazing! This will be a staple at our house for sure. Thanks Ela!
Wow, I am so glad to hear that, Reni! Thanks for this amazing comment and for letting me know that these raw vegan brownies also turn out amazing with coconut flour 🙂
When I saw this recipe I was so excited to try it out! These are quick, easy, and I love how I already had all the ingredients at home. These are so rich and deliscious!! Will be making these very often, I love how healthy they are too!
Thank you very much, Kenzi! It makes me so happy that you enjoyed my recipe and that you are going to make the brownies very often in the future. Lots of love 🙂
These are absolutely amazing! Really inexpensive and easy as well???? I can’t recommend them enough
Thanks so much, Harrison! Super happy you like my easy to make raw brownies. 🙂
Omg I really wanna make these ???? Which food processor are you using? ???? Thanks
Thank you, Tabea! I used a cheap Ninja food processor. Just make sure to blend long enough until the dough sticks together when you press it between your fingers. 🙂
Hey Ela,
Hi from the Allgäu! Ive never commented on any food websites before, but just had to in this case. I’ve tried many no -bake vegan brownie recipes and most usually turn out too rich. I gotta say these brownies are awesome….a huge hit with my 7year old daughter! The use of flax flour is inspired – Im sure that this is the secret to the great gooeyness :o). I didn’t have enough almond flour, so used a mix of almond, hazelnut and walnut flour which turned out great and I guess gave a boost to the protein and mineral content. I also had to add a little moisture to the mix and used oat milk for this. Great recipes Ela….Thanks
Hey Richard, thanks so much for your amazing feedback! Makes me seriously so happy that you love my healthy brownies. Yes, I also think the flax makes this recipe unique, I haven’t seen it in any other recipe before. Super happy your daughter loves these no-bake brownies as well. So kind of you to take the time to leave such a nice comment. Much appreciated 🙂
My family love these! I made up a double batch to go into school lunches, as well as my own snacks this past week, and they went over so we’ll! My daughter has a big sweet tooth, and these definitely were a great touch in her lunches. My sons love them as after school treats.
Thanks so much for recipe! We will be making them again and again!
Thanks for your feedback Meggie! So happy you and your family enjoyed my recipe 🙂
Loved making these raw brownies… The recipe was simple and it took maybe 20 minutes to make before I popped them in the freezer for an hour. Definitely going to make again…. It will be perfect to make for thanksgiving or xmas as a nice after-dinner treat!
I really appreciate it that you take the time to leave such a wonderful feedback. Thank you very much, Marissa. I am thrilled that you enjoyed my no-bake brownies. 🙂