These Vegan Fudgy Coconut Butter Brownies are amazing! They are gluten-free and only 8 ingredients. These are HUGE hits and declared “Best” brownies even among non-vegans!
VEGAN FUDGY COCONUT BUTTER BROWNIES
I can’t express how amazing and delicious and perfect these Vegan Fudgy Brownies are that use coconut butter!
It’s kind of a known thing that brownies are really rich because of their traditional butter, refined sugar and white flour, right?
I knew I had to mimic that taste and texture….but without all of those ingredients. Oh, I made them gluten-free and oil-free too….but you’d never know. These fudgy brownies are not low calorie or low fat….they are brownies. I like my brownies rich and sweet. In fact, whenever I see a dessert labeled fat-free or sugar-free, that usually screams artificial chemicals! Using bananas or avocados just isn’t going to cut it here on flavor, either. I wanted them to both taste and look authentic.
VEGAN BROWNIES MADE WITH QUALITY INGREDIENTS
These bad boys are not full of processed junk and they are ingredients I feel good about. Plus, I love that they are oil-free….which you hardly ever see in a brownie recipe. That said, control yourself and don’t eat the whole pan at once. They are so rich though, honestly one is very satisfying.
Look at that crackle top…..
PERFECT VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE BROWNIES
I’ve tasted a few vegan brownies before and they were ok, but never knocked my socks off…typically too mushy and always containing ingredients I didn’t love or needed to sub.
I have been baking for years and am very comfortable with it, but when I started baking gluten-free, I learned there are about a billion different flours and they ALL produce different results. It’s not as easy as just throwing white flour, sugar and eggs together. It is even more challenging when trying to fit everything within 8 ingredients.
But I have learned a lot through trial and error with gluten-free flours and starches. I have perfected recipes with what I have learned. I have high standards with brownies and I finally got what I was after.
My 7 taste testers can account for their authenticity. I had my friend’s family and her children (all not vegan), as well as my hubby and daughter, give their big approval. My friend called them “fudgy, perfect texture, moist, wow, and I can’t think of one criticism”! Do you know how happy and relieved I was to hear this?! I had worked to perfect these gluten-free brownies, that once I nailed it, I was thankful that others loved it too. Each of us have our own opinions though, so you be the judge and try them yourself. 🙂
Well, I tried many different flours, amounts, liquids, dry sweetener, liquid sweetener, etc. Then I stepped back and thought about what I wanted in my brownies, but have them still taste as rich and decadent as any of the best brownies out there.
Here was my criteria:
- vegan, obviously
- gluten-free….without needing 3 or 4 different flours
- oil-free…without the use of vegan butter
- fudgy
- rich
- sweet
- very thick and substantial
- to bake evenly and not dip in the center, like so many recipes
- the famous crackle top
- 8 ingredients….duh
I make my own coconut butter for my recipes too. Super easy. You can do this if you have a food processor, or just use store bought.
DO YOU TASTE COCONUT?
If you don’t like coconut, then these brownies may not be for you. However, the coconut is just a hint, not overpowering. I’m afraid subbing the coconut with all nut butter would be too heavy. Please do not sub with coconut oil! That would make them a brick of greasy oil. I do not recommend subbing though, because I tested this recipe many times and the coconut butter is a major ingredient and what worked so well. For a nut-free version, you can try creamy sunbutter in place of the almond butter. I haven’t tried it yet though.
These vegan brownies contain both almond butter and coconut butter for the ultimate rich, fudginess that we all love in a brownie.
MORE VEGAN BROWNIE RECIPES
- Fudgy Sunflower Brownies
- Vegan Zucchini Brownies
- Hazelnut Brownies
- Fudgy Vegan Low-Fat Brownies
- Raw Brownies with Raspberry Coulis
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If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Fudgy Coconut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (96g) superfine oat flour
- 1/2 cup (48g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder, not dark cocoa (I used Ghirardelli) Add up to 2 tablespoons more for a less sweet brownie
- 3 tablespoons (24g) tapioca starch
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips
- 1 cup (320g) pure maple syrup, room temp
- 3/4 cup (180g) melted coconut butter (it MUST be melted as a liquid, see directions)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (96g) roasted creamy almond butter (roasted is important, as it's oilier/smoother)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
NOTE
- Make sure to use a scale for the best most accurate results. No need to use cups to compare, just follow the weights listed, as that is how all my recipes are tested. Do not sub with extra almond butter or other nut butters in place of the coconut butter, as that would make it too heavy and oily.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350°F and lightly spray an 8x8 aluminum or light metal pan with nonstick spray. I tested these in a dark metal pan and found the edges to burn too quickly, so therefore not recommended.
- To a large bowl, add the oat flour, cocoa powder, tapioca starch and salt. Whisk well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- You can use homemade coconut butter or store-bought. I like the MaraNatha brand. Regarding the coconut butter...before adding, it needs to be the consistency of oil, as pictured. It should be 100% smooth and runny. Just make sure it is melted and in complete liquid form when measuring 3/4 cup. The jars at the store will be solid, so the best way to work with this is to take off the lid, heat up the jar in the microwave for 15-30 seconds or so, just until it becomes soft enough to scoop it all out into a separate container. I find this is the best way to stir it and mix up the separated coconut meat and oil and totally smooth, as well as storing it this way for future use. After adding it to the container, heat a few more seconds if needed to soften it just until you can stir it a bit until it all comes together, is runny and smooth. See pic in post. Be very careful about overheating coconut butter or it will burn it and make it mealy.
- Add the liquid coconut butter to a separate bowl, then the room temperature syrup, almond butter, vanilla and stir until very smooth and well mixed. It is important that the other liquids are at room temperature, because if they are cold, it can cause the coconut butter to separate.
- Now, pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. The batter will be thick. Immediately pour into the prepared pan, as the batter thickens up quickly from the oats. Spread out evenly to the edges and dampen your fingertips, if necessary.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Mine were perfect at 21 minutes on all 4 batches. However, due to oven variances, yours may cook faster or take a little longer. They are done when a toothpick comes out with a few sticky crumbs on it (not liquid), the edges have slightly pulled from the pan and the top is beginning to crackle. Be VERY careful about over-baking so they don't dry up.
- Let the brownies cool in the pan 45 minutes, untouched. This is crucial so they don't fall apart. Resist the urge to cut them early. Cut them gently after the 45 minutes, cool another 10, then serve! Cover with foil and store at room temperature.
Nutrition
Making these now. I am using an egg. We aren’t vegan and I didn’t have tapioca powder. I’m sure they will be differences, but the rest of the ingredients would taste fabulous uncooked, so I can’t imagine them tasting bad. We also subbed sunbutter. I have high hopes. Can’t wait!!!
Hope they turn out with all those changes, good luck!
Oh my goodness Brandi! Wow. Just wow. Look at those beauties with that classic shiny, crackly topping. I just adore the ingredients list – I can’t wait to make these!!!
Perfect!! As advertised. These were a big hit at a non vegan potluck. Thanks so much! I will make again
That’s so wonderful to hear Cynthia!! I love it when my recipes impress even all the non-vegans! Yay! Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it!
Amazing! I can’t wait to try these!
Have you ever tried freezing these (to defrost and eat later?). I will either have to eat one and immediately leave them at someone else’s house, or eat one and freeze the rest. Freezing them seem like the better option 🙂 I would eat the whole pan in one setting if they were left on the counter.
Hi Lindsey! Thank you so much! I actually haven’t tried freezing them yet. I actually hardly ever freeze any baked goods because we eat them so fast, lol! I’d imagine they would do just fine frozen though, just keep in mind, these contain coconut butter which will make them really hard, so reheat in the microwave afterwards if you like. Let me know if you try them!
Made these with peanut butter as I didn’t have almond butter on hand. Delicious, particularly with the addition of little nuts from the crunchy peanut butter. Fudgey with a crunchy top, as advertised. Thanks so much.
Brandi as I mentioned on Instagram, these Brownies turned out perfectly. I was so glad to finally prove my omnivore family wrong, since they claimed that you simply cannot bake without eggs. I don’t even blame them because my attempts in vegan baking usually didn’t go well. But this recipe worked and convinced them that it IS possible not to use eggs or butter. Thanks again! 😀
I’m so glad to hear that you proved them wrong, haha! Thank you so much Mila for making them and I’m so glad you loved them so much!! Thank you for the feedback, I love hearing it!
Hey there – my name is Nancy – newbie vegan here!
(well part time vegetarian all along-lol)
Anywho I found this lil ditty of a recipe on Pinterest!
( I knowwwww pintrest!!! Heehee the mindless hours of pinning)
Soooooo I had to comment an tell you first off we are friends in my head now after this recipe. Anyone who could put there foot in a brownie the you did I need to know this person an learn the vegan Jedi ways. I love this blog thank you for making the switch so tasty and easy I wanna be vegan but like a “dirty” vegan with all the good ole food! Thanks again so much please keep up the awesome work.
Awww Nancy, you are a sweetheart!! I’m so happy you found me and that you love these brownies so much!! Thank you for following and let me know if you ever need anything and leave me feedback on any future recipes, I’d love to hear! 🙂
Bingo! Looks like I have found my perfect healthy brownie recipe.what do u think about substituting honey instead of maple syrup. Also, what do u think about subbing white whole wheat flour instead of oat?waiting 2 hear from u soon.I will bake these 2nite! Thank u so much!
Hi Carmen! Subbing white whole wheat instead of oat flour will yield a different texture result and might make them a bit drier or tougher. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure the result or exact amount to use, but since wheat flour is so much more finely ground than oat flour, then you will need less than called for. What I would try is to eliminate the tapioca starch in this recipe and just use 3/4 cup of white whole wheat flour. The batter should be thick, but still spreadable, not overly thick like cookie dough. I really hope it doesn’t dry them out. Also, as far as honey I never use it. It is much sweeter and a lot thicker than maple syrup, so again a different result and flavor. You would probably need a bit less because of how sweet it is and thick…but to avoid the batter being too dry, maybe just add enough plant milk or something. These are just guesses since I haven’t tested it…I can only vouch for the above recipe.
Please let me know if you try these changes and let me know how it turns out! Or, if you can try it as above, it is really amazing and worth it!!
What a brilliant recipe! I made these yesterday and this will now be my go to brownie recipe. I doubled the recipe and of course it took a little longer to bake. Mine did not come out as crinkly on the top, but close :). I love to bake and when I switched to a whole food plant based diet trying to avoid sugar, oil, and salt all my favorite baking recipes when aside. I have not made the time to be creative with them yet. I am so pleased to have these as part of my Christmas cookie trays this year! I cut them into mini bites so a double batch goes a long way. Thank you again!!
Thank you so much Kathleen for such wonderful feedback and your kind words, they really made me smile! I am so happy to hear that this is now your “go-to brownie recipe”! I never make another either, they are just too good! Thank you again for letting me know, I really appreciate it!
I just made these for a potluck tomorrow, but I already cheated and ate one and they really are super amazing! I even subbed things even though I wasn’t supposed to!! Subs were just cornstarch instead of tapioca (didn’t have time today to go to the store that had tapioca) and I used 1/2 cup oat flour but then 1/4 cup teff flour (ran out of oat flour, didn’t realize til I started mixing). I was nervous because there was no baking powder, but they turned out so good! SO good! Now maple syrup just needs to get cheaper in Germany so I can eat them all the time. Thanks for this!
Awesome Nicole!! I’m so happy to hear that it worked out even with your subs, that makes me happy! Yes, that is actually my little secret to fudgy brownies, is no leavening agent, or very little at that. Using leavening makes them more cake-like, in most cases, so leave it out and it’s fudgy! Thanks so much for leaving feedback, so glad you like them and I hope you’ll let me know how they are received at the potluck tomorrow! 🙂
Hi, I just stumbled upon your blog and this brownie recipe. It looks amazing! I’ve yet to make a vegan brownie recipe that actually has a crackle top! However, I’m not gluten free and was wondering if I could sub whole wheat flour? Thanks!
Hi Karen! I think using whole wheat pastry flour should work fine in place of the oat flour, but I haven’t tried it, so I’m hoping it would still work out fine. Or, you don’t technically have to be gluten-free to use the oat flour if you like, I just love how oat flour helps them fluff up. 🙂 But let me know if you use wheat flour. I don’t think it would alter the taste too much. Let me know how it turns out! Also, some ovens vary, so make sure to cook it long enough to where the top has begun to crack. Thank you!
I cooked these for an extra seven minutes this time and they were chewy but firm and held together very well – perfect for the party I took them to. Everyone was shocked they were vegan and gluten free!
Wonderful! I’m so glad to hear that everybody loved them! Always exciting when people are shocked they are vegan and gluten-free! Thank you for the feedback!
I made these this afternoon. They came out delicious!
Thanks so much for the feedback Laura! I’m so happy to hear that, I really appreciate you letting me know 🙂
Omg! Made these and they are to die for. I am not gluten, dairy, oil, or sugar free and they are every bit as good if not better than conventional brownies!!!
Sarah, you are awesome! Thank you so much for the amazing feedback! It really is amazing but people just don’t realize you don’t need all that junk to have an amazing dessert that TASTES like it is full of junk! That is always my huge goal for testing and testing, so I’m thrilled when people feel the same way. My friends are not vegan or gluten-free and absolutely die over them too. Thank you so much for letting me know and for making them 🙂 🙂
I made them this afternoon and I’m so happy with the result !! That’s the first ever my mum and dad really like a vegan baking ! They always say that my baking things taste different and they never really like it but my dad said today “I didn’t even noticed that was vegan !” I’m soooo happy !!! Thank you !
Wow, these look amazing!!! Is tapoica starch healthy and shouldn’t we use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder? Sorry, just curious!! I could scarf these down in seconds 🙂
Hi Malini! I don’t know if tapioca is technically “healthy” or not, all I know is it is from the cassava plant and it is vegan and gluten-free and it works amazing as an egg substitue and I use it for a lot of my baking needs. These are brownies, so I’m not concerned at it being perfectly “healthy” and the recipe doesn’t use a large amount of tapioca anyways. I look at desserts as treats and trust me, you are only going to need one brownie to satisfy at a time, they are rich, so enjoy! Oh, and feel free to use cacao instead of cocoa. I use raw cacao in my raw desserts but list cocoa powder in baking just because I know the majority of people out there are going to choose the easy, less expensive route. Thanks and please let me know if you make these! 🙂
Any thoughts on subbing carob for the cocoa? I am allergic to cocoa! Thanks in advance.
Hi Jolly! I wish I could help on that but I have never used carob before and have NO idea what the taste would be. I have heard it tastes nothing like chocolate and is an acquired taste. If you like it, you can try it but I have never tried it, so I just don’t know unfortunately.
Thank you. I’ll have to give it a try with the carob. It is a different taste from chocolate, but you can come to like it!
These will be in my belly this weekend. Kudos to you for not giving up on the recipe development process! From one stubborn gal to another. 🙂
Awesome! Thank you so much…please come back and leave me feedback here, can’t wait to hear what you think!!
Has any one tried peanut butter instead of almond butter? I love peanut butter. Also it’s less costly. It seems so similar to almond butter in thickness and oil content. Thanks.
Hi Allan! You could definitely use peanut butter in place of almond butter, I don’t see why not. If you don’t mind the peanut butter taste, then go for it and please, please come back and let me know how they turned out! Thanks!
They look delicious but looks like you baked them in an aluminum pan?? Glass is always a better choice.
Hi Susan, thanks! They are delicious regardless of the pan you use, so feel free to use any pan/dish you like. The aluminum is what I have and it worked for me, but if you want to use glass, then that works too. I use glass and stainless steel and parchment paper for probably 90% of my cooking/baking, so this is one of the few recipes that doesn’t use glass or stainless steel.
Hi there, Thanks for the recipe, this fits most of my “criteria” for healthy desserts for my family too! I just made these and they are cooling now so I haven’t tasted them, but the batter tasted delightful. I was just wondering though, I didn’t get the beautiful shiny crackly top that yours did, and I followed the recipe to the letter. What do you think causes that, and how can I make that happened next time? Thanks so much!
Hi Rebecca! Thank you so much for making them! Hmm, I’m not sure, I make them all the time and they always have the crackle topping and so have everybody who has made them….so, the only thing I can think is perhaps since every oven varies, maybe they needed to be cooked longer. The crackle comes towards the end from the oils of the coconut butter and almond butter cooking and baking to form the crackle crust on top. Maybe perhaps they just needed another couple minutes of baking. Each oven can vary so much. Also, did you make sure to measure the coconut butter at a complete pourable liquid, not just softened, but liquid? That way to ensure you are getting enough coconut butter in the recipe to help with the top as well.
As long as they taste fabulous, that is the main thing, but try cooking them a little longer is my only guess without being there to see. Let me know how they turned out! Thanks 🙂